Hello once again Fanfiction lovers. I have returned with another Danny Phantom story, which I sincerely hope you enjoy. As far as I am aware, there are no other stories like this, so fingers crossed this goes well. Without further ado, I present the first chapter of A Phantom Apocalypse.
If Danny had taken in his surroundings, he would have noticed the newly varnished floors; shining vibrantly from the sun streaming in through the south facing floor-to-ceiling windows. If he looked down, he would have noticed the carpet with the Presidential Seal in which he stood on. If he had looked up, Danny would have noticed the plastered Seal on the ceiling, mirroring the Seal on the carpet. What Danny did have his eyes on, however, was the man standing right before him. This man was the President of the United States, and today, he was giving Danny Phantom the Medal of Honour for saving the Earth from the Disasteroid.
"Words cannot begin to express how thankful the United States, as well as the rest of the world, is for saving us from annihilation Phantom." The President said, giving the sixteen year old teen ghost in front of him a warm smile, which Danny couldn't help but reciprocate, albeit nervously.
"Really, it was no worry Mr President." Danny said, trying to lessen his shaking hands which he hid behind his back. At this moment in time, Danny was incredibly glad that his family and friends were currently on the other side of the door to the Oval Office. He had a sneaking suspicion that if they saw how nervous he was, they would probably laugh and cause him to make a fool of himself in front of one of the most powerful men in the world.
The President gave a small laugh. "Your modesty is humbling Phantom, but it does not do you justice. You were prepared to risk your life to protect the wellbeing of others, which is no small feat to ask of anyone."
"Thank you Mr President." Danny said, smiling. "But please, call me Danny. Phantom is always what the Guys in White called me. As well as Ghost Scum." The President blanched slightly at the barbarity of what the Guys in White had attempted to do Danny and his friends, causing Danny to relax a bit more in his presence. He liked this President because he had been the one to disband and discredit the Guys in White; he was also known to be very pro-ghost rights.
"Fair enough, Danny." The President said, regaining his composure. "Far better than Inviso-Bill also?" This time, it was Danny's turn to blanch, subsequently causing the President to laugh out loud.
"Anyway," the President began again, picking up a small box from the desk behind him. "It is with great pleasure and honour, that I bestow this Medal of Honour to you, Danny Phantom, for going beyond the call of duty in protecting the citizens of this planet. Normally, we only award these to members of the military, but there was a unanimous decision that you were fit to receive it. Although, its design has been slightly modified for this occasion." Opening box and handing it forwards, Danny brought his still shaking hands forwards to accept the box. Inside the box was a five-pointed, bronze star which had the Presidential Seal stamped onto an engraved image of the Earth on it. Turning it over it stated: THE WORLD TO DANNY PHANTOM.
"Th…Th...thank y…you Mr, um, President." Danny stuttered out, his eyes wide in awe at what he had just been given. If he had been looking up, he would have seen the President shake his head.
"No Danny. Thank you." He said, holding out his hand. Still not fully believing what had just happened, Danny just about ceased his shaking hands so he could shake the hand in front of him. Just as Danny was feeling relaxed, his ghost sense went off, startling the President. Turning, Danny saw the formation of a ghost portal coming into existence.
Now? Danny thought to himself as he got into a battle stance, his hands illuminating with ecto-energy. Of all the times, they had to pick this one to ruin my day?
"Just stay behind me Mr President." Danny stated, floating slightly in front of the President. The man himself was taken aback by the teen's tone; gone was the nervous and shy teen, and here was the strong, superhero that the President had read about. He was so focussed on the swirling, green vortex in the middle of his office, that he didn't notice Danny float back down and extinguish the light in his hands.
"Is everything alright Phantom? I mean, Danny?" The President asked nervously, having noticed what the teen had done. Danny had to force down a chuckle at the President of the United States suddenly sounding afraid.
"Everything's alright Mr President." Danny said, allowing his hands to drop to his side. "I know this ghost. He's a friend." The President's jaw dropped as a purple-cloaked figure with deep, red eyes floated out of the portal and into his office. A time piece was where his chest should have been, multiple watches adorned both his wrists and he held a staff, which appeared to have a stop watch situated at its head. Just as Danny was about to make the introductions, the main door to the Oval Office burst open and fifteen Secret Service Agents rushed in, followed by Team Phantom, members old and new, all with weapons drawn and raised at the ghost.
"Mr President!" Shouted the lead Agent.
"Danny!" Sam, Tucker and Jazz shouted.
"Ghost!" Shouted Jack. Instinctively, Danny put himself in front of the Agents' guns, protecting the ghost behind him.
"Whoa, easy there." He said, raising his arms in front of him, his eyes fixed on the guns. Oddly, he also felt a slight tugging sensation in his stomach as he did this. "Everything's alright. No danger here. It's ok." The lead Agent looked to the President for confirmation, who was still awe-struck from the ghost in front of him. Eventually, he gave his security a nod; slowly, but surely, everyone in the room lowered their weapons, but didn't put them away. Only Sam and Tucker tucked their wrist-rays away as they knew the ghost behind Danny. Sighing in relief, Danny turned to the ghost behind him, willing him to make the first move. Noticing this, the ghost nodded.
"Allow me to introduce myself." The ghost began in a deep voice. "I am Clockwork. Master and Ghost of Time."
"I…I…I am the, um, President of the United States." He stuttered, suddenly scared at the fact that this Clockwork, if he was telling the truth about being the Master of Time, he was probably immensely powerful.
"I know who you are Mr President." Clockwork said, bowing slightly. "It is an honour to meet you." Clockwork raised his hand to shake the President's, but before he got a chance, the Secret Service aimed their guns at the ghost once again.
"Stop right there Ghost!" The lead Agent shouted; Danny was starting to get really annoyed with him as he put his arms out once again as he focused on the guns. This time, the tugging sensation returned much stronger than before. Then, before everyone's eyes, the Agents' guns acquired a green aura and were pulled from their hands and floated just in front of Danny's shocked face. Looking on, Danny's family and friends each had a look of surprise on their face at what Danny was doing.
"Er, Danny?" Jazz asked. "Are you doing that?" Danny just looked at her, still stunned by what was happening. Slowly, the teen raised his hands higher and the guns followed suit; he then lowered them and the guns once again copied.
"I think everyone needs to calm down a bit." The President said, trying to gain control of the situation, looking from the green, floating guns to his security. In his three years of office, he had never had so much excitement in such a short amount of time. "I trust Danny's judgement and I believe Clockwork to be a benevolent ghost and that my life is not in any danger. Danny, would you mind handing back my security their weapons please?" Nodding numbly, Danny pushed his hands out further and the guns began to float back to their owners. The Agents grabbed and holstered them just in time as the green aura had begun to flicker; upon releasing them, Danny staggered back a bit in exhaustion, a sharp pain in his stomach at the amount of energy he had just exerted.
"My apologies Mr President." Clockwork stated. "Disruption was not my intention. However, as you are now finished with young Danny here, it is necessary that I take him off your hands." Releasing a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, the President nodded and signalled for his security to leave the room. Begrudgingly, the Agents nodded and left, with the lead Agent giving Danny and Clockwork a disgusted look before closing the door behind him. Flicking his staff, Clockwork created a portal behind him and turned to Danny's family and friends.
"If you would be so kind as to step through, you will find yourself back in Amity Park, along with your vehicle. Danny and I will be along shortly." Clockwork said. Danny gave them a reassuring nod as they accepted Clockwork's wishes and stepped through the portal, mumbling a thank you towards the President. Bowing once again, Clockwork bade goodbye and stepped through the portal, leaving just Danny and the President standing alone.
"I'm really sorry about all this Mr President." Danny said, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck, the pain in his stomach beginning to subside.
"Not to worry Danny." The President said. "If anything, it is me who should be apologising. Agent Erickson, my leading Agent, is a bit headstrong and opinionated when it comes to ghosts."
"Don't worry Mr President." Danny assured the apologetic man in front of him. "I've had two years of dealing with opinionated people about my kind."
The President smiled and held out his hand once again. "It truly was a pleasure and honour to meet you Danny Phantom. And if it's alright with you, if anything of a ghostly nature arises again in the future, I would like you to act as a consultant." This caused Danny to smile.
"It would be my pleasure Mr President." Danny said, shaking his hand. "And it was a pleasure and honour to meet you too."
As soon as he stepped through the other side of the portal, which turned out to be his living room, he was bombarded by his family and friends.
"Dude, that was awesome!" Tucker exclaimed, punching the air.
"How did you do that?" Sam asked.
"Are your powers evolving?" Queried Jazz.
"Are you sure we can trust this ghost?" Maddie asked, eying Clockwork with suspicion who was floating off to the side, chuckling at what he was witnessing.
"Where's your medal Danny-boy?" Jack asked loudly. "And where's the fudge?!" Feeling as if his head was about to explode, Danny brought about the white rings around his waist, silencing everyone as he transformed back into Danny Fenton, startling his parents more so.
Still haven't got used to that, Maddie and Jack thought to themselves.
"Alright." Danny said. "In order. Yes Tucker, it was awesome, but it hurt. I have no idea Sam. Same goes for you Jazz. Yes Mom, we can trust Clockwork. I trust him with my life. And Dad, my medal is right here and the fudge is where it usually is in the kitchen." Whilst Jack raced off to the kitchen, Danny placed his medal on the coffee table and turned to face Clockwork.
"Any particular reason why you gate-crashed my ceremony with the President and nearly causing a shootout?" Danny asked, half seriously.
"I did not expect the Secret Service to act so rashly." Clockwork said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Give over." Laughed Danny, Sam and Tucker nodding. "You knew exactly what was going to happen. You know everything."
Clockwork chuckled. "I have been found out. But I am here on important business Danny. And, I may be able to shine a light on young Jasmine's question. If you would all like to take a seat and I shall explain." Feeling a sense of foreboding, Danny sat down on one of the sofas with Sam and Tucker either side of him, whilst his parents and Jazz took a seat on the one next to them, his father holding a plate of fudge. "As you witnessed earlier in the Oval Office, Danny has developed another ghostly ability."
"That's awesome!" Tucker exclaimed once again, shouting into Danny's ear. "Do it again Danny."
"Wait," interrupted Jazz, gaining Clockwork's attention. "Developed? Does this mean he could get more?"
"There is every possibility that Danny could acquire more powers as he continues to mature." Clockwork confirmed.
"But aren't you the Ghost of Time?" Sam asked. "Surely you know what new powers, if any, Danny will get in the future?"
"Of course I do Samantha. But divulging such information could cause a temporal schism." Clockwork explained.
"That, and the fact that the Observers would hound you. Well, hound you more than they already do." Danny said, chuckling.
"There is also that as well, yes." Clockwork agreed. "But we are getting side-tracked. Danny's new power will require training, very much like when he acquired his ice powers and he required Frostbite's aid to help train and stabilise them."
"Who will be training me?" Danny asked, having a feeling he knew the answer already.
"This time, it will be me who trains you Danny." Clockwork said.
"Why specifically you?" Sam asked. Realising that could have sounded rude, she reiterated. "Sorry, but you are the Time Keeper of the Ghost Zone. Are you able to spare the time, if you pardon the pun?"
"There are three reasons why I am overseeing Danny's training. First, and foremost, I am Danny's Mentor after the confrontation with his future self, effectively saving both Zones. Secondly, if I were not to do it, then it would have been relegated to the Box Ghost." Clockwork said. There were a few moments of silence before everyone in the room burst into fits of laughter; even Maddie and Jack knew how dreadful the Box Ghost was.
"If it's alright by you Clockwork," Danny began, wiping tears from his eyes. "I would much prefer you train me than Boxy."
"My thoughts exactly." Clockwork said, who had also chuckled at the thought of the Box Ghost training anybody, let alone Danny.
"Wait," Jazz said. "You said there were three reasons. What's the third one?"
"Thirdly, and the primary reason for my visit, is because it will be easier for you to remain in my citadel after the ceremony."
"Ceremony?" Danny asked, wondering what Clockwork was talking about.
"Daniel Fenton. Tomorrow morning, you are going to be honoured by the Ghost Council in front of the entire Ghost Zone." Danny's world then went black.
Danny regained consciousness a few moments later, but refused to open his eyes even though he could hear everyone talking about him. He was still taking in what Clockwork had just told him.
"I'm going to open my eyes in a second and hope I didn't hear what I think I heard." Danny said.
"No chance of that happening dude." Tucker said.
"No, didn't think so." Danny said, sitting up and rubbing his head. "It was worth a shot though."
"I can't help but get the impression you don't exactly sound pleased about this sweetie?" Maddie asked.
"I don't really like the idea of being in a room filled with ghosts who want to beat me with an inch of my half-life." Danny said, getting back onto the sofa. This caused Clockwork to chuckle once again, causing six confused faces to turn to him.
"What?" Asked Sam.
"There is not a single entity in the Ghost Zone who wishes to eliminate Danny Phantom anymore." He said, causing the confused faces to turn into astonished faces.
"You're joking?" Danny asked, not believing for the second time what Clockwork had just said.
"Your actions regarding the Disasteroid have had a large impact on the residents of the Ghost Zone." Clockwork explained. "You will of course have the occasional ghost who will want to cause hassle for you, but in fact, they all respect you."
"Even Skulker?" Queried Danny, disbelievingly.
"Even Skulker." Confirmed Clockwork. "He was more reluctant than others, but yes. So you best get ready. We leave in two hours."
"No rush then." Danny murmured. "How long will I be gone for? A week? Two?"
"Two."
"Well that's not too bad then, is it?" Danny asked, turning to the rest of his family.
"I was expecting worse." Admitted Jazz.
"That is, it will be two months." Clockwork said.
"MONTHS?!" They all exclaimed.
"Telekinesis is a complicated power to master Danny. As are others." Clockwork said, then raising his hand before anyone could interrupt. "I cannot say anything further on the matter. The Observers are always watching. Now, I will return in precisely two hours." With that, the Ghost of Time created a portal and stepped through it, leaving the Fenton household in a shocked silence, typically broken by Tucker.
"Dude!" He exclaimed. "You're going to get even more powers! I wonder what you'll get. Fire-breathing, teleportation, mind control or even electrical powers?"
"Tucker, bury down the comic book geek and get a grip. This is huge." Jazz said, looking to her parents for support.
"Maybe acid spit, a disintegration beam, weather manipulation, or maybe you'll grow a set of wings." Jack said excitedly, who started jumping up and down with Tucker shouting out different super powers.
"I think we'd best leave them to it." Maddie said to Jazz, eying the pair disapprovingly. "You've only got two hours Danny and I'm not letting you leave this house until you have a proper meal. Now, whilst I sort that out, Jazz, can you take Sam and Danny upstairs and help him pack?" Whilst walking up the stairs, they could hear Tucker and Jack still shouting out suggestions.
"Lycanthropy!"
"Fudge-Making!"
"Astral Projection!"
"Memory Elimination!"
"Limb-Detachment!"
"Fudge-Making!"
Two hours later, Danny and Sam were sat atop the hill under the tree they had shared their first kiss, staring out across Amity Park, a large suitcase next to them.
"You know," began Danny after an uncomfortable silence. "I really hope it's not Lycanthropy."
Sam laughed. "Yeah, I don't really fancy having a hairy boyfriend. Wings I could handle, but not the fur or claws."
"Boyfriend." Danny repeated, giving Sam a shy smile.
"Yeah," Sam said, giving Danny the same smile. "We've not really much chance to talk about it since the whole Disasteroid thing last week."
"We'll have plenty of time when I get back." Danny said, taking her hand, giving her a warm smile this time.
"Two months though Danny. You sure you have to go?" She asked him.
"I think I have to." Danny said. "If I do this, I may actually be accepted by everyone. This world has just about accepted me, but now the ghosts will as well."
"You're actually looking forward to this, aren't you?" Sam laughed.
"In a way, yeah. I'll feel better after the actual ceremony itself, but I'm still a bit nervous about being honoured in front of ghosts who have tried to beat me until I'm a pulp for the past two years."
"You'll be fine." Sam said reassuringly, before pointing into the sky. "Look, a shooting star. A sign of good luck." Danny followed where she was pointing; the celestial rock was streaking across the sky in front of them. To Danny, it looked as if it had a faint green aura, but he dismissed it as his imagination.
"I didn't think you believed in stuff like that Sam?" Danny chuckled, earning a half-serious glare from the Goth.
"Look, I'm trying to make you feel better." She said. "It's either that, or I take my boot off and hit you with it?"
"I'll take the lucky star." As if on cue, a green portal formed right in front of them. "Looks like this is it."
"I guess so." Sam said, standing up, bringing Danny into a tight hug. "Be back in two months, or else Ghost Boy."
"I wouldn't dream of being late Sammiekins." Danny joked, reciprocating the hug. Picking up his suitcase which his parents had tried to fill with all varieties of ghost weaponry, until Danny managed to convince them that taking weapons into a room filled with dangerous ghosts probably wasn't the best of ideas, he gave Sam one last kiss and stepped through the portal.
Some Time Later
The empty street the portal opened up on was bathed in perpetual darkness. Had there been light, disused cars would have been seen on the road, some actually on their sides or roofs, their engines rusted over from lack of use. Litter flew on the gentle night breeze from the overflowing bins which had been long forgotten about. Once the portal had fully formed, a hood-cloaked figure floated out and gently landed on the ground, the portal dissipating instantly. The figure was six foot with a powerfully built frame. The hood shrouded the figure's face in darkness; a single, crystal blue eye penetrating through, matching the blue clasp which held the cloak together on a solid silver chain. The cloak, barely touching the ground, was open to reveal a set of black converses, decorated with dancing green flames; a set of matching black jeans, finished with a chained loop and a plain, white t-shirt. Danny Fenton had come home. Gazing at his surroundings, Danny couldn't help but think some form of riot had taken place in the time he had been gone. What made the teen curious though is why there had been no attempt at a clean-up; the street had just been left as it was. He walked towards a car and used his newly trained telekinesis to flip it over effortlessly to see if there was anything interesting in it. Finding nothing, he continued on. Walking down, Danny suddenly realised that he didn't know where he was; he certainly didn't recognise where he was. Turning left at the end, Danny saw that it was in exactly the same condition as the previous street, completely destroyed and devoid of any form of life; he didn't recognise this one either.
Alright, Danny thought to himself. I can't be in Amity. Damn Clockwork. He dropped me off in the wrong place. Danny spent the next half an hour wandering around the mystery town. Normally he would fly, but after spending two months floating in the Ghost Zone, it felt good to be on solid ground once again. It was when Danny turned onto another street and he saw a large shopping centre did he finally realise where he was.
I'm in Woodbury, he thought. Sam, Tucker and I use to come here all the time whenever we got bored with the one in Amity. Woodbury was the small, neighbouring town to Amity Park, which meant Danny was only a ten minute flight from home. Just as he was about to take off, full of excitement about seeing his friends and family after so long, a high pitched scream cut through the night.
His senses on full alert, Danny did a three-sixty turn and caught glimpses of movement behind the glass doors leading into the shopping centre. Danny felt the green energy crackle between his fingertips, his now green eyes fixed on the doors, preparing for whatever might come through them. He had little experience with human crimes, but he was confident he could handle it, no matter what was about to happen. Just as Danny was beginning to get frustrated, a teenage girl of no more than about fourteen with long brown hair burst through the doors, fear stretched all across her face. She paused in the middle of the street, looking from left to right frantically, until her eyes came across Danny and she froze. Realising how scared she was, Danny thought he had best speak up.
"Hey?" He called out to her. "Is everything alright? Do you need any help?" The look of terror on the girl's face was instantly replaced with one of hope. Running up to the cloaked teen, she stopped a few metres from him before speaking.
"You, you can speak?" She asked. Danny noticed that she was flustered and looked as if she had been crying very recently.
"Of course I can." Danny answered, confused by the question. "Why wouldn't i-?" Danny was cut off as the teenage girl threw herself onto Danny, hugging him extremely tight.
"Thank you." She said, verging on becoming hysterical. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Hey," Danny said, comforting the girl. "Is everything alright? What's wrong?"
"You need to help me." She said, her voice becoming urgent. "She's trapped and I can't help her. Please, you have to help me save my mom." With that, she detached herself from Danny and ran back inside the shopping centre, leaving the teen ghost even more confused than he already was.
"Hey, wait up!" Danny shouted, giving chase to the girl, his cloak billowing behind him. He barely made it three steps inside when he almost collided with her. Turning to face him, Danny noticed that there was a deep look of fear in her eyes.
"We need to be really quiet." She whispered urgently. "I don't know if there are any more of them in here."
"Wait, you mean there are people trapping your mom in here?" Danny asked, whispering too.
"No." Was all she said, before turning and walking away, deeper into the centre, confusing Danny once again. Despite being confused, Danny continued to follow the teenager down the dark walkways, passed abandoned and looted shops. Eventually, they came to a storage area and Danny faltered; ahead was a long, dark corridor with pipes running across the ceiling but he could hear banging sounds coming from the far end as if they were right next to him. About halfway down, the girl faltered as she too heard the banging noises, and let out a small whimper. Picking up on this, Danny reached out and held her hand to comfort her; she flinched a bit at the coldness of his touch, but she was comforted nonetheless. Coming to another set of double doors, Danny gently pushed them open and took in the sight before him. It was a small maintenance room with various generators, but on the far side there were two people, who looked like men from the back, slamming their fists on a metal door in front of them. However, there was something about them which didn't sit right with Danny; their moves were sluggish, but seemed almost rabid. They were angry and desperate to get at whoever was behind the door.
"What did your mom do to annoy them?" Danny asked the girl, but she was too terrified to answer. Instead, she just backed away and cowered by the doors they had just walked through. Following her gaze, Danny saw that the two men had stopped pounding on the wall and had turned to face the teen. As it was too dark to see them properly, Danny turned his eyes radioactive green, the entire room turning the same colour. What he saw drained the blood from his face.
Both men looked as if they belonged in a horror film; the man on the left was covered in blood and it looked as if there was a chunk missing from his neck. The man on the right was far worse; he was shirtless and Danny could see that parts of his chest and abdomen were missing, blood freely flowing from them. When Danny looked at his face, he had to fight to swallow the bile coming up his throat; the man's entire jaw was missing, but what really frightened Danny was that both men had a hungry look in their eyes. Before Danny could say anything, both men lurched forwards, rotten nails outstretched towards the teen. Instinctively getting into a battle stance, Danny balanced on the balls of his feet until the last second when he jumped into the air and roundhouse kicked the first guy in the chest, sending him crashing to the other side of the room. Landing in a crouch, he swept the other guy's legs out from under him, his head cracking on the ground. Happy they were out for the count, Danny raced across the room to the metal door and ripped if off its hinges and tossed it to one side. Inside appeared to be like a broom closet, and hunched in the corner, obviously terrified, was a woman in tattered clothing.
"Please don't hurt me." She begged, cowering even more than she already was. Before Danny could assure her he meant her no harm, a voice shrieked out from behind him. Whipping his head around, Danny looked on in astonishment as the two men had staggered to their feet and were heading towards the teenage girl. Danny launched himself forwards and punched one of them in the back of their shoulder, causing him to spin off to the side, and then proceeded to tackle the other one to the ground. Getting back up, Danny looked at the one he had punched and watched in sick fascination as the arm he had punched was now only hanging on by a thin bit of skin.
"Look, I am so, so, so sorry." Danny said, beginning to panic that he had grievously injured someone. "I really didn't mean to do that." But the man wasn't listening. With a guttural screech, it lurched forwards, only for Danny to sidestep him and trip him up, causing him to go headfirst into the generator, making a very loud bang. This time, Danny made sure he wasn't getting up and only just about turned around in time for the second guy to come speeding pass him. This time, Danny grabbed the man's arm and turned him to face him, before punching him between the eyes, causing him to drop where he stood. Confident they were now safe, Danny felt his heart tug at the sight of the girl in the arms of her mother. Not wanting to intrude on their reunion, Danny walked over to the unconscious men to inspect them, but before he got a chance, he heard a voice from behind him.
"I wouldn't get too close to them if I were you. They may look down, but there's no telling what they'll do next." Turning, Danny saw the mom and daughter, still clutching each other, looking from him to the people on the door.
"What's wrong with these people?" Danny asked, gesturing to the floor.
"They're not people." The mom said bluntly. "Not anymore."
"What do you mean they're not 'people'?"
"As in, they're not people. Where the hell have you been? Under a rock?"
Or training on one, Danny thought.
"Look, we can't stay here." The mom said once again. "We've got a tent on the roof. We need to get there before we can talk." She went to walk forwards, but collapsed as her ankle gave way under her.
"Come on." Danny said, walking forwards. "Let me carry you. We'll get there a lot faster if you just point the way." Begrudgingly, the woman nodded in acceptance and allowed the cloaked teen to lift her up. Once he was sure he wasn't going to aggravate her ankle, Danny looked to her daughter.
"Lead the way."
Ten minutes later, all three were huddled around a small fire on the roof of the shopping centre. Danny wasn't cold in the slightest, but he thought he should stay by the fire to keep up appearances. He still wasn't entirely sure how many people knew about his dual identity, but from the way the mother and daughter had interacted with him, they didn't know.
"So," Danny began, trying to make conversation as he took down his hood, the one visible blue eye looking expectantly at the duo; the one other was covered by a bang of hair. "What happened?"
"We went down to see if we could find any food." The mother answered. "We were only here for one night before we moved on in the morning, but we had lost our supplies the day before yesterday. I'm Joan, by the way."
"And I'm Ellie." Said the girl, giving Danny a warm smile, a small blush on her cheeks. "Thank you for saving us. We'd probably be dead, or dead and walking around if it wasn't for you."
"I'm Danny, and it was no problem. It wouldn't have felt right to leave people in trouble." Danny said, reciprocating the smile.
"Very decent of you." Joan said, who began massaging her ankle. "There isn't a lot of decency left in the world anymore."
"Anyway," Ellie continued. "We went down to the generator room to see if there was any fuel we could use for a fire, when those two, things, appeared from nowhere. Mum twisted her ankle trying to get away and managed to get inside the closet. I ran outside and that's when I bumped into you."
"Speaking of which," Joan began, getting suspicious. "What were you doing in the middle of the night in the street by yourself?"
"Oh you know, I just dropped in." Danny lied. "I was just about to leave when Ellie came running out asking me to help save you. By the way, just what were those things? One of them didn't have half his face and one had his arm hanging off. What's going on around here?"
"You really don't know, do you?" Joan asked.
"No, I really don't." Danny said exasperatedly. "So please tell me."
Joan sighed. "We don't really know the full story ourselves. We were on our way to Amity Park, to the Refugee Zone to find answers. It's the only safe place we can go to. My husband went ahead two days ago to make sure it was safe. We got word last night that everything was true, so we set off."
"Well, I'm heading to Amity Park too, so we can go together if you want?" Danny suggested, not wanting to leave the family on their own.
"You can protect us." Ellie squealed, then blushing when Danny looked at her.
Joan sighed once more. "We really don't want to be burden, but we saw the way you fight. We would really appreciate it, if it's no bother? A mysterious, hooded figure can always come in handy."
"Thanks, I think." Danny chuckled. "And it's of no b-." He was cut off, when he heard a noise which made his stomach drop. He could hear heavy footsteps coming up the stairwell towards the roof. Danny launched himself to his feet and sped towards the door, startling the duo at his speed, and opened the door. Flashing his eyes green, he saw about fifty things trying to get up the stairs at the same time. Slamming it shut and bracing himself up against it, Danny turned around.
"Pack your stuff up." He commanded. "We're leaving now!"
"What are you talking about?" Joan asked.
"Listen to me." Danny said, recoiling as they reached the door and attempted to break it down. "There's about fifty of those things trying to get through this door. Pack up your stuff and stand by the edge. NOW!" Both Joan and Ellie were too frightened to disagree, or think about how they were supposed to get off the roof, but they listened to Danny regardless. A few minutes later, they were really pounding on the door and Danny could feel the door beginning to buckle.
"Alright." Ellie said. "I think we're done. What now?"
"Ok, good." Danny said. "Ellie, I want you to help your mom over to the edge of the roof and then come back here and get on my back."
"Wait, what?" Joan asked confused by the teen's demands.
"JUST DO IT!" Nervously, Ellie helped her hobbling mother to the edge before going back to Danny, who had turned to face the door, his hands flat out against it.
"Ok, well done. Now, put my hood up and then climb onto my back." Danny said; she did as she asked. "You may want to hold on tighter than that Ellie. Come on, tighter." She complied and was practically strangling the teen, but Danny appeared not to be bothered by it.
Alright. Time to go. Thought Danny. "Whatever you do Ellie, do not let go." Before she could questioning him, Danny threw himself away from the door and raced across the roof to where Joan was waiting, holding their bags. A split second later, the door crashed open and they all spilled out and made for them.
"What, what are you doing?" Joan asked frantically as Danny lifted her up into his arms.
"Well, we're either going to Amity, or staying here to make friends with that lot." Danny stated, stepping over to the edge. "Now, as they don't appear to be in the friendly mood, we're going to Amity. Now hold on." With that, making sure everyone was secure, Danny jumped off the building and plummeted towards the ground. Screaming all the way down, Danny couldn't help but supress a chuckle before lifting up and began to fly upwards. It took a while for Ellie and Joan to realise that they were going forwards instead of downwards; they opened their eyes to the wind rushing through their hair as they heard Danny laughing.
"By the way, there was probably something I should have mentioned before." Danny said. Ellie edged her head round as Joan looked up; both stared in awe as Danny's eyes turned green. "My name is Danny Fenton, but you can call me Danny Phantom."
Quite a hefty introductory chapter, but I felt it was necessary. I cannot promise whether they will all be as large, but I will aim for subsequent chapters to be long. Now, as a personal favour, if there are any other zombie-related Danny Phantom Fanfictions out there, please do not hesitate to tell me. I would take great pleasure in reading them, and also, it would be useful to know whether I will end up unintentionally plagiarising another author. I will also be thrilled to hear suggestions of what you would like to see happen. Now, two warnings before carrying on with this story. There will be a semi-strong theme of blood and violence in this story (comes with the Zombie territory), and it will contain some swearing. Not over the top, with profanities in every sentence, but they will be present. If either of these is likely to offend any potential readers, please read no further. I would not want to upset anyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will continue to read on. Until next time.
Lord Pugsy.