Above Casper High School, two figures hovered. One was a young girl, Brianne--now a ghost, of course--, and a cloaked man by the name of Clockwork. Clockwork was the Master of Time, with special medallions that allowed a person, or ghost, to defy time while wearing it. In his hand was a long staff that branched a bit like a V at the top. In between the sides, there was a tiny clock that glowed an eerie blue-green; it could freeze time at will, among other things.
"So why are you showing me the school, again?" Brianne asked exasperatedly. Clockwork smiled knowingly, shifting to his adult form.
"Calm yourself, Brianne. Look," he said, pointing at the school as kids came flooding out. "The dark-haired boy." Brianne's eyes flitted across the crowd and she frowned.
"There's a lot of 'dark-haired boys'. Anything more specific?" she asked. That was one thing that irritated her about Clockwork. Although he was kind enough to take her under his wing and let her live with him, she found that it was very difficult to get a straight answer out of him. She had never been good with riddles and vague answers. And Clockwork knew this, letting out a bit of a sigh.
"The only one walking alone." Brianne glared at him, silently requesting more. "In a white-and-red ringer t-shirt," Clockwork said in a resigned tone, shifting to his child form now.
Brianne smiled. "Thank you," she said curtly, turning back to the crowds of children. Aha! It was much easier spotting him now. He was the only one that was branching off from the crowd, hands in his pockets. The red-head ghost giggled.
"He's kinda cute," she snickered, then quieted herself, flipping her flame-red braid behind her shoulder. In form, she was still 8, but in mind she was 16, now. She felt a faint sense of longing as she looked at the high school, knowing that if she had survived the house fires, she would be somewhere in the crowd, laughing and playing with friends. Yes, maybe that brunette towards the back would have befriended her, she thought serenely. She could almost hear them chatting it up in her mind. However, she quickly snapped herself from her reverie, remembering that Clockwork was still there.
He didn't seem to mind her spacing out. He noticed over the years that she did it a lot.
"Soooo, what's so important about him?" Brianne asked, watching the boy more intently now. Clockwork chuckled. This was one of the reasons he had hoped Brianne would do this; she had a body of a child and a mind of a teen. Thought the same as him, but looked young.
"His name is Daniel Fenton." He waited to see any reaction from her, and almost seemed surprised at her puzzled expression. Then he remembered that in his lair, there wasn't much gossip that got around to him, especially since he never let her view his portal that he used to keep an eye on things. He knew how reckless she could be, and was afraid she would try to go change something in the past, present, or future. Blatantly put, she did not know Danny Fenton's secret. "I want you to do me a favor, Brianne. A big favor. Do you think you can handle it?"
Brianne's green eyes lit up at this. "Really?! What is it?" she asked excitedly. Clockwork let out another chuckle, shifting forms so he appeared as a wizened old man. It was the form she thought suited him best, old and wise and all-knowing. That twinkle in his red eyes that felt like he was searching your very essence and reading your thoughts. It was frightening sometimes, but sometimes Brianne admired him for it.
"I want you to watch over Daniel...for the time being." Clockwork frowned, deepening the wrinkles on his pale green face. "Something...is troubling him, but I cannot tell what. I will admit, I care about the boy, but I also do not want him to make the same kind of mistakes he made before. Certainly you remember that, Brianne?" The girl thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, we had a very difficult time sealing up Danny Phantom from the future. It was a pain," she sighed. Clockwork nodded in agreement. "Yes, and I do not care to go through that again. I'm afraid that whatever stress he is going through right now may influence his thoughts and decisions. So I want you to guard him, get to know him, and earn his trust." He held his staff out in front of him and touched it to the tip of Brianne's nose.
She felt a peculiar sensation creeping throughout her body and she chanced a look at her hands. They were...solid?! She looked up at him, her eyes wide and and grin broke her face. "Am I alive?!" she asked anxiously. Clockwork looked apologetic for a moment, then shook his head, causing Brianne's face to droop. "No, I am afraid not. Even the Master of Time and Space cannot bring back the dead...However, this form will allow you to stay near Daniel. Befriend him at whatever costs. But I would advise not letting his sister see you. I believe you remember a Jasmine Fenton, correct?" Brianne gasped. "Jazz? Of course I do!" she said happily. "But why can't she see me?"
"Well, you two were good friends in elementary school, when you died. If she were to see you in this form, she would be more than a bit confused. Daniel, however, was only six at the time, and most likely will not remember you."
"Come to think of it, I DO remember Jazz mentioning a little brother, Danny...Hmm..." She watched as Danny continued down the street, shifting the weight of his purple backpack from shoulder to shoulder every few steps. Must have a lot of homework in there, she thought. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not in high school. "Alright, Clockwork...I'll do it. I'll watch over him," she agreed.
Clockwork looked satisfied by this answer. "Good. Now, I will warn you, you can still go intangible while in that form, but it will take a while for your full-flesh form to return. So be careful of using it," he warned. Brianne nodded impatiently, already shifting to her normal form and zooming down towards the sidewalk Danny was walking on.
She let out a happy, contented laugh as she soared through the sky, not having felt this in a long time. A year at least. Her eyes widened as she saw a small flock of low-flying geese fly by. "Intangible! Intangible!" she shrieked at herself, trying to force her body to shift. It was much harder to do with the burden of her full-flesh form now. At the last moment, she flung her arms in front of her, shielding her face against the bombardment of wings and beaks. Honks seemed deafening in her ears, and by the time she cleared, she was still soaring downwards, feathers flying off of her. She let out another gasp as she collided right into Danny, her body, only half intangible, flying into his head but finding herself unable to get back out. She let out an inward groan. "What now...?" she muttered, shaking her head. She felt Danny stop, and was scared and delighted at the same time to see that she could see from his perspective now. He was staring straight ahead, then his head seemed to dart nervously back and forth.
"Who said that?" she heard his quiet, cautious voice. She could imagine the look of shock on his face and felt a bit guilty. She had meant to shift back to her full-flesh form and just walk behind him until he noticed her. This was a much more direct and riskier way of going. But she had no other options. Thinking fast, she tried to come up with a believable lie.
"I...am your conscience, Daniel," she said in an important voice, and her best imitation of a woman's voice. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"