A/N: For those just starting, as a warning: I wrote this when I was eleven. It's pretty overdramatic, but I promise you the later chapters get better.
Waste of Space
"The real question is, can you love the real me? Not the perfect person you want me to be, not that image you had of me, but who I really am."
Sunday Antarctica 2:15 PM
The whole world was watching, hoping that their hero would return with the solution to their problems. Nervous human eyes searched the sky, deep in pursuit of a natural Ghost portal that should appear anytime. Children buried their faces into their mother's chest, praying that the ghost teen would come back before disaster strikes.
The famous ghost hunting family of Amity Park was among these onlookers. They held hands and bit their lips in anticipation along with the rest of the crowd while the eldest of the Fenton children glanced at the robot next to her that she had dressed up as her brother. Only she and her brother's best friends truly knew what was going on.
Her brother wasn't some wimpy kid that always ran when a ghost attacked, and the town's brave and fearless hero wasn't actually dead.
Danny Fenton.
Danny Phantom.
How could the world be so blind?
Her brother was a Halfa, half ghost, half human. The balance between life and death. Only two others shared the same fate: one was just a child who wanted to find her place in the world and the other was an evil fruitloop that caused this whole disaster in the first place.
The redhead honestly worried for her sibling. No one cares or pays any attention to Danny Fenton and everyone expects Danny Phantom to be a perfect little hero and save them all the time. After all, her brother is just a scared little kid and Amity Parks hero is just a friendly ghost who's got nothing else better to do.
The irony was not lost to her.
Her brother sacrifices everything for his town and now he's risking his LIFE to save it and the rest of the world. Imagine trying to balance being a superhero and a normal kid all at once. Going to school and always being late because of a ghost attack, always having to make excuses to leave class to go save someone, never getting any sleep because ghosts don't give up trying to take over the world, and all the while trying to keep his identity a secret. It's way too much for a 14-year-old kid to handle.
"And yet he does it," muttered the redhead, feeling bitterly nostalgic.
Jazz's train of thought was suddenly interrupted as gaps rang throughout the crowd. A swirling green pool appeared in the sky above the humans, and everyone looked up and cheered when the ship Danny Phantom was driving flew out. A wave of happiness spread throughout the people- the ones in Antarctica where this was all taking place and the ones watching from their homes on the news- but all that joy was completely shattered when the ship soared over the base of "Operation Disasteriod" and crashed into the mountain beyond it.
The humans stared at the mountain in horror, not quite believing what had happened. Jazz on the other hand was frozen. Danny had turned intangible, right? He had gotten out before it crashed, right?
Beside the redhead, Sam Manson gasped. "Danny? No, he can't be," she whispered, shocked. Sam glanced fearfully back at Jazz, who only shook her head.
A shadow suddenly crawled across the people in Antarctica and everyone else around the world. The asteroid was here.
"It's coming!" shouted Tucker Foley, the other teen that knew about Danny.
The people around the world hugged their loved ones and whimpered silently, accepting their fate.
It was all over.
Their only hope was that Danny Phantom could find enough Ghosts in the Ghost Zone to help turn the entire Earth intangible.
But he hadn't returned.
Jack Fenton, the father of the young half-ghost hero and the redhead named Jasmine, wrapped his large arms around his wife and daughter. "Listen, I just want you all to know that I love you, and I'm proud of each and every one of you for trying your best," he smiled sadly.
Jasmine patted her father's hand comfortingly and whispered back, "We love you too, Dad."
Finally, unable to control the tears any longer, Maddie Fenton spoke as the warm liquid poured out of her eyes. "At least- at least we're all together."
Jazz stiffened. Against her will, her eyes traveled to the robot dressed as her brother. "I- oh mom- there's something you need to know," she whispered.
Maddie sent Jazz a very confused look and walked over to her son. After studying the bot for a moment, Madelyn's eyes widened. Grabbing the wig, she ripped off the fake hair and gasped. "A robot? Where's Danny? Jasmine, where's your brother!?" she exclaimed, frantically.
Jazz was about to gesture towards the smoking ship wedged in the side of the mountain, when Sam gasped and pointed at the sky. "Look! The portal!"
It was as if God himself had answered their prayers for none other than Danny Phantom flew out of the green swirl, followed by hundreds of ghosts. His green eyes gazed down at the cheering people below as he led the ghosts to the intangibility amplifier. Acting quickly, the ghosts surrounded the machine and place their hands on it. Danny circled the amplifier once to make sure everything was in place and then turned to look at Skulker, the "Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter."
"I still can't believe you guys agreed to help me. Looks like there is a heart under all that cyber armor," he smiled.
Skulker glared back at the teen with an expression that didn't hold as much irritation as it usually did. "Don't get too sentimental. We're not her to save you, we're here to save us," he sniffed, crossing his arms.
A wide grin spread across the young hero's face. "Let's just get this party started!" Danny grinned, motioning to the humans that they were ready.
Inside the base, every human went to work immediately. Tucker and Valerie Grey began to start the machine up while everyone else checked to make sure it was functioning properly. Using the ghost's energy to power the amplifier, they were ready within seconds. The ghosts, however, began to shake from using so much of their energy at once. White ecto-energy flowed out of their bodies and covered the entire length of the amplifier. Groans of frustration and strain began to circulate through the air as they tapped into their cores.
Yelling into the microphone-headset, Danny shouted, "TUCKER! How... much... longer?"
Looking back at the monitor, the 14-year-old boy realized the asteroid was right on top of them. Responding to his friends cry, Tucker yelled back, "NOW!"
With one last grunt, Danny managed to turn intangible with every ghost not far behind him. Their power quickly spread down the machine, across the frozen land of Antarctica, through the jungles of Africa and the civilizations of the North, South, East and West. People around the world gasped in awe as they become completely transparent. The Entire Earth began to shake as much as the ghost were. Many of the ectoplasmic specters gasped as their powers were pushed to the limit.
"WHERE'S THE ASTEROID!?" screamed Danny as he began to tremble.
Before Tucker could reply, the gigantic green rock zoomed through the Earth and floated harmlessly back up into the sky. Dropping their intangibility, the ghosts sighed in relief as the humans around the world celebrated. It was all over. Vlad was gone, floating off in space somewhere, the asteroid was taken care of, and Danny's parents didn't think of "Danny Phantom" as a nuisance anymore.
He was a hero, and now everyone knew it.
Floating down to meet his friends, Danny grinned at everyone before being tackled by Sam, followed by Jazz, and then Tucker. They all laughed on the floor together until the shadow of Skulker loomed over them. Standing up, Danny faced every ghost that helped him.
"I don't know what to say other than thank you, Skulker... to all of you," he offered.
Surprising Danny, along with the rest of the world who was watching, Skulker grabbed the front of Danny's jumpsuit. Then a wide grin appears on his metallic face. "Don't get to mushy on us Ghost Child. I'll never stop hunting you, and now that you've saved your world, you're a much more valuable prize," he smirked before flying off with the rest of the ghosts.
Realizing that Skulker was just messing with their hero, the humans watching from their T.V sets relaxed once again and the people with Danny in Antarctica moved in closer to congratulate the young ghost. Cheers erupted from the crowd and Danny's smile grew wider.
He was accepted. Finally, he was accepted.
Stealing a glance from his friend- er girlfriend(?) Sam, they exchanged smiles and sighed with relief. People swarmed them from every side thanking them.
Then the questions started.
A curious man asked the three kids next to Danny how they knew "Phantom." This only made more people frantic for answers. A blonde haired woman in her thirty's asked Danny why he was so different from other ghosts. Another girl asked why he helped people. Backing away from the crazed people, Danny jumped to the side to try and escape his fans. Sending a nervous look to his sister and friends, they immediately tried to break through the crowd and prevent them from getting any closer to Danny.
But this all stopped when Danny gasped loudly. A blue, icy mist swirled out of his mouth and his body went rigid. Everyone quit talking and stared at the Ghost Boy, curious as to what that was. Jack Fenton was the first to speak. He and his wife pushed their way to the front of the fans, reporters, and camera men, and glanced at the hero with confused faces.
"What was that?" asked Jack. Wide green eyes met dark blue ones.
"Ghost," whispered Danny before a sickening laugh bellowed across the sky.
The humans around the world cringed in fear and backed away from Danny slightly. Sam, Tucker and Jazz were still caught in the middle of the group of people and couldn't get any closer Danny. Jack and Maddie Fenton didn't move. Instead, they wiped out their ectoguns and pointed them towards the older Halfa who materialized above them. A snarl escaped the female Fenton's mouth as she emitted a wave of pure hatred through her eyes.
Coming to a quick decision, the woman turned back to Danny and stated confidentially. "Don't worry, Phantom, we've got this."
Danny took one look at his parents and figured this had now become a battle between old college buddies. Deciding it was best not to butt in unless someone was going to get hurt, he only nodded. Don't get him wrong, the youngest Halfa had a bone or two to pick with Vlad for all the hell he put him through during the past few days, but when a girl gets mad and wants revenge, it's best not to interfere.
The eldest Halfa grinned maliciously down at his former "friends." "Ah. Jack, Maddie, so good to see you."
His icy voice sent shivers down everyone's spines, except for Danny and his friends who were used to it by now. Maddie glared daggers at Vlad and started up her ectogun. Jack, following her lead, stared at his college buddy with a look of disappointment. "What are you doing here, Vlad?" Venom laced itself within his words and Danny stared in shock.
"I didn't even think Dad was capable of sounding so cold. Well at least Vlad's getting what he deserves," he thought to himself and allowed a small smile of satisfaction to appear on his face.
"Awwww, Jack, old pal, why are you being so cruel?" Vlad smiled and crossed his arms in the air.
"Why? Maybe because you just tried to destroy the Earth and threatened the lives of everyone around you? You're disgusting," Maddie scoffed, answering instead of her husband.
Vlad seemed to take great joy in this and glanced at Danny for a brief moment. Danny's eyes narrowed when he caught Vlad looking at him. "What is that fruitloop planning?"
Turning his attention back to Maddie, Vlad continued to grin smugly as a glowing black ring hovered around his midsection. The single ring split and began to spread across the man's body. The now human Vladimir Masters stood suspended in the air for a few more moments, before slowly floating down and landing in the snow with a small squish. "I'm disgusting?"
"Do you think you're not? What are you anyways? Your creation was a mistake. A human and a ghost at the same time? How could you take advantage of humans like this? You're absolutely horrible. You shouldn't exist," Maddie snapped as she pointed her gun towards the man.
If anyone heard the small noise that escaped Danny Phantoms lips, they didn't show it. No one was even paying much attention to him anymore, they were all agreeing with Maddie Fenton and shouting insults at Vlad- who wasn't affected by these words but knew that Daniel would be. The only people who remained frozen, eyes wide with shock were his sister and best friends, who knew how much those words would hurt him.
And hurt him they did.
Danny's eyes lost their light. His parents called Halfa's a mistake, things that shouldn't exist. Danny slowly blinked back any oncoming moisture and tried to convince himself that they didn't mean all halfa's. They didn't even know that other halfa's existed! They were just talking about Vlad, not him.
Swallowing thickly past the lump in his throat, Danny took a small step forward, the sudden movement catching the attention of the crowd and the news crews videoing the whole thing. Maddie and Jack didn't take their eyes of Vlad.
"Is that what you think of Halfa's?" Danny asked, voice uncharacteristically meek. He was strong, he had great friends, and he was a hero, but deep down there was still a little kid inside of him that wanted his family's approval.
Looks of surprise and confusion occupied the faces of the 7 billion people of the world. Everyone but Maddie and Jack could see the young hero and they all wondered why Phantom was acting like this. He seemed scared, horrified, sad- wait... were those tears? Ghosts couldn't cry, right?
Then suddenly it dawned them. Everyone's clueless minds were awakened and they finally realized what was going on: the reason why Phantom was so different from other ghosts, why he seemed to be in Amity Park more often than the Ghost Zone, and why he acts so human. It was the only possible explanation for the absolute heartbroken look on the kid's face.
Their hero was a Halfa too.
Gasps rang throughout the world as they stared at the boy who seemed to be curling in upon himself more and more with each passing second. People watching from the safety of their homes began to shout for Maddie and Jack to stop, but of course the famous ghost hunters couldn't hear them. Meanwhile, the people in Antarctica waved their arms widely and tried to get the two Ghost Hunters attention. Many humans whistled, others made slicing motions across their necks, but nothing worked.
Oblivious to how much she was hurting the kid behind her, Maddie smiled and answered Danny with her back still turned away from him. "But of course! Vlad here is nothing but trouble. I bet there's more of them too! Maybe hundreds hiding among humans and ghosts, deceiving us, stealing from us, and who knows what else. They're just a waste of space."
Oh, wow. That hurt a lot more than he thought it would.
Danny shook as his gloved fingers moved to clutch the jumpsuit covering his chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe and every slight in and out movement that came from his chest caused him to choke on his own breath. He couldn't control it. God, they were just words, but these were his parents- and shit did it hurt so much please make it stop oh my god just make it go away.
A small noise came from the trembling child, and finally Maddie and Jack turned around. Upon seeing Danny shivering, they immediately became concerned. "Phantom? Are you ok?"
Vlad's grin widened at the scene before him. His plan was working perfectly. If he was to be shunned from this world, then so should Daniel. His parent's rejection would be enough to finally tip the mentally unstable teen over the edge. Nothing hurts worse than feeling alone and hated by those whose job is to love you unconditionally.
Maddie's motherly instincts kicked in and she began to approach Danny. She cautiously made her way towards the hero, but her attention was diverted back to Vlad when he spoke. Gripping their guns tighter, the Fenton parents pointed the ecto-weapons at him once again.
"Oh, this is rich. Poor, sweet Maddie, I always admired you, but now I see that your just as much of a bafoon as Jack."
"HEY!" whined Jack in protest.
"You say all Halfa's are wastes of space, people who use their powers for evil? Well I'll let you in on a little secret: you were right! I'm not the only Halfa in the world, actually there's three of us, and one of them happens to be standing right behind you."
...
Time itself seemed to freeze as emotions of confusion, then realization, and finally horror overcame the Ghost Hunters. Slowly, their heads turned and shifted to gaze at Danny who was still shaking and looking at the ground.
Even though they had figured this out moments before, the rest of the world gasped and bit their lips as their assumption was confirmed. This was so not good.
"P-Phantom? You're a halfa?" Maddie whispered, reaching out towards the hurt boy.
"Danny."
Surprised, Maddie let her hand waver in the air for a moment. The worlds hero whispered barely loud enough for the mics on the news cameras to pick up, but everyone still heard him.
"What?"
"MY NAME IS DANNY!" he shouted, lifting his head up to face the Ghost Hunters. Tears were dripping down his face and his eyes were red and puffy. He let out a heartbroken sob as his parents gasped, covering their mouths in shame.
They had made a child no older than their own son cry. Segregation, racism, prejudice, whatever you want to call it. They had singled out the very person that saves them all the time and basically told him he was worthless.
Still sobbing, Danny took a small step back. Then another. His glossy green eyes were wide and fearful as he gazed upon the people in front of him. He couldn't believe his own parents had said that about him.
"Ph-Danny, wait!"
Shaking his head, Danny turned around and ran. After about 2 feet of shuffling through the snow, he launched himself into the air, fell a little, and then soared into the sky. The only sound that could be heard was the triumphant chuckle of the eldest Halfa before he was eventually tied down and captured by the distressed Fenton parents.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o
Guilt.
That was one of the major emotions people were feeling right now. You've heard of the saying "jealousy is a green-eyed monster," well guilt is a green-eyed demon.
The balance of the world seemed to tip. People no longer knew what to think. They felt as though everything they knew was wrong.
The world had relied on this hero so often to take care of all their problems and protect them all, only to find out he's just a kid. How he managed to keep his identity a secret, go to Casper High (Amity Park's only High School), fight all the ghosts and bad guys that attack, and keep all of this hidden from his family (if he even had one) is beyond everyone's imagination.
When Danny had flown off back in Antarctica, 3 unidentified teens had immediately pushed through the stunned and shameful huddle and shouted for him to come back. They yelled things like "They don't mean it, Danny!" "You're a hero!" "Dude, don't go! They didn't know!" But Danny Phantom didn't come back, even when the desperate crowd of people began to shout as well.
This was a little too much for everyone to handle. The Fenton's went into a frenzy trying to locate the Ghost Boy, but it seemed that he had disappeared of the face of the Earth. Vladimir was of course questioned multiple times on where their hero could have gone, but the only response they got out of him was an evil cackle so he remained locked up in a ghost proof jail.
Amity Park suddenly went from being known as the crazy ghost-believing town to the one that "killed" its hero.
Of course, the Ghosts still attacked, but Maddie and Jack took control of Danny's job, they owed him that much, and were finally beginning to realize how wrong they had been about the boy and all supernatural specters in general. The Fenton parents believed that only 1 to 2 ghosts attacked on average every day.
Yeah right.
1 to 2 ghosts attacked every day that people heard about. In reality, 8 to 9 threatened humans everyday- Danny Phantom just took care of them before they could hurt anyone. Jack and Maddie were out fighting constantly. They gave up sleeping, eating, and inventing just to keep the ghosts at bay. It had only been a day since Phantom had disappeared, but already the Fenton's seemed to be at their limit. Dark circles formed under their eyes and their old age seemed to show more often. They seemed lost, empty, broken.
People tried desperately to locate the hurt teen to apologize and beg for his forgiveness. Even the president made an announcement last night directed to Danny saying that him and the rest of the world were deeply sorry and wished that he knew that they did not mean what they said. People (the wealthier ones) even went as far as to hire private investigators and detectives to locate the boy.
All plans failed.
Even though the world figured out that Danny was a Halfa, they were still stupidly clueless. People were too busy looking for a depressed Ghost Teen, they didn't even think about trying to look for a depressed human teen. Of course, Danny Phantom wouldn't be flying around in his Ghost form- he'd be hiding as his real self, his human form. But alas, no one was smart enough to even realize that.
Monday Casper High 7:15 AM
The halls of Casper were filled to the brim with kids gossiping about Danny Phantom. Wary eyes glanced at every person in the school as students tried to guess who Phantoms real form could be. Over half of the population believed he was a strong, rich, handsome A-Lister, the smarter of the teenagers stated that he was probably shyer and hid in the shadow to avoid attention, and everyone else guessed he was a dark and mysterious bad boy/ladies man. Rumors raced around the school and even some of the faculty and staff joined in.
Everyone wanted to know who Danny Phantom was.
"The trio's coming!"
All excited whispering ceased when the redhead boy with glasses and freckles shouted above everyone else. Although nobody would admit, the teachers and students of Casper High loved being at the same school as the mystery trio.
The Goth, Geek and Freak were the constant talk of this small learning center. They were just so mysterious and surprisingly funny. The few inside jokes that everyone did get they laughed at. Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, and Danny Fenton would always disappear at the most random times, get in trouble, joke about ghosts, and all-in-all they just made life more interesting and lively.
No one in all of Casper High could ever think of living out their High School years without this crazy trio and they looked forward to seeing the clowns of Casper every day. And on this particular day, everyone was excited to ask the trio about their thoughts on the whole Half human Half ghost business that was circulating across the world. Sam, Tucker, and Danny were always supporters of Danny Phantom, even before the rest of the world knew that some ghosts could be good.
Overly giddy suddenly, Freshmen, Juniors, Sophomores, and Seniors alike all turned towards the front of the school just in time to see the doors open and the trio of fun walk in, only to be disappointed by what they saw. Smiles immediately fell off everyone's faces and all trains of thought steered off track. Jaws practically touched the floor as students froze with shock at the sight of Danny, Sam and Tucker.
They looked like death.
The normally sarcastic, challenging and Smart-Alec smirk of the ultra-recyclo vegetarian goth was reduced to a pitiful scowl. Samantha was wearing no gothic makeup whatsoever; her silky black hair was frizzled and wasn't pulled back in a ponytail and her clothes looked like she had been sleeping in them for weeks. The joking, overenthusiastic, confident, and super smart techno geek of the group looked at everyone as if they had murdered someone. His beret hung limply out of his shorts pockets, his glasses dangled at the edge of his chocolate brown nose, and his beloved PDA was nowhere in sight.
But worst of all was Danny.
The adorable, innocent, kind, compassionate, clueless, and sarcastic boy everyone at Casper High had always recognized as the strange kid with the weird parents looked at the world through a haze. His beautiful, sparkling blue eyes didn't shine, there wasn't a smile on his face like always, his black locks were messier than usual and hung around his eyes, his posture was pitiful, and he gazed at everyone with a desperately hopeless look.
Waves of emotion raced through the bodies of the students as the trio walked down the halls towards their first class. They didn't even bother to go to their lockers. Many kids felt empty as their source of happiness and laughter appeared to be broken. Some began to step forward, possibly debating on whether or not to ask them what was wrong or to try and comfort them in any way, but a stern glare from the goth girl made them decide otherwise. Even after the trio had disappeared into the open door of their first class, people continued to stand as stiff as statues, the teachers were no exception.
Finally, the spell was broken when the bell rang and kids began to shuffle awkwardly into all of their first period classes.
Monday Casper High 12:00 Lunch
It was a beautiful, sunny day outside and everything looked peaceful and cheery until you glanced over at the table directly in the center of the school courtyard. The trio had decided to sit outside today so of course everyone crowded around them and eavesdropped on the nonexistent conversation they were having. The morning came and went and yet no one had been brave enough to ask the three depressed teens what was wrong; even the teachers kept their distance.
Lunch consisted of quiet whispering as onlookers continuously glanced at Danny and his friends. Mouths opened and closed as if they were trying to build up enough courage to go talk to them. Fingers twitched anxiously and prying eyes bore holes into the back of Danny, Sam, and Tuckers heads. The anticipation was killing the students of Casper High and they wanted to know what had the golden trio so upset.
Their prayers were somewhat answered when a group of A-listers approached the table occupied by the mystery trio. Dash Baxter, Star Strong, Paulina Sanchez and Kwan Lee were among the group of angry/confused teens. The leader of the pack, Dash, stood tall and proud in front of the three smaller teenagers slouched over their lunches. At first everyone thought the star quarterback was going to tease Danny or shove him a bit, but there was a small expression of sympathy and confusion on his face as he gently raised his hand towards the raven-haired kid.
"Hey Fenturd, why you all depressed?" Dash questioned almost cautiously as he poked the blue-eyed boy in the back.
Everyone leaned forward in their seats, hoping to hear Danny say some witty comeback, but he just continued eating his sandwich, not even acknowledging Dash's existence.
Frowning with slight irritation, the football jock began to shake the young teen a bit. "Fenton, I'm talking to you."
"Go away, Dash."
Pausing mid shove, the blond-haired boy turned to glance at the girl who had spoken up. A couple of people smiled when they realized Sam had fought back and snapped at Dash! She was turning back to normal again. Dash also felt a small sparkle of happiness when Sam finally spoke.
"Maybe I don't want to, Manson. Not until you three tell everyone here what's got you-"
"For the love of God, Dash, go away!"
The desperation in her voice caused Dash and his friends to jump back in surprise. Looking down towards the girl, they realized her eyes were watering. Sam Manson never cried. Glancing at the other two occupants at the table, they were now aware that Tucker was also shaking, and Danny seemed to find the lunch table very interesting at the moment. With one last look at the broken group, Dash gazed at the rest of the students eating lunch and gave a small, helpless shrug before slowly walking away to finish his lunch. Paulina sent the trio a sorrowful look before following Dash while Star and Kwan just stared at the ground as they scooted away.
If Dash couldn't snap the three of them back to normal, then there was very little hope for everyone to hang onto.
Lunch continued on like this for a few more minutes before a startled gasp came from the group in the center of the field of tables. Immediately all eyes turned towards the trio as Daniel Fenton shot up in surprise. A few people thought they could see his breath for a moment, but shrugged it off. Samantha and Tucker also sat up a little straighter and gazed at Danny through sad eyes.
Everyone in Casper had learned that whenever Danny made a sound like that, the trio was about to take off somewhere, so all attention was on them.
They didn't move.
Instead, Tucker and Sam's eyes became glossy as they fought back silent tears. Danny trembled slightly and looked at the sky before shaking his head and staring at his half-eaten sandwich. Disappointment clouded the minds of everyone watching when the trio didn't respond like they should have. Normality returned as people stopped staring at Danny and returned to their lunches with a sigh. The kids of Casper High had given up hope of having the mystery kids respond to something and return to their normal joking, happy selves.
Then Murphy's Law decided to mess with everyone.
A rush of wind whipped through Amity Park and curled around hundreds of students at Casper High. The bitter air lapped at everyone's skin and caused frequent shivers to rush through their bodies. Ghost attacks were common in Amity Park so people were used to feeling the cool chills they got whenever one appeared, but for some reason, this time the air felt dangerous. An eerie feeling crawled its way under the human's skin as a new and frightening sense of dread churned in their stomach.
They were in for it now.
Shivering under the fitful gusts of wind, students raced around the field a few times before eventually huddling at the edge of the courtyard near the fence that separated the school from the center of town and started making ample gestures towards the newly formed ghost floating above the Danny's head.
"Watch out!"
"Dudes, MOVE!"
"GHOST!"
Although Daniel didn't move, the children's cries of alarm were not in vain. Sam and Tucker seemed to wake up as their eyes widened. After surveying their surroundings, the two teens immediately stood protectively in front of their friend with a look of determination as the woman ghost floated down to great them.
The ectoplasmic specter that had appeared was not a very common one. Almost everyone from Amity that had noticed the buildup of wind and had flocked towards the fence of the High School could only recall seeing this woman 3 or 4 times within the past year while the students of Casper High immediately recognized her as their old guidance counselor, who made them feel horrible about themselves and then gathered energy from their misery. As everyone stared at the trio, they all came to the same conclusion:
"This ghost is here because of Danny, Sam, and Tucker."
"I knew there was a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow, and you, Danny, are emitting a whole variety of colors. I would have stayed away considering what just happened to you and all, but I just couldn't resist. You're delicious!" The demon shrieked in delight as she floated closer to the three teens.
The air around the ghost shimmered under her power as her claw-like fingers reached out hungrily. The people of Amity, minus the students in the school, watched helplessly behind the fence as the women advanced towards the trio. Their only hope was that the Fenton parents or even Danny Phantom showed up soon. He wouldn't let 3 innocent teenagers die, right?
Surprising everyone, Sam and Tucker pulled a Fenton Thermos and a ray gun out of their backpacks and aimed the weapons towards the ghost. Smiling amusingly, the ghost reached out her hands towards the two teens and a small green ray of energy attached itself to them before turning red and drawing out a white, glowing substance from their chests. The goth and techno geek gasped in pain and slowly sank to the ground at the feet of their friend.
"You two are delectable as well, but my real prize is riiiiiiiight here," the ghost grinned evilly before stepping over the weak teens on the ground and placing her hand on Danny's back.
As soon as she made physical contact with the ghost hunters son, waves of white light enveloped them both and Spectra laughed as she realized the child had enough misery right now to keep her immortal for decades. The victory was short lived, however, when someone in the crowd announced the arrival of the Fenton parents. A swirl of green and suddenly Spectra was sent sprawling across the field before slamming into a group of kids by the fence. Paying no attention to the children she scared to death, the ghost smiled up at the Fenton's who were currently trying to wake Sam, Tucker and their son out of the trance they were in. Spectra's powers had weakened Sam and Tucker, but the ghost was no longer feeding off Daniel, so his parents couldn't figure out why he wasn't responding.
"He's not going to listen to you, you know."
Pointing their ecto-guns at the spectral entity that attacked Danny, the Ghost Hunters scowled. "What do you know about our son?"
A low chuckle emitted from the ghost as she stood up. Humans were so stupid, it was hilarious. Her eyes held a look of confidence as she glared at Maddie and Jack. "A lot more than you do. Every ghost in the whole ghost zone knows far more about your son than you do- than all of you do!" she announced with a grin as she gestured towards the spectators surrounding them.
Ignoring the women and her nonsense comments, Maddie grabbed hold of her son's shoulders and shook him slightly. "Danny? Danny? Can you hear me? Sweetie, please say something." Said boy looked up into his mother's eyes, gave her a small smile, and then looked down once again, lost in his own sub consciousness. Setting her son back down on the bench next to his friends, the female parent gazed at the specter with an accusing look.
"What did you do to our boy!?"
"Me? I did nothing to him except try to feed off all the misery he's broadcasting. Ironically enough, you are the ones who reduced him to the pitiful state he is currently in."
With a roar, Jack Fenton fired a small shot at the ghost that missed her by a good foot and a half. "Don't you dare accuse us of hurting our son, we don't even know what wrong with him! We would never harm him in any way!"
'Hook, line, and sinker,' Spectra thought to herself as her eyes glowed a murderous blood-red. "Oh, but you did hurt him," pretending to act nonchalantly about everything, she inspected her nails as she spoke, "yesterday, when you called him a... waste of space was it?" she laughed.
"Your accusations are invalid, you monster. We have never called our son something like that! In fact, we didn't even see him at all yesterday. According to our daughter, Jasmine, she had driven Danny home earlier and was already in bed by the time we got home from Antarctica! Not to mention that we've been out hunting ghosts and searching for Danny Phan..."
Maddie eyes grew wide as she stopped her sentence short and pondered about what she was about to say. They hadn't called Danny Fenton a waste a space, but they did call Danny Phantom that. Shivers coursed through the ghost hunter's body as she glanced up towards Jack. His eyes were already full of horrified tears.
Looking back towards the grinning ghost, Maddie finally found her voice. "You... what your trying to... you don't mean?"
Spectra's power gyrated around her as she glared evilly at the Fenton's while gathering enough energy to teleport. Flashes of green and black whipped around where she used to be as she suddenly appeared behind Maddie and Jack. Her sharp claws reached out and greedily wrapped themselves around the blue-eyed boy's waist, plucking him from his safe spot in between his dazed friends. Before the ghost hunters could even turn around, the specter teleported, once again, directly in front of the cowering students and frightened townspeople.
Spectra raised the teen high above the crowd by his neck and shoved him towards the confused humans. As an automatic reflex, Danny reached up to grasp at the hand crushing his windpipe. His tiny child-like fingers clawed at Spectra's tight hold without much success.
"Oh come on, people! You honestly can't be that stupid. Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom. It's not that difficult to figure out."
The people gasped. No one even bothered trying to deny what the ghost was implying- they all knew it was true. Eyes wide with new knowledge, a rush of understanding brushed against their minds. Everyone finally understood why the trio disappeared all the time; their jokes made sense now, their attitudes today were acceptable ones considering the mental abuse Danny was put through, their dropping grades and fearless behavior whenever a ghost attack happened were finally recognized. It was all so clear now- why hadn't they seen it before?
As if she read their minds, Spectra brought Danny closer to herself and grinned at his foggy expression. "You all were just to biased to notice what was right in front of your faces. You all believed Danny to be a lazy teen who would never amount to anything. Daniel here doesn't mean to fall asleep in class, he's always up fighting ghosts every night. He doesn't mean to not turn in his homework, he just doesn't have time to do. He doesn't mean to be late for school, he just decides that a person's life is more important than him getting to class on time. You all saw the signs, why didn't you act upon them? Couldn't you all tell that there was something different about Danny?"
Thrusting the struggling teen towards his stunned parents, Spectra looked sympathetic towards Danny for a moment and angry at the ghost hunters. "And you two! You were always so busy trying to invent new things to capture and dissect ghosts that you never even noticed what was going on with your own son! Every day he came home with a gash on his face, side or back, a gnarly bruise on his arms, legs or torso, and a broken bone here or there. Did you care enough to notice? NO! Everyone here knows that Daniel isn't a good liar, and yet you managed to fall for his "I'm fine" excuse every time. You sicken me."
Once again addressing all of Amity Park, Spectra narrowed her beady eyes towards the crowd of horrified humans. "You all sicken me! This child is one of the most powerful beings in both of our worlds, in fact, I'm pretty sure he is the most powerful being in both of our worlds, and instead of using his abilities for his own personal gain, he decided to help humans and protect them. Even when you all used to believe he was the bad guy he didn't stop fighting! I'm sure you can't even imagine the amount of mental strain that is placed on this young boy's head. His doubt, his misery... it's... it's... delightful." Her sympathetic look quickly disappeared as she hugged the child close to her body and sniffed his hair. Little rays of white energy seeped out of Danny and into her nose as she soaked up the teens emotions like a sponge.
"Ahhhhhhhh," Spectra sighed in satisfaction and then frowned as she licked her lips. "He's almost ripe thanks to you all, but it seems as though he hasn't completely given in yet. Damn teenagers and their defiant attitudes. I guess I'll just have to break him then."
Adapting a forbidding facial expression, she suddenly brought her arm back and flung the child towards the school.
Danny flew over the lunch tables, passed his parents and slowly awakening friends, and slammed into the brick wall near the outdoor entrance of the cafeteria. The sickening crack that echoed across the whole town finally woke everyone from their shocked states. People outside of the high school pressed themselves against the fence and cried out in alarm. Students and faculty inside the field varied from covering their hands with their faces, screaming in horror, and stumbling forward as they reached out to the child. The Fenton parents screeched at the sight of their only son sinking to the ground. Both ghost hunters immediately dropped their weapons and darted towards Danny.
Big mistake.
As soon as their ghost hunting gear hit the floor, Spectra surrounded the crying parents with a powerful energy field and flung them towards the students by the fence. When they and the rest of Casper Highs population were in the same spot, the ghost shot an energy sphere at Sam and Tucker that sent them crashing into one of the teachers, Mr. Lancer, before conjuring up a transparent energy shield that prevented everyone from getting any closer to the suffering raven-haired teen laying on the ground, unmoving.
Nodding approvingly at her handy work, Spectra focused her eyes towards the only child still trapped in the field with her. Following her gaze, students immediately started banging against the shield while Amity Park's citizens assaulted the wired fence separating them from the battle taking place. As the ghost got closer to Danny, who was still curled up on the ground, cries became more desperate. Chocked sobs escaped students as they begged for their newly recognized hero to move.
Barking orders at the rest of the football team, Dash and his friends huddled together and slammed all their weight against the wall in front of them, successfully making the shield shudder, but that was about all it would do. Realizing that they probably wouldn't be breaking down the barrier any time soon, the humans resorted to verbal cries of warning.
Hundreds of voices pierced the mid-morning air but a only a few stood out from the others.
"DANNY, FLY OUT OF THERE NOW!" shouted a gothic looking girl in the crowd of students.
"MOVE, FENTON OR- or I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" cried a blonde-haired jock while he punched the wall with all his might.
"Danny, I swear to God if you die, I'll bring you back to life and then kill you myself! Now, RUN LIKE HELL!" a young, black teen with glasses exclaimed as he threw pieces of technology at the shield.
"Come on, Ghost Boy, we all know your stronger than that! Don't give up now, Danny!" a Hispanic girl pleaded desperately.
"I've read enough superhero comics to know that the hero always wins, but if you don't move now Danny, your chances of winning will be much smaller!" joked a red headed nerd with glasses through wet eyes.
"I always knew you were special, Daniel. I just never realized how special you were until it was too late," shouted a bald, overweight man with a somber expression.
"Oh God Danny, me of all people should know just how stubborn you and your cocky attitude can be. Where is that annoyingly taunting smirk of yours whenever a ghost attacks? Get your ghostly butt in gear and fight back now, Danny, or I will personally make your life a living hell when we get out of this," screamed an African American girl with long wavy hair as she searched her backpack for something she couldn't seem to find. "MOVE, DANNY!"
Said teen shifted suddenly and, with a great deal of effort, lifted his blood matted head in the direction he heard someone shout his name. A large gash leaked warm red with a hint of green blood down the side of his face and trickled to the ground as he fought to stand up. Vision still unfocused, he could barely make out thousands of colors dancing around in the distance. Screams, on the other hand, he could hear perfectly. They sounded like the cries of people he knew and suddenly more anxious to find out what was going on, Danny pushed himself to his feet only to be sent flying towards the colors a second later and slamming into a wall before them.
The people pounding on the shield jumped back in surprise as Spectra launched the child at them. Another crack ridiculed throughout Amity as the blue-eyed boy sank to his butt and leaned his back against the dome behind him. Blood continued to pour out of the cut on his temple and his left hand was now bent at an odd angle. More horrified cries shot out to the dazed boy as he tried to remember how he had gotten into this situation and who was shouting.
"Oh would you all stop screaming? He's been through much worse you know, it's not like he's going to die. I need him alive."
Squinting up into the horizon the child noticed a dark figure silently approaching where he was laying. Memories of the past two days circulated through his mind as he finally remembered where he was and who was in front of him.
"S-Spectra?" Danny croaked as he bent over on his side and coughed up blood.
The women paused for a minute above the young teen before grabbing a fistful of his hair and raising him off the ground right in front of the crowd of people banging on the shield and begging for Spectra to let him go.
"Oh nonononono- this just will not do!" she announced as she examined the struggling teen in her arms. "If you even have enough energy to lift your head then I haven't buried you into a deep enough pool of misery yet, and if I want to become the most powerful ghost in all the Ghost Zone, I need you to be as empty as a hollow turtle shell." She smirked before turning the boy so he faced his trapped town.
The child's eyes widened in surprise as he gazed at his classmates, friends, and family punching the transparent barrier in front of them so hard there were traces of blood on the glass like substance. Hands of all colors reached out towards Danny as tears of sorrow and regret rolled down everyone's cheeks. Shouts and cries filled his ears as he easily picked out two people near the front of the spectators.
The great Dash Baxter, King of Casper High, was kicking and shoving the shield like his life depended on it. He was screaming something and his eyes never left Danny's. But what surprised the raven-haired teen the most, was the fear on Dash's face; not for himself, but for Danny and his wellbeing. Dash, the boy who had picked on him since middle school was scared for Danny. Danny always thought that if he ever died, or was attacked by some random ghost, Dash would take pleasure in seeing him being beaten up, Danny Phantom or not; but this... Baxter actually looked like he was ready to cry.
Paulina Sanchez was pounding on the barrier, breaking every one of her perfectly manicured nails in the process. Her hair was a mess, sashayed around in different directions, her makeup was smeared, and tears streamed down her face. For once, she wasn't looking at Danny through lustful eyes or with a disgusted look on her face. Paulina looked like she actually cared, like she was worried for him because she didn't want to see him hurt, not because she was in love with "Danny Phantom." His eyes made contact with hers and she quickly mouthed:
"I'm so sorry."
His family was frantic. The ghost hunter's son eyed his sister, mother, and father who were all screaming at him. His teachers, Mr. Lancer and Mrs. Teslaf among the few, we're looking sorrowfully upon their student. Mr. Lancers face was soaked and even his gym teacher had a small tear glistening in her cheek as she angrily attacked the wall, cursing like a sailor the whole time.
Nerds, goths, geeks, A-Listers, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, teachers, students, adults, teens, bystanders, neighbors, news anchors, his whole town- all crying and screaming while they desperately tried to save him from the ghost's grasp.
He was the hero. He was supposed to be saving them, not the other way around.
Danny reached his hands out towards everyone. This only made the humans cry harder in despair, but a few pressed their hands on the shield as they tried to reach out to Danny also. Then, Danny remembered what everyone had said about him, what his parents had said about him, and suddenly the tears flowed harder and his hand slowly slipped off the energy barrier.
For a minute, all was silent, only a few sniffles and silent cries could be heard as Danny continued to stare into the eyes of Amity Park and they stared back.
Then, his screams shook the atmosphere around him as Spectra shoved her hand into his back and electrocuted him from within. Blue and white energy crackled around Danny as his arms shot outwards and his eyes lit up with white light. His cries of pain awakened everyone again and they screamed in horror at the sight of an innocent 14 year old boy being tortured. Spectra didn't stop for a good 20 seconds and when she did, she tossed the twitching boy on the ground as if he were a rag doll. Curses and helpless screeches from the humans had absolutely no effect on the ghost.
More multicolored blood oozed out of new wounds on Danny's arms, legs, and face as he lay limply on his back with his arms out above his head and feet sprawled in a small straddle. His eyes were filled with shock and pain as he slowly slipped in and out of consciousness.
Spectra, upon seeing this, knew that if Danny passed out, she couldn't have any more fun with him, so she allowed her claws to extend to their full amount and lunged at the dazed child. Mercifully, she sunk her pointer fingers claws into the palms of his hands.
The teens howls of pain once again caused an uproar among the spectators as they helplessly watched their hero arch his back and cry into the open air. Hands pinned and spirit broken, the child could do nothing but scream and whimper. Eventually he stopped moving altogether and just looked up at the ghost grinning above him. His eyes were empty and Spectra grinned in victory.
Danny had finally given in.
Sobs escaped the still trapped humans as Jack Fenton shouted "NO, SON!" His optimistic attitude continuing until the end. His wife was on her knees, hands covering her face as she muttered over and over again, "My baby, my poor baby."
The ghost had won.
Everyone's hope continued to dwindle by a thread before a young girl pushed her way towards the front of the crowd. Her short black hair, dark clothing, and boots squeezed their way through the maze of people as her angry voice forced everyone around her to stop and stare in shock.
"Goddammit, Danny. Get. The. Hell. Up!"
The young girl pounded one fist against the barrier and actually made a small, hairline crack in it. People around her backed away as they glanced between the girl and Danny, recognizing that this was one of the half ghosts' best friends. His other friend, an African American boy obsessed with technology, also weaved his way towards Sam and stood beside her, staring with wide eyes at his best friend lying in a bloody mess on the ground.
"I don't give a rats ass what everyone else has been saying. Yes, they screwed up pretty badly. Yes, they hurt you. But Danny, they're only human, and humans... humans make mistakes- stupid mistakes. But has that ever stopped you? You always have this strong attitude, you always smile through the pain, and joke about things when you're in rough situations. I miss that Danny. The Danny that used to roll his eyes at the sight of a ghost, the Danny that told corny jokes and exchanged countless witty banter with his enemies, the Danny that never gave up, no matter how difficult the situation got. I know that Danny isn't gone. He's just hiding because he's afraid of being rejected again."
The girl's voice quivered slightly as she sucked in a deep breath and stared right into the Halfa's eyes. "Danny, the truth is you can't change what you are. The only thing that can change are people, people and their damn opinions are the only things that need to change cause you don't have to."
The child being addressed quietly listened to one of his best friends trying to help motivate him. It almost brought a smile to his face to see how hard she was trying, how hard everyone was trying. Danny let his eyes gaze across the crowed at their tear streaked faces and desperate looks.
They needed him to be strong. He was the hero. They've been trying to save him this whole time, and now it was his turn.
Seconds turned into minutes as the pregnant pause caused discomfort among the sniffling humans. The silence was finally broken when a disruptive laugh shattered the awkwardness in the air.
"Oh dear girl, what did you think your little speech of yours would do? Help him regain his spirit? Please, this isn't some naive little cartoon show. This is real life, and in real life people die, they give up, they give in, and happy endings don't happen. Ever. The Danny you know is gone forever, lost in-"
"Spectra..."
Eyes widening with surprise and uncertainty, the ghost turned her head away from the humans and faced the grinning teen below her.
"...You talk to much."
With a triumphant shout, Danny brought his knees to his stomach and kicked the women with the strength of a bulldozer. Her nails exiting the teen in the process, the ghost screamed as she skidded across the dirt and grass only to crash into a lunch table on the other edge of the field. Relief washed over Amity Park as Danny Fenton slowly got to his feet and whipped some blood off of his wounded hands. Upon hearing them cheer, Danny turned and gave the spectators a hesitant smile before assuming a fighting stance and smiling challengingly at Spectra.
"Jeez Spectra, you're looking older ever time I see you," the teen joked, trying to recover. Everyone could see he was having trouble maintaining the sarcastic front.
With a growl, Spectra propped herself up by one hand and glared menacingly at the teen. "YOU! You're supposed to be broken, lost, empty. No one recovers that fast from pool of misery!" she shrieked.
Smiling once again towards his town watching him through hopeful eyes, the young superhero rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "I guess seeing everyone trying so hard to help me, hearing all of them try to save me when I was supposed to be saving them, kind of woke me up."
Catching Samantha Manson and Tucker Foleys gazes, he silently thanked them a thousand times in his head. "And I guess Sam was right. I can't change what I am, the only thing that can change are people's attitudes and opinions about me, and it looks like that's already happening." He smirked as his attention once again found its way back towards the ghost women.
With a roar, the specter launched herself into the air and charged at Danny. Yelping in surprise, the teen conjured up an energy shield and blocked the raging ghost women as she continuously assaulted his only protection. Spectra's black energy pounded the Halfa and pushed him back a few feet, but she still kept attacking.
"Tucker, where's the thermos?" cried Danny as he winced from the pain in his palms.
A determined look spreading across the techno geeks face, and an overjoyed one overcoming everyone else's, the boy nodded at his struggling friend.
"I got it, Danny, just hold on a little longer!"
"That's a lot harder than you make it sound considering I have holes in my hands!"
Rolling his eyes, but internally grateful to have his friend back, Tucker reached behind him and grasped the belt loop on his buckle only to discover that the thermos wasn't there. Gasping worryingly, the African American boy turned towards Sam who shook her head fiercely. Eyes wide, the two teens slowly turned their heads towards the table they had been eating lunch at.
"Oh no," muttered the goth girl quietly. "Danny, the thermos is in Tuck's backpack!" she shouted and pointed in the general direction of their table.
Quietly cursing the world out in his head, Danny dropped the shield and, tapping slightly into his ghost powers, flew towards the three colored bags on the floor of a table in the center of the courtyard. Spectra, realizing that her prey got away, raced after the fleeing child.
Upon reaching the backpacks, Danny turned around to see Spectra gaining on him fast. Kneeling on the ground and quickly picking out Tucker's bag, he reached in and pointed the cylinder container at the oncoming specter.
"HA!"
Spectra paused mid-flight and awaited the blinding blue light to swallow her whole, but it never came.
"Danny... that's a regular thermos."
"TUCKER!"
"What? It was my lunch!"
Groaning in irritation, the Halfa flung Tucker's lunch to the ground and reached once more into the backpack he was holding. But Spectra had already recovered and roughly grabbed the teen by his shirt to raise him to her eye level.
"You are a pain in my neck. How can you be so... happy and ready to fight after what they did to you? They called you worthless! Your own parents, your whole town, the world. And yet you're still fighting. Pathetic. How many times do I have to break you down in order for you to learn to stay down," she growled.
The boy in her arms simply smiled at her and raised the Fenton thermos in his hands to point it at her head. "How many times do I need to keep shoving you back into the Ghost Zone for you to learn the hero always wins."
As a last ditch effort to escape, Spectra shrieked and dropped the child in her arms, attempting to teleport away in a flash. But, the power she had gathered from the Halfa and his two friends wasn't enough to allow her to teleport so quickly. As the beam from the thermos fired, Spectra bellowed and clawed the ground, tearing chunks of grass and soil up in the process. Before she was sucked up, she shouted at Danny.
"You think this is the end, Halfa? It's only the beginning! Everyone knows what you are now and even though they pretend to accept you, you'll always be a freak in their minds." With one last evil laugh, the ghost disappeared into the container and her transparent energy shield shattered.
Danny blinked.
Once.
Twice.
His vision blurred as he began to pass out from losing so much blood. His mind replayed Spectra's last words over and over again, absorbing them against his will. And just when he started to believe those words were true again, he looked up at his freed town and their relieved faces. They were crying from happiness and rushing towards him as he collapsed on the ground. His parents, friends, sister, teachers, classmates.
They didn't hate him.
They didn't think he was a freak.
They cared.
They accepted him.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o
A/N: Hello readers. This story is just a bunch of fully developed one-shots or two-shots for your enjoyment. Every chapter reveals Danny's secret in some way. I'm never going to put this story on hiatus or hold or discontinue it.
Since this is just a fanfic that I'm filling with a bunch of other fanfics when I come up with a new idea, I would really appreciate it if the reviews wouldn't consist of someone yelling UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE. I will update whenever I have an idea, or whenever you guys give me one.
Edit: Sorry for the cliche angsty chapter. Every DP writer has to have one from when they were a kid.