"Mr. Lancer!" Danny all but shouted as his hand shot up in the air. The gasp that had left him with a chill down his spine meant one thing to him – ghosts.
His teacher turned towards him with a frown, irritated that his lecture was interrupted.
"What, Mr. Fenton?" He asked sarcastically, obviously knowing the answer.
"I have to use bathroom," Danny said quickly. He hated when a ghost attacked during school hours. His conspicuous absence during class time couldn't go unnoticed forever.
"Mr. Fenton," Lancer said sternly. "You cannot continue to disrupt this class so carelessly. You may not use the facilities. This class is over in thirty minutes, I trust you can wait."
Panic ripped through Danny as another shudder racked him, causing him to gasp again. The ghost was much closer. Beside him, Sam had her phone out, hopefully letting Dani know of the ghost near Casper High.
Three more months, Danny thought crossly.
"Sir, it's an emergency," Danny replied urgently. He stared pleadingly at his teacher, trying to tell the man mentally to let him go.
The man returned his stare, a spark of impatience in his eyes. Danny wanted to burn the Shakespeare book he held in his hands.
A shatteringly loud alarm nearly deafened Danny's hypersensitive hearing before Lancer could reply. Lancer's face looked comically panicked as he realised the ghost alarm was going off.
The Ghost Alarm had been installed a few weeks ago by his parents. He'd agreed wholeheartedly to it at the time – if a ghost shield was around Casper High, it meant if he wasn't near the school, it could be protected. When a ghost was detected within half a kilometer the shield would be deployed, and the alarm would alert his parents. The shield was meant be a safeguard. Now, he wouldn't be able to leave as Phantom, and the school authorities certainly wouldn't let him leave as Fenton. It was against their protocols Danny had helped create behind the scene with his parents help. They'd tuned his and Danielle's ecto-signature so they didn't set the alarm off, even though Dani was being homeschooled by Jack and hadn't spent much time near the highschool. It had been a good idea.
Nice work, Fenton, he thought. Of course he hadn't realised this was a potential outcome. He'd always figured he would be able to get out before the shield went up. A ghost shield was a ghost shield. His parents hadn't been able to make one that let certain ghosts through. They'd tried explaining it to him, but he'd given up after they started talking about generator capabilities.
Him not setting the alarm off was all he'd cared about, as Danny Fenton was decidedly not at all ghostly or worth the notice of his peers. It was a good system.
Lancer began shouting instructions at the class. Danny realised he had never participated in a ghost drill as he'd always left before any teacher knew of a ghost's presence. The few times there had been a situation involving ghosts he was usually fighting he always claimed he'd hid in the bathroom.
In all the chaos, Danny noticed Valerie slip out the door. He began to slide his way over to the door, when Mr. Lancer caught him.
"Mr. Fenton! Away from the door, and into the middle of the classroom!"
Danny gaped at Mr. Lancer. He wasn't going to be able to sneak out yet, he realised.
With a last glance out the door, he reluctantly slunk his way next to Sam and Tucker.
Sam shot him a worried look. He shrugged in response.
The alarm continued blaring as the green glow from the ghost shield tinted the light from the windows in the room.
Danny stared worriedly out the window, knowing his parents and Dani were on the way and probably scanning the skies for him.
Tucker stiffened beside him as Danny let out another gasp, stronger than the rest had been.
"Never thought this would happen," Danny muttered. He could only hope Valerie was able to hold her own against whatever ghost was out there. It had to be a powerful one to have set his ghost sense off multiple times. It was getting closer.
"We can cover for you," Sam murmured in his ear. Danny shook his head in response.
"No, Lancer's too close to the door. He knows without question that I'm in the room." He communicated with a glance the he wasn't able to say much else, as they were surrounded by quietly chattering teens. He couldn't sustain a duplicate for long enough to try and escape invisibly. He could leave intangibly, he knew, but how could he explain his sudden absence? He'd been noticed today, which made everything harder. How much did he value his secret?
Tucker frowned. "We could distract Lancer and you could make a run for it," He suggested, and Danny perked up.
Sam snorted. "Yeah, but why would anyone want to escape the safe and secure classroom to run towards the danger? If we do it, there will be a lot of questions raised," she rationalized.
"I could say I really needed to pee," Danny half-heartedly suggested. In hindsight, they really should have thought of a plan for a situation like this. It was ridiculous that he was so far in the game and this was what would stop him from helping.
Tucker grimaced in response, but held up his PDA.
"Valerie is heading back this way. You parents are about five minutes away. They need to work on their response time," He said. The PDA showed two flashing dots, one much closer to the middle of the screen that showed their location.
The alarm died in the same moment the ghost shield fell with an enormous crack.
Danny's ghost sense once again went off, and he realised he might have a big problem on his hands in a moment.
"Whatever ghost is coming just shattered the ghost shield," He said. Sam rolled her eyes, probably because she hated it when people stated the obvious.
Her muttered "No shit, Sherlock," proved it.
Danny casually stood from his position on the ground, facing the door. Whatever was coming had to be coming for him.
Beside him, both Sam and Tucker stood. Sam casually adjusted her wrist rays into a more ready position. Tucker's bag was partially unzipped and clutched in his left hand. Danny knew he had an ecto-gun ready to go inside it.
The strongest gasp yet, and Danny narrowed his eyes. If his secret was revealed today, so be it. The safety of the people in this school was first.
The ghost that flew intangibly in the room was not who he was expecting, but the relief was nearly covered by his anger.
"Amigo!" Wulf huffed as he saw Danny, stepping in the room through the wall. His green tracksuit was ripped in places, and there was dried ectoplasm covering his left arm. He had definitely been through a bit before showing up here, and Danny angrily wondered if it was Valerie who did this.
Behind him, Paulina screamed.
Lancer had startled when the portal went down, but his yelp of fear and quick retreat was much more obvious. He did, however, stand between Wulf and his students. Danny thought it rather noble.
The tense and fearful atmosphere worsened as Wulf took a step forward, his right clawed paw held up in a nonthreatening way.
It was nonthreatening to Danny, Sam and Tucker, but not his other classmates. Danny could hear Paulina start crying behind him, and his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of speeding heartbeats. Thankfully, they were experienced enough in attacks to remain mostly calm.
Wulf cocked his head at the reactions he got from the humans. Danny shook his head lightly, trying to tell the friendly ghost now wasn't the time.
Wulf wasn't the smartest ghost Danny had met, but at least he was loyal. The motion for him to leave was completely missed by Wulf, who gestured to his bloodied arm.
"Hurt," The wolf moaned in Esperanto. He dropped onto three legs, the injured arm tucked closely to his side. His bushy tail was lifeless behind him.
Danny seethed at the injuries his friend had received. He didn't know if it had been Valerie, but he needed her to understand not all ghosts were evil sooner than later.
She'd come to light with Dani, hadn't she? After his ghost side had saved the world with the help of all those ghosts, he'd hoped she would start to consider who she was attacking. Heck, his parents finally understood some ghosts were good, like Dora and Frostbite and Wulf, and some were bad, like The Fright Night and Plasmius. He frowned at the unresolved problem he had with Vlad, but knew now wasn't the time.
He took a step forward, standing beside Lancer, who panicked.
"Stay behind me!" He snapped worriedly. Danny held up his hands.
"Mr. Lancer, he's hurt. I know about ghosts because my parents, and he doesn't want to hurt us," He said, hoping it would be enough to ease suspicion. He needed to help Wulf immediately.
"But-," Lancer said as he considered the ghost before them. Danny thought Wulf looked like an enormous puppy with the way he was crouched, silently pleading with Danny for help.
Danny took another step forward, and Wulf snuffed the air in his direction hopefully.
Danny heard the engine of Valerie's sled the same moment Wulf did, as the both immediately swivelled towards the door.
Wulf gave a look that read pure annoyance, and Danny figured that Valerie hadn't been responsible for Wulf's condition.
They exchanged a quick look, and Wulf shuffled forward to crouch beside Danny. Lancer squeaked oddly, but Danny was impressed that he didn't back away like everyone but Sam and Tucker had.
The door burst open, and The Red Huntress examined the room before leveling her blaster at Wulf, who growled in return.
Danny jumped in front of Wulf, arms wide.
"No, stop! He's hurt!" Danny shouted at Valerie, who motioned with her gun for him to move.
Behind him, Wulf growled again. Danny shot a warning look at him, and the enormous wolf flicked an ear in acknowledgement.
The Red Huntress hovered a tad closer, and a voice that was still Valerie's though disguised in a strange accent said, "Move, kid. That ghost was trying to attack this school."
Danny gestured at the ghost behind him. "Does he look like he's trying to attack anyone?" He returned.
Danny could almost taste the disbelief and confusion from Valerie.
"Yes," She promptly replied.
Danny glanced behind him to see Wulf had his claws out and lips were pulled back in a threatening snarl. At Danny's look, the snarl vanished and his ears flicked forward, an embarrassed look crossing his face.
Danny just shook his head, and held his hand out in front of him, fingers wide.
"Just let him go, okay? He's not going to hurt anyone, he's injured himself, he needs help," He exclaimed.
Valerie just shook her head. "Out of the way!"
As though it had been rehearsed beforehand, Lancer pulled Danny aside and Valerie let the shot go.
Danny watched as it smashed into Wulf's injured shoulder. The enormous wolf let out a howl before jumping towards Valerie.
The Red Huntress was ready however, as she whipped out her thermos and sucked Wulf in, whose howl echoed with the whine of the thermos.
Danny shoved Lancer off him without thinking and jumped towards Valerie.
"No! Let him go!" He shouted. He felt a hand on his arm, and he had to physically stop himself from turning intangible.
Valerie was already leaving the room, her hover board carrying her through the open door. Danny whirled around to see Sam was the one holding him back, a concerned Tucker right beside her.
The rest of the class was against the far wall, staring in shock at the scene.
Danny was panting heavily, the magnitude of his failure to help hitting him like a ton of bricks.
Lancer was shakily getting up from where Danny had unintentionally shoved him. It was a surprising distance away from where they had been standing originally.
"What the fuck, man," Dash's voice rang out. Danny gave him a look far from what he normally would have, and Dash backed down in surprise.
His parents megaphone rang out, gaining the attention of everyone.
"The ghost threat is over, students and faculty, thanks to the quick work of The Red Huntress. Please return to your regularly scheduled classes," His mother's voice rang out.
With one last disgusted look at Mr. Lancer, Danny stormed out of the classroom towards his parents. They would have questions regarding his ghost half's absence, he was certain.
Lancer's demands that he stop were ignored. Danny knew he had crossed some sort of line today trying to protect a ghost in front of his entire class, but Wulf was an important friend.
He ran into Valerie in the hall, something he hadn't thought about. She offered him a half-hearted smile, and Danny knew she was struggling to remain neutral and as though it wasn't her he'd just shouted at.
It took a great deal of self-control to not react to her. He walked by, choosing to completely ignore her.
He felt her offended surprise and confusion as he walked away. He turned the corner, and waited until he heard her enter the classroom.
Alone in the hall, Danny phased through the lockers, going ghost in the middle of the wall.
He knew he would set off Valerie's ghost alarms, but banked on her having a difficult time getting out of the classroom again. He had to find where she put the thermos with Wulf.
Approaching his parents RV invisibly and intangibly, he hit the button on his new watch that let them know he was about to appear.
They were ready when he popped in beside them, and his mother hugged him. Dani was sitting angrily in the seat opposite them, clearly human.
"Were you not able to get out of class?" His father asked, and Danny nodded, an ugly look on his face.
Jack sighed. "We figured something like this might happen. Lancer called us about your falling grades the other day, Danny-boy."
Danny shook his hand angrily at his father's words. "The ghost that attacked was a friend. The Red Huntress captured him. He's hurt, he needs help," He explained, trying to get them to understand.
"The Red Huntress has been working with us under Vlad's orders," Maddie reminded Danny. Danny knew it was because Vlad was using her to spy on his whole family now. "We have the thermos with the ghost in it. We'll head back to the lab and see what we can do to help him."
Danny frowned. "No, he wouldn't have come to me like this unless it was important. I need to be there."
His parents regarded him, before Maddie sighed and pulled Valerie's red thermos from the RV's containment unit. She tossed it at Danny, who caught it with a disbelieving look.
"We'll meet you at home. Vlad might still show up since he's mayor of the town, and we need to keep up appearances," Maddie said. She turned to Dani, who had remained quiet since Danny's arrival.
"You go with your brother. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," She said, and Dani's laugh rang through the RV.
"No promises, but I'll do my best," She chirped. Danny tapped his foot impatiently.
"C'mon, Danielle, let's go," Danny said, shooting one last grateful look at his parents.
Turning invisible, he phased through the RV. He felt Dani change, and seconds later sensed her flying alongside him.
"They still not letting you out to fight?" Danny asked, correctly reading his honorary sister's mood.
Danny knew she was making a face, though he couldn't see it.
"Yeah, something about you being more experienced and older and whatever. I definitely can hold my own against you, and you're stronger than every ghost out there!" She said angrily.
Danny sighed. "I know you're strong. They do too. But we haven't been able to sort out the Vlad problem. I think they're trying to protect you from him."
"I don't care about Vlad," Danielle muttered, but Danny knew she understood just as he did about the danger regarding Plasmius.
After his parents had discovered their once best friend had tried multiple times to destroy their family, they'd sat down and tried to think of a plan.
Jazz had suggested the plan they had right now – pretend ignorance until Vlad showed his hand again. They were outmatched and outgunned against the older half-ghost. Danny had explained multiple times that if Vlad knew they knew his secret, their lives were forfeit. He could ruin them in so many ways. Any move they made against him would have repercussions Danny didn't want to think about.
The moment Vlad had realised Dani was back in town, he'd cornered Danny. Danny had been able to squirm his way out, reassuring Vlad that his parents didn't know anything, and that they bought Danny's story about the younger girl being a homeless youth Danny convinced his parents to take in because of her resemblance to the family.
It had been a thin cover-up, and Vlad hadn't been happy. He threatened Danny and those close to him multiple times to make sure his secret stayed safe. Vlad was currently oblivious to his parent's knowing about Danny's alter ego. Danny didn't know how long he could keep the lie going.
It was why whenever Danny was near his parents as Phantom he was invisible, and why Dani wasn't out fighting ghosts. There were a lot of chess pieces on the board, and Danny was having a difficult time keeping track of them all. Plasmius was more than capable of stealing a few pieces when Danny wasn't paying attention.
The worst part was Danny didn't have to act afraid whenever Vlad threatened him. He was unhinged and desperate for Danny to like him. A part of Danny thought Vlad knew that his secret was out and was planning his revenge. It was exhausting.
His parents had the hardest bit. They had to pretend as though nothing had changed.
His father had taken it as a bit of a game. Whenever Vlad was around the house, Jack did all he could to annoy the man as an act of petty revenge. On a memorable occasion Jack had dragged Vlad down to the lab and handed him a few devices made to harm ghosts that touched them. Vlad had skillfully extracted himself from Jack's clutches, and made a quick escape.
His mother simply remained the same, distant and disapproving of Vlad's presence around the house. It was unchanged, and Vlad seemed oblivious.
There was always a sour note in the house after the manipulating billionaire left, but also a sense of relief.
It was becoming nearly impossible keeping everything balanced with who knew what about whom, but Danny was able to manage thanks to the support of Jazz, Dani, Sam, and Tucker.
It was far from ideal. But right now, it was the only thing they had. They needed more time to expose Vlad. They needed a plan and support.
Danny's thoughts returned to the situation at hand as they approached FentonWorks.
Turning visible, the two halfa's phased through to the basement lab. Danny immediately released Wulf, who leapt out of the thermos growling with rage.
Dani, who hadn't met Wulf, was startled by the apparently violent ghost, and dropped into a battle stance.
"Amigo!" Wulf relaxed after spotting Danny. He rushed forward and grabbed Danny in a one armed hug.
"Hey, Wulf," Danny gasped through the bone crushing hug.
Wulf's tongue lolled out of his mouth happily, before he turned to inspect Dani.
"Who are you?" Wulf asked. Dani smiled timidly at the unfamiliar words.
"This is my sister, Danielle Phantom," Danny told Wulf. "Danielle, this is Wulf."
Wulf grabbed her in a hug as well. Danny snickered.
"Family of Danny is also my family," Wulf said. Dani politely extracted herself from the ghost, and there was moment of silence.
"Wulf, who hurt you?" Danny finally asked, moving forward to inspect the wound. The thick fur and sweatshirt blocked his view of what must be a gruesome injury.
Wulf growled. "Walker. He's after me again."
Danny sighed. "No surprise there," He muttered. He pulled his anthropomorphic friend over to the section of the lab where his parents had set up a tiny emergency care area.
"How did you escape?" Danny asked. Danielle had grabbed some bandages and a disinfectant that was designed to work on ghosts. She remained politely silent as they worked, but Danny could feel her curiosity about their conversation.
Wulf's thick fur made it hard to work, and Danny thought they might had to shave the area.
"Same way I always do. Portal." Wulf grunted as Danny prodded his injury.
Danny frowned at him. Beside them, Danielle was watching intently, trying to understand what was being said.
"I need to take your hair from the injury," Danny said. His Esperanto was shaky still, and it was difficult for him to try and get his point across. He wished Tucker was there.
Wulf stared blankly at him for a moment before he nodded in understanding. "Shave fur."
They set to work removing the hair with a pair of scissors Dani had located after Danny had asked. Aside from the occasional whimper from Wulf, it was quiet.
Eventually Wulf's arm was sporting a sling to support his injury, and his tattered green sweatshirt was discarded in the trash.
"You'll probably be better by the end of the week, but you have to take it easy," Danny said slowly. Wulf seemed to be struggling with the English, and after a moment of hesitation, Danny said, "Few days of sitting."
His friend nodded in understanding, and enthusiastically licked Danny's cheek. He leapt backwards in disgust, wiping at the slime.
Jack and Maddie arrived at the house almost two hours later, Sam and Tucker with them. The two hybrids and ghost were sitting on the couch, watching television. Danny spent more time watching Wulf, who was completely engrossed by the moving picture, and would occasionally repeat the English words he heard and recognised.
Wulf was momentarily oblivious to their arrival as he focused on the television screen, but Jack's sharp intake of breath upon seeing the ghost brought his attention away from the screen.
Danny swiftly stood, placing a warning hand on Wulf's uninjured arm.
"Mom, Dad, this is Wulf. He's the ghost who can create portals. I told you about him," Danny said. He was happy his parents were finally in a situation they knew something about. He'd so often found himself explaining constantly to them now, first about his ghost half and then Dani and his complex relationship with Vlad.
Sam and Tucker eased themselves around his uncertain parents, and Wulf's tail wagged excitedly at their approach.
"My friends!" The ghost shouted, and he bounded towards them in an awkward three legged hobble.
At the ghosts' quick approach, his father pulled his mother backwards, shielding her with his larger frame. She immediately shoved at him, and stepped beside him. They didn't react beyond that, even as Wulf grabbed both Sam and Tucker in a one armed hug.
"I have missed my human friends! How are you both?" Wulf asked, sniffing Tucker's hat.
"We're doing okay, bud. We missed you too," Tucker replied, gently pushing the giant maw away from his head.
Wulf turned his attention to Sam, giving her a lick on the side of her face. She groaned. "Good to see you too," She told him, wiping at the saliva.
Dani had slid up to Danny, and watched the interactions with the same interest as Maddie and Jack showed.
"What language are they speaking?" She asked. "I heard you speaking it earlier with Wulf too."
Maddie and Jack looked curiously at Danny, obviously wondering as well.
"Esperanto," He told them. "The first time we met Wulf, only Tucker could speak to him. We've run into him a few times since and learned bits so we could talk to him too."
Danny saw his mother mouthing the word Esperanto, looking curiously at the enormous ghost still greeting Tucker and Same.
"Do you speak any English?" Maddie asked Wulf clearly. The wolf focused on her, and almost seemed to purse his lips.
"Not much English. Danny help learn," Wulf said. He looked happy, but turned his head to Danny as though worried he'd accidentally said something wrong.
"Danny is helping me learn," He corrected easily. Wulf repeated the words, facing Maddie again.
"I am Maddie, and this is Jack," Maddie said slowly, motioning to herself and then his father. Jack gave a little wave.
"Maddie," The ghost said. He stepped forward and stuck out his right paw. "I am Wulf."
Maddie bravely shook the giant wolf's paw, who turned to look at Danny in delight, his enormous tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.
Wulf shuffled to stand in front of Jack, who looked at Wulf with an almost excited expression.
"Jack," Wulf murmured. "I am Wulf."
Danny's heart felt fit to burst as he watched the proceedings. Beside him, Dani beamed at their parent's interaction with the ghost. Danny wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders, and hugged her tight. She giggled and phased out of his grip.
Danny knew the next few days at school would be difficult. He'd nearly exposed himself to help his ghostly friend, and he would definitely have a lot of explaining to do to some curious people, but for now he couldn't help but beam with happiness.
It was the little things like this that made what he did worth it. He could let his uncertain future disturb him, or he could focus on the things that were real, like his family and friends.
He'd originally set out to protect his city from ghosts, but it was more than that now. He was starting to become a bridge between the ghost and human worlds. He was one of the few who could bring both sides together peacefully, he realised.
Tucker and Wulf had started chattering excitedly in Esperanto too complicated for Danny to easily follow. His parents seemed slightly dazed, and Danielle had gone to sit next to them.
He smiled at Sam, who smiled shyly back.
There was trouble ahead, he knew, but pushing that aside was easy as he approached Sam and grabbed her hand. They headed to the couch, hoping to watch a movie surrounded by their loved ones.
As he stared at Sam's face, Danny knew that as long as his family and friends were near, things might just be okay.
A/N
To be quite honest, I wasn't sure where I was going when I began writing this one. It's mostly just practise writing for me, but I can't help but want feedback. I know there must be a desire for a Vlad showdown, and I promise nothing as I don't know what, if anything, I'll write about next. It'll be a surprise for us all!
