GLE - Greetings everyone! Wow! I'm amazed with the response to this story, you guys are all super-awesome! In fact, I was trying to finish some chapters for other stories, but decided to put them off once again to update this one as soon as possible since you seem to love it so much! I wanted to try and post this on Canada Day, but I didn't quite make it (as you can see), so, well, Happy Belated 139th Canada Day! Thanks again to my roommate, Esme, for editing this chapter and helping me work out some minor plot details. I've been really excited about a scene in this chapter for a while, so now you all finally get to see it! Enjoy!

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Do Superheroes Exist?

The Devastating Blow

Sam and Tucker sat sullenly in Mr. Lancer's classroom after school on Monday, watching as the clock ticked away slowly. Mr. Lancer himself was engrossed in a book, casually leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. Apart from him, Sam and Tucker, there was no one else in the room.

Sam shifted her eyes towards her friend and whispered softly, "How fair is it that we ended up in this because of taking the fall for Danny, again, while he gets to go home on time?"

"Miss Manson!" warned Mr. Lancer looking up from his book. "Need I remind you that there is no talking, or whispering, in detention?"

Sam was startled a moment for being caught, but recovered quickly and shook her head. She held back a sigh and Tucker gave her a sympathetic look. Can't do anything about it now, he seemed to say with his eyes. She nodded in understanding and turned her attention to the window. There was nothing else to do but watch the passers-by.

A group of young adults were walking along the sidewalk outside of Casper High, their voices reaching the room Sam was sitting in. She caught some of their conversation before they moved out of range.

"I can't believe it took us all morning to do that scene! You'd think you could get that line right once!" complained a girl in her early twenties. She was carrying a black bag and a large object. Sam recognized these as film equipment - the camera in the bag, and the large object, a tripod.

"I did get it right once!" replied a guy wearing a nice shirt and tie. "The seventeenth time!"

"That's not what I meant," said the girl.

"Enough, we've got to get to the park for the next scene if we're going to finish today," interrupted a young man holding a clipboard that was marked with the local college's emblem.

"Don't get me started with you!" spoke up another girl, carrying a boom mic. "As if we're following your 'schedule'. You've changed it on us three times already today, when we've had it planned for two weeks. I was sitting on that curb for an hour waiting to do sound and we didn't get any filming done at all until you were finally ready with your angle

"Hey! Don't get mad at me! I'm the director and I'm an artist at work!" retorted the guy.

Sam smirked in amusement as the group disappeared from her view. She rested her head on her hands, continuing to stare outside, waiting for the detention to be over.

The film students made their way to Casper Park, the main green space in the city. As they were setting up their equipment, a loud roar from the sky and the toasting of a nearby tree caught their attention.

Danny Phantom was fighting with another ghost and all the people in the vicinity seemed to stop what they were doing to look on. The girl with the camera suddenly took it off of the tripod and brought it with her as she walked towards the small crowd that was forming.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked the director.

"To get a better shot of this," she answered.

"What? But you're supposed to be filming our movie!"

She simply waved a hand and ignored him, running closer to the ghosts.

Danny avoided a blast from the monster's mouth as he fired one of his own. The ghost retaliated by trying to sink its claws into him while following that up with a thrashing of its tail. Danny went intangible to avoid both. He was fighting what appeared to be a green gryphon. Upper body of an eagle, lower body of a lion, sharp talons, claws, and beak, large sweeping wings with feathers that could also act as missiles, and a tail with a spiky point, not to mention the ectoblasts it emitted from its mouth, which seemed to be its favourite power for attack. There'd already been a couple of close calls with the citizens on the street where the fight began and Danny was glad that they'd flown to the park to finish it in the air where those people would be out of harm's way.

Ok, time for the finale, Danny thought. He turned invisible, preparing for one last blow to the beast before capturing it in the thermos.

But he didn't get the chance.

Half way from his starting point to where the gryphon was hovering, something happened that neither ghost expected. While still invisible, Danny was shot in the back.

"I hit it! I actually hit it!" exclaimed an ecstatic Jack.

"Yes, dear," praised Maddie.

They were hiding behind a tree, far enough away that nobody noticed where the shot had come from. They began to move closer to the fight, while staying among the bushes.

The blast that caught Danny was specially designed to identify and lock onto invisible ghosts and to weaken ghost powers for some amount of time. Sure enough, he immediately reverted into Fenton, suddenly appearing out of thin air and pelting towards the ground. His momentary shock was replaced with panic as he was losing a battle with gravity. With tremendous effort, he forced an ectoshield to form around him and somewhat break his fall. After crashing and blanking out for a moment, plus losing the Fenton Thermos to a nearby bush, Danny's mind turned on again in overdrive.

What just hit me? He rolled over onto his back and noticed the circle of hesitant onlookers. A-all these people... What just happened? And with a sinking feeling he wondered, do they know? He began to contemplate what could've hit him, searching for the red blur of Valerie or the white swishing cape of Vlad's, though they were nowhere in sight. The gryphon roared and landed, closing in on him. No time to think!

"Danny!" cried an astonished Maddie, but her voice was drowned out by another of the monster's roars.

The boy hopped to his feet, feeling tired and slightly drained, as if he'd been fighting in a much tougher and longer battle than what he had done. He began to run, dodge, roll, duck, and jump to evade the onslaught of attacks from his opponent. The gryphon was trying to catch the boy in its talons, and used its missile feathers to direct Danny's movements, attempting to force him to have no choice but to come closer, or at least to stay within a straight line of fire for when it would eventually use its beak. Every now and then it would also whip its tail at Danny, once grazing Danny's left arm, and another time, his right leg, causing both to bleed. Danny could feel the effects of his father's weapon, but used his successes in avoiding the gryphon to boost his confidence. Even as a human, he could still hold out for a while against a ghost. But the Thermos lay out of reach beneath the bush it rolled to.

Frustration grew in the lion-bird. Coming to a peak, the ghost let loose a rather powerful ectoblast aimed at Danny. On instinct, Danny used as much strength as he could to fire back and block it, protecting both himself and those standing a little ways behind him. The blasts met and exploded, covering the area with smoke. The dust cleared to reveal Phantom, standing in Fenton's place. He was panting with effort to maintain his form. Taking to the air once more to lure the ghost away from everyone else, Danny resumed the fight. The gryphon followed him, shooting missiles that Danny let phase through him. The two ghosts became locked in a competition of ectoblasts, both firing at the same time, attempting to overcome the other, trying to push their blast closer to their opponent. A glint of light briefly caught Danny's eye, but he was too preoccupied to pay it any mind. It was a reflection of sunlight on the lense of the camera that the college film student was holding, aptly capturing everything Danny did.

Maddie and Jack Fenton watched on, mouths hanging open in shock, not wanting to fire at the ghost that was defeating their son for fear of hitting him (again) themselves.

More people were gathering in the crowd below the fight. A jogger joined in behind a woman in glasses near the back of the pack.

Danny was struggling to hold his blast against the gryphon's, let alone to stay ghost. Giving in and giving up his attack, he turned intangible to allow the monster's blast to go through him. He was concentrating hard, wanting to formulate a plan to win this, though his clouded and muddled mind wasn't helping much. And all too soon, the darkness that had been lurking in the corners of his eyes began to overwhelm him. Danny fainted. Two rings of light moved from his waist to each end of his body, transforming him back to human.

As if in slow motion, Danny started to fall. Jack bouldered his way through the crowd in haste, then dove and skidded along the ground once reaching the opening, like a baseball player would do to get to home plate before the ball. He caught Danny in time as his wife trained the Fenton Bazookaon the gryphon. Her aim was perfect and the ghost was sucked into a temporary portal back to the Ghost Zone. Jack cradled Danny close to himself as he assumed a kneeling position. The wound on Danny's leg had stopped bleeding, but not that of his arm, which dripped a little onto Jack's orange jumpsuit, staining it. Danny's hair was dirty and messy, his visible skin (face, neck, and arms) scratched and bruised, his eyes shut tight, and his breathing shallow. Jack held a deep compassion and concern for his son as he took all of this in. And somewhere, nagging near the surface, a strong sense of guilt for what he'd done, what he was responsible for...

He blinked in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Maddie stood behind him, giving Danny a brief glance before turning her attention to the more pressing matter. As Jack looked up from his son, he noticed that the crowd of people who'd watched the fight had encircled them, but kept their distance. No one spoke or moved, though everyone had some form of curiosity plastered across their face. Jack held Danny closer to his chest and Maddie muttered to him, "I think we should leave, Jack. And quickly." Agreeing completely with his wife, Jack stood and carried Danny through the crowd, which obligingly parted for the Fentons, though not without craning their necks to get a better look at the halfa in Jack's arms. Once safe in the Fenton RV, Jack gunned the engine and sped his injured son home as fast as he could go without getting into an accident.

He had arrived. Danny was standing just inside the Ghost Zone, coming through Vlad's portal (and using the knowledge that Vlad wouldn't detect him, which didn't really matter in the end since Vlad seemed to be out). He sighed. I guess this is it. He let a few memories wash over him once more before continuing forward...

..."Oh right, sorry, Phantom. That's what you like to call yourself, right? Ghost!"...

..."This is the Ghost Zone! I am a ghost!"...

..."I've thought of somewhere I can go"...

...and here I am... almost...

"Did you guys here da news?" Technus asked a group of ghosts. He'd been preparing to haunt a tv station - to gain ultimate power over all things electronic and to use the mass communication of the media to his advantage in taking over the world - when he saw the Ghost Child on a screen. Instead of following through with his plan, he decided to come here instead, and tell the others.

"What news? Walker's prison get another breakout?" asked Desiree.

"No," answered the Box Ghost. "He's talking about The Halfa. I am the Box Ghost! Bewa--!"

Skulker shoved the annoying one aside while speaking. "Something's happened to the Whelp?"

"Yes," replied Technus, smiling with his information. "Everyone in Amity Park knows his secret. It won't be long till it's spread to dee entire woild!"

Expressions of shock settled on each of the ghosts' faces.

"You're kidding, right?" said Kitty at the same time as Ember commented, "The Dipstick's halfa status no longer a secret? Well, I guess that leaves him pretty preoccupied now, doesn't it?"

The ghosts, of course, all had previous knowledge of Danny's secret identity, though none of them ever felt inclined to try and reveal it for him. In fact, some of the ghosts had used Danny's fear of being discovered to their advantage, Walker and Technus among them. With all the humans knowing, it definitely seemed that there were going to be some changes to the real world. If they supported the boy, it would get worse for the ghosts. But if they did not, then perhaps this was a blessing. They supposed they'd have to wait a couple of days to find out. Since they knew Danny was harmless in the sense that he'd never actually try to destroy them, some of them did wonder how he was taking it. But most were happy that, for at least a little while, Danny would probably not be bothering them by returning them to the Ghost Zone, like he always constantly seemed to be doing.

As the others thought about Danny's situation, Skulker slowly slipped away, and headed toward's his employer's portal. This was something Plasmius would want to know immediately.

She was pretty angry, sometimes, when she thought about it. It had been Danny to destroy her life with his stupid ghost dog! And as Fenton he'd been flirting with her, while knowing the entire time that he was two-timing her. He'd been playing with fire! But then, she'd either get confused or sad, or both. Why hadn't Danny told her? And who was he, really? She'd known him from two complete opposite dynamics - as a human, he was cute and clumsy and she liked him, but as a ghost... well, hatred was the nicest way to put it. How could she have neglected to notice the fact that they were the same person all along? And now that Danny was missing, and everyone was looking for him, she felt sympathy for the boy. The poor kid was being talked about left, right, and center, and with a multitude of opinions, some that were quite disturbing. Imagine locking him up for experiments... no wonder Danny didn't mind being invisible at school. This kind of attention was very negative. Would Danny even reappear? He was a ghost, after all, he could probably stay physically invisible forever. Then she'd never get her answers. Would he even want to tell her? Sometimes, if she thought of him as Fenton, she thought he might. He would want to clarify everything that he'd done to her. Maybe Phantom had been telling the truth when he said it wasn't his dog, but then, why had he destroyed her suit? It just didn't make sense. How could nice and kind Danny possibly be the same person as the heartless ghost, Phantom? Would she even forgive him if they met again? Why didn't he tell her in the first place? And once again, her emotions would return to a form of anger and frustration at her situation, cycling through these thoughts, over and over.

While Valerie lay on her bed, contemplating all of that, the other two in her home were preparing for sleep. Jazz's "bed" was an inflatable mattress they put on Val's floor, covered with bed sheets, blankets, and a pillow. She'd already made it her own, in a way, by resting her Bearbert on the pillow. At the moment, she was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. Damon was in his room, changing into his pyjamas. He was humming a tune to himself when the phone rang.

"Hello?" he said while picking up the receiver.

"Hello, Mr. Gray. My name is Operative O and I'm with the Guys in White," said the man on the other end of the line. "We're the branch of the government that deals with paranormal activity, more specifically, ghosts," he informed.

"Yes, I've heard of you," commented Damon.

"Then you know that we're in charge of the search mission for Danny Phantom, a.k.a. Daniel Fenton?"

"Yes, I figured as much. But what has this got to do with me?"

"Your daughter goes to school with the boy, right? We're looking for any support we can find from those who know him. According to law, Mr. Fenton is not allowed to have ghost powers. Any help would be appreciated."

Damon shifted the receiver to his other ear as he sat down on the bed, taking a moment to think about it. The voice on the other end sounded like a voice of authority and a lot of him felt that helping might be the best thing to do. After all, his daughter had been infatuated with the boy before she discovered that he was also her arch-enemy. He didn't like the fact that both kids were so involved with ghosts in the first place. If they could turn Danny back to normal, then everything would be better. Danny wouldn't be involved in ghost hunting anymore, and Valerie could give it up. And maybe even they could get along again. He did want his daughter to be happy, after all.

"Yes, I'll help," replied Damon after his moment of consideration. "He seems to be a good boy."

"Great. We'll send you some information via email, and we'll meet with you Friday morning to talk. We'll also give you a Fly-Tell device."

"A what?"

"It is a device that will inform us when a high ecto-presence is near you. This is for your protection."

"Ok," agreed Damon. "Would you like my email address then?"

"We already have it," said Operative O. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Gray. We'll see you in a couple of days then."

"Bye," said Damon as he hung up. He walked over to his computer and turned it on. Sure enough, there was a new message in his inbox from the Guys in White. He opened it up. It wasn't all that informative, just general safety guidelines for the public when they're around ghosts. He shut down his computer and turned off his light, ready to sleep for the night.

Outside his door stood Jazz, with her back to the wall. She'd overheard most of the conversation from Damon's end, which didn't tell her much, but once seeing him pull up that stuff on ghosts at his computer, she figured he was up to something that involved her brother, and she didn't trust him. A plan began to form in her mind. Finally, a direction she could take, something she could do to save Danny. She'd need to gather more information first, and she didn't want to wait until it was too late, but this might really be the only way she could protect him, since he most likely wasn't going to come to her before getting caught by someone else. Quickly, Jazz returned to Val's room and slipped under the covers on her mattress. She'd mull it over more tomorrow. Groaning slightly as she thought about the next day, she rephrased that last thought. She'd plan it more tomorrow, during class. Her and Valerie would be returning to school for the rest of the week. There's no point to throw away your education. You've had a couple of days off already, don't want to fall too far behind. Were they Damon's words or her own rationalizations? Jazz began to drift away into slumber.

Valerie still lay wide awake, staring at her ceiling. Her thoughts weren't going to let her get much sleep tonight, same as the past two nights, but perhaps it would be best if she at least tried to get some rest. She was going back to school the next day, after all.

Over in FentonWorks, Maddie and Jack lay next to each other in bed. The entire day seemed to be a living nightmare, and they didn't think things could get any worse. The phone rang out in the quiet house, and they knew they were wrong.

Maddie answered it with reservation.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton. This is Agent Miller, from the FBI. We met earlier today?"

"Yes. What do you want now?" she asked with her eyes narrowed. What else could they possibly take from her?

"I'm sorry to inform you, but you and your husband will have to be moved out tomorrow. It'll be only temporary. We want to monitor the Ghost Portal in your basement, and your son may return home at some point. We need to find him as soon as possible. I do hope we have your cooperation on this. I could get another warrant if you must?"

Maddie clenched the fist of her free hand in anger. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from saying anything she'd regret. "Bring us that warrant in the morning, and we'll leave."

"Ok, see you then. Goodnight."

Maddie hung up without another word. She looked over to Jack and saw him staring straight back at her. She could tell from his expression that he knew. They weren't going to be getting any sleep tonight, were they? Maddie sighed in frustration and got up. Guess they'd better start packing now. Jack soon followed her, his mind a million miles away, hoping his son would be alright... that his son would forgive him when they met again...

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GLE - Heh, the film students were based on a true story... I was the one with the boom mic... he was an insane director... Anyways, my summer's about to go into a drastic change and busy mode. I've got three more weeks of what I'm doing now, then a week at a major competition, then I finally return home to help move stuff out (since we just sold it)(hence crazy busy mode). I don't know if I'll be able to get in more than one update before I leave (I'll totally get in at least one), but I'll try for two. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!