Disclaimer—I do not own Danny Phantom, Sky High, or any of their related properties. Fo reezy.
A/N—Major slash hints begin to show, unfortunately Danny doesn't take hints well (coughSamcough). Also, I'm getting about 150 hits a chapter, yet only a few reviews (I love you guys!). I refuse to hold my fic hostage, so I guess the only answer is to keep posting chapters. Oh, and remember, I will be trying to surprise you, be on the lookout.
Chapter, the Fourth
The Facts of Life
Danny groaned as he collapsed on his bed like a loose sack of bones. Which, coincidentally, was how he felt. His backpack was carelessly dumped on the floor of his room, and he'd summoned the energy to kick off one of his shoes, but not the other. The exhausted boy didn't even look at his two friends, both of whom were standing in the doorway of his room, looking at him.
"Wow, what the hell did they do to you?" Sam asked, as she watched Danny groan in pain on the bed. The Goth girl walked in and made herself at home in Danny's desk chair. Tucker followed in behind her, finishing up something on his PDA before he put it away.
Danny mumbled something that Sam couldn't understand, as he was face down in his comforter. She looked at Tucker who shrugged.
"Dude, Danny, hello?" Tucker poked his prone friend, who tried to lift a hand to bat the offending poker away, but couldn't quite summon the energy.
"What is his deal?" Sam asked. Tucker shrugged again.
"I don't know, I'm going to grab some snacks," Tucker said, and took off downstairs. Since Tucker's last name could just as easily be Fenton as Foley, with the amount of time he spent at Danny's house, he felt no compunctions whatsoever about gathering up all the available junk food in the kitchen.
Sam stared concernedly at Danny, who wasn't aware of it because he was still face down in his bed.
"Hey, Danny, have some meat," Sam wrinkled her nose in disgust as Tucker showed up with arms full of chips, candy and what looked like a fresh Emergency Ham. Danny finally rolled over and Sam gasped. Danny's face looked like he'd spent all day in the sun with no shade, and he had a nasty looking bruise over his eye. It would fade in a couple hours because of his ghost powers, but it was still livid looking.
"Holy cow, man, what did you do today?" Tucker said as he dropped the food on Danny's bed. Danny weakly pulled the ham and some cheesy chips to him.
"I had to fight a bunch of seniors for a bouncy ball," he said and took a bite of the ham. Tucker and Sam exchanged confused glances.
"Right, well, how about we tell you about our day," Tucker suggested, and then crammed his mouth full of chips and looked expectantly at Sam.
"Oh, fine," she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. The two boys began to demolish the mound of food that Tucker had carried upstairs. "So, there's a new AV teacher who's totally creepy, Mrs. Baxter got pregnant and is on leave and her replacement is shacking up with our PE teacher, and I'm pretty sure that Lancer has discovered true happiness through knitting." Danny coughed at the last thing and Tucker snickered.
"Did anyone ask about me?" the ghost boy asked. Danny didn't really expect someone to have, but Sam turned a speculative look on him.
"Actually, a few people did," said Sam slowly. Danny raised an eyebrow at her tone as he finished the ham. He would have to replace it for his dad, at some point.
"Yeah, that was kinda weird, wasn't it?" Tucker said and exchanged a long look with Sam. Danny stuffed some chips in his mouth and watched his two friends.
"Hello? Guys? Are you going to tell me what was weird?"
"Well, there were actually a lot of people who asked where you were," Sam began. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but the people who were—most interested, I guess—were Paullina, Dash and Valerie."
"Wait, I understand Valerie, and even Paullina, but Dash?"
"Yeah, he wasn't acting like regular Dash either."
"What does that mean? Did he get smart over the summer, or something?"
"No, I mean, God, it was just really weird," said Sam, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Danny gave her a bemused look.
"Wow, Sam, you're terrible at telling stories. Tucker, what was up?"
Tucker brushed the fake cheese powder on his hand off on his jeans. "It's like Sam said, Dash was acting weird. He sounded, like, nervous or something. And he was really uncomfortable, he kept moving around. But he did ask if you were all right." Danny frowned, that did sound weird.
"Wonder what was up. But what did the girls say?" Danny asked excitedly, and Sam rolled her eyes.
"Tucker can tell you, I'm getting a class of water," Sam spat and she left the room. Danny gaped at the door she had left through.
"Dude, you're an idiot," Tucker said mildly. Danny looked warily at his best friend.
"What? What did I do?" Tucker sighed.
"Nothing, Danny, nothing. Anyways, Paullina and Valerie both asked about you. Valerie still digs you," Tucker said, grudgingly. Danny knew that his friends didn't think he should let himself be attracted to Valerie. "But, seriously, what did you do today?" Danny shifted around to be more comfortable while he kept snacking. His ghost powers always did take a toll on his body's energy stores, and gorging on carbohydrates and protein was the best way to replenish them quickly, according to Jazz.
"Oh man, it was so crazy. We have this thing called Power Practice and I had to fight with some seniors for a ball that bounced harder with each bounce it took! I haven't been thrashed like this since I fought Pariah Dark." Tucker let out a low whistle. The battle with the Ghost King had been one of the hardest fights Danny had ever engaged in. Going up against an almost omnipotent ghost can do that to a person.
"Dang, did you meet anyone cool?" Danny grinned widely as he remembered the kids he'd met that he liked. He really wanted his friend to meet Will and the guys.
"Well, yeah, I spent most of my day with this really cool guy, Will, and his friends. His parents are The Commander and Jetstream," Danny began. Sam came back in the room, and he told them all about his first day, including a description of all the crazy people he'd met. Both Sam and Tucker were, by turns, amused and alarmed.
"I still can't believe a school like that exists. It sounds completely ludicrous," Sam said after Danny finished a story about the Power Practice.
"What, like someone being half ghost?" Danny replied. Sam stuck her tongue out at Danny.
"Very funny. So—" Sam began, when a loud crash interrupted her. Danny's breath turned blue, and they all knew what that meant.
"GHOST!" yelled Jack Fenton. Danny groaned heavily.
"Hey, let's skip this one, your parents can handle it. Attack of the Killer Zombie Nuns just came out, and we should totally see it," Tucker suggested.
"Yeah, you're exhausted, let's do something fun instead," Sam said.
"Okay," Danny replied, and the three teens went downstairs. Danny's parents were in the living room, which was now covered in weaponry. Danny's eyes widened as he took in what looked like every single weapon in the Fenton family arsenal.
"Danny, kids, it's not safe to go out. There's a massively powerful ghost that just escaped the portal. It's tearing up downtown, so go back up to Danny's room, and stay there," Danny's mother said. Maddie Fenton was dressed to kill, literally. Danny had never seen her so covered in very, very dangerous looking weapons. His father had a new upgraded version of the Fenton Ghost Peeler, too. Tucker and Sam were gaping at the weapons along with Danny.
"That's right kids, and Danny, don't think I didn't notice the absence of my emergency ham." Danny grinned sheepishly, and Tucker whistled innocently.
"I was hungry, dad, sorry." Jack shrugged and looked at his wife, oddly serious for the usually large jovial man.
"It's okay, Danny, but your mother and I have a ghost to shred to pieces. To the Fenton Assault Vehicle, Maddie!" The two adults dashed out of the house. Danny turned glumly to his friends.
"I think this sounds like a job for Danny Phantom." Sam put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"The movie doesn't start for another 45 minutes, if you hustle, Danny, we can still make it there," Tucker said as he consulted his PDA.
"All right, let's go," Danny said as he grabbed Tucker and Sam. Turning into Danny Phantom, he made them intangible and then carried them off to downtown. The trip went pretty fast, especially as Danny's top speed was fairly decent these days.
The Fenton Assault Vehicle got there first, of course. Danny's parents were somewhat…crazed in their driving habits, but no one could deny they always got to their destinations very, very quickly. It was just extremely dangerous to be in their way, whether you were an innocent bystander, or simply a tree growing in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Earlier, it had been a clear, sunny day in Amity Park. The city was a fairly clean one, so there hadn't even been the brown tinge of smog in the sky. Now, Danny and his friends could see, the sky was still blue, just not around the area central to the city. There, great black clouds billowed in the air, obscuring the sun and casting a large shadow over the city.
"This looks big. I wish I could block out the sun like that, though," Sam commented. Her two friends gave her the sort of look that is reserved for the sort of people that declare the earth is flat and that they can hear dragons talking to them.
"Why are we friends with such a Goth, Danny?" Tucker asked sardonically. Sam glared at him.
"When we land, you're getting a dead arm." Tucker groaned, and Danny snickered. Tucker and Sam—they were everything to him. They anchored him. He felt the urge to tell them that, especially after he'd had such a hard day at Sky High, but being a teenage boy he simply swallowed his emotions. He dropped out of the air and slipped into invisibility. He noticed that downtown looked rather empty, and quiet.
"All right, guys, since this looks like a new ghost, and a powerful one, I want you two to hang back until I have him beaten up for the thermos, deal?" Tucker and Sam nodded.
"Just be careful, Danny, you were really tired earlier and your parents are in there. You could wait a bit, for them to trash the ghost a bit," Sam suggested to Danny. It was a good idea; his parents, although at times foolish, were incredible ghost hunters. He had no problem letting his father and mother trash the ghost a bit before he stepped in.
Danny landed on the ground with Tucker and Sam, looked around, and then released the invisibility and intangibility. Then the three began to run towards the epicenter of the ghost attack. As they drew closer, they realized that there were no people around. Cars sat in the road, empty, their doors open as if everyone had engaged in a giant, coordinated Chinese fire drill. Buildings were vacant and still lit. The city was more hushed than a graveyard, a complete stillness that made every step the three took echo like thunder.
Suddenly there was a horrendous boom, one that made each of them clutch their ears. And then, to Danny's surprise, Will Stronghold landed on the ground in front of him.
Will was wearing a costume that looked very similar to his parents, but it was quite a bit sleeker. The Commander had a lot more muscle mass than his son, and Will didn't need the same armor padding his mother did. It fit him very well, Danny thought.
"Will! Er—I mean…" Danny flushed and looked at Tucker and Sam anxiously. He hadn't meant to reveal Will's name, but he also didn't know Will's superhero name. Will just laughed, and Danny relaxed.
"It's okay, Danny," Will said, with a grin. Danny grinned back at his friend and then turned to Sam and Tucker. The other two were staring with wide eyes and open mouths at Will.
"Sam, Tucker, this is Will. Will, these are my two best friends, Tucker and Sam." Will shook their hands.
"Oh my god, I'm talking to a real, live superhero!" Tucker practically squealed, and Sam tried to hide her laughter behind one hand and a cough. Danny's grin vanished like it had never been there.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" the halfa asked indignantly. Tucker dismissed Danny with a wave of his hand.
"Nah, but I've known you for too long to be impressed by you. Every time you do something incredible, I just remember you're the same boy who used to eat sand with me in the playground at kindergarten," Tucker said. Will and Sam chuckled at Danny's red face.
"Some friends, you guys are—anyways, Will, there's a ghost wreaking havoc, so maybe we should stop telling funny little stories and go fight it, right?" Danny asked pointedly.
"Oh get your underwear out of a twist, Danny. You two superhero types go do what you do, Tucker and I will have the thermos ready for pickup," Sam waved her hand at the two boys. Will gestured for Danny to lead the way.
"Saw this on the TV, and—well, show me how to fight ghosts? I'd like to help," the brown haired boy asked. Danny smiled widely as he and Will lifted up off the ground.
"Sure thing, it's pretty simple, we just have to knock him around until we can trap him. Let's go," Danny shot forward and Will smirked. The boom the three teens had heard earlier had been from Will flying in the sky above Amity Park, and his breaking of the sound barrier. Danny realized this when his friend shot past him so fast he could only make out a primary colored blur. He hadn't realized Will was so fast, like 10 times faster than he was.
Will slowed down to Danny's speed and let the other boy catch up to him. As they flew between skyscrapers, following the sounds of destruction, Danny flew closer to Will to give him a bit of a ghost hunting talk. And to tell him that a couple of ghost hunters that would be there didn't really care which ghost they caught. Or destroyed. But they were good people, just misguided.
For some reason, Will hadn't seemed terribly surprised at that last bit, and if anything Danny had caught a sad look on his friend's face. His chest grew warm, that this person who had only known him for a day, who he liked a lot, would be so supportive on his behalf.
He didn't know that Will was worried for a very different reason, and that the brown haired boy was remembering his mother's warning about the son of Vlad Masters. Danny came to a halt and Will pulled up, sharply.
"Holy crap," Will said, his eyes wide with awe. Danny saw his parents and two men in white suits firing various energy weapons at what appeared to be a giant floating eye, with lots of eye stalks growing from it. Each eye seemed to be a different color, and as the two flying boys watched, various energy beams lanced out from their pupils.
"I've never seen something like that before," Danny said. Will looked at him for guidance.
"So what should we do?" he asked. A determined look settled on the white-haired boy's face, and Danny held up one fist.
"We hit it until it stops moving." Will nodded, and turned back to look at the floating eye.
"Hitting I can do," and he shot forward, streaking straight at the eye. There was a thunderous explosion and a flare of bright red light. Danny watched in dismay as Will shot back into the sky like a rocket, after bouncing off the shield the eye had. But the ghost seemed shaken to have been hit so hard, and the shield was broken for the moment.
Danny couldn't help but be a bit jealous that Will could hit so hard.
The Guys in White yelled something and they fired a dual handled gun at the eye. The thing shrieked and although Danny could not tell where its mouth was, the shriek was terrible. The scream split into his brain, like a jagged tower of glass, and hurt about as much as he could bear.
His father and mother, and the two Guys in White, couldn't bear it. They each collapsed, and when Danny could look again, he saw his mother, and father, lying on the ground. Blood pooled around their faces, both of them had bloodied their noses, and the Eye Ghost was moving towards their prone bodies.
Danny felt energy pooling in his hands before he began to consciously gather it. His anger was like fuel, not fire, but a tension that struck his entire body and made him feel as if he would burst. With a cry he slammed his hands together and fired a blast of ecto-energy at the eye. The blast slammed into the eye and it shrieked again, but this time Danny was ready. An ecto shield repelled the sound, and the Eye Ghost glowered at him. It floated up, towards him, but very slowly. Danny concentrated, and split his body into another Danny Phantom.
Danny flew towards the eye and began to hurl balls of energy at it. He had to draw the eye away from his parents, and then find out what it had done with all the people that were missing. The quiet was beyond eerie, at this point. The only sounds were energy explosions and the sound of Danny's breathing in his ears. He heard a distant rumbling, definitely the sound of Will excavating himself from whatever debris he'd crashed into.
As Danny fired another blast at the eye, it responded with a yellow beam from its main eye. Danny put up a shield, but the blast powered through it, shattering his shield and slamming into his body. He screamed as the feeling of a thousand hammers hitting his body overpowered him. Mercifully, it only lasted a second, as Will had reappeared and had just ripped one of the larger eyestalks off of the beast.
The clone of Danny that was moving his parents saw several people reappear on the street after Will had ripped the eye stalk off. It made no sense, but the two must have been related.
"Tear off the eye stalks!" the clone shouted at Danny and Will. The two exchanged glances and both moved to rip the beast apart. The Ghost Eye, however, had other ideas, and went intangible. Will dodged an a beam as Danny began to gather ecto-energy to blast the thing back into the realm of solid matter. But then the eye opened all of its eyes, and each one fired a brilliant beam of light. The beams hit Will and both Danny's forcing out screams of pain from all three. The light touched everyone who had escaped after the eyestalk was torn off, including Danny's parents and the government ghost hunters. All of them vanished, except Danny and Will, and Danny's clone faded into nothingness. The eye grabbed the two boys with a blue energy beam and held them in front of its huge main eye. Several new eyestalks were beginning to emerge from the skin around the eye.
It was then that Danny was close enough to see where the mouth was. In the center of the great black pupil of the main eye, there was a small face. It spoke, and its voice was like a thousand maggots crawling over a corpse.
"Who are you?" Danny almost vomited at the sound of the voice; Will turned green and sick looking.
"I am Danny Phantom, and you just made a big," Danny took a deep breath, "MISTAKE!" Danny let loose with his ghostly wail, his voice becoming a vehicle for pure ecto-energy. But the eye's huge pupil swelled and Danny's wail disappeared into it like a pebble being dropped into oil-slicked water.
"No," the eye said and the pupil began to radiate darkness. Danny felt his power seeping out of his body, becoming tired and cold, so tired and cold. His body ached, the weight of existing was suddenly too much, and everything was all so very heavy…
Will groaned and Danny looked at his brand new friend. The mousy-haired boy appeared on the verge of death, and Danny struggled against the darkness. The Eye Ghost glared, concentrating its full power on the two boys. Danny fought it, but the dark was so cold and heavy, so powerful—Danny almost cried; he couldn't let this happen. He had to beat this ghost, if he didn't, then who could? He had to save Will and then his parents, but he was failing and falling into darkness.
Suddenly the weight lifted, the darkness evaporated and the Eye Ghost shrieked again. But this time there was no pain from the shriek, and brilliant violet light permeated the area. The dark clouds overhead began to part, sunlight struck the ghost and it tried to shy away. The air in front of Danny shimmered, and there, suddenly, was floating a person he had really not expected to see.
Vlad was in his Vlad Phantom disguise, his vampire clothing was now completely white, making him seem to glow, especially since his skin was now a healthy color rather than sickly green. His hair looked like white fire on his scalp, while his neat goatee added to the blinding white that seemed to surround Vlad. He radiated power in a way that Danny didn't usually see.
If Danny didn't know the sort of person Vlad really was, he would have thought the older halfa looked angelic. But that was seriously wrong, on at least four different levels, in Danny's mind. Vlad plucked Will out of the air as the boy drooped and began to fall towards the ground.
"Grab your friend, little Badger, Daddy's got this one," Vlad said in his smooth baritone. Danny frowned at his fake father, but took the unconscious Will from Vlad's arms nonetheless.
"It's some sort of—" Danny began but Vlad cut him off with a hand.
"I know what it is, Daniel, it's a Beholder." Danny felt his confusion become evident on his face. "How many people has it absorbed?"
"A lot, and it's—it's got my par—the Fentons," Danny said, glancing at the unconscious Will as he corrected himself. Vlad whirled around and grabbed Danny by his shoulders.
"It has Maddie?" Danny nodded as Vlad shook him, roughly, and then he had an epiphany.
Vlad was a crazed up fruit loop, but he really did just want to make Danny his son and Maddie his wife. He wasn't truly cruel and heartless (well maybe heartless, and more than a little cruel). The point was: Vlad wasn't truly evil. Because if he was, than the face he showed Danny at that moment was one Danny would have seen before. It was a face that scared Danny a little bit, not the least because Vlad had lost control of his new disguise and reverted to his Plasmius form. His face had twisted into a mask of pure rage and hate, a mask that promised pain. The air around them crackled with an intent filled with destructive anger that Danny had only felt once before, when his evil future self, Dan Phantom, had fought him and tried to kill his family.
With a flare of violet energy Vlad spun around and flew to the dazed Beholder. The ghost fired at Vlad, but he split his body up wherever a beam should have struck it. He hit the ghost, and went intangible, disappearing inside of it. The eye began to shudder, and then exploded in a flurry of ectoplasmic goo. In the center of where the eye had floated, Vlad Plasmuis stood, wreathed in purple flames so bright, they burned Danny's eyes.
Then Vlad recovered his aplomb, with a speed that was down right unnatural. He reverted to his costume, just in time, as Will was waking up, and all of the people the ghost had consumed popped back into existence. Danny saw his parents, groaning on the ground, and let loose a breath he hadn't known he was holding.
"Dude, what—is that your dad?" Will asked groggily. Vlad smiled tenderly at Will, but it was the sort of tenderness that a wolf gives a lamb, which it has deigned to take care of, until it grows hungry. Then, it's bye-bye lamb. Danny found himself holding Will a little tighter, and trying to shield him from Vlad.
"Yes, my dear boy, I am Daniel's father. Now, how about we go see to your injuries?" Danny shook as he realized that Will and he were both covered in cuts and bruises. Danny noticed Will was glaring across his body at his feet, but weakly. He was still too exhausted to move from Danny's arms, or to display much emotion aside from exhaustion.
"Stupid invulnerability," the boy muttered. Danny gave a tired grin and Vlad laughed, surprising both boys.
"Indeed, now, I suppose your little friends are here, too, Daniel? Unusual not to see them in the thick of the action, ready to become a distraction at a moment's notice." Danny glared at Vlad who winked at him. The older halfa might not be truly evil, but he was still an utter bastard.
"Tucker and Sam are—" Danny began when the two aforementioned kids ran out onto the street, below the floating halfas. The two teens slowed to a walk as they took in the destruction around them.
"I guess we don't need the thermos," Tucker said as he took in the remains of the Beholder.
"Danny, are you and Will okay?" Sam yelled as Danny floated down with Will and Vlad. Vlad landed lightly on the ground while Danny tried to readjust a still, only semi-conscious Will, in his arms.
"They're both exhausted, and they've sustained some minor injuries. I suggest we all adjourn to my castle for some rest." Sam and Tucker shot Danny worried glances but Danny just nodded, wearily. If Vlad wanted to play the family card, he had to play along while Will was there. The exchange went over Will's head, of course.
"I think I'm good to stand," Will said and Danny eased him out of his arms. Will winced as he tried to stand and Danny let him lean heavily on him.
"All right, but we're coming too," Sam said, glaring at Vlad. Vlad smiled disarmingly.
"I wouldn't dream of leaving you two behind to get killed by some other ghost just to amuse myself," he said, and then laughed to show it was all clearly a joke. Will looked bemused but turned to look curiously at Danny when the younger halfa tensed up. Danny relaxed as he realized Will had noticed he wasn't responding to his father's joke as he should.
"Very funny, dad," Danny grumbled, and tacked on the 'dad" to keep up appearance's sake. Vlad clapped Danny lightly on the shoulder and then wiped the grime on his hand off on Danny's back. Vlad ignored the glare Danny sent at him and turned his attention to various people around them that were moaning as they woke up.
"Well, shall we go before everyone wakes up?" Tucker frowned.
"I really wanted to see Attack of the Killer Zombie Nuns," he said as he kicked a piece of rubble. Vlad looked at Tucker with surprise.
"Really? I have an advance copy of it I was planning to watch," the billionaire said. Tucker looked at Vlad and the two suddenly grinned. It was, Danny thought, the first time he had seen Vlad look… genuinely happy.
"Do you have Revenge of the Werewolf Volleyball Squad?" Tucker asked and Vlad smiled.
"Of course, I even have the original version of Night of the Japanese Schoolgirl Monster," the older man said this very casually. Danny looked at Sam who mouthed to him: 'I have no idea.' But for Tucker, this was very big news.
"OH MY GOD! That is so awesome, can I watch it?" Vlad clapped the boy on the back, just like he had Danny. Danny wondered if that was Vlad's chosen "fatherly" action, for all occasions.
"Of course my dear boy, any friend of Danny's is welcome to enjoy our house and everything within it. Now, let's be going, you must all be very tired." And then Vlad raised his hands, and gray mist surrounded them. Danny couldn't see his hand in front of his face, and then everything seemed to melt away from him, and run like wax. He really needed to learn how to teleport like this, but right now he was too tired to try and find out anything that Vlad was doing. The only thing he could sense was Will. There was no smell, no sound and nothing but gray to see. But he could feel Will, leaning on him and full of warmth.
Danny wondered if he should really be noticing all of this, and feeling very comfortable on top of it.
Then the gray mist cleared, and they were standing in a large stone room covered with Packers memorabilia. The flagstones were warm, which Danny thought was odd as he remembered the place being much colder last time he was there.
"I do love this ambient floor heating," Vlad commented, and let his disguise flow off to reveal his customary tuxedo. Danny let his own Phantom outfit flow away from his body. Poor Will was stuck in his costume, still leaning heavily on Danny.
"The movie vault is on the second floor, behind the largest door. You can go set up a movie while I prepare the infirmary. Now, would you care to accompany me, dear girl?" Vlad asked Sam, as Tucker took off for the movie vault. Sam cast a quick glance at Danny, who nodded. Vlad smiled at Danny while he lead Sam off.
"Daniel, why don't you help Will out of his costume and then we'll patch you two up," Vlad said as walked away. Danny looked at Will who was still trying to stand on his own, without a great deal of success.
"I think this will work better if I carry you." Will flushed and stared at his feet. Danny frowned. "Don't be embarrassed, dude, you're hurt, I can carry you."
"It's not—I mean," Will began awkwardly and Danny shushed him by putting a finger in front of his face, very close to his lips. Too close, so he drew the offending finger back quickly.
"You helped me a lot today, at school, just let me return the favor," Danny said, wondering why Will was blushing even more now. He had to focus; it wouldn't do well for his cover to look like he couldn't find his own bedroom. If he remembered correctly, the suite he'd stayed in on his last visit was just above them. He hefted Will into his arms and floated up, barely noticing Will's arms tentatively encircling Danny's neck.
Will had a lot on his mind. For one thing, that eye monster had really done a number on him. He couldn't wait to become as invulnerable as his father, but maybe ghost energy was a weak point of his invulnerability. In any event, Will was once again in pain, not something he was used to a great deal. And he was exhausted, in a billionaire's castle that looked freaking incredible, and most importantly, clinging to another boy because he wasn't able to walk.
Each of those facts was giving him some measure of discomfort. The last was doing so the most, because Will was really, really enjoying the feeling of someone taking care of him. Will was used to being a defender, the person who took hits, so others didn't have to. He loved it, being a protector of those weaker than himself; he was born for the job. The feeling of being held, though, and feeling totally safe, was a really nice one. He got it whenever his parents were around, but this was the first time he'd gotten it from a friend.
Danny floated with him up through the ceiling into a long hall. They flew through a few walls, before they reached Danny's room. Will's first impression was that Danny was remarkably frugal, for someone whose father could spoil him beyond rotten. Then he noticed that the room didn't seem very… lived in.
"This is your room?" he asked, curiously, and felt Danny tense, before relaxing a bit. Will hoped he hadn't made Danny upset somehow.
"I'm living with some family friends while Dad is in the Ghost Zone," Danny explained. "The Fentons are actually two of the ghost hunters we saw battling that freaky eyeball." Danny gently laid Will down on his large bed and looked at him speculatively.
"Now, how do we get this off?" Will scolded the part of his brain that lived in the gutter for making that seem really funny. Danny must have noticed something of his internal battle on his face, because the other boy broke into a grin.
"I don't normally let boys get this far on a first date," Will teased and Danny laughed. When Danny laughed, he used his whole body to do it, clutching his torso and bending slightly at the waist, closing his eyes while his mouth spilled laughter. It was like he couldn't hold in his happiness, and Will was feeling like he had when he'd first met Gwen Grayson—He angrily squashed that line of thought.
"It's okay, Will, I don't think you're a slut, I am rather sexy," Danny said cockily. He leaned in towards Will put a single finger in the hollow of Will's throat, stroking down the curve of the skin slightly. Will bit his lip.
"Have to take the belt off, first," Will breathed and he fumbled for the catch on it. Only his hands were shaking and he couldn't quite manage it.
"Here, man, lemme do it," Danny said and batted Will's hands away. Will was at that moment extremely thankful for his cup, and cursing the additional pain that came from feeling decidedly cramped in that same protective cup.
Danny frowned as he tried to get the catch, but it was really made to be undone from a different angle. Will tried not to enjoy Danny's fumbling, but the way the other boy bit his tongue, the pink tip showing between his lips, and his hands that seemed to be everywhere but where Will wanted them… Will was beginning to panic, his adrenaline rush from the battle was beginning to come back, and it had nothing to do with fighting this time.
Oh god, I'm not gay, this is not happening, I really do not want to push Danny down on this bed and—holy crap, I think I'm a bit gay. Will was really starting to panic now; personal revelations about sexuality can do that to a person. Danny finally scowled at the belt.
"Screw this," he said and suddenly he was plunging his translucent hands through the suit and then Will was moving back and—"Oops, my bad dude—" Danny stopped talking very quickly and stared.
In the space of a second, Will realized several things. The first was that he was naked, the second was that Danny had phased him out of his costume, the third was Danny was staring at his naked body, and the fourth was that he was sporting… well, the excitement of having Danny's hands all over his crotch hadn't dissipated yet.
Only, now Danny was grinning at him, with the look of mischief that only teenage boys can really manage.
"Dude, you look more than a little happy to see me, pervert. Oh don't get so embarrassed, fighting evil gives people wood, man, it's natural," Danny said conspiratorially. Will was flushing so much he wondered how his body was supplying blood to his head and to his—well, other head—at the same time. Danny had grabbed some clothes out of a dresser and was now handing them to Will, who promptly tried to cover himself up.
"Bathroom's right over there, if you want to shower up and, you know, relieve some tension," Danny tossed him another grin and gave a pointed look at Will's crotch, "you're more than welcome to." The grin had now become a leer and Will did not think it was hot, it just that his body hated him. And really likes Danny, damn it.
"I'll just give you some privacy," Danny continued as the ghost boy turned his back and began to strip out of his dirty, sweaty school clothes. Will backed up to the bathroom door and then turned around to dash through it, but not before getting a glimpse of Danny's slender back that led down into a perfect bubble butt.
Will cursed his hormones and wished that this phase he was going through would finish. It had already almost ruined his friendship with Layla, and it just wasn't fair that his body would betray him like this. First h hadn't developed his powers right away, and now he was getting turned on to boys. It just was not fair. Will dimly remembered something he'd said to Layla at the start of their freshman year.
"If life was going to get fair, it wouldn't happen in high school." He hated how right he'd been.
In the shower all he could think about was Danny, Danny's face, his body, and the feeling of being safe. Will didn't often feel sick, and now he felt nauseated beyond all belief. When he found release, he only felt worse.
Danny had never imagined, could never have imagined, that one day he would be relaxing in Vlad's private movie theater, watching a zombie movie marathon with his two best friends, and his brand new friend who just happened to be the son of the two most famous superheroes on the planet.
"More popcorn!" Vlad exclaimed as he reappeared in the theater with several buckets. Tucker and Will smiled widely as they took the popcorn. Sam shot Danny another bemused look.
It wasn't that Vlad was just being nice, because Vlad could be nice, and still be perfectly evil. Vlad was being friendly, and that was profoundly disturbing to Danny. Almost as disturbing as how much Tucker and Will were getting along with Vlad.
Danny accepted the bowl of popcorn from Vlad, as the older halfa sat next to him. The seats were incredibly comfortable, Danny had noticed, and he was feeling relaxed and at ease for the first time in a while. The fact that he was feeling that way in his arch nemesis' castle was still disturbing, but Danny had decided not to let it get in his way.
"Thanks, Mr. Masters," Will said from the other side of Danny. Tucker, who was sitting on the other side of Vlad, offered Sam some popcorn.
"Please, call me Vlad, young man. Now, let's get this movie started," Danny shot a sidelong glance at his fake father. Vlad just had to be charming, didn't he? It was bad enough that Vlad was controlling so much of his life, now he was charming his friends. Even ones that should totally know better, like Tucker.
He noticed Vlad was watching him with a small smile, and Danny was startled at the simple sincerity in it. Vlad wasn't just being friendly to charm his friends, the man seemed genuinely happy. Danny didn't understand it, but the happiness on the man's face made Danny smile back, albeit timidly. Vlad turned his attention back to the movie, and Danny caught Sam staring at him.
He shrugged at her, but she gave him a look that said she wanted to talk, and now. Danny shrugged again, helplessly and Will nudged him in the side for his troubles. He turned to look at Will, whom was giving him a questioning look.
"What's up?" Will whispered and Danny leaned over to the other boy.
"Nothing, I have to go to the bathroom," Danny whispered into Will's ear, and the brown haired boy shivered. Danny ignored it, got up and ducked out of the room. Sam followed behind him a moment later.
"So, what's up?" Danny asked and Sam frowned at him.
"That's what I'm asking you. What is the deal with Vlad? He's acting like… like a normal person." Danny sighed.
"I don't know, but he seems genuinely happy, like he's got something he wanted. I hope he isn't going to pull something," Danny said.
"Well, I don't think he will. I mean, you said he's acting like he got something he really wanted, and hasn't he? He's always wanted you to be his son, and you're acting like it."
"What? I can still barely stand him!"
"Danny please, you've been calling him dad and letting him help you. And having us over here… I think he's actually enjoying the role of father, and spending time with us."
"Sam, that's crazy. I mean, this is Plasmius we're talking about, how can he be enjoying pretending to be my father?"
"Well, Vlad is in love with your mother, but he's also very alone. I don't think he's had people in his life like this for a long time." Danny paused to consider that. To be that alone, that you would turn to scheming and villainy to gain people back in your life. He couldn't really imagine it, and for the first time he felt pity for Vlad Masters.
"I think, that this could be really good for him, Danny. You can teach him that there's more to life than just crime and selfishness," Sam said, holding her chin speculatively.
Danny sighed. There was more to being a hero than just fighting ghosts. He had a chance here to turn Vlad to the side of good. He knew Vlad had that potential, from his trip to the future where Vlad was the only person to oppose his evil future self. He had to take it, even if he really didn't care for the man.
"You're right, this is a great opportunity." Sam smirked.
"Of course I'm right. Now, uh, I guess there's no way to put this but bluntly. What's the deal with Will?" Danny frowned at his friend.
"What do you mean?" Sam gaped at Danny and then shut her mouth.
"Nothing, I guess. If you haven't noticed anything," she trailed off as Danny continued to look at her like she was crazy. "Okay, forget I said anything. Let's go back inside." Danny nodded and turned to go back inside. He missed the look Sam shot his back, which was just as well, because he would have asked why she looked so incredulous.
End Note: Thank you very much to: Pieling, Sasia93, Vanalivi, Freaklvl27, Danny Phantom Phanatic (lol your review suggested exactly what I'd already written) and Nonasuki-Chan. A big thank you to Din Kelion for being an exemplary reviewer.