Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International.
Tempus Futurae
Chapter 6: Meeting The Family
Previously
Teen Danny turned around and gasped when he saw what looked to be older version of his parents enter the scene, carrying ecto weapons. He wasn't surprised by this, however, before he could disappear, the unexpected happen when their eyes landed on him.
"D-Danny...sweetie, is that you?..." His mother Maddie asked in a tumbling voice upon seeing him.
"What happened to you, son?..." His father Jack asked in worry as he looked at the white haired boy.
Danny was completely shocked by the fact that they didn't start shooting first like they always do when they see him in his ghost form...and why are they not doing that? Why do they look...like they are worried over him, like they actually seem to care about his ghost half...they HATE Danny Phantom just like they hate all ghosts...
"Wait...did you just call me... SON?!..." Danny exclaimed in shock as realization finally sunk in his thick, teenage mind .
His parent's KNOW!
Daniel cursed under his breath, unable to believe that his parents were here and they came in contact with his teen self, he had been hoping to avoid this kind of meeting.
"Mom? Dad? What are you guys doing here? I thought you both were still at the festival...'Daniel asked the elderly Fenton's.
'We were Danny boy, but we got an alert that the portal was on the fritz, so we came to check on it...we thought you and Ember were going to be at the festival's after party, so we didn't want to spoil it for ya..."Jack said, still looking at the teen version of his son, who still looked flabbergasted.
"Sweetie, exactly what is going on here?..."His mother asked in a concern voice as she kept looking at the teen Danny.
"Well...it's kind of a long story..." Daniel started, wondering how to explain this, only for his teen self to finally snap out of his shock.
"WAIT? BACK UP? Mom and dad know our secret? They like Ember? We're rich and famous? THEY KNOW OUR SECRET?! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!..."The teenager practically yelled, unable to believe any of this.
"Call down...calm down...'Ember said only for Danny to avoid her.
"Just what the heck?...'The teenager asked, feeling dizzy all of sudden.
Daniel sighed, as he knew there is not going to be any avoiding it now...
"I was hoping to avoid this, but it looks like I don't have a choice here...What's the damage on the portal, what's wrong with it and how long will repairs take?..."Daniel asked his mother and father.
"It's seems it's battery is on the fritz, and it will take a couple of days to fix it, maybe 5 days..a week tops and we will need to turn it off until then...'His mother said.
Daniel sighed, as he couldn't believe this is happening but now knew that there will be no avoiding it.
"Family meeting...if he's going to be here for the next few days, then the girls need to know too..." Daniel said to his mother who nodded and then left to make some calls.
As they were talking teen Danny were still looking at them from afar, and he finally sunk in his older parent's appearances and he had to admit they looked so different yet still the same, and not just because of aging. His dad's hair is all gray now and longer, and he had a large beard, giving him a pretty wild look. Instead of his familiar orange jumpsuit, he was now wearing a black one that had his DP logo. He even now has an eye patch and when he glanced down, couldn't help but noticed he had some sort of metal peg-leg, which raised a lot of concern for the young teenager. For his mother, she also looked radically different from the one back home, her hair is shorter and spiky, like she was a member of some grunge band or something , and instead of her blue jumpsuit, she's now wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with the DP logo on it.
It's so weird seeing them wear clothes with his symbol on it, it makes it look like they supported Danny Phantom instead of being against him, like they are back where he comes from.
Before he could do or say anything, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his mini trance. He looked and noticed that it is Ember, who was giving him a sympathetic look, which somehow confused him even more...
"I know that you are confused...but don't worry, baby pop has everything under control..."Ember said to the teenager, who still felt unnerved by her presence to say the least.
Future friend thing aside, he's still getting kind of used to the idea, especially since it literally felt like days ago that he was fighting Ember and keeping her from taking control over his home town and then the world...
Suddenly the older version of his father, Jack Fenton came, giving him a sympathetic smile to the ghost boy.
"She's right son...everything will be back to normal soon..."He said in an encouraging way, finally making the nervous teenager smile a bit.
"I hope your right dad...'Daniel thought when he heard that, as he awaited the arrival of his siblings.
This is going to be one heck of a family meeting.
Later
Daniel felt relief when his two sisters Jazz and Dani Phantom finally arrived, both dressed in their formal wear from the festival. Both Danny and the Fenton parents were glad since they needed to be informed on this.
"I'm glad you both are finally here...'He said.
"What's the emergency that you couldn't tell us over the phone?...'Jazz asked her younger brother.
"Yeah big brother, I was in the middle of a dance with Mr. Planet when you called...'Dani said with her arms crossed, obviously displeased that her date with the famous body builder was cut short.
"Oh, you mean Brock Biff, that brawny guy with the ponytail, I saw that he looking at you during the VIP party?...'Their mother Maddie asked in excitement at the potential suitor for her youngest daughter.
"He didn't try anything funny, did he? Those muscle-heads can be wild animals..." The father demanded in a protective way towards his adoptive daughter.
"MOM! DAD! FOCUS!...'Daniel said to him before turning to his two sisters..."It is kind of an emergency...how should I put this...'He paused before he decided to just be blunt about it.
He told them everything that has happened since he came across his younger self, and the end result is his two sisters jaw's hanging low and their eyes as big as saucers.
"What?!...'Dani shrieked.
"Are you serious?...'Jazz asked in a tone of disbelief.
"I wish I wasn't...He's in the lab right now..." Daniel said with a hand running down his face.
"Where's Ember?..." Jazz asked.
"She's keeping an eye on him..." He said.
"Are you sure that's wise Danny, I mean...no disrespect but you and Ember couldn't stand each other when you were that age and...well...what if he finds out about...you know...' His sister said.
"Don't worry, Ember's smart and she won't say anything she shouldn't I just wanted to tell you that until the portal is up and running again...we have to make sure he doesn't find out too much about his future in advance...he's already seen way too much as it is and I...until I talk with Clockwork, I don't want him seeing something that might undo the new life I created...anything...'He said in a meaningful way to his sisters who knew what he meant.
They didn't need to be told twice...
"So what are we going to do?...'Dani asked...
"Here's the thing..."The male halfa began to tell his family his idea, about what they can and cannot do with his younger self and what they can and cannot say to him as well.
Back in the lab
The family reentered the lab with the addition of Jazz and Dani, the former having taken off her dress and was now wearing her regular suit, while Dani had every intention of returning to the party once this is settled, so she was still dressed up...
"Jazz? Is that you?..." Danny exclaimed in shock as he instantly recognized his older sister who is now much older.
"Hi little brother...'Jazz waved with a smile while the teenager looked at her in surprise.
Back home Jazz is an adult all but physically but here, she's a real grown woman. She's taller, about as tall as mom is and he noticed that she looks a lot more like her. Her hair is now short and she was wearing her own jumpsuit that also had the DP symbol on it. Okay, while Jazz has been interested in ghost hunting lately, he never imagined that she'd go as far as wearing a jumpsuit and he wondered how'd she'd react to this.
"How...I mean...um...you...you look like a real adult...'He said lamely.
"Thanks...I think..." Jazz said in an unsure voice.
"And who is this?...'Danny questioned as he pointed to the unknown female in the room.
"What? You recognize Jazz but you can't recognize me?..."The mystery lady said in an almost offended kind of way.
"Cut him some slack, the last time he saw you, you were what...three feet tall and still haven't hit puberty yet...'Ember reminded the woman who blinked.
"Fine..."The woman said with her arms crossed.
"What is she talking about? Who are you?..." Danny asked in a confused voice, wondering just what the heck are they talking about.
"Maybe this will shed some light..."The lady said as she suddenly changed forms and now had white hair, green eyes and she is now wearing a suit that looked identical to the one his older self wore...and it then hit him like a oncoming buss.
"DANI!?..."The teenagers exclaimed in complete shock.
"Hi Danny..."Dani said with a wink, confirming her identity as she changed back to her human form.
Dani couldn't believe his eyes at the girl who he recalled was just a little girl but here she is a woman in her twenties. Dani has truly blossomed into a beautiful woman with long, wild dark hair, his blue eyes and she was wearing a dark blue party dress that he thought might have been too revealing for her.
"What? How?...What happened to you?...'He asked in a clueless voice, wondering how the little girl he knew has changed so much..
"Puberty..." She giggled.
"Okay, the reason I called them here is because I think we need to get some things off the table...and make some things clear since there is no avoiding it, so ask your questions and I will try and answer the ones that I don't think could be dangerous to the timeline...'Daniel said to the teenager who nodded.
"Um...Okay...uh...so...mom and dad know...and they..." The teen paused, unsure of how to answer this but the older version of him understood.
"Yes, they know and they have for a long time...and they accepted us as we are...'He said with a smile.
"Yes, I mean...how could we not when we learned that our son was secretly taking part of the family business...'His dad added, making the teenager look surprised at that.
"I know we made a big mistake Danny in thinking that you were once bad Danny, but we were wrong and we are sorry for what he put you through, but rest assure that we love you...you Danny...'His mother said, reminding Danny of the reality gauntlet incident.
'Whether you are a ghost or a boy or something in between, you're still our boy...'His dad said as he placed a hand on the teenagers shoulder, making him smile widely.
It ended with the teenage Danny hugging both of his older parents, who hugged him back, making it a very sweet recreation of the same conversation they had years ago when he finally came clean to them, which made the older version of him smile, feeling the same kind of emotion he did when he first hear that. Once the hug is over, he turned to his older self and sister, since he still had some more questions.
"So, my folks know about Dani?...'He asked as he pointed to the adult version of his little clone, who's not-so little now.
"Of course, she is our daughter after all..." Maddie said proudly, surprising Danny in the process.
"Not so long after mom and dad learned about me, we came across Dani and mom and dad decided to adopt her as our new little sister...'Daniel explained, since he didn't feel the need to worry about this.
"You mean it?...'Teen Danny asked in a pleasantly surprised voice, looking truly happy at the idea of it all.
"Of course we did, you know the family motto son, no Fenton gets left behind, ever..." Jack said, making the teenager smile widely.
"This is amazing...'He said, happy with the thought of his parents not only accepting him as he is, but also taking Dani in as another daughter, it's like something out of a happy dream.
"Are you sure, it's wise to tell him about that?...'Jazz asked in concern while her brother nodded.
"Don't worry, no matter what, I know that all in all, he'll make sure Dani ends up joining the family...'He whispered to her.
It's pretty close to the time of the Disasteroid for his teen self and no matter what, he knew that his folks and Dani would still be together.
"Where are Tucker and Sam? How did Fenton Works changed so much and why...why does everyone in town get along with ghosts, how did we become so rich, what happened with all of my classmates, I already know Dash is destined for loser-ville but what about the other's like Valerie and...and...how...why...what's Phantom Planet Festival?...'The teen asked.
Daniel sighed as he knew that this is going to be a long talk...
-To be continued-
Next time on Tempus Futurae
Questions and answers (sort of)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers :
Invader Johnny: Yeah, he really did earn the title "Clueless One".
Wrennie10: Thanks, I hope that this will do...
61394: Maybe...
Fatcatjohn: You got that right...
Spoopy Astro: I'm glad to hear that..
Dreams Come True996: I just didn't feel like it anymore...Anyway, I'm glad that you like this so far...
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)