A.N. So, I'm back from the wonderful trip to Moscow. It was nostalgic to stay in the hotel where I was at the age of six. I was introduced to the dean of the faculty I'm planning on studying in. I hope I've left a nice impression. Still have to pass exams, though.
"I just don't get it. What did she find in him?"
That day was going to come down in history. The day when Dipper was having a civil conversation with Robbie Valentino of all people. The teen had black hair in emo style, pale skin and several piercings in his ears. Robbie was wearing his usual skinny jeans, which got him a nickname from one shady Mystery Shack owner, and a black hoodie with a picture of the stitched bleeding heart on it. The teen looked even more gloomy than usual as he stared at the transpiring scene in front of them.
Danny went through with Wendy's request. Besides, he didn't have anything else to do. Once she got a time to spare between her shifts and other activities, he found a spot to show her some tricks. Stan hadn't allowed them to practice inside, but the weather was nice that day, so just outside did fine. He was wearing his white and red long sleeve T-shirt, while Wendy tied her green shirt around her waist, so it could be easier for the redhead to train in hand-to-hand. That's what they were doing, she listened, while Danny explained and demonstrated.
"Eh, I don't know," Dipper said slowly, still unaccustomed talking like that to Robbie. "It doesn't mean that they are together just because they are doing something together, enjoy the same music, hang out..." he stated the examples, sounding less and less confident with each word. "I don't know. Maybe because of the black hair and that creepy blue eyes of his."
"I have black hair too," Robbie mumbled. "It's not that important."
Meanwhile Danny raised his hand and blocked the hit, before his face gained a calculative look.
"That's a nice one. Just move your left leg a bit closer."
Wendy did as he told. "So, what's next?"
"Well, you are in a good physical shape, but if the opponent is too strong to overpower, what shall we do?"
"Step aside?"
"Exactly, the enemy's force will act against him. Try this on me."
Danny leaped forward and the redhead smoothly moved aside, additionally pushing the half ghost forward. But Danny managed to react and grabbed her hand, twisting and locking it carefully, in order not to harm her. He smirked smugly at the girl, who was trying to get out.
"Easy there, let's not run ahead of the train. But nice thinking."
"Thanks. Nice move too," Wendy smiled.
Danny and Wendy blushed slightly once they realized their position in a such close contact, but the first suddenly smirked again, before flipping her over and on the ground. The girl yelped at the motion and grunted slightly as she landed on the green grass. She looked up at Danny and narrowed her eyes.
"What was that for?"
"You should be more careful, red, that's another lesson. Be on guard."
Wendy suddenly smirked. She then swiped her leg and Danny lost his balance, unprepared for retaliation. He fell.
"Be on guard, City Boy," she said, before they both laughed.
Then they realized that Danny was atop of her. Phantom immediately rolled to the side and on the ground. They were silent after that. Wendy looked at the clock on her phone.
"Oh, sorry, dude, I've got to go," she said, jumping on her feet putting the green shirt on.
"It's not like I'm going anywhere," Danny responded, getting into sitting position.
He ran a hand through his hair as she went away. Phantom smiled, it was quite fun. Then he noticed that they had an audience.
"Hey, guys!" Danny called and waved to them.
"You are right," Robbie mumbled and shivered, while Dipper slowly waved back. "His eyes ARE creepy."
Phantom's vivid ice blue eyes blinked at their reaction, while he didn't hear the phrase.
The rest of the day was boring for Danny. He didn't have many things to do. And he was not going to work for the old man for free. Danny came there to relax and win the argument with a talking dorito. It sounded more confusing when he thought about this. But nevertheless, everything was going quite smoothly. Of course, Dipper kept giving the half ghost weird glances, writing something down. Alright, he was obviously trying to solve the riddle Danny Fenton was.
That's why the half ghost tried to be as discreet as possible. It wasn't hard, really, he just had to stop using his abilities. Part of the time Dipper was too busy trying to identify the writer of the journal. One day the preteen confronted the half ghost and demanded to know how the elderly ghost couple was doing. Not seeing the reason why not, Danny showed him the thermos.
"How does it work?" Dipper asked.
"Nope, you asked me to show it. I did, but I never said I'd tell you how it works," the teen teased and smirked. "Because I know that you will later jump into action and possibly get yourself killed," he then deadpanned.
Besides, he didn't want to teach the human how to use the weapon against him. But, more or less, the younger kid was satisfied that the ghosts were fine. Even if they did try to kill him, they didn't seem to be all that bad.
At the same day, during the lunch, Danny decided to waste Bill's money. Because he could. Not wanting to go to some fancy-to-hurling restaurant, he resorted to the familiar diner. He got used to the food served there. It was quite tolerable, besides, he preferred being there, rather than under Dipper's constant overwatch in the shack. As he was putting a piece of shepherd's pie in his mouth, the door swung open.
Danny thought that the man who came through the entrance was one of the largest people he had ever seen. And that said something, his father used to be a real giant. He had that lumber look about him, with ginger head, hair of the same vivid color in all imaginable places. He was accompanied by several small kids with the same red hair. Danny wouldn't have paid attention if not for the fact that Wendy was there as well. She quickly spotted him.
"Hey, dude," she called and approached him, while the others sat at their own table. Quite loudly.
"Hello there," Danny responded, still eyeing the noisy family. "Are those your..."
"Yeah, those are my Dad and brothers."
"He is...big."
"I know right?"
"Although my father could compete, I think," Danny chuckled. "Well, I won't interrupt your family time, I guess. I'll just be a ghost," he said longingly.
Wendy snorted, "Heh, don't worry about this, it will be a while until they decide on what to eat," she flopped on a chair.
"Are you so hungry that you are ready to pick from my table?" Danny asked, finally getting to his food.
"Well, if you insist..."
The redhead took a french fry from another plate, causing Danny to look at her with a deadpan expression, which made her laugh.
Suddenly her father appeared from nowhere. How did such a gargantuan person manage to do it so quietly?
"What do we have here? Another boyfriend of yours, Wendy?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the unwavering half ghost.
Both teens flushed. "What?! Dad, no it is not..."
"Quite wimpy, like the last one," The lumber still examined Danny.
"Dad..."
"Who are you calling wimpy?!" Phantom rose from his seat. It looked just as unthreatening as an ant trying to scare the boot.
Wendy groaned and facepalmed. Why didn't he just stay quiet? Danny was just pissed at being called a weakling. He had enough of it before, and he wasn't going to tolerate it now. Besides, the guy didn't know with whom he was messing with. The man was actually surprised that the kid stood up to him, not that he didn't respect that. Of course he did, it was a manly thing to do. Nevertheless, the kid needed to know what he could and what he couldn't do.
"One scar doesn't make you the toughest around here," The man said. "And you are still able to see."
"Maybe not," Danny tilted his head. "And yes, I do see despite the wound. I'm not saying that THIS," he pointed at the scar, "Makes me stronger. I'm merely saying that you shouldn't judge the book by cover."
"Danny, Dad, please stop it already," Wendy begged in the exhausted tone. "Everyone is staring."
Two males glanced around and there indeed was a crowd.
"Want to prove your words, boy, or are you going to admit everything?"
Danny cracked his knuckles. "Bring it."
The lumber immediately swapped aside all the food on Danny's table. With a very loud thud he put his elbow on it, previously moving the sleeve up to the shoulder, showing his huge and hairy arm. So, wrestling it was. Phantom moved the sleeve of his white T as well. It was neither the hairy or as muscular as his opponent's. Some observant people noted several thin or thick cuts and bruises. As Danny put his hand on the table, the redhead smirked as his palm completely engulfed Phantom's.
"Ready to lose, boy?"
"How can I be ready for the impossible?"
"Make bets, everyone!" Lazy Suzan immediately jumped into the opportunity. If only Stan was there at the moment.
The bets were placed more than unfairly. None bet on Phantom. The teen pouted.
"I bet on myself then," Danny said.
No one complained. They were going to make money that day. Oh, how wrong they were. Finally, Suzan made a signal.
Everyone expected Danny to lose immediately, but the half ghost wanted a show. Besides, he didn't want to look REALLY weird. Just weird was enough. No one ever thought that he would resist. He put on a mask of monstrous effort, while his opponent found himself actually trying to push the half ghost to the surface of the metal table. The people just stared. How was he able to hold back such a giant? After two or so minutes, the man was sweating like mad, while Danny was yet to do so. Phantom made a forced smirk.
"Getting tired?" He asked between ragged breaths. He was darn good at pretending.
"You wish..." the ginger said through the tightly gritted teeth.
But the matters took a turn for the worst for him when Danny got bored. The teen started to slowly overpower the giant. With the last push, Phantom pinned the opponent's hand to the table with a very loud metallic sound. He received no applause. And he knew why. He had just got all their money. Sighing, Danny put a hand on his face.
"Fine, keep your money."
The crowd broke out in cheers.
'Ah, at such moments I understand that I'll always have fun,' Bill said in a dreamy tone within Danny's head.
Some people were still in shock at what happened, and Wendy was among them.
"How is this possible?" She asked, while her father looked at his hand, in shock as well.
Danny smirked. "There is something quite hard beneath the shirt," he responded teasingly.
"Show it!" Someone shouted.
The request, for some reason, was supported by many people in the crowd, mostly girls. Be it just a year ago, Phantom would have been on the seventh sky. Now, however, his stomach was empty, he had no place to run, and worst of all, he hadn't payed. Danny was relieved that at least Wendy wasn't one of the swooning girls, she was too busy comforting her father. Damn, the guy took his defeat hard, he ordered an industrial amount of ice cream. Danny knew where this was going.
"Sorry, guys, not gonna happen, so let me finally eat, okay?"
"Why? Do you have an embarrassing birthmark or something?"
"No. I just. Want. To eat. And where did you all come from?!" Phantom exclaimed in exasperation, seeing that the crowd was way too big.
'Oops,' a small voice sounded in his head.
If Danny could glare on the inside, which was gross, he certainly would have. He was going to choke that little bastard, even if he didn't have a neck. For now, he needed to worry about the crowd. But thank goodness he was saved by one redhead. Wendy appeared out of nowhere, pulling him out of his seat and on the street. No one even had time to react, even Danny.
"Geez, you are strong," he muttered, fixing his clothes and shoulder.
"So are you," Wendy crossed her hands. "So far you are the second on my 'certainly gets in troubles list'."
"Second?"
"You still have a long way to go after the twins. I think you should go before your new fans tear your skin."
"Great, now I am guilty in being strong. I still haven't paid," Danny dug into the wallet and took out the cash. "Give it to Suzan. I'm not entering that place anytime soon."
"Gotcha."
He was still hungry. Phantom just took a taco in one of the small shops and ate it. His digestive system could withstand anything.
When Stan found out about this, everything became worse. When the girls started pestering him, the old man saw an opportunity. An opportunity to attract more female customers. Danny couldn't feel more embarrassed, just sitting in the shop without a chance to escape. Afterwards he tried to avoid the sneaky old man, but the damage to his psychological health was done. Wendy seemed sympathetic and somewhat amused at his misfortune. Although she wasn't fanning like many around, she found that physical trait of his rather attractive, even if she didn't get to see it.
Dipper sometimes couldn't hide his smug smirk.
On one of his escapades Danny was forced to go to the town. In a small settlement the news spread quickly, and now he was famous as the one who defeated Manly Dan. Although the initial shock passed and the majority of the girls got over it quickly, Phantom still was forced to remain in the shop. So here he was, walking down the road, eating from a bag of chips, having an inner debate with his inner demon.
"I still think that that was uncalled for," Bill grumbled. "They put that chick in the movie just so she could be there and come at the last fight. Too OP in my opinion. And that phrase about 'now you have me' is just so ridiculous! She was absent for the most part.'
Danny shrugged. 'For once I agree. Although the rest of the story was nice, I think.'
'Pfft, half of the movie repeats what used to be. That's not what I expected from the last part. Curse you, Mickey Mouse!'
Phantom chuckled, before a gust of blue air escaped his mouth. He knew exactly who it was.
Meanwhile Dipper and Mabel were going through another street, nearby. The latter wanted to get ice cream and her brother decided to get one as well.
"Oh, I cannot wait to indulge myself in a caloric dream!" Mabel said excitedly.
"As long as you keep away from 'Smile Dip', I don't have objections," Dipper said dryly, shuddering at the memory of pink sand-like treat.
Suddenly they heard multiple explosions on a distance. The preteens did the most logical thing - run to it. They ran through the alley, before being greeted by a strange sight. The stark haired ghost was familiar to them, but they were nevertheless surprised to see him again. Phantom jumped from the hole in the glass he had made and leaped forward towards another being...a robot?
"Common, Skulker, I have been away for only a few weeks!" Danny exclaimed, before hurling a green blast.
"It won't stop me, whelp!"
The opponent of the teen ghost was covered in metal and black sleeveless shirt, with green eyes and mohawk hair. His right hand was replaced by a huge gun. The crowd around was screaming in terror and running away. Dipper wondered if that was the ghost. It didn't really fit the category. Phantom ducked away from the blast made by the ghost and leaped into the air.
"Dipper, we've got to help him!" Mabel exclaimed and grabbed her brother's shirt.
"Okay, okay! I just have to figure out what this is!" Dipper started to go through the list while looking up to determine the specie.
Phantom summoned a shield and blocked the shot. He yawned theatrically.
"Seriously, you know I am out of your league, pal."
Danny was bearing the hunter only because he wanted a little stretch of the muscles. Skulker was indeed weaker than the teen. But the stubbornness of his was as thick as his armor was. Quite literally. And Phantom knew that. But the people around had a misfortune to be caught in a crossfire. The stark haired ghost had to finish the fight quickly - both to get not as much attention and save the people. His obsession and moral would allow nothing less.
Danny charged more blasts and kept firing, but Skulker kept avoiding the shots. The robot-like ghost pressed a small button and several rocket launchers appeared. Phantom's eyes widened, before he ducked inside the ground. Several cars exploded after him, and the Pines twins were still out of range.
"Rockets?!" Dipper exclaimed, quickly turning the pages. It was ridiculous, none of the mentioned monsters used techs.
Skulker's eyes were covered by the green glasses. He wanted to see his prey even despite invisibility. It proved to be unneeded. He felt a tap on his back, before seeing Danny's innocent grinning expression. Phantom then clenched his fists and hit two shoulder rocket launchers. His strength was enough to puncture them and send sparks flying around.
"Get off me, whelp!" Skulker shouted, trying to reach behind his back, but Danny was too quick for him.
"Nnnnope."
Suddenly Phantom simply ripped off Skulker's hand.
"Need a helping hand?" Phantom laughed, tossing it away.
"How did you get so strong?!" Skulker exclaimed in shock.
"I had a lot of practice," Danny grinned toothily, before his hand glowed green again.
Skulker moved his head away and managed to flip the teen over by using his remaining hand and pin him to the ground with a loud crack, both of Danny's bones and the asphalt. The teen screamed in pain, but then his neon eyes blazed brighter. Double beams erupted from his eyes and...blasted the enemy's head off.
Both Dipper and Mabel gasped at the ruthless end, still peaking from behind the corner. The preteen boy started to look for the page of the spiritual beings, because the ghost was the ghost. Who knew what that white haired dude could do. Phantom meanwhile shakily got up, the wound making him wobbly. It would take a while to heal, he realized. How would he explain his wound to the others? He could do that later. For now, he had another concern.
"Hey, Phantom person!" Danny hid in the alleyway, heard a voice and flinched. He looked down and saw Mabel there. Not good.
"Hey," Phantom pulled on a smile, despite his unwillingness to talk.
"Mabel!" Dipper ran closer. "You know that you shouldn't..."
"It's fine, Dipper! He is a nice guy!" The girl said loudly, before gasping. "You are bleeding!" She exclaimed, pointing at Danny's side.
Phantom looked down. The hand he had put over the sore place was soaked in the green liquid. He cursed quietly, while Dipper memorized everything. He didn't know the ghosts could bleed.
"Yeah...don't worry about it. I'm already dead, nothing would happen. That's what you get for underestimating the enemy. A lesson for my arrogant part."
"You don't seem like you are okay."
"I'm FINE," Danny all but snapped. "I'll heal by the next morning. I just need some peaceful time alone."
"You can stay with us," Mabel immediately offered.
"MABEL!" Dipper exclaimed. "He is..."
"A ghost?" Phantom's eyes flashed brightly. "Didn't take you as the racist, kid. I have met enough prejudice because of that."
He was truthful. The kid really pissed him off. Dipper looked down in shame. To tell the truth, yeah, he did sound racist. Could you blame him? All his experiences with the ghosts ended badly. Not to mention the spiritual beings at large.
'Oh, goodness, DP,' Bill said in the ghost's head. 'Look at him, he looks like he has been caught with a cookie,' he laughed. 'That's why I love you, buddy. Although it may not end well for ya.'
"Fine, you can stay," Dipper said, looking away.
"Hey, I said that I don't need to. I'll just...go."
With that Phantom turned invisible and flew away. He had to get the medicaments first, he had some in his bag, as he had bought them beforehand for such occasions. And that had to be done before the twins returned. Danny saw the Mystery Shack approaching. He landed in his room and changed form, becoming visible. Sighing, Phantom took a look at himself, his T-shirt had blood spots.
"Damn it, I hope I've taken spare ones," Danny mumbled, before taking the shirt off.
His bare torso was entirely covered in a network of scars, big and small. Most of them were light, not so vibrant and thick, however some stretched on the relatively long distances, had a vivid crimson color. Three huge claw marks went across his back. It was a miracle he was still standing. The amount of scars couldn't be compatible with life. But Danny managed to retain half of it.
Phantom took a roll of wrappings from the bag and used them for their purpose. He wrapped them under his shoulders, where the main source was, just like in the middle left side. He didn't need alcohol, because he was immune to infections. Danny took the black shirt in his hands and was about to put it on, when he heard a voice.
"Dipper! Mabel! Where are you...guys." Wendy froze as she saw him standing in his room.
Phantom really should have closed the door.
