A/N: Alright, I terribly apologize for the unannounced hiatus of this fic. A combination of things, including college, my love for video games, writer's block, and my own personal problems has prevented me from updating. So, I thank you all for your patience.
However, to all who sent me "reviews" that just told me to hurry up, please don't do this. I try to be regular, and things will be ready when they're ready.
That said, one other note. For storytelling purposes, I'm bumping Danielle's age down to eleven and putting her in the sixth grade. In Amity Park, sixth grade will be elementary school. Alright, I'm done. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters copyright Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon, Viacom, and Billionfold Studios.
Danny was adjusting to life as a known superhero rather well. Still, his new morning routine was still a bit foreign to him.
Before, an alarm clock or, more frequently, a ghost attack, would rise the hybrid from the warmth of his bed sheets. Now, it was the daily unceremonious arrival of a ninety pound lump slamming onto his stomach.
"Wakey, wakey," Danielle said as she leapt from the floor and unto her brother. With an 'oof' the senior halfa sat straight up, trying to get air back into his diaphragm. When he finally recovered, he looked down at his genetic copy, sitting Indian style on his chest.
"Why do I put up with you?" he asked.
In response, the girl batted her eyelashes. "Because you love me," she said in a cutesy fashion.
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled as he ruffled her hair.
"Mom told me to wake you. We're supposed to go to school today."
School. After the last two weeks of globe hopping and government work, something so normal sounded almost…welcome. At the same time, however, it caused a knot to form in his stomach. Today was the day he had to face it. Up until know he had either been at a private function or doing something for the DGA or the Integration Plan, so his location was kept secret. This time, however, he actually had to go out in public. For the first time, he had to deal with his secret being exposed.
Thanks to the Reality Gauntlet incident, he knew full well what the A-list reaction would be. And the one he had worried most about, Valerie, was already at peace with him. Still, the fact he was going to be followed around all day, get begged for autographs, and have a harem of girls professing their love to him made him nervous. Though he had to admit the last one sounded somewhat appealing, but his relationship with Sam meant all those girls were off limits. Even if they weren't, they all loved him for the wrong reasons.
"Danny?" Danielle asked, noticing her brother's spaced out look. "Are you okay?"
The elder hero gave a wan smile. "I'm fine, just worried is all," he said, giving the girl a peck on the forehead.
"What, worried about whatever Walker's up to?"
Danny winced as that thought entered his mind. After the botched raid on Skulker's island they had raided Technus' lab, only to find it had already been cleaned out. With no other leads and Walker's jail being nigh impenetrable, it looked like the only thing that could be done was a stake out of the facility in question until the attack could be launched.
"No, about going out in public for the first time since I got exposed. Speaking of which, I need you out of here, kiddio, I've got to change."
Danni nodded and leapt to the floor, speeding out of the room. Content, the elder halfa began changing.
Danni, meanwhile, phased through the floor and into the kitchen, where she found her mother, Jazz, and Ember already eating. It took some talking, but Danny, Jack, and Maddie convinced the singer to stay at Fentonworks until they had properly dealt with Skulker. Plus, they wanted to study a ghost's pregnancy.
Still, Ember's attitude had barely improved from day one. Danny had made it a point to be on his guard whenever she was in the same room as him. You never knew when she was going to fly into a rage. Danielle knew this as well, so she quickly grabbed a piece of toast off the table and flew back to her room.
As she munched her breakfast she began packing her backpack. Today was when she went to school as well, for the first time ever. However, unlike her brother, she wasn't at all nervous. Part of this came from the fact that she enjoyed the attention that Danny dreaded, and another part simply because she wanted to actually go to school, something Vlad hadn't allowed. In fact, she was wondering what could possibly ruin this for her.
Green…the children…can you here their pain? Feel their pain!
Sam bolted out of bed, the remnants of her latest nightmare still ringing in her ear. As she struggled to catch her breath, her mind began wandering back to her dream. It was just like the visions she received a few days ago. What did they mean?
Before she could contemplate it any farther her alarm clock went off, surprising her. She realized it was almost time for school. In a flash she was out of bed, hurriedly getting dressed. She'd worry about this later.
"Well, here we are, Danni. Now, remember…"
"Don't show off my powers, remember the difference between friends and fans, and if someone makes fun of me, don't try to get back at them. I got it," the younger hybrid snapped in frustration as she left Jazz's car and began walking toward Casper Elementary. The previous day Danny, who wanted to make sure his little sister didn't make the same mistakes he did, took her aside and gave her a rather long lecture about using her powers responsibly, how to tell a good friend from a fair-weather one, and several other things she should remember at school. While she was glad her elder sibling was watching out for her, she was finding it kind of annoying.
Still, as she rushed to the door, she called out "Love ya, bye!"
"Bye!" Danny and Jazz called as they drove off.
Satisfied, Danni turned around…only to come to the halt when she saw what appeared to be a metal hook right in front of her.
"Hold it, you bilge-cat," Youngblood demanded.
"That's bilge-rat," Parrot sighed
"Uh…who are you?" Danielle asked, a little freaked out.
"The name's Youngblood, and I recognize you. You're Phantom's sister, aren't you?"
"Uh…yeah. What business is it of yours?" Danni asked.
"I be one of yer brother's old enemies."
The young clone cocked an eyebrow. "You? You look a little puny to have gone a few rounds with my bro."
"Hey!" the pirate ghost demanded, dropping his accent. "I had Phantom on the ropes once!"
"Sure…then how come he's never told me about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he's mentioned Skulker, Technus, Walker, Spectra, Ember, Johnny 13, Desiree, Pariah Dark, Undergrowth, Vortex, Nocturne, Amorpho, the Box Ghost, the Lunch Lady, Prince Aragon, Freakshow, Lydia, and Hotep-Ra, but you never came up."
"What? But…I had the best plan to defeat Phantom! I made him look crazy!"
"Sure you did. Look, are there any other ghost kids here? Any that are less crazy?"
"Nope. According to the school board, we're the only two ghosts here. You see…"
Youngblood trailed off as both he and Danielle realized something. They were getting a lot of stares and whispers from the other kids. A few were beginning to approach them.
"…This might be a problem," Danielle sighed.
As bad as Danielle had it, it paled in comparison to what Danny, Sam, and Jazz had to endure. As Jazz pulled up to the school, her car was instantly surrounded by a mob of reporters, each wanting an interview with the famous ghost boy.
"Danny, Danny! Can you tell us the progress on Walker?"
"Danny, can you tell us how you got your powers?"
"Danny, can you tell us your thoughts on…"
Danny responded to all these questions by grabbing Sam's arm and turning them both invisible.
The reporters stopped and groaned when they realized that their target had disappeared. Almost immediately, however, one of them spoke up. "He couldn't have gone far!"
Almost instantly the mob perked up. They quickly scattered in all directions, hoping to hunt down the still elusive ghost boy.
After they had all scattered, Danny and Sam reappeared. The lovebirds had never left the car, knowing that the reporters would never think to look there.
Danny shook his head. "Those people are vultures."
"I suggest we get inside before they get back," his girlfriend commented as she climbed out of Jazz's convertible, her carmates following her lead. However, before they could even take a step toward the school, they were interrupted by a surprise visitor.
"Mr. Fenton," a voice called. Danny turned and was surprised to see a member of the DGA walking toward him. "I'm Agent Marmel."
"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking his hand. "Um, not to be rude, but what are you doing here? Has there been a breakthrough with Walker?"
"No, I've been ordered to escort you into the building."
That statement earned three puzzled looks. "Why would I need escorting?"
Danny was answered by a loud rabble. At that point, the three teens noticed a large group of people advancing toward them. However, these people clearly weren't fans.
In fact, they looked rather angry. The hybrid realized that they were protesters. They were holding picket signs with slogans like "Eliminate Ectoplasm," "Down With Phantom," and various other anti-ghost sayings. It looked like only the police line that had been set up was keeping them under any control.
Sam was the first to find her voice. "Who are they?"
Marmel sighed. "A group calling themselves the Order for Ghost Suppression. They're trying to stop ghosts from exercising their new rights. We're worried that they might turn violent."
"Can't you do something about them?" Jazz pleaded.
"I'm afraid not," the agent shook his head. "It's their right to protest. As long as they don't turn violent, there's little we can do."
"Buy…they're a hate group!" Jazz protested. "Can they really…"
"Just forget it," Danny spoke up at last.
Jazz and Sam gave him incredulous looks. "But Danny, how can you let them…?"
"They're just a bunch of idiots blowing smoke. If they want to protest, let them. I don't care."
"Wow, that's surprisingly mature of you," Marmel commented.
The hybrid shrugged. "It's better than when ghost haters were shooting at me. And anyway…wait," he said as a horrible thought crossed his mind. "Are these guys at the elementary school too?"
"No, since the most ghosts involved, including you, are enrolled here, they're concentrating here."
The ghost boy sighed in relief. "At least Danielle is safe. Now, let's get inside before the press gets back."
"Uh, well," Marmel said, nervously, "even though the press isn't allowed on school grounds, I doubt you'll get any relief inside."
"Don't tell me, raging fans?" Danny asked in monotone. Marmel only nodded. "Well, let's get this over with."
As promised, Marmel escorted them to the doors. Danny pushed them open, eager to see the familiar halls of Casper High.
He didn't see this. What he saw was a wave of fan girls.
"Danny, Danny, will you go out with me?"
"Danny, what's your favorite restaurant? We can have the perfect date there!"
"I don't care what your favorite restaurant is, I just want to marry you!"
For the second time that day, the halfa found himself relying on his powers. In this case, it was both invisibility and intangibility, which the trio used to literally walk through the crowd unnoticed. As the mob was left wondering what happened to their target, Danny, his sister, and his girlfriend reappeared around the corner in another hallway.
"That was close," the hybrid commented as he peered around the corner. Seeing that the girls were still confused, he quickly turned to head to class.
However, he found himself face-to-face with the biggest fan girl of all.
"Hey, Danny," Paulina cooed, closing the gap between him and the ghost boy.
Danny gulped. Sam fumed. Jazz looked amused.
"Uh, hi Paulina," the boy said slowly.
"You know, I think I've finally wrapped my mind around 'Paulina Fenton.'" The Latina said as she walked her fingers up his chest.
Danny was blushing. Jazz was barely holding Sam back, who was attempting to kill her rival.
"Uh, Paulina, I'm flattered, really, but…I already have a girlfriend."
Instantly the high school queen's flirtatious face disappeared. Her eyes doubled in size, her mouth gaped. "…who?"
Sam, who had witnessed this, walked rather smugly over to her boyfriend and draped an arm over his neck. "Me," she said simply before giving her long time crush a kiss on the lips.
In retrospect, not a smart move. Paulina went from surprised to angry in a matter of seconds.
"You bitch!" she shrieked before lunging at the goth, knocking her to the ground. Suddenly, they were fighting each other with a ferocity that would have left some of Danny's enemies shocked.
"Man, it's a good thing Tucker's stuck in that office," Jazz commented, "This would have been too much for him."
Danny silently agreed as he attempted to pry his girlfriend off of his former crush.
Today is not going to be fun.
Danny had finally made it to class, and was ready to learn.
But no learning was taking place.
It might have had something to do with the fact that everyone, including the teacher, was staring at him with a huge grin on his face.
"Uh…I never thought I'd say this, but…shouldn't we be learning something?"
"Say your catchphrase, Danny!" a student screamed.
The hybrid sighed. "Goin' Ghost," he said without any of his usual enthusiasm. Regardless, it caused the entire class to cheer.
Danny buried his head into his hands. Lord, he prayed, please do something to end this.
"Excuse me," Agent Marmel interrupted, coming into the classroom, "I need to speak with Mr. Fenton and his teammates."
Hallelujah, the hybrid responded as he quickly dashed out of the room, followed closely by Sam and Valerie.
"So, what's up?" Danny asked.
"We've made a breakthrough in the Walker mission," Marmel stated simply as he handed the hero a few photos. Each of them featured the warden's guards, but something stood out. Each photo had been marked with a circle around their wrists.
Upon closer inspection, Danny realized what was being circled. On the wrists of every guard was wearing an armband that wasn't part of their usual uniform. The fact that it was a sinister red color instead of the usual green was the biggest clue.
"After some surveillance, we've discovered that these armbands are what allow them to get into the prison. If we can figure out how they work, we can launch a surprise attack."
"Great," Valerie muttered, "So how do we do that?"
"We were hoping you had some ideas," the agent admitted.
"You now," Danny said, rubbing his chin, "I think I do."
Danielle and Youngblood peered nervously from behind the tree at the back of the playground. After a few seconds, Youngblood whispered, "I think we lost them."
Both ghosts sighed in relief as they sat down. It wasn't easy being the only ghosts in a school filled with normal kids. They were caught between students who thought they were the coolest things ever and those who had parents who shared similar views as the OGS. Which is why, when the recess bell rang, they quickly turned invisible and didn't reappear until they were as far away from their fellow students as possible.
"I can see why Danny wanted to give me that speech," the youngest halfa said as she got comfortable.
"So, do you fight on Phantom's team or something?"
"Yep," she answered proudly. "Danny and Valerie say I'm a good shot."
"I bet you're not better than me."
"Oh yeah? I bet I am!"
"Prove it!"
"Fine, give me a target!"
The ghost pirate looked around for a moment before pointing to the sky. "That bird."
"I'm not going to shoot a bird!"
"Why? Can't do it?"
"No, I just don't want to hurt a poor bird."
"Man, you really are Phantom's clone, you're such a goody-goody!"
"That's better than being a little jerk."
"Yeah, well you're stupid!"
"No, you're stupid!"
"No, you're stupid!"
"No, you're stupid!"
"No, you're stupid!"
"No, you're stupid!"
"You're both stupid," Parrot shouted. "Now will you both put a sock in it?"
"…Would you object to using a skeleton bird for a target?"
"Nope," Danni answered, powering up an ectoblast.
Parrot decided now would be an excellent time to fly very quickly.
Amorpho had finished his last class that day when Danny phased into his classroom.
"Ah, Jimmy, what can I do for you?"
"Okay, first off, it's Danny, and secondly, I need a favor. Can you do an undercover mission?"
Valerie looked through her binoculars at the foreboding prison. "Alright," she said, turning to Amorpho. "You know what to do?"
In response, the shape shifter morphed his form. His form became broader and more muscular, his usual red and black became green and gray. In a matter of seconds, he was a perfect duplicate of one of Walker's guards.
"I go in and see if I can get one of those wristbands, or at least figure out how they work. Now, are you sure I'll get my picture in the paper for this?"
The ghost hunter rolled her eyes. The only way Danny could convince the changeling to go through with the mission was to promise some good coverage on his "heroic exploits," as he put it. "Yeah, I'm sure, now hurry up and go."
Amorpho needed no second bidding. He floated toward the prison. As he neared the gigantic metal doors, he noticed an intercom button next to them. Nervously, he pressed the button and spoke. "Uh…pardon me, uh…sir…"
"What are you doing?" Bullet's voice came from the other side. "Why don't you let yourself in?"
"Uh, well…you see, I…lost my gear."
"What? How could you do something so stupid?"
"I was…attacked by a Behemoth while on patrol. I got away, but it destroyed my gear. Please, let me in!"
"…What's you identification number?" Walker's second in command asked skeptically.
Amorpho froze with fear. "Um…four ten eighty eight?"
There was silence. "…Ah, here you are. Alright, I'm opening the doors. Another guard will be waiting to give you replacement gear. Unless you're hurt, get back to work afterward."
Even though he didn't need to, the undercover ghost breathed a sigh of relief as the barriers opened. As Bullet promised, another, seemingly identical guard was waiting with an armband, handcuffs, a notepad, and a nightstick.
"Man, you're lucky," the guard commented. "Not many ghosts get attacked by a Behemoth and leave in one piece."
"Um, yeah…can I get my gear back?"
"Yeah, you probably want to get back on patrol quick," the ghost said, handing him the nightstick. "With Walker's mood lately, it's best we stay on schedule."
"Yes. Anyway, nice security plan with these wristbands," Amorpho commented, trying to sound natural.
"I'll say. That Technus may talk too much, but he's a genius. Heck, I'll bet no one can guess that these bands don't really do anything."
That perked the disguised ghost's curiosity. "Really?"
"Yeah. It just looks out for Technus' signature. It's on all his inventions. Of course, by the time anyone figured that out, our weapon would be ready."
Amorpho blinked as he secured the band around his wrist. "Yes, interesting. Well, I must return to my patrol." With that he turned around to exit only to find another guard blocking his path.
"Guard number four ten eighty eight, reporting for signing out."
Amorpho froze. The other guard arched an eyebrow. "Four ten eighty eight? Wasn't that the number you gave?" he said to Amorpho.
"Uh…no?"
"And you didn't have your gear…"
Before the faux ghost could reply, both guards grabbed him, holding his arms. One of them relieved him of his gear. As they did this, Bullet walked up to them. "I heard everything from upstairs. Apparently we have a spy. Take him to questioning."
Before either guard could comply, Amorpho was suddenly gone.
"Huh? What the?"
"Where is he?"
"He's not invisible!"
At that point, Bullet looked down and saw a ghostly mouse scurrying across the floor. He grabbed the nightstick and fired it at the rodent. The rat dodged, then transformed back into Amorpho. Before any guard could react, the ghost with no face was out the doors.
As he flew, alarms blared, and blasts were fired, both from the guard's nightsticks and the turrets on the prison walls. Still, their efforts were in vain. The shape shifter was gone.
"So, all we need is a piece of Technus' tech?" Danny mused. Amorpho was now safe in the Ops Center, which now contained himself, Danny, Maddie, Jack, Jazz, Valerie, Danielle, Sam, Agents Kaufman and Marmel, and, much to Danny's chagrin, Youngblood.
"That's the case, Freddy."
"It's Danny!"
"Well, that's great, but it's useless without any actual tech," Kaufman pointed out.
"Yep. Fortunately, we happen to have a whole suit's worth," the hybrid commented, motioning to Valerie, who activated her suit for emphasis. "Gentlemen, we launch an attack at four o'clock tomorrow."
"Andy," Amorpho began.
"It's Danny!"
"Whatever. As I was saying…count me in!"
"So let me get this straight," Walker said to a very nervous Bullet. Skulker and Technus stood by, silently angry as well. "A spy knows the secret to our security? One that might work for Phantom?"
"Y-yes," Bullet stuttered.
Walker was silent. "Fortunately for you, we're already ready for them. In fact, Phantom coming here was part of the plan. Tomorrow, that punk is going to regret crossing Charles Walker."
"No," a voice said. Still in the shadows of the office, Walker's silent partner lurked. "The ghost child is mine. It will be me who finishes him off.
"He may not know it, but he's already lost."
Morning at the Manson residence had become an awkward time. Jeremy and Pamela still weren't happy their daughter was out fighting ghosts, much less dating one. Still, they were trying to keep an open mind about it.
Sam had just finished her breakfast and was midway to the sink when it happened.
Green…greenSuffering…
The children are suffering…
THE CHILDREN ARE SUFFERING!"Sam?" Jeremy asked.
Suddenly, the goth fell to the floor, her plate breaking on the floor beside her.
"Sam!" Pamela shrieked as she dashed over to her daughter, her husband following.
"Sammy-kins, are you okay? Sammy? Sammy? SAAAAAAAAAM!"