Disclaimer: Not the big man…just a fanfic author.
Story: Danny Fenton, best friend of Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, sophomore at Casper High, and very much a tomboy. That's right, Danny is as female as they come. Well, minus the clothing and attitude.
Set all over the place.
Spoilers: I'm not sure…most probably.
Warnings: Eh….
Pairings: Danny/???
Danny Fenton's Divine Comedy
Chapter Seven: Vox Humana
"Damn! I didn't want to be harassed!" Danny yelled, trying to push Klemper off. They struggled for a couple of minutes before Danny lashed out with her foot and kicked him away.
"Watch out!" Sam warned as Klemper began to use his ice powers. Danny quickly shot an ecto-blast at him, blasting him through a door. She quickly shut it and melded it shut.
"Whew! Man, he doesn't give up, does he?" Tucker commented.
"Like a bunch of other ghosts I know," Danny muttered.
"These Fenton Fones look horrible, but they make great wireless earphones," Tucker said as he cheered and turned on the Fenton Fones to his PDA. He began to sing along to it, "Ember, you will remember!"
Both Danny and Sam winced and clutched their ears.
"I think they look great as techno Goth earrings," Sam muttered.
Danny took control of the wheel and began to drive back.
The next day at school, they were surrounded by Ember.
"A little too much?" Sam sneered.
Danny shrugged and began humming the song. Sam stared at her in horror. "Danny, don't tell me you too?!"
"Well, it is catchy. It lacks talent in lyrics, but whatever. And she's entirely too pop for her style."
"Hey, Kwan's coming over here," Tucker pointed out to them.
"We're going to have to be more careful now that Kwan is hanging out with us, especially if we want to keep Danny's secret a secret," Sam muttered to the other two quickly before Kwan was there.
"Isn't this crazy? She's everywhere," Kwan said to them.
Sam smirked and said dryly, "I'm surprised you're not joining their mindless ranks."
He grinned, "Ouch. But nah, I'm a little preoccupied with something else," he glanced over quickly to Danny, but looked away just as quickly. Sam bit her lip. No way…
"Well, welcome to the free-thinking individuality group," Sam said, filing away her thoughts for later.
"I can't believe Ember's the ghost," Danny twitched, heading to the school's theatre.
"Ready, Christine?" Mason Lombardy greeted her as soon as she entered.
"As ever, Phantom," she returned, dropping off her bag and then meeting with the others.
"Alright, from the top!" Drama teacher and director of Casper High's rendition of Phantom of the Opera yelled.
Unknown to Danny, Ember watched the practice, smirking. "The infamous Danny Phantom can sing, huh? This'll be interesting. Maybe I'll make an exception to the no duet rule."
The practice finished when Danny was interrupted as she was about to go home.
"I'm Drew Sharpner and can I say what a wonderful performance that was?" a man waiting at the door smiled widely at her.
Danny was confused, but thanked him anyway.
"As you can see, Miss Fenton, Ember McClain has become insanely popular. I'll say she has no talent. To give her a bit of competition, I was wondering if I could be your manager and show the world real talent?"
"Woah. Um, I'm flattered and all, but I don't think I'm idol material."
"Nonsense!" Drew exclaimed. "You're perfect. You'll be able to combat the mindless rave Ember incites."
It wouldn't hurt to try to fight Ember this way. It was worth a try.
"Alright, I guess."
"Brilliant. Now may I take you out to eat while we discuss details?"
"Hurry it up and wait.
So close, but so far away.
Everything you've dreamed up, close enough for you to taste, but you just can't touch," Danny sang.
The song was just released in the beginning of the week, actually driving back the mindless haze Ember was inducing. Sam cheered her on, Tucker looked at her in awe, but somehow best yet was Kwan always quietly supporting her.
Things were going so well that she really didn't expect Ember to underhandedly sneak up on her. The last thing she saw was Ember aiming an attack towards her.
The ghost, in turn, almost slid to her knees. She had spent everything she had left in that attack against Phantom. Ember hadn't expected how powerful a response the halfa would get from the people, making Ember lose her power bit by bit.
But now, that wasn't going to be a problem.
Grabbing Phantom, Ember disappeared.
Drew was confused when Danny asked if she could do a duet with Ember.
"Sure, if you really want to. But I thought the goal was to beat Ember at her own game?"
"Ember's nice," Danny muttered, dazedly walking away from him. He narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't right. Looking up her emergency contact details, he skipped her parents and went to her friends. Teenagers typically told their friends their secrets, not their parents.
After reaching them, he asked for a meeting at the local hang out joint in town, the Nasty Burger. There, he told her three friends what had happened. The Asian kid didn't look like he knew anything, but the Goth girl and tech guy did.
"Spill," he glared at those two.
"Ember's a ghost. She probably has Danny under her mind control like she has everyone else. She probably wants to use Danny to lure everyone back to her and become more powerful," Sam said, leaving out any of Danny's own involvement with ghosts.
Kwan and Danny's manager gaped at her, but she shrugged. "It's the truth."
Tucker began muttering Ember's song again.
Sam huffed in annoyance, "We'll save Danny, but first we have to deprogram him. And go to school."
Unfortunately, things didn't go their way. For one, Danny didn't appear at school at all. Two, the entire school rampaged out when they learned Ember was giving away free tickets to that midnight's joint concert between her and Danny. Then third, they had to strap Tucker down. And just when they're about to leave, Lancer caught her and Kwan sneaking out.
At least, Drew was able to break them out.
At Bookies' Music Mega Store, Ember was throwing tickets left and right to the crowd. Danny was standing placidly next to her, smiling blankly at the crowd. The three made it in time to hear Ember yell, "Scream my name!"
Drew stayed in the crowd while Kwan and Sam moved forward.
"Kwan, wear these. Ember will try to take over your mind," Sam said as she handed the jock her Fenton Fones. He took them, still in disbelief over the whole thing. They split, Kwan to where Ember and Danny was while Sam slipped off to climb onto the huge Ember billboard.
"Hey, it's Ember McLame!" Sam yelled, hanging onto the billboard after squiggling onto its face.
Ember sneered, "Oh great. A critic."
"Make that two!" Drew yelled, standing in the middle of the crowd with a poster of Ember. He began tearing it into pieces.
Ember's eyes flashed, "Why you little…"
Kwan used that moment as an opportunity to pull back Danny into his arms and began running off with her. Ember screeched and aimed her guitar towards him. She struck a chord and the blast shoved them both forward. Kwan tried to cushion Danny and protect her from the fall. Going into a roll, using a method he'd learned from football, he pushed himself to his feet and began running through the nearest door. Running up the stairs, he realized it led to the roof. He huffed tiredly, dropping to his knees for rest, but still holding onto Danny.
"Hey, dipstick. You've got my girl," Ember smirked, phasing through the roof.
Kwan sucked in a harsh breath. He was skeptical before, but now…
"Let's start our first duet, Danny!" Ember switched her guitar's setting and blasted it towards Danny. Danny's eyes flashed green and then went back to normal. Seeing Kwan, Danny scowled and slid into a traditional Muay Thai fighting stance.
Kwan's eyes widened and he gulped. Danny charged forward, and the hands Kwan had been holding up in defense quickly lowered as he focused all he had at dodging Danny's vicious blows. He'd seen her kick Dash's ass before, but that was child's play compared to her brutality now. Suddenly, helicopters and armored trucks started appearing.
Ember sneered, "Looks like we have to ditch, baby doll," and she stopped Danny and they disappeared, leaving Kwan on the roof alone.
Hell, how did Lancer get them to approve a town teenage house arrest? This mass grounding act sucked.
And that was just one of many things Kwan brooded about. That is, until Sam knocked on his window.
"Why're you here, Sam?" Oh yeah he was pouting.
She rolled her eyes. "'Cause we've got saving to do. First, we have to pick up Tuck," she winced. Kwan shared that wince; they'd forgotten about Tucker and left him in school. Kwan'd also forgotten that he hung out with Danny and her group now, and apparently they were used to breaking rules. Hence, sneaking out, etc. etc.
Kwan climbed out of his window and followed her. They got Tucker and moved on to the concert. They caught a glimpse of the inside, seeing Danny and Ember warming up a little to the crowd.
"Fan service! Fan service!" the crowd yelled.
Ember smirked and grabbed a hold of Danny, kissing her soundly on the lips. The audience screamed.
"Ah, the wonders of fan service," Ember said as she held onto Danny and felt herself become more powerful with every scream. It seemed screaming gave her almost as much power as fans screaming her name. Even better, when the crowd yelled out their names, she got power from them not only screaming her name but also from them screaming Danny's, by Ember holding onto the girl and feeling the power the crowd gave the halfa (similar to what they do for Ember) and having it transfer to her by touch.
The three sneaking teens glared, though Tucker had to hold back Sam and Kwan from launching themselves through the crowd and dashing towards the stage.
The stadium had been already filled up by the time they got there, but they needed to sneak into the back. Not having Danny's ghost powers to help, Sam had to rely on her lock picking skills.
"Where'd you learn to pick locks?" Tucker asked.
"From Danny," she answered nonchalantly.
A moment.
"Where did she learn to pick locks?!" both boys asked.
Sam didn't have a chance to answer because the door swung open.
"Let's go."
They went in, interrupting Ember tuning her guitar and Danny sitting idly to her side, apparently having returned from their pre-concert warm up.
"Alright, ghost chick! Hand over Danny and you won't get hurt!" Tucker cried out.
Everyone else in the room stared at him. He blushed and hid behind Sam.
"Alright, Ember. What he said," Kwan said, much cooler than Tucker.
"I said no, dipstick," Ember mocked.
Kwan narrowed his eyes, clenching his hands into fists. "And I said, let her go."
Ember laughed, "This is rich! The disptick likes my girl. Well, baby doll, why don't you distract lover boy over there?" Ember said and Danny turned to Kwan, smiling adoringly.
Everything in Kwan stopped functioning and he stared.
"Oh no you don't!" Sam cried out, but she was stopped when Dash entered in full security uniform.
"Security, go get 'em."
And while Danny distracted Kwan, Sam and Tucker dealt with Dash.
Okay, Kwan admitted he liked Danny, but he didn't want her like this. Though her wrapping her arms around his neck and her face looming closer to his was pleasantly distracting.
Pushing her away roughly, Danny stumbled and looked at him hurt. "What's wrong, Kwan? I thought you liked me."
Kwan had to break the spell somehow. Maybe to break the spell, he had to break her heart.
"I never liked you. I was only using you to bring my grades up and laugh at you behind your back."
Sam and Tucker stopped and gaped, looking slightly hurt, but Kwan looked at them and shook his head discreetly, nodding towards Danny.
Her eyes flashed green angrily and then she shook her heard harshly, grabbing at her head. Her eyes watered and she glared at him betrayed and angry.
"I-I hate you," she hissed.
She began sobbing, sliding to the ground. Her sobs grew less and then she looked at Kwan calmly, even though she really looked a mess.
"I didn't do anything crazy while I was under Ember's spell, did I?"
"I'll tell you everything later. I promise," Kwan said with apologetic eyes.
Danny nodded and then glanced meaningfully at Sam and Tucker. Their eyes widened, but they tackled Dash and knocked him out.
"I'm guessing you know about Ember now. You might as well know about this," and then Danny transformed.
Phantom nodded at him, clenched her jaw, and picked up the Fenton Thermos on her way to the stage.
Kwan gaped. Danny Fenton…Danny Phantom?! Oh, he felt more stupid at that revelation than all the times he failed in school combined.
First jocks and now ghosts? How stupid was she? Was she that weak?
She felt angry. She felt hurt. She felt betrayed.
Danny knew, at the very least, Kwan had said something hurtful to her. But more than that, she was tired of being used. With Aragon, she was at least semi-aware. She couldn't stop herself, and she probably would've been angry with him as well afterwards, if it weren't for the fact the spell of the amulet's effects were still wearing off and she was upset that her wonderful evening was a product of manipulation. And also even though she was enjoying herself, she had to cut it short. She didn't know his motives, but he hadn't seemed like he wanted to hurt her intentionally.
Spectra had gotten close to her. But Danny had let her. In a way, she should've known about Spectra. And at least, Spectra hadn't meant to hurt her and gave herself up in the end.
But she didn't remember a thing under Ember's spell. Danny knew the ghost had wanted her out of the way and found this all amusing. Danny never confided in Ember, didn't know Ember and Ember didn't know her.
She was tired of being hurt and used.
"Hey, baby doll. You need to look out," Danny said coldly. And then she was darting forward, reaching Ember before the singer could react. Grabbing her arm, Danny viciously twisted it and swung Ember in a full circle, letting go so that she flew out of her grip and crashed through the room where the others were.
Danny followed soon after, appearing next to the sound console. Sneering, Danny pressed a button.
"What stops chanting? Making the crowd's ears hurt," and then Danny pressed and slid a couple more buttons. A horrible screech filled the arena, forcing everyone but Danny and Ember to clutch their ears.
But the chanting stopped.
Ember shakily got to her feet, power draining as the effects of the chanting stopping hit her.
"Heh, y-you still owe me a duet, Phantom," Ember breathed out unsteadily.
Danny icily glared at her, too hurt and angry to have any mercy at that moment. She was just tired of it all.
Walking closer, Danny's hand shot forward and clutched Ember's top, glaring into her eyes. Danny threw her into the air and kicked her, Ember ending up back onto the stage, body rolling limply.
Danny walked over to the ghost calmly and uncapped the Fenton Thermos.
"Time to go," she murmured.
Ember slowly smiled apologetically.
She was sucked in and Danny capped the thermos, sighing in relief.
"It's Phantom! She saved us again!"
Head snapping to the side, she realized the entire crowd was there and erupting into cheers. Turning red, Danny turned and ran backstage, forgetting her ghost powers in her embarrassment.
"Ah, crud. I didn't even really save them," Danny said as she ran passed the others and finally remembered she could fly.
In the shadows, Drew Sharpner watched curiously and with mild awe. He always knew Danny was more special than she let on.
"These scores are the worst in Casper High's history. Every single one of you failed," Lancer scowled.
"However," Principal Ishiyama interrupted, "One student scored perfectly, another scored at ninety percent, and another scored above the percentile. Congratulations Tucker Foley, Kwan Jeong, and Danny Fenton. You three are excused for today's cramtastic session. Mr. Jeong, if you wished to stay and see if you can score higher, you may."
"Ah, no thanks, Principal Ishiyama. My head hurts from all that studying. I'll pass," Kwan said sheepishly.
Danny rolled her eyes and smacked Kwan's head.
"Then you three may be dismissed."
Danny waved the other two off as she left, having an appointment to make to. Seeing Drew, she mock-saluted. Drew returned it.
"So…you're sure?" he sighed.
"Yeah…being a singer just doesn't fit my schedule right now," Danny gave a small smile.
"Maybe in the future," he said optimistically.
She shrugged, "You never know."
"I'll see you around, Danny."
"Yeah, around."
Started 8/31/08 –Completed 8/31/08
