I do not own 'Danny Phantom'
Chapter 10
Danny and his friends blinked once-twice-three times before they fully processed what was going on. Unfortunately it seemed that what they were seeing was real.
Danny's parents were now at school as their teachers.
"I hate you Vlad." Danny stated without looking back.
"I know." The evil halfa stated smugly. "Now consider my offer." He stated before he climbed into his limo and drove off.
"Any idea what Vlad might be planning?" Sam asked.
"No clue." Danny answered.
"Should we be worried?" Tucker asked.
"Very." Danny answered.
Vlad was a planner, he thought things through and didn't care who was sacrificed. They were nothing more than pawns of his chess board. It didn't help he was just as powerful as he was smart.
"Maybe we should play it safe and bail." Tucker offered.
"No, if Vlad was up to something violent we'd need to be here to help." Danny stated. "Though I don't think he'd try anything like that with mom around."
"So to be safe, we should stay close to your mom?" Sam asked uncomfortably. "Meaning...we have to go to that class."
Danny and his friends walked into class, unsure of what to expect. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be pleasant.
Mr. Lancer was standing next to the Fentons, waiting for class to begin.
"Well class, we have a treat for you all." Mr. Lancer spoke. "As of today, there will be a mandatory Ghost 101 class, and Casper High is lucky enough to have two of the foremost leading scientists of the subject."
"Thank you Mr. Lancer."
"Okay class, let's begin." Maddie spoke excitedly. "What are ghosts?"
Everyone, minus our trio, raised their hands to answer the question. Even Jack.
Maddie pointed to a random student.
"They're dead people who keep on coming back here with super powers." He answered.
"Close. Ghost are manifestation of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness." Maddie explained. "Beings driven by said post-human consciousness, or to better phrase, their 'Obsession'. These obsession are what drive the ghost to do evil-"
"And good." Danny added, he couldn't help it.
"Excuse me?" Maddie asked, confused.
"Good, there are good and evil ghosts." Danny stated.
"Oh honey, ghost are evil through and through, now-" She turned to the board.
"But what of the good people." Danny countered. "Can't the ghost of a good person have an obsession for something they enjoyed in life, like...reading or watching over a loved one?"
"No." Maddie answered. "What's left over from a ghost is nothing but the worse of them. They're driven by their obsession and nothing else, they can't reason or-"
"So they're just following their basic instinct?" Mr. Lancer asked, earning a nod from his Maddie. "Then that proves they aren't evil, just driven by instinct...neutral. Nothing different from an animal, which aren't evil, just following nature."
Not that it's much better. Danny thought. He knew it wasn't true. But to have people think ghost were like animals was one step from having them think they were outright evil. Then again, people are animals.
"An animal can reason." Maddie stated. "You've seen the ghost come to Amity and do nothing but terrorize us, how is that anything but evil?"
"What about the ghost that don't come through?" Danny asked hotly. "The ones that do never bother with humans. The ones that do are usually the same bunch, or are here for a simple purpose before they leave."
Mr. Lancer nodded in agreement. "It does seem unfair to judge all ghost on the ones that we've...encountered."
"Each one of those ghost caused mayhem and fear-"
"Until we put them in line!" Jack bellowed.
"Um, but you don't." Tucker spoke up.
"Yeah, usually Phantom shows up and saves the day." Someone states before the class began cheering for the hero.
"Phantom!" Maddie hissed. "I had planned to save him for a later topic, but I guess we should get this out of the way. Phantom isn't helping us. He is nothing but an anomaly against our research pretending to be the hero."
Danny was pissed. Sam could see how the words were affecting her friend. He kept it well under control, but she saw his eyes flash green just quick enough for only her and Tucker to notice. It was completely ignorant and biased, based on bad experiences. Her heritage was familiar with it.
"But maybe he does think he's some hero, a ghost that thinks he's doing something for the greater good. Take Overgrowth as an example, he thought he was doing the right thing." Sam spoke. "He thought he was saving the Earth, and for the most part he was right."
"By enslaving the human race?" Maddie countered. "Attempting to make them plant food?"
"He went about it the wrong way sure, but his heart was in the right place. By removing humans, you remove deforestation and the endless pollution." Sam stated logically. "Saving plants and animals alike."
"Question." Lancer stated with a raise of his hand. "How do you know all of this?"
"Our research has allowed us to make many-"
"Have you ever caught a ghost?" Paulina asked.
"Well, no-" Maddie admitted.
"Yeah we did!" Jack happily exclaimed. "We caught the ghost kid once!"
"Really!?" The entire class, minus the hero and Maddie, exclaimed.
"Yep!" The man stated with pride. "Caught him in the Fenton Ghost Weasel."
"And what happened?" Danny asked, knowing the answer.
"I...had to let him go."
"Why?"
"I freed him and made a deal with him to free him if he helped me save my family." Jack admitted.
"So you freed him, then tried to make the deal?" Someone asked, confused by the logic-or was it stupidity.
"Y-Yeah?"
"And did he?
"Yeah."
"So, without any obligation to do so, a ghost helped you save your families lives." Danny stated. "That proves that he has humanity."
The class began murmuring among each other at what they had heard. It was true logic right in their face.
Maddie could see the students were being persuaded by her son's words. She couldn't allow that. She needed to teach them that ghost were evil.
"Enough!" Maddie exclaimed. "Ghost, especially that Phantom, are evil! I mean, just look at what he did to that poor Valerie girl!"
As soon as the words left Maddie's mouth, she regretted it. Especially when she saw the devastated look on her son's face. She knew that her son and Valerie had a short but special relationship. Even the students had the decency to stay silent.
"Danny, I-"
The lunch bell rung, signalling the temporary end of class. Danny was out before anyone could say anything, his two friends close behind.
The trio found themselves in the lunch room, ignored by all. Everyone else was consumed by the topic of the ghost class, which led to ghost in general, which led to Phantom.
"Don't listen to her Danny." Sam urged. "She doesn't understand."
"That's the thing Sam, I could make her understand!" Danny stated frantically. "I could show her...everything! I could show her how ghost can feel. How ghost can live a relatively normal life. I could show her how I, how we-" He trailed off, words failed him, but his intent obvious.
"But?"
"That's the thing, there's no buts." Danny admitted. "I know that they'll accept me, we've seen it happen with the Reality Gauntlet fiasco. We-"
The conversation was stopped when they saw that they had a new arrival, Maddie. You could feel the awkward tension in the air as she sat down across from her son.
"Sweetie." Maddie spoke softly. "I want to apologize, I shouldn't have brought Valerie into our...conversation. It wasn't right for me to use her condition as ammo against you. Or at all."
He smiled, maybe his mom was coming over to a more tolerant side.
Maddie sighed as she looked at her child seriously. "I think it's time we had a serious conversation, one I believe we've been putting off for too long."
"Mom?"
"Sweetie, Phantom...is a coward and a monster." Maddie states. "He pretends to care for the people, so that he can lure them into a state of security. He acts friendly enough, but he destroys homes and moves on without a care in the world!" She practically growled. "He's just waiting for everyone to fall for his tricks before he slides in the knife."
Danny and his friends stared at his mom in open shock. Tucker had even stopped mid-chew of his meat loaf.
Danny stood up and walked away.
"Danny!" Maddie called out. "Where are you-!?"
"We." Tucker corrected as he and Sam followed behind.
Danny didn't answer, he just rushed out of the cafeteria, ignored by all but his friends. Maddie called after them, but they hadn't even looked back.
"So where are we going?" Sam asked curious.
"I'm-"
"We!" Tucker exclaimed.
Danny smiled at his best friend. "We are going to visit Dora...if you guys don't mind."
Tucker smirked. "A chance to get out of simple-minded class and spend the day on an adventure with my best friend?" Tucker thought it over. "I guess if I have nothing better to do." He checked his PDA. "I'm free."
"What about Vlad?" Sam asked.
Danny lowered his head as he considered the question. "...I think we're making the moves he wants, playing into his game."
"So what do we do?" Tucker asked.
The halfa smiled. "Find our place on the board and make our own move."
Review.
-What do you all think, be honest. Anything you all want specifically in an upcoming chapter?
-How would you all like a fanfic about Dani being in Dan's world. Not the parallel Dani that would have existed, though she can be incorporated, but Canon Dani sent to a world where Dan was still free. Where our hero never intervened. There to find her purpose and help save the world for a better future, if she isn't crushed under Dan's might.
-Also taking challenges.