Peter Pan
Summary: They were never meant to grow up.
Written from a prompt about Danny finding out he's the Ghost King when he uses unknown powers in a pinch.
May or may not be continued.
Jazmine lay still on the asphalt, something dark pooling beneath her. Danny's mind tried to tell him that that was blood, but the thought was denied, because if it was blood then there was already so much, almost too much…
Another couple of breaths, and Danny's core told him that she was dead.
Skulker had raised his blaster again, aiming it this time at Tucker as he frantically fiddled with a PDA. Maybe given enough time, the boy could have hacked into his attacker's new and improved suit, but Danny doubted it.
A blast of light from Skulker's gun, and the smartest boy in town was reduced to an unmoving, bleeding heap.
Then Sam was there, waving around a busted Thermos and screaming for Danny to get up and save everyone.
Yeah, right.
Like two broken legs and being wrapped up in a phase-proof net was something that he could simply shrug off because she believed in him.
It was Walker who shot Sam point blank in the side of the head. Her face, frozen halfway through calling Danny's name, fell slack as her body hit the ground with a dull smack.
Danny's shock kept him still, and he stared blankly at the three people who would never move again.
Another voice, and a woman in blue burst into the abandoned parking lot. For a moment Danny wondered what anyone could possibly be doing here at such a late hour, but then he recognised her.
Mum.
Skulker lifted his blaster again, and Danny felt something within him snap.
"Get away from her!" he screamed, holding up a gloved hand.
Despite the pain, despite his current weakness, despite the net that canceled out ghost powers, Danny's hand lit up with brilliant white lightning. Twin bolts arced from the ghost boy's fingers, sending Skulker and Walker to their knees. A flourish from the wrist, and those same bolts immobilised Walker's guards in less time than it took Jack Fenton to eat a piece of fudge. In addition, the lightning disintegrated the net, setting the ghost child free.
Maddie stared at him, and Danny stared at his hands in wonder.
What on earth had he just done?
A vortex of blue light lit up the place, Maddie sucking the prone ghosts into her Thermos. She capped it before the light could reach the halfa, clipping the contraption back onto her utility belt.
The huntress leveled her gun at Phantom, taking a wary step forwards. "What was that?" she demanded, eyes never wavering from Danny's face.
He knew why she kept her gaze on him - if he so much as looked at the corpses right now, the teen feared that he would die of grief right there. Maddie would be feeling the same.
Focus, Fenton. First, concern yourself with the living.
"I don't know," he whispered. "I've never done something like that before."
His left hand lit up, and Danny watched in horror as a very familiar ring appeared on the third finger.
"Stop it!" Maddie shouted. "No ghost powers, or I'll shoot you!"
It couldn't be…
"This can't be right," Danny murmured, still staring at his hand as he tried to stand up. Pain exploded somewhere below his knees, and the teen had to fight back a cry.
Right. Broken legs.
"I have to go to the Ghost Zone," he said, glancing at Maddie again.
"You're staying here." She was close enough now to press the gun to his forehead. "My daughter is… um… I-I need to know where my son is."
Danny lifted his chin to look at her squarely. "He'll come back," he promised. "Your son is alright. How about you tend to those around you right now? Tucker's still breathing, as far as I can tell."
Maddie gave the halfa a good, long look. After about twenty seconds, she lowered the gun, rushing to Tucker's side with a sob.
Danny took the opportunity to lift his aching body into the air, heading for home and the portal that lay beneath it. The boy needed answers, although he feared that he already knew what was going on.
For a moment Danny thought to call 911, but dismissed the notion before his hand could even stray to his mobile. Even if he did call, the halfa's core told him that it was useless – Tucker would be dead before the ambulance arrived.