GLE – Welcome to the final chapter of DSE! I apologize for taking this long to update – I honestly thought I'd update it at the beginning of July… but I got stuck halfway through this chapter and had no idea how to sum everything up. I'm happy with this result, so, please go ahead and read! And enjoy!
-(o)-
Do Superheroes Exist?
Chapter 11: Reintegration
"Come here, little brother," said Jazz, reaching over and pulling him away from their parents to glomp him. "I'm so glad that you're alright. I'm sorry we weren't able to get you out sooner; we kinda messed up on that."
"It's alright, everything worked out, didn't it?" reassured Danny. "But, don't tell me you actually tried to rescue me?"
Jazz blushed, backing away and said, "Well, it would've worked if you'd been where you were supposed to be!"
Danny blinked, surprised, then his face split into a big grin.
"At least I got to prove my skills as a super-hacker," commented Tucker, joining in. "You shoulda seen me break those codes, Danny."
Danny smirked, "Still brilliant with a PDA in your hands, eh?"
"Ya, but don't tell the Guys in White," mentioned Tucker. "They still think it was a ghost who did all the hacking. There are some crimes not worth taking credit for… especially when you get arrested."
"So let me get this straight," said Danny. "You guys broke into the lab where I was being held, got caught, and blamed it on a ghost?"
"Yes," replied Jazz. "Well, we did break in with a ghost, but they have no idea who it was since we sent her to the Ghost Zone with the Fenton Bazooka."
"Her…?" prompted Danny.
"Dani," answered Jazz. "She was a big help. We couldn't have gotten as far as we did without her."
"It's just unlucky that they got apprehended," stated Jack. "We had to pay a little fine for their breaking and entering."
"Really?" said Danny. "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past them to do that. But after what they did to me…" Danny trailed off into silence.
"Oh, I'm just so glad to have my children back!" Maddie exclaimed to fill the void. "First thing I'm doing when we get inside is to call the social services and tell them I've taken custody of Jazz again and I'm not letting her go."
"You're right, Maddie!" agreed Jack. "They wouldn't listen to us at City Hall, but now that Danny's a hero, they'd better listen! Or else."
"A lot happened while I was gone, huh?" said Danny.
"Ya, but we'll catch you up on all the details later," responded Jazz. "It looks like someone's here to talk to you."
Jazz grabbed her brother by the shoulders and turned him around. Danny was facing his shorter, younger, female clone in her human form. He realized that he was still a ghost and detransformed as well. Jazz, his parents, and Tucker decided to back away and give them some space. Tucker spotted his parents walking towards the crowd and headed over to them. The Fentons decided to open up FentonWorks and survey the damage. The crowd was formed around the reporters on the street who were broadcasting the recent events excitedly. There were some people looking curiously at Danny on the edge of the throng, but he paid them no mind, and they were adequately respectful to give him enough room to reunite with his loved ones.
"Sorry I couldn't find you a pumpkin," Dani apologized.
"Don't worry about it," stated Danny. "I got it handled."
"Heh, ya, I figured you did when the green light show stopped. I heard the crowd and I came back," she informed.
"Dani, thank you for everything you did this past week," said Danny, hugging her. "I dunno what I would've done without you. And thanks for trying to break me out, I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome!" Dani replied cheerfully. "Aw, you know I'd do anything for you, cousin!"
"Heh. Well thanks all the same."
Danny stood smiling down at her a moment, then said thoughtfully, "You know, I don't think I'm used to seeing you in human mode as often as I am your ghost mode."
"Oh, well… I do prefer ghost mode, but…" Dani paused. "There are a lot of ghost hunters around right now, and I think this is the best way to avoid them. I'm not full ghost, after all."
"Ha!" laughed Danny. "Man, I didn't even consider that! Smart tactics, Dani! So you only became a ghost back there with the Fright Knight to help me?"
"Yep!" exclaimed Dani. "And I was human the rest of the time since I came back from the Ghost Zone."
"Good girl," Danny approved. "Hey, when this all dies down, wanna go play the arcade sometime?"
"Sure!" said Dani. "Well, I'm gonna head off now. See you around."
Dani turned and began to run through the throng, giggling. Danny was confused about her sudden departure until he noticed a certain black-haired teen in the corner of his vision.
"Sam!" said Danny, spinning to face her.
She smiled and walked towards him. Danny hesitated for an instant, then embraced her tightly and lifted her clear off the ground. Sam blushed but was not opposed to his hug. Danny put her down and let go of her, beaming. He couldn't feel embarrassed; he'd been through too much this past week and he felt he deserved a little freedom. He couldn't explain why he was so happy to see her, in particular, but he wouldn't deny himself of any joy – not now, anyways.
After a moment, Danny said, "I was worried for a little bit. Jazz and Tucker said they couldn't find you or your family. But then you showed up with Valerie, so I knew you were ok."
"Heh, ya, that must've been a sight for you," Sam chuckled. "But you know – I can't believe I'm saying this – you knew best after all. Val's alright."
Danny blinked in shock. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. You are Sam, aren't you?"
Sam laughed wholeheartedly. "Yes, of course I am. I guess when you actually get to know someone, things change. She was a real asset to us when we tried to rescue you and she's not going to try to kill you ever again. She's accepted your other half. I guess I can accept her."
"She tried to break me out, too?" said Danny. "Remind me to thank her the next time I see her."
"Okay, Danny," responded Sam. "Well, I guess since you were worried, I should explain. My parents were freaking out with all the ghost attacks. They wanted somewhere safe to hide. I didn't have any ghost weapons anymore, but I remembered Valerie mentioning in lock-up that she had some spares she'd left behind. My parents were getting a bit hysterical, so I called her up. Her dad invited my family over right away – he said they had some shield thing that the Guys in White gave him sometime last week. Well, that satisfied my parents and it allowed me access to an ectogun. Val and I teamed up to fight the ghosts. We ran into Dani before meeting up with you. She was in her human form and the Fenton Bazooka was a little too big for her to handle, so she passed it onto us. And… you know the rest."
"Ya, well, I'm glad you're alright," stated Danny. Again, he pictured the part of his nightmare where he killed Sam. Shuddering, he solidified his promise in his mind. He would never, ever let himself become that evil version of himself. Along with this vow, he pledged a new oath; to never hurt these people. He would never hurt Sam, or Tucker, or his family, or anyone who mattered to him. This was a commitment.
"You're glad I'm alright?" Sam scoffed. "Danny, if anything, I'm so happy to see that you're smiling. I… we read the list of things they were experimenting on you. It-it must have been awful."
Danny lowered his gaze, a small frown forming on his lips. He had been putting this out of his mind all day. But now that everything was over, now that he was safe and standing here with Sam, would it be ok for him to reflect on what had happened? Danny sighed, closing his eyes. Slowly, he let the memories of this stressful week enter his thoughts.
Sam watched her friend silently. She wanted to give him enough room to express his emotions, so she was going to wait until he spoke first. But after a few moments, Danny began to tremble and Sam couldn't hold back.
"Danny?" she asked softly, placing her hands onto his arms.
Danny lifted his head, connecting his stare with hers, his blue eyes watery. On impulse, Sam pulled him into her arms, allowing his weight to shift onto her small frame. Danny rested his chin on her shoulder, his whole body shaking. Sam felt a familiar tingling sensation as Danny turned them both invisible. The halfa was finally free to let go of all his pent up emotions. He held Sam close, burying his face into the crook of her neck. Sam gently caressed the back of his head and whispered tender words of encouragement.
They stood like that for quite some time until Danny felt that he was finally released from his strife. He wiped his eyes as he lifted his head and gave Sam a little space, but still held onto her with his other hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
"It's ok," said Sam.
"Nn," stuttered Danny. He cleared his throat and reiterated, "I mean, no. I… Thank you, Sam."
"You're more than welcome, Danny," replied Sam, smiling sincerely.
Danny paused, then smiled as well and released Sam at the same time as returning them both to visibility.
"Sammykins!" called Pam Manson, approaching the two teens. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You're not hurt, are you? We were so concerned…"
The woman trailed off as she arrived. Her husband was walking quickly from a different direction, catching up with her at Sam and Danny's position. Pam surveyed the two teens in front of her, eyes lingering on the half-ghost. Danny blinked, expressionless. He wasn't sure how Sam's mother felt about him, but he knew that whatever she was thinking, he could handle it.
Sam on the other hand was a little nervous about this confrontation. Shifting her weight, she said, "I'm alright, Mom, as you can see."
"Good," stated Pam in a tone that said 'well-I-still-want-to-check-for-myself'. But instead of pressing the point, she turned to Danny and commented approvingly, "You did an excellent job today of ridding the world of ghosts. Keep up the good work."
Sam's jaw dropped in shock. "Mom?" she asked.
"Yes, Sammykins?"
"Uh, you, I mean, um…" Sam stammered. "You're saying all that to Danny, right?"
"Of course," replied Pam and she shifted her eyes from her daughter back onto Danny. "He is a hero, after all." She smiled, "And, I think he means well." She turned to face Sam once again. "And I know that my daughter is a smart, young woman who can make good choices when it comes to friends."
Sam was speechless, but she expressed her gratitude by hugging her mother. There was finally a truce between the Mansons.
Pam let go of Sam after a moment and said to Danny, "Thank you for being such a good friend to Sam." Lowering her voice, she added, "But, try your best to keep both of you out of trouble, alright?"
"I will," assured Danny.
"Sam! Danny!"
It was Valerie. She and her father were breaking away from the crowd to join them. The two teens smiled and greeted her while Sam's parents welcomed Damon Gray into the group. From a distance, two onlookers watched as the six people chatted among themselves.
"Ah, it's nice to see the happy reunion," declared Plasmius. He wiped a fake tear from his eye sarcastically.
"Yes, Master," said the Fright Knight.
"It seems that everything has worked out after all," stated Vlad, a little more seriously. "You delivered a good performance today. Well done."
"Thank you, Master," responded the Fright Knight. "I am pleased to serve you."
The two ghosts watched as the young halfa was shaking hands with Valerie. The teens were chuckling as they did this exchange. Sam smiled slyly and spoke. Danny quickly raised his hands in defense and then began to rub the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. The three of them appeared to be enjoying themselves well.
"He could become more powerful than you one day," commented the Fright Knight without thinking.
"I know. He probably will," replied Vlad lightly. "He's got a lot of spunk, the Little Badger… Which is why it'd be nice to have him as an ally, wouldn't it?"
"O-of course, Boss," agreed the Fright Knight.
"Well, we should be getting back to Wisconsin," announced Vlad. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done, as always."
The Fright Knight nodded and followed Plasmius as they left. Danny and his friends continued to chat, unaware that they had been observed by Vlad and his minion.
"So, you wanna join Team Phantom?" asked Sam to Valerie, extending the invitation.
"Well… I am used to fighting on my own, but… I guess it's better when you're in a team," replied Valerie. "Sure, I'll join. If that's alright with you, Danny."
"Of course," said Danny. "Heh, but Jazz will probably try to organize all of it, if you're ok with that."
Valerie snickered, "That's fine. I think she did a good job at getting your rescue mission off the ground. It's just too bad we didn't succeed."
"Heh, well maybe things worked out better this way?" suggested Danny.
"Yah," she agreed.
"You know? I'm proud of you, Valerie," stated Damon Gray, as the adults' discussion ended and they rejoined the conversation with the teens.
"Thanks, Dad," answered Valerie, taken aback.
"After everything that's happened, I think I am a little more willing to let you fight ghosts," confided Damon.
"Really?" asked Valerie hopefully. Having her dad's approval of ghost hunting would make things easier.
"Yes," confirmed her father. "But, only if you work together" (he indicated Sam and Danny) "and do your best not to get hurt."
"Deal," said Valerie. Sam and Danny nodded with her.
"Heh," chuckled Damon. "You really are growing up, aren't you?" He smiled.
Before anyone could say another word, the crowd began to press in around them. The news crews had moved from in front of FentonWorks to their location, several meters up the street. A microphone returned to Danny's personal space and cameras and lights were directed towards him and the newscaster who was trying to interview him. Sam, Valerie, and their parents were pushed out of the spotlight and into the ring of the people gathered around.
"The City of Amity Park, no, the Entire World is grateful to you," declared Shelly Makamoto, of Channel 7 News. "We can't thank you enough. You are one incredibly brave boy. Do you have anything to say?"
"Uh…" uttered Danny. He lifted his hand and began to rub the back of his neck. "Well, I… I'm just happy that I could help. When I know I'm the only one who can do something, I like to follow through, you know?"
"And how do you feel about this past week? The entire experience must have been a bit overwhelming to you."
"Heh, yah," said Danny. "It was."
"Is there any advice that you can give to the citizens of Amity Park in terms of future ghost attacks?"
Danny was thoughtful before answering. "Don't panic. Don't stay out in the open. Let the professionals handle it."
"As spoken by the hero of our city!" exclaimed Shelly. She turned to face the camera, center on. "We'll be taking a short break now. More news after this!"
The rest of the day passed Danny in a blur. A lot of people came up to him to shake his hand or pat him on the back. People were cheering for him. Everyone smiled. The city of Amity Park seemed to be in a festive mood and the partying extended late into the night. By the time Danny got away from everything, he was thoroughly exhausted. He greeted his bed with great appreciation and was out like a light moments later.
The next day, everyone began to settle back into the normal routine of things. There was still a little air of excitement as people talked about the recent events. The media was particularly happy to discuss everything that happened.
"…so brave. His daring actions are an inspiration," said Emily Marden on the set of the Insight talk show. She was glowing ecstatically.
"Aren't they?" agreed Susan Benjamin, smiling easily. "He certainly surprised the world, myself included, with his real heroism. He's a gem in the rough – after all the flack that he received and he still fought wholeheartedly to save everyone!"
"People are afraid of those who are different than they," said Lauren Costanza in her usual reserved way. She glanced at Susan briefly before continuing, "But, sometimes they just need to see that the emotions are still the same to recognize that we are all human. Danny is one of us."
"Yes," Susan concurred without guilt. "And he is extremely mature for his age."
"Oh, I hope we'll get an interview with him!" exclaimed Emily. "I'd love to meet The Ghost Boy in person!"
"Yes, it'd be lovely to have the dear join us," stated Anna Cox warmly. "But I wouldn't want to distract from his studies since he is still in high school."
"Of course not," agreed Emily. "Though, I've heard that he's going to be receiving an award on Friday."
"Yes," confirmed Lauren. "The City of Amity Park is celebrating him as the Town Hero, and I expect there'll also be some Special Services awards."
"It won't be long till other countries around the world honour him for what he's done," commented Susan.
"Here, here!" exclaimed Emily, raising her coffee mug in a semi-humorous toast. She took a sip, then remarked, "Well, I'm still looking forward to reading his biography. Any word on which author has taken up the task?"
"Not yet," informed Susan. "But, I don't expect it to be long till we find out. We'll have a full out discussion on it once the book is out."
"We most certainly will!" declared Emily. "Well, it's time for a break. Coming up next: The secret government organization, 'The Guys in White'. Who are they and what were they doing during the ghost invasion? Plus their involvement with Danny Phantom's capture."
The said Guys in White were currently undergoing an internal investigation of sorts within the government. The Operatives themselves were particularly upset that they were undermined by the rest of the government. There was also a lot of finger pointing going on between each major department; the Guys in White, the FBI, National Defense, and the CIA due to their involvement in the recent events. Danny and his parents had been informed of this in the hopes that they wouldn't be pressing any charges. They were also being offered a nice compensation.
Jazz and Sam voted to go ahead and press charges while Maddie considered it. Jack nixed the idea and appeared with Danny on a news broadcast to publicly decline the compensation as well, effectively telling the government to 'shove it'.
By the time everything would settle again, Operatives O and K would be back at work in the newly revamped Guys in White unit (with a new set of rules for hunting and experimenting on ghosts), Dr. T would be serving a short sentence in jail for his inhuman experiments, as well as be stripped of his doctor's license and fined a small sum, Elizabeth Medley would be reprimanded by the CIA with a month-long suspension without pay and also have to pay a fine, and General Pierfort of National Defense and Bob Mullen of the FBI would be investigated but in the end get off without punishment other than a social black mark on their names (the lack of confidence in their leadership would eventually lead to turmoil later on).
Danny would also be getting a signed legal agreement that no government organization or employee will ever touch his DNA again (and he later mentions this to Dani, "It includes you since technically, you were created from my DNA."). He would also help to pass a law stating –
"… that Danny Fenton/Phantom—"
"That no halfa," corrected Danny.
"That no halfa will ever be intentionally harmed or tested on again… Wait, there's more than one of you?"
"That's for me to know!"
But all of this would be months in coming.
Currently, the famed Ghost Boy Hybrid was walking to class. He'd been out of school for a week, and his return was a far more welcome one than he'd have ever expected a week ago.
"H-hi Danny! How are you doing today?" asked Paulina almost shyly as he passed by her in the halls.
Danny smiled and waved courteously, but he didn't linger. Sam and Tucker joined him on either side as they headed to their lockers.
"Hey, Fenton!" called Dash.
Danny stiffened and turned to face him.
"Looking good!" Dash exclaimed giving him a wink and a thumbs up.
Danny waved awkwardly in his direction as his trio arrived at their first destination.
"You know," said Danny to his best friends while twirling his lock combo subconsciously. "After this past week, I didn't think I'd be taken by any more surprises, but this—"
"U-um… um," Mikey was standing on the other side of Danny's locker with a notebook and pen in hand, looking pale and twitching slightly.
"Hmm? What is it Mikey?" asked Danny.
"C-can I h-have your autograph? Y-you're like th-the hero of all heroes… ever…"
Danny blinked, taken aback, blushed briefly, then reached out for Mikey's pen and notepad. "Sure… I'd be glad to…" mumbled Danny. This was really not something he was used to.
After Mikey left, Sam spoke before Danny could finish his previous train of thought.
"We know, Danny," she said. "Surprises just like that," she nodded in Mikey's direction. "Well, it's nice for a change, isn't it?"
"Yah, think of all the great parties we'll get invited to now!" exclaimed Tucker.
"Tucker," chastised Sam sternly.
"Oh and I bet you'll be let into the movies for free! Dude, you could probably even get front row seats at concerts if you asked!"
"Tucker!" said Sam in a stricter tone. "Danny's not going to abuse his fame!"
"Oh, I don't know…" said Danny playfully.
"Danny!" cried Sam hitting him lightly on his shoulder.
Danny laughed. "Ok, ok, I won't be abusing my powers!" And as an afterthought, he added, "I'll probably be just as busy as before anyways, if not busier. I'd rather spend any free time I get with you guys than trying to get freebies."
"Aw, I'm touched," said Tucker sarcastically wiping a fake tear from his eye.
"Well, I appreciate it," stated Sam warmly while locking eyes with Danny.
"I'm glad," responded Danny smiling.
The warning bell rang at that moment and everyone in the halls started to hustle off to class.
"You guys go ahead," uttered Danny. "I'm going to make a quick trip to the washroom."
"k, see you in class."
Danny was going to be on time for the first time in a while, except that once he exited the washroom, he was bombarded by a group of squeeing fangirls who'd been stalking him all morning as quietly as they could, but could now no longer hold back.
"Gack!" cried Danny as they surrounded him. "Uh, e-excuse me… I've… got… to… get… to… class!" Wading through them was proving difficult. "Oof!" Tackle-glomped.
This is ridiculous, thought Danny, Lancer's gonna give me detention and it's only my first day back!
"Don't you all have somewhere to be right now?" he asked to no avail as the final bell rang decisively.
A light dawned on him and he went intangible and invisible. The girls screamed in delight at his use of ghost powers but the trick was effective. They could no longer follow him and he flew quickly to his classroom.
Danny became solidly human again before entering. Mr. Lancer was writing on the blackboard but turned to fully face Danny as the flushed teen rushed to his seat.
"Welcome back, Mr. Fenton," greeted Mr. Lancer in a pleasant voice. "Wonderful work yesterday. I hope you're up for some learning today. Please take out Midsummer Night's Dream. We're going over Act V, scene i."
With that, Lancer turned his attention back to the blackboard.
Wait, he's NOT giving me detention? Danny thought, perplexed.
Tucker gave him the "o.k." sign with his fingers and thumb, grinning. Sam rolled her eyes at that, then shrugged at Danny in a sort of "Well, it's Lancer" way. Danny suddenly remembered the teacher's favouritism towards the jocks of the school and realized he was now in that category… or above it.
Danny smiled slightly. Not getting detentions for coming late would really be helpful when he was off fighting ghosts. That small gesture of Lancer's was something Danny appreciated very much. He didn't expect to be given breaks on his homework though – not even Dash could get away with that – and Danny wouldn't have it any other way. His tendency towards playing video games instead of doing homework was a habit he probably should break.
He expected (or hoped really, really hard) that the fangirldom would die down a bit in a few weeks. Everything else was running smoothly. His life was on a new high and he couldn't have been happier. Danny leaned back in his chair contentedly.
Admittedly, there were moments throughout this experience that Danny had considered going to see Clockwork, particularly while he was in the Ghost Zone. He wasn't sure whether the omnipresent ghost would even be willing to undo the revelation of his biggest secret; with that ghost, it might be really foolish to even try. Danny had already learned his lesson about messing with the past, so he decided to stick it out this time and see if he could get it to work out.
And now it wasn't even a question anymore.
Sometimes it's better to flow with the changes than to always try to reset it to the way things used to be… he'd kept his powers, after all. His friends. His family. And he'd gained the respect of Amity Park and of the world. This was just another life-altering change that he was going through, and he was ready to see where it would take him from here…
"It's Lance Thunder on the scene as a new ghost advances on our lovely city causing mayhem and destruction," announced the flamboyant reporter eagerly. "Danny Phantom has already defended Amity Park three times this week. Oh! Would you look at that! The Ghost Boy has arrived! This ghoul stands no chance against our superhero…"
-(o)-
The End.
-(x)-
GLE – That's it! We've reached the end of this story! Wow! I can't believe it's over!
Heh, please overlook the plot-holes! Hee, I think I've covered mostly everything. I know there's some stuff that I didn't touch on…
…which is why I've decided to create an extra chapter of bonus material!
Heh, for anything that doesn't end up in there, I hope that I did well enough that you don't notice, eheh! (I am aware of what plot-holes exist and which of those I don't plan on explaining… they're pretty minor anyways).
So, yes. There is one more chapter following this one.
In it, I plan to include:
-Deleted Scenes
-Backstories to some of my OC's (Like Dr. T's full name)
-the Guys in White's Experimentation Schedule (that they never got to do)
-and more!
Anyways, on the life note, I finished a fun first term a few of weeks ago, got a week off for "summer break", and have now started my second term. It's supposed to get a lot harder from here on out and I'm really looking forward to it! I'm already insanely busy, but I decided that as a birthday present to myself, I'd finish this "last" chapter. Heh, but I spent my birthday taking a break from schoolwork and having fun, so this is a day late! Consider it a belated birthday present from myself to all of you!
Well, enough about me. I hope that you've all enjoyed this story as much as I have. Please review 'cause I love to read any and all feedback that you have for me! And I'm still hoping to hit 200 reviews!
I've got a few more details to work out with the bonus chapter, so it might be a couple of weeks before it's up… and depending on schoolwork, I might have to wait until the four-day break I get between terms two and three (the last weekend of October). So, till then!
