Oh my…I'm so sorry for just disappearing on you guys like that. I can't believe the last time I updated was spring break! School and summer just sucked the creative energy out of me and it took a while to get it back. But since the new school year is going to start next week, I just wanted to get this chapter out before I make you guys wait any longer. Sorry…

I don't own Danny Phantom or NCIS

Chapter 14: Do What You Must

The walk back to the NCIS HQ was mostly uneventful. As soon as they had set off, Danny made a point of staying at the back of their little group. Gibbs could see that Danny was still a little shaken by his ordeal in Walker's office and, while the adrenaline and his determination to get them all out had kept him distracted, there was nothing, now, to keep him from remembering those few seconds of agonizing pain. Gibbs was glad that his agents had the sense to leave him alone for the time being. Danny's own friends walked behind the agents, staying closer to Danny, but none of them spoke to him either.

Gibbs decided to focus on what remained of his case. He'd heard Walker tell Danny that one of his guards had killed their marine, but he knew there was no way he was diving back into that green, swirling abyss of a Ghost Zone just to arrest the ghost responsible. Could he even arrest a ghost? He'd tried to put handcuffs on Phantom—Danny—but he'd just phased through.

Gibbs tried to look back at the halfa but caught Jazz's gaze instead. She quickened her pace so that she was walking beside the special agents.

"Thanks, by the way," she said, "For your help."

Gibbs blinked at the teenager, surprised. Shouldn't they be thanking her? The whole point of their mission was to retrieve his agent and, without her gear, they would have been defenseless. But he took the gratitude nonetheless.

"Is my brother still a suspect?"

Gibbs hesitated before replying, "We still have to ask him some questions, but since we know who killed our marine, I don't think he needs to worry."

"You don't either," Tony piped up, and he watched her visibly relax, "Although, how're we going to explain how our marine died. We can't exactly say 'It was a ghost' in the official report."

"Well," Jazz said, "You can at least tell my parents that it's not Phantom."

Tony looked back at the boy, and frowned, "Are your parents aware that the ghost they want to fillet is their own son?"

Jazz shook her head. "The only people that know are Sam, Tucker, myself, and now you guys. And with the number of times they've talked about dissecting Phantom, I don't think he wants to tell them any time soon."

Gibbs nodded. He couldn't imagine what it must be like for Danny to work hard to protect his town, only to come home and hear his own parents talk about killing his alter ego. Gibbs also remembered Danny's academic report listing his bad grades and many detentions that couldn't all be his fault. He could hear Ducky telling him it was probably a miracle that the kid wasn't depressed.

"Um, if you don't mind," Jazz said, "I think it would be best for me if I took these back to our hotel room," she held up her bag stuffed with ghost-fighting gear, "I was supposed to stay in our room and my parents have most likely noticed that I'm gone. I left a note saying that I Danny had wanted me at NCIS HQ, so they'll probably be there. I don't want them seeing all this stuff."

Gibbs gave a curt nod, "Ziva, escort her back to the hotel. After what just happened, I don't want anyone going anywhere alone."

xxxPhantomNCISxxx

Ten minutes later, the elevator doors opened with a ding, letting the group into the familiar, orange bullpen. The first thing Gibbs noticed was Abby, sitting at McGee's desk, a worried look on her face. As the elevator doors slid shut, she looked up, then jumped up and ran over to greet them.

"What happened to you guys?" she began, "I was so worried! I came up here and found out that Tony and those kids had disappeared and Danny's parents came by and I didn't know what to tell them and I've been trying to reach you for hours, Gibbs, and you wouldn't answer your phone and…"

"Whoa, Abby, slow down," Gibbs said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, "You said, Danny's parents came?"

"Yeah, they wanted to know if you'd found any more clues related to that ghost, Phantom. They didn't seem to find much on their end of the investigation."

"Are they still here?"

"Well, as soon as they found out that Danny was missing, they ran out, shouting about ghosts kidnapping their children. They said they'd be back around this time though."

Gibbs looked over at Danny, who was rubbing the back of his neck, visibly guilty.

"I should probably tell them I'm alright," he said. As he lowered his arm, Gibbs quickly noted that the gash down his arm had more or less healed; only a scar remained.

As Danny pulled out his phone to call his parents, the elevator doors opened again and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton appeared.

"Danny!"

Both parents pulled Danny into a tight hug that lasted a few seconds.

"What happened…where did…how did…" They looked at Gibbs.

"Would you like to talk somewhere private?" Gibbs offered, "We have an empty conference room that we can use."

The Fentons nodded and followed Gibbs to the room in question. As soon as Gibbs closed the door, both parents started fussing over Danny.

"Oh my goodness," his mother burst, "We were so worried about you. Once we heard that you'd run off, we checked the hotel, and Jazz was gone too, saying that she was with you! We thought you were lost, or dead! We thought Phantom had gotten you, since he might have heard that we were involved in this case…"

"What was it, Danny?" his father said, a frown on his face, "Whatever it was, I'll make sure he, or it, wished he'd never even thought about hurting you!" Danny winced, hearing the ferocity in his father's voice.

Danny looked down, feeling guilty, "Mom, Dad, I'm fine. I was just…um…going for a walk. Some ghost—not Danny Phantom," he added quickly as he caught the meaningful glance his parents exchanged, "some ghost attacked me. All I could think to do was run and hide. I'm sorry if I worried you. And don't worry about Jazz, I'd called her for help once I got away from the ghost. She'd come to rescue me."

Maddie's expression softened and she hugged Danny again. Danny hugged her back, allowing a smile to spread across his face.

xxxPhantomNCISxxx

"So are you ever going to tell them?" Gibbs asked.

It was an hour later, Gibbs, Tony, and McGee were sitting in the conference room, staring at Danny, Sam and Tucker from across the table. Both Jack and Maddie had decided to go back to the hotel and see Jazz. Gibbs had managed to convince them that Danny Phantom was, in no way, a part of the case and that their assistance was no longer needed. Before they left, though, they each gave Danny a hug and left him with a small ecto-gun, just in case.

Afterwards, the team had wanted to talk to Danny privately, but his friends had refused to leave his side and no amount of glaring could make them leave. Finally, Gibbs agreed to let them stay in the room.

Danny shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean, it's not that they might reject me, because I know they won't," The incident with the reality gauntlet taught him that, "It's just… I don't know. I don't want that on their conscience, that the ghost they hate the most and have been chasing for months is their own son. It would devastate them."

There was a short silence before Tony asked, "So how did it happen?"

"Lab accident," Danny replied, "My parents had built a permanent portal to the Ghost Zone," he saw the agents' alarmed looks, "It's safe…ish. The door is closed most of the time so ghosts can't get out. Anyway, it wasn't on at the time so I just went in to look around. I pushed a button that must have turned it on." Danny began to blush again, "Count on my dad to put the ON/OFF switch on the inside of the portal," he muttered.

"You got caught inside." Gibbs finished for him.

"Yeah. I got zapped…"

"But why would you even think of playing with a machine like that?"

Danny shrugged, "I was curious. And," he looked over at Sam, who blushed, "Sam dared me."

All eyes turned to Sam. She raised her hands defensively, "It was an innocent dare. How was I supposed to know it would end like it did?"

"But how are you alive?" McGee asked Danny, "The amount of radiation—or whatever you were hit with—must have been enough to kill you. Your parents were talking about the portal earlier and it seems like it's a really powerful machine."

"Honestly, I don't know," Danny said, shrugging, "All I know is that I was zapped with energy and knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I looked different and had weird powers."

"So, how do you turn?" Tony asked, "Can you change into Phantom at will or is it like the Hulk…"

"No, I can control it." Danny stood up.

For the second time that day, the agents gasped as bright blue rings formed around Danny's middle then split—one going up, the other going down. Danny's T-shirt and pants turned into a black HAZMAT suit, his blue eyes turned green, and his hair turned white. Gibbs also noticed that Danny's skin turned a slightly darker shade, as if he'd gotten a tan.

"Hmmm," Tony said, "Seeing it clearly now, I'm kind of surprised people haven't caught on yet. No offence, but you might as well have Clark Kented it and put on a pair of glasses."

Well, it's the end. What do you guys think of this chapter? Sorry if it doesn't seem to be very good; even though I'm writing again, I still feel off my game. I'll probably write an epilogue. Then, I'm sorry to say, this story is done. I don't know if I'll write a sequel, but, if enough people ask for it, I'll do it.

Until next time,

Warriorette12