More Than One Hero


Despite the noise of the crowd around him, Mr. Lancer found himself to be at relative peace.

The school year had just begun, so he was getting back into the groove of his lifelong passion, teaching. He had a date - a second date, him of all people - coming up in a few days. And tonight was the opening of the Amity Park Fall Festival, one of his favorite community events.

This year he'd agreed to be the supervisor for the Casper High science club's stargazing booth. There were several telescopes set up in a grassy clearing, all with a clear view of the full Hunter's Moon. Mr. Lancer was off to the side, sitting at the information table as he watched the club members help people locate celestial objects.

The telescopes were turning out to be quite a hit throughout the evening. The townsfolk were lining up to take their turns, and the club's donation jar was filling up nicely.

At some point, the club's secretary, Mikey, came over to the info table, and Mr. Lancer gave him a perplexed look. "Is something wrong?" he asked. The boy should've still been at his telescope.

"No," Mikey answered. He bent down to get a soda out of the cooler they had set up. "Just taking a break. Danny's using my 'scope." He cracked open his soda with a satisfying snap.

Mr. Lancer peered around Mikey to see Danny Fenton, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley huddled around Mikey's telescope. Danny had attended a few science club meetings back during freshman year, during which he proved he knew his way around telescopes, but he suddenly stopped coming for reasons unknown. It was a shame. He could've gone far in the club.

Danny still seemed to be very excited about astronomy, however, judging by the grin on his face. Mr. Lancer caught his smile as he watched the trio, but frowned when a bulking frame knocked Danny away from the telescope and onto the ground.

"Move it, Fentonomer," Dash commanded. He then gestured for Paulina, who was on his arm, to look through the telescope, giving her one of his signature charming grins.

"HEY!" Mr. Lancer was out of his seat before he even realized what he was doing. The sharpness in his voice even surprised him, let alone the few bystanders' heads that turned towards the angry noise. He ignored them, however, instead marching straight towards Dash. This kind of behavior would not be tolerated at the festival.

A flurry of delightful scents wafted into his nose as he made his way through the crowd towards Mikey's telescope. People were enjoying funnel cakes, caramel apples, and hot chocolate. The comforting fall smells did little to calm him, but he subconsciously made a note in the back of his mind to get some of the treats for himself later.

He finally made it to Dash, whose back was turned towards him, and crossed his arms authoritatively. "Knock it off, Mr. Baxter," he announced.

Dash jumped slightly at the sudden voice, turning around to face his teacher. Paulina looked up from the telescope's eyepiece to watch them, a curious look on her face.

"Mr. Lancer! Is there a problem?" Dash asked innocently.

"Save it, Dash. I just saw what you did to Mr. Fenton," he started. Dash's face tinted with embarrassment, unaccustomed to be caught in public. Mr. Lancer was ready to hand out punishment, but then remembered they weren't on school property. "If you want to use one of the telescopes, you can wait your turn like everyone else."

Dash looked about ready to argue his case, but instead scoffed and shrugged. He put his arm around Paulina and led her away from the telescopes altogether, mumbling something the teacher couldn't quite catch.

Mr. Lancer watched them go, then turned around to see if Danny was alright. To his surprise, however, Danny and his two friends were nowhere in sight. He began to turn around to look for trio, when he heard a woman's scream pierce the night air.

Everyone's heads whipped around towards the source of the sound. The woman herself could not be seen, already lost in the crowd, but the reason for her cry could be. Floating just above the main area of the festival was a ghost with flaming purple hair and a matching cape, and armor as black as the horse he sat upon.

Mr. Lancer had seen this ghost before, once. He'd attacked during Danny's presentation of his haunted house room, and while Danny had insisted that the visions he'd experienced were due to Fenton Works-brand technology, Mr. Lancer found out later that they were due to the ghost's sword.

Said sword, he noted, was currently raised high above the ghost's head. The ghost swung it down towards the people below, sending a massive blast of green energy in their direction and causing them to flee for their lives.

The frenzy extended out to the clearing of telescopes. Mr. Lancer watched in dismay as townsfolk ran past him to escape, while some of the science club members were hurriedly trying to take down their telescopes so they could so the same.

His feet felt glued to the spot under him, unsure of what to do. On one hand, he wanted to get as far away from the ghost as possible (he would never be able to face chalkboards again), but on the other, he was still the supervisor of the science club. He had to stay and help.

Mr. Lancer began to fold up the legs of Mikey's telescope next to him, looking around the area as he did so for a place the club could gather for safety.

A few hurried cheers erupted from the crowd, and he barely had time to notice that they were for Danny Phantom, who had just arrived on the scene and was already trying to fight off the armored ghost.

Unfortunately, the ghost had made his way closer to the science club area. His blasts sounded louder and the sense of worry in the air was stronger.

Mikey finally arrived to help finish packing up his telescope, giving Mr. Lancer the opportunity to help direct people and yell out, "Science club! Meet behind the pumpkin patch trees!" They would know what he meant. The trees that separated them from the makeshift pumpkin patch next to them were dense. Perfect for kids playing hide-and-seek. Or people hiding for their lives.

The students rushed to get behind the trees, and even some non-club members helped them. Phantom was doing his best to deflect blasts and draw the other ghost's attention away from the humans, but the monster seemed persistent in wreaking havoc on them.

As soon as he saw the club clear the area, Mr. Lancer turned and started to run through the thinning crowd towards them.

Only…something, or someone, caught his eye. A small boy, no older than five, stood out in the middle of everyone, his eyes glued to the spectacular light show of a battle above him. He was entranced, yet seemed lost as no parent was around to claim him.

Mr. Lancer made a quick decision, his feet automatically shifting weight towards the child. He was about ten feet away when the boy suddenly shouted, "Go Danny Phantom!" as the teenage ghost above landed a hit to the enemy. The sheer volume of his cheer made Mr. Lancer freeze in his tracks. Phantom, looking down to his right, had definitely heard him.

So had the armored ghost.

Moving as fast as adrenaline would allow him, Mr. Lancer sprinted the remaining steps to the boy. The ghost above swooped down on his horse, his sword aimed not to blast, but to strike, with Phantom close on his trail.

It was Mr. Lancer, thankfully, who got to the boy first, never losing momentum as he picked him up under the shoulders and scurried them both away from the scene. The ghost descended not a moment later, swiping at empty air with his sword. He turned to glare at the two humans, but was immediately pummeled with a swift kick to the head from Phantom.

As their battle raged on, Mr. Lancer cut through the trees with the boy in tow. His heart was pounding, both from running and from the near-death experience. A green blast zipped through the trees behind him, he knew not from whom, but he craned his neck to look at Phantom, who was sending an apologetic look back at him. The familiarity in it sent shivers down his spine, but he brushed it off and kept running.

He eventually made it to where the science club had gathered, which was interspersed with members of the community. The boy wriggled free from his arms as soon as he stopped running, only to miraculously leap straight into the arms of his parents, who were both in tears over what they'd just witnessed.

Mr. Lancer slumped against a tree, his old body frustrated with the sudden burst of physical activity. He would be feeling sore tomorrow morning for sure. The boy's parents were thanking him profusely while he stared at the ground, breathing in and out like oxygen was going out of style. He heard them call him a "hero," which made his heart swell. Never in his entire life, even during his 20-plus years of teaching, had he been called a hero. He certainly didn't feel like one, even now. If anyone was the hero here, it was Phantom. Still, he nodded graciously, too winded to speak.

Yet the scene of the parents hugging their child seemed to validate the title, just a little, for him. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. The boy was alive, that was what mattered.

Straightening his back with a painful groan, Mr. Lancer turned to watch the rest of the battle with those gathered under the trees, all helping to cheer on another hero.


Yahoo! Got another one done! TWO MORE of these prompts, and I can start tackling other prompts on my list! So, so close! Can't believe it's taken me over a year to do these, but hey, I'm doing 'em. :) (Prompt was "Community + Lancer")

Also, this is my 50TH shot of ectoplasm, guys! *throws a party* Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed! Shots on the house for all! XD

Also also, to those who have sent me messages within the past month or so - I am so, so sorry for not responding yet. I will soon, I swear. It's just been a rough couple months for me. Wish me luck though - I'll hopefully be living on my own soon! :D