A.N - Hello, dear readers. How's everything going?
This chapter is a little different; it's a mild crossover with the FOX/Netflix TV show Lucifer. You don't need to know much about that show other than Lucifer Morningstar is in fact the Devil, not as evil as that normally means, and helps an LA detective solve crimes.
For those who do know Lucifer, please let me know how I've handled it! I think there's a lot of potential for these two to cross over, and I've found a couple okay stories, but there's not nearly enough. And the Lucifer timeline in this is pretty loose, not set in any specific season.
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
The first semester of college was hard.
Sure, the first few weeks weren't too bad - settling into a new schedule, making tentative connections with professors and classmates. Danny was thrilled to be surrounded by people just as interested in space as he was, and the school was big enough that some of his peers hadn't even heard of the Fentons. The downside was that he couldn't see Sam and Tucker as often anymore - their schedules were completely out of sync. But they still texted regularly and occasionally saw each other on campus.
Then the actual school work began. Five classes, three of them labs, and the accompanying homework devoured Danny's time. At least there were no ghosts to distract him - Danielle and even his parents could keep Amity Park safe from most ghosts in his absence, and none of them had followed him to his new campus. Working so much sucked, but it was nice to be stressed about normal, college-aged things for a change.
Until October, at least.
Just before Halloween and into November and December, Danny started feeling weird. He would be walking around campus - rushing to class, grabbing some food, heading back to his dorm - when his body would seize, muscles stiffening until he was almost paralyzed. He would grow cold all over and then his breath would catch in his throat. For a few terrifying seconds, he couldn't breathe. Then, finally, the sensation would pass and he would feel normal again.
He tried to brush the first two instances off as stress or a weird cramp. But after the fourth time, he agreed to let his parents run some tests on him (the Fentons were capable scientists, after all, if not medical doctors, and wouldn't freak out over Danny's ghostly DNA like most hospitals, now that they were in on his secret). Unfortunately, blood tests, X-rays, and a CAT scan showed nothing that could be causing his fits.
Danny decided to ignore these "fits" as best he could while his parents studied his results. As long as he didn't actually suffocate and they continued to pass eventually, he'd be fine, right? He felt no worse for wear afterwards, and he had enough on his plate without worrying about his strange biology. If he had to, he could ask Vlad about it (on a good day, of course, like Maddie the cat's birthday).
One night, Danny was in his ghost form, flying above the campus. It was Friday, so he didn't have class the next day (lucky Sam managed not to have any Friday classes, but she was part of a dozen clubs that filled her time). The night air was cool and refreshing as Danny soared beneath the stars, enjoying the feeling of freedom. He had a bunch of assignments due next week, but for now, he was content to push those all to the back of his mind.
And then his muscles seized. His body went rigid and there was a tightness in his chest. Danny's eyes, the only thing he could move, widened as he began plummeting to the ground. He'd never had a fit in ghost form. He didn't need to breathe as a ghost, but if he didn't do something fast he was going to splatter on the astronomy building's roof. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to turn invisible and intangible.
When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere completely different.
Danny blinked, stupefied as he took in his new surroundings. Large industrial boxes lined the wooden walls of a building - maybe a warehouse? On the ground, surrounding him, were lit candles, offering a small pushback against the darkness that permeated the rest of the space. In front of Danny, dressed in a cheap-looking brown monk's robe, stood a guy about Danny's age. He had short brown hair, big round glasses, and a patch of pimples on one cheek. His dark blue eyes were opened wide as they stared at Danny.
"I - I did it," he gasped. "I - I really did it! I've been trying all these months, and it actually worked! Oh my God, it actually worked!" He began laughing, a tad manically.
"Um, hello?" Danny said. He was glad to see he was still in ghost form, hovering a few feet in the air, so at least whatever had transported him here - the guy, maybe? - hadn't exposed his secret identity. And he was no longer paralyzed - though, now that he thought about it, there was still a weird pressure on his chest, not enough to hurt but definitely there. Danny could just add it to his list of questions. "Can you - tell me where we are? And why and how I got here?"
The laughter stopped as the guy stared at him. Silence dragged on for a while, before he said, "Well, I summoned you here, duh."
"Summoned me?" Danny repeated dumbly.
The guy nodded vigorously. "Yeah! You're a ghost, right? My friends and I were messing around a bit - we found this cool book at an antique store. They all gave up after the second try, though, but I kept going. And I did it! Man, the looks on their faces when I show them this!" He hitched up the side of his robe, revealing blue jeans underneath, and fumbled in his pocket. Eventually he brought out a phone, aiming it towards Danny as if to take a picture.
Anger surged through Danny at the sight. Was this why he'd been having those fits? Someone had been trying to summon him? Like a dog? His eyes glowed acid green, and he rushed towards the kid.
"Alright, I hate to sound like a responsible adult, but do you have any idea how dangerous it is to mess with ghost spells? Not to mention you've been giving me some pretty awful side effects! Fundamentals of Engineering I is already hard enough, thank-you very much!"
The guy's eyes widened even further and he backed away, phone clutched to his chest. But just as Danny reached out an arm, his fingers brushed something solid, even though his eyes saw only air. He had only a second to spare for confusion before a bolt of electricity raced through his body. Danny screamed and then wrenched his hand back, panting and twitching for a few extra seconds before the electricity left him completely.
Now it was Danny staring wide-eyed as the guy grinned back at him, apparently feeling more secure now that the ghost couldn't reach him.
"Wha - what was that?" Danny gasped. It reminded him of his parents' ghost shield or the Spector Deflector, only a hundred times worse.
"Duh, you're in a summoning circle," the guy replied. "The book says that ghosts can't get out as long as the circle is intact."
Danny frowned and looked around himself once more. The candles, about twenty of them, were lined up in a circle. And what's more, they seemed to be arranged on top of another circle, drawn in red on the concrete floor. Danny got a queasy feeling looking at it - he'd seen enough horror movies to know what summoning ghosts usually required.
He swallowed and looked back at his captor. "Um, so. You summoned me! Great! Since you got your picture, how's about you un-summon me and I can go home?"
The guy frowned. "Well, I mean, I guess. But I was hoping - "
"Oh, you've done quite enough for one night," interrupted an unfamiliar, accented voice. Both Danny and the summoner looked to their left, startled, as a man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, dressed in a dark blue dress shirt, dress pants, and black suit jacket. He had dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and a wicked grin on his face.
"Wha - " the summoner barely got a word out before the man stood before him. One neat hit to his neck, and the boy crumpled to the ground. The man glanced down at him and tsked.
"Dabblers in the supernatural are my least favorite suspects. They're always usually running my name through the mud." Then he looked over at Danny, glancing up and down before he let out an impressed whistle. "But goodness, they do hit upon something amazing, sometimes. And just who might you be, Casper?"
Danny blinked, unsure how to respond. Who was this guy? What was he doing here in this abandoned warehouse looking and sounding like money? And most important, was he friend or foe?
"I'm...Danny. Danny Phantom," he said at last. Might as well see if the guy recognized his brand and determine his friendliness from there.
"Another Daniel? How unfortunate. Though your moniker is much more impressive than Douche." The man flashed another grin. "Seems just as accurate, as well."
Danny shifted uneasily in the air. The man didn't seem to know who Danny Phantom was, which could still be either good or bad. Best to get straight to the point. "Um, I don't suppose you could let me out of here, then?"
The man began to walk around Danny, following the path of the circle. "And what would you be willing to do for your release, Mr. Phantom? An unearthly creature like yourself with great power, and only your soul to trade?"
Danny frowned. Running a hand over his face, he tried to decipher the man's strange question. "What, are you asking me if I'm willing to hurt people for you to help me?"
The man abruptly stopped walking. He stood by the side of the circle, back straight, completely still. Quietly, he asked, "Is that what you want to do? Hurt people?"
"What? No! Of course not!" Danny cried. "I - I protect people! I keep them safe! There's no way I'm gonna hurt someone just to get out of here!"
If that was this guy's price for escaping the circle, Danny would just have to find another way. He'd gotten out of worse situations, after all.
The man tilted his head, dark eyes examining Danny. And then a wide grin split his face.
"Splendid!" he exclaimed. "Just what I like to hear!"
Danny blinked at him in confusion as he made another circuit around the invisible prison, murmuring to himself. He appeared in front of Danny once more, examining the markings on the ground. Then he nodded and looked back at Danny.
"Well! Now that we've established you won't go murdering people in my city -"
"I don't want to murder people in any city!" Danny protested.
"- I suppose I can release you now." The man smiled at Danny. It was charming and unsettling at the same time. "And in return, when you find yourself in Los Angeles again, you'll owe me a favor."
Danny bristled at being trapped in this corner. "Come on, can't we do without the quid pro quo? I -" Then he frowned as the rest of the man's words filtered through. "Wait, did you say Los Angeles? As in, California? I'm in California?" He threw his head back and groaned. "Aww, man, it's gonna take me forever to fly home!"
Then he straightened up and stared at the man, frowning. "And why did you say 'when'? Trust me, I don't plan on being back here any time soon. If ever."
The man merely laughed. "Oh, but you are far too interesting a creature for us to never cross paths again! I imagine you must have all the time in the world, being a ghost. And, well..." he stepped closer to the invisible barrier, leaning forward, "So do I."
Then his eyes flashed a blood red.
Danny reeled back, hands unconsciously glowing green with ecto-energy. Was this man - could he be a halfa? Like him and Vlad? How could they never had heard of him though? Danny had an excuse, having really only been in Amity Park, but Vlad had been a businessman, with his powers, for over twenty years! No one in the Ghost Zone had mentioned another halfa - then again, no one had told him about Vlad, either.
The man (?) clapped once with delight, glancing between Danny's hands. His eyes had turned back to black. "Like I said! Far too interesting." Then he held a hand up, palm facing outwards. "But. I am a Devil of my word. So, as promised, I will release you now."
He briefly looked around the warehouse floor. Danny watched him anxiously as he wandered over to a box off to the side and pulled out a hand-sized piece of metal. Then he walked back to the circle and began scratching at the markings on the floor.
Instantly the pressure pushing on Danny disappeared, and he felt like he could breathe again (if he needed to breathe, that is). He sighed in relief, then cautiously reached a hand out in front of him. To his delight, he felt only air.
He was free.
He whooped and flew upwards, aiming to phase through the roof; he was eager to get home. But then he skidded to a stop, hovering in mid-air. With a sigh, he floated back down, where the maybe-man was watching him curiously.
Floating so they were eye-level, Danny said haltingly, "I...guess I should thank you. For that - the whole letting me go thing."
The man dipped his head. "Of course, young Daniel. You will owe me a favor for this, though, remember."
That put Danny on edge again. This sounded too much like Vlad for comfort. He narrowed his eyes at the man. "Yeah...but...there's no way I'm helping you if you decide you want to go murdering people in this city."
The man's features twisted in anger, and he stepped back, body tense. "Oh, how typical," he spat. "I ask for something simple in return for my services, and I get treated like the villain. The Devil is always wrong, aren't I? Always the tempter, the adversary." His eyes flashed red again.
Danny backed up a step and put his hands up. Clearly he had struck a nerve. But...maybe it wasn't cool of him to assume things about this man just because he might be something different. How many times had Danny wished people wouldn't treat him like he was evil just because he wasn't fully human?
"I'm sorry," he said. He looked down at the ground, then met the other's gaze again. The man watched him warily, but made no move to leave or strike out.
"I'm sorry," Danny repeated. "I just...most of my experiences with ghosts, new ones at least, aren't usually very pleasant. It usually takes a couple years of fighting with them before the battles become more like games."
The man tilted his head. "You think I'm a ghost?"
Danny hesitated. He didn't want to reveal his secret, and he had no right to ask the other for his, but maybe showing some sort of solidarity would be good. "Well, maybe not...fully. But - "
A noise outside of the warehouse made them both turn. Danny tensed, ready to disappear or release some ecto-bolts if necessary. Then a female voice called,
"Lucifer! Did you find anything?"
The man - Lucifer? really? - called back, "Just a moment, Detective!" Then he turned back to Danny, a ghost of smile on his face. "As lovely as this has been, Phantom, I think it's time you head back home. You have a long way to travel, after all, do you not?"
Danny nodded, already turning invisible in case the woman came inside before he left. "Yeah." Then he paused, and added, "And, uh, maybe...maybe I'll be visiting Los Angeles again sooner than I thought."
The man's smile transformed into a grin. "I look forward to it."
Then he grabbed the still-unconscious summoner by the back of his robe and hauled him up. At the same time, a woman came bursting through the doors, a gun in her hands, held professionally, like she was some kind of agent. She scanned the room, blue eyes searching in dark corners, before landing on the two men in the middle.
"Lucifer! What is this?"
"Oh, don't worry, Detective. Just some amateur ghost summoning ritual," Lucifer replied.
The woman - the detective - pulled up short, raising a blond eyebrow. "Ghosts?"
"But don't worry," Lucifer added, glancing behind him at the circle - and at Danny. "I have everything under control."
That was his cue to go. Danny gave an invisible nod, then rose into the air once more. Turning intangible, he passed through the roof and out into the California air.
Amity Park, here I come.