Danielle wasn't too sure about where she was right now.
It has been roughly 2 weeks since the Disasteroid incident. Danny Phantom became the icon of the whole world with his plan to save the world by turning it intangible. It was terrifying when it happened.
She had found a ghost portal roughly after what happened when they met again. She lied about having places to go. In actuality, she wanted to keep as far away from Vlad for the terrible things he could do. But she also wanted to avoid Danny, feeling guilty for all the trouble she caused him.
She didn't hesitate to help him out though, and that's when she was rewarded with something wonderful.
Three days after the unveiling of the statue of Danny Phantom, about a week after the incident, Danny tracked her down and introduced her to his family.
To say Jazz was ecstatic to learn she has a little sister would be putting it mildly. She freaked out before becoming elated to realize she has a sister. Despite that Danielle came from unnatural means, Maddie was thrilled to have another daughter without going through the usual means for it.
So, when the Fentons chose to adopt her, she was relieved. She could have Danny as a big brother, something he already was in a sense. She never had siblings or mother, unless one counted the other clones and the hologram of Maddie Fenton, though Vlad clearly only saw them as imperfect copies to be used as soldiers and didn't give them time to bond even if the other clones weren't basic minded. As for the hologram, she was programmed to be a complement factor for Vlad and nothing more. They were something she didn't have a problem with.
It was Jack Fenton, the man her creator hated, that made her uncomfortable.
The last father she had in her life wasn't exactly loving. Her creator was a sociopath who saw her as a tool and didn't mind if she lost her life in his quest to get what he wanted.
He never loved her at all and Jack was someone who wanted to get to know her well. While she knew he wasn't Vlad, she couldn't get over how it went.
Jack noticed how distant she's been since, afraid to open up around him. So, he decided they would spend the whole day together to get to know each other better.
And that's where she is now.
Jack woke her up around 8, insisting they go to a diner for breakfast.
While she doesn't mind a free meal, it was awkward for her. Since her adoption, she's taken to calling Maddie "Mom", Jazz "Sis" and Danny "Bro". It's Jack Fenton, however, she hasn't sounded as close to. It's not out of malice, it's of bad memories of her creator. She can't help it.
So, here they were, sitting across from each other at their table. As Jack sat with his hands clasped together on the table, Danielle sat staring at the table, afraid to look up.
"So…" Jack said, starting the conversation.
"So…" Danielle responded in a deadpan tone.
There was an awkward silence that followed as Jack tried to think of what to say.
"How's… been being a Fenton?" He asks, not really sure how to have worded that.
"Cool." She said, honest but still feeling awkward about this.
"Everyone treating you nice?" He asks.
"Yeah. Mom's been wonderful. Jazz is a little… eager, but she's nice. And Danny's been nice to me since the day we met." She said.
"That's good to hear, Little Princess." Jack said.
Danielle looked a bit surprised at that. It was Jack's little nickname for her, as he calls Jazz "Princess".
"Thanks, Sir." She responded.
Jack frowned at that.
"Now Danielle, you're part of the family now. Call me Dad." He said.
Danielle shrunk a little at that.
The last person she called Dad didn't really see her as a daughter at all. She knew Jack wasn't like that, but she wasn't ready to use that word.
Not yet.
I know that he's trying but I can't just do it right away. Danielle thought.
Jack sighed, realizing the girl was still afraid to open up to him. So, he decided something else.
"Well, anything you want to try?" Jack said, holding his menu up.
"Huh? Oh." Danielle picked her menu up.
"So… you're 13 now, right?" Jack asks.
"I mean, I came out 2 years younger than Danny so… I guess?" She asks.
"Well… order what you want out of the adult's menu." Jack said graciously.
"Sure…" She responded.
She looked at the menu and thought of what to order.
Pancakes? Omelets? Buttered toast? Bacon? All of them look good… She thought, realizing her stomach was grumbling.
Although she was still nervous about this, she couldn't deny her stomach food.
That's when their waitress came.
"Alright, what'll you two have?" She asks.
"I'll take my usual. Pancakes, ham-and-cheese omelet, bacon and buttered toast." He says.
Danielle rose her head from the menu, surprised to hear that.
He's eating that much? She thought, remembering how she ate a large amount of food when she met Danny.
The woman then looked at her
"And you?" The waitress asks Danielle, getting her attention.
"Oh… uh… I guess… Pancakes, scrambled eggs with bacon and… some toast?" She asks.
"Can do." The waitress says, writing that down. "Drinks?"
"Coffee for me." Jack said.
"I guess… OJ." Danielle said, unsure still.
"Order taken. Just hang tight." The waitress says.
Once that was done, Danielle looked at Jack with surprise.
"You ordered a lot." She said.
Jack grinned with a shrug.
"Jazz and Danny never fell into that side of the gene pool. The side with ranch dressing, melted cheese, and fudge… lots of fudge." He said proudly.
Danielle blinked.
"Whoa… does that explain why-" She stopped what she was about to say, not sure how to say it.
"Why what, Danielle?" He asks.
"Uh…" She looked to the bottom left.
"Come on…" He went.
"Is that why I eat a lot?" She asks.
Before Jack could say something, the waitress arrived with their drinks.
"Here you go." She went before heading away again.
"Thanks." He said to her before looking at Danielle. "To answer your question, maybe?" He tells her before sipping some of his coffee.
Danielle drank some orange juice before continuing.
"Vl- I mean, You-Know-Who never really gave me food outside of a tube. The first time I had actual food was when I met Danny. I kind of… ate everything in your pantry." She admits sheepishly.
Jack thought back to that day.
He remembered that almost all their chips, cookies, and even a bucket of chicken that he had saved in the fridge went missing, along with some other snacks.
"Huh, so that's where it all went…"
"Yeah, sorry." She says.
She was somewhat worried he'd be upset, but instead he smiled.
"No worries, you're one of us now, so it's a-okay." He said.
Danielle smiled slightly at that, before looking down again.
At least he's okay with it… She thought.
Jack saw this and sighed.
How am I gonna get her to be more talkative? He thought as he tried to think of something.
"Uh...so...how's hanging with Danny?" Jack asked.
"It's cool, I guess. Tucker is still bummed that he's not mayor anymore..." Danielle said.
"Well, he knew that he was just a stand-in until a real one could be found..." Jack explained.
"Yeah, but he liked being the youngest mayor in the history of Amity Park. He was too into it, even though everyone vetoed his mini-skirt Friday idea..." Danielle said.
"Your mother was among those against it..." Jack said.
Tucker may have been one of Danny's friends, but they tended to be against a lot of his less than wonderful ideas.
"Here's your meal." The waitress said, arriving.
'"Thank you..."They both said.
Before Jack could take a bite, he noticed Danielle eating. He paid attention to how she ate.
She took a large pancake and stuffed it into her mouth, slowly eating before the rest of the fluffy disk went into her mouth. Once it was done, she became aware of Jack staring.
"Uh… sorry?" She went.
Jack, surprisingly, smiled with a tear down his eye.
"I always wanted Jazz and Danny to eat the way I did…" He said before taking a pancake and eating it the same way she did.
She stared a moment before she felt a moment of relief come to her.
He eats like I do? Mom kept telling me not to eat like a garbage disposal unit… She thought.
"It helps you have good taste." Danielle said.
The large man just smiled.
"Well?" Jack asked, getting her attention. "Better finish before it gets cold." He said.
Danielle nodded. She resumed eating with a small smile on her face.
He's okay with how I eat… She thought.
That made her happy.
"Want to try some of what I got?" Jack asked.
He offered her some of his omelet and the little girl smiled.
"Sure."
Once they were done, it was time to go out and do something to do together as father and daughter.
Jack drove as he eyed the little girl at his right, patting her stomach with a satisfied look on her face.
It made him feel relieved.
"So, what did you think?" Jack asked.
That snapped her out of it and started to feel a bit shy again.
"I… I guess it was okay." She admits.
"Really? Those omelets you asked for after you tried a taste of mine were just okay?" He asked in a joking manner.
While she tried to remain quiet, Danielle couldn't help but smile a bit,
"Okay, it was delicious. Very delicious, especially that jam on the toast." She admits.
That made Jack feel the first step was a success.
She's enjoying herself, that's something. So far, so good... He thought.
"So, how do we spend the rest of our time together? Movie? Walk?"
That's when Danielle's ghost sense went off.
"Uh oh…"
While Jack drove, they soon noticed some screaming up ahead.
People screamed as a ghost, a large blobby ghost, was causing trouble.
"GHOST!" Jack shouted.
"Oh man, we should do something!" Danielle said as she changed forms.
Jack sped up and soon parked. He ran out of the RV with weapons while Dani phased out.
"Remember, if anyone asks, we were here at the same time. A complete coincidence.." Jack said with a blaster in his hand.
"Got it..." Dani nodded as they soon headed to the creature..
"You and Danny have been training together, right?" Jack asks as he runs while she flies.
"Uh…" Dani said as she thought back.
Flashback
It was Friday and Jack and Maddie were staking a haunted house and Jazz was at the library.
Danny and Dani, however, weren't training like they said they would.
No, they were doing something else.
They were pulling a prank on Dash.
They saw the blonde jock harassing a fellow student at the mall and decided to step in.
"Remember what I taught you..." Danny whispered.
"Got it…" Dani whispered back before they made their move.
Soon, the student was phased out of grasp and Dash was finding his pants being pulled down.
"WHAT THE HECK?! GHOSTS?!" Dash shouted as he noticed people stopping in their tracks, laughing at him.
The two Phantoms laughed and high-fived as Dash squealed like a girl and ran off while pulling his pants up.
Once he was gone, they turned to each other.
"Pizza?" Danny asks.
"Please and thank you." Dani responded.
They soon left to go eat while the bully still had the entire mall laughing at him.
Flashback over
"Yeah…" Dani went, not sounding convincing but Jack didn't notice her tone.
"Perfect!"
He cocked his blaster and charged into battle.
Dani followed.
With his blaster, he fired a shot at the creature, which turned its head and looked directly at him, glaring.
Before it could reach out and grab him, Dani Phantom shot a blast at its head. It didn't seem to hurt it, but it did get the creature's attention.
"Hey, lime-flavored loser! Get lost!" She shouted before firing again.
The attack did seem to cause some discomfort, making it blink, but it merely chose to swat her away.
Jack took advantage of the situation, putting in a canister of some kind into the back of the blaster.
"Good thing Maddie and I got Danny to show us that power of his… Okay, clear away while I get a shot!" He called out.
Dani nodded.
Once she flew far enough, the creature looked to Jack, recognizing he was about to fire.
It stretched out its arm, about to grab him when Dani flew in and carried him out of harm's way.
"That was close!" She went.
"I just need one shot." Jack said.
"Maybe I can give it to you." She thought out loud.
The blob creature was now following them, intent to grab. Seeing that it's coming towards them now, Jack grinned and took his shot
Once it hit, the creature's eyes widened before it turned blue.
Its movement began to slow down before suddenly stiffening. It was frozen solid.
"Got it!" Jack went.
"Whoa…" Dani said, stopping to see his handiwork. "What did you hit him with?" She asks as she started to descend to the ground.
"Something we've been working on ever since Danny showed us his full arsenal of powers." Jack explains once his feet hit the ground.
"Cool… literally." She said.
However, before she could admire the invention, there was a shaking from the creature.
"Oh no… it's too big, it's gonna break free!" Jack said.
"Now what?" She asks.
Jack knew one thing to do as he pulled something out.
"Dani, quick! The Thermos!" Jack said as he tossed it to her.
She caught it in her hands.
"Uh… this is more my brother's thing, I just help weaken it!" She answered.
"Well, he's not here, so it's your turn!" He said.
Dani panicked.
"I… I don't know…"
"I trust you." He assured.
"What if I mess up?" She asks.
"You won't." Jack said.
"But what it-"
That's when she felt a hand on her head. Looking at Jack, she saw an encouraging smile.
"If anything happens, I'll be here to step in." He assured.
That caused a flashback in her mind.
"But the last clone that tried that melted. What if it's too much?"
"Oh, it won't be…"
"But what if-"
"YOU EXIST TO SERVE ME! JUST DO IT!"
But right now, she's not seeing anything that reminds her of what happened.
Not at all.
"Okay…" She said.
She then flew closer to the ghost, who started breaking through the ice.
Here we go… She thought to herself.
She aimed and pressed the button, activating the thermos.
The blob only made one cry of anger before it was sealed inside the Fenton Thermos.
''I got it!" She exclaimed.
Seeing it trapped, Dani made a breath of relief.
"That's the ticket." Jack said, patting her on the back.
"Yeah… uh, Sir." Dani went.
"Danielle… call me Dad." He said.
Dani looked around.
"Maybe not in this context…" She said.
Jack looked around, realizing people were coming out of hiding and seeing the creature defeated, feeling relief.
"Good call." He whispered to her.
Just then, someone else appeared.
"I'm here!" A voice called out from above. Looking up, it was Danny Phantom, hovering not far from the two. "What's going on? Sis? Da- I mean, Jack Fenton." He said, not wanting to blow his cover.
Despite being a goof, Jack realized what he was doing.
"Oh… uh… your sidekick here was of great assistance in defeating that threat to the city! Thank you for all your training with her, Danny Phantom!" Jack said loudly and stiffly before people cheered them.
"She saved us!" One person shouted.
"You rock, Dani Phantom!" One person called out.
However, as they cheered, the two whispered to each other.
"You really don't want the rest of the world to know?" Jack asks.
"The people at the Pole who saw it were grateful enough to keep my secret, well, a secret. I like my privacy." Danny whispered back.
"Gotcha…"
Soon, more reporters and fans appeared and the two Phantoms realized that it was time to leave.
"Good to see you all okay, citizens." 'Danny said dramatically before he and Dani flew off.
Once they gave everyone the slip, Danielle returned to the RV, Jack waiting for her.
"Well, we took care of the situation, didn't we, Danielle?" Jack asks.
"Yes, Sir." She responded.
Jack heard this and sighed.
"Danielle, you're in human form now. Call me Dad." He said.
The little ghost girl realized his point.
"Oh… sorry…" She said, head down and shoulders drooped.
Jack placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"It's okay… let's just enjoy the rest of our day. Now, what say we try that outdoor swap meet?" He suggests.
"Okay." She said, not really sure herself.
She hasn't been to one of those before, so she had no reason to reject it.
However, as they left, they didn't know one person was watching.
Danny was invisible as he hovered and overheard them.
He crossed his arms and sighed in disappointment.
"She's still having trouble opening up to Dad…" He said to himself.
He can't really blame her. She seemed happy to have a brother, sister and mother. However, the last person she saw as a father wasn't the best example of one. Vlad may say he wants love, but he clearly has no understanding of how it works.
Had he treated Danielle fairly, he may have had the kind of family he always wanted, but he was far too stubborn and uncompromising, which goes against how love works. Vlad wanted a son, not a daughter, and it turned someone who genuinely loved him like family against him.
That Fruitloop. Even though he's who-knows-where, he's still haunting her… Danny thought to himself.
He then pondered until an idea came.
"Maybe I should… keep an eye on them today. Not like I have other plans today…" He said solemnly to himself.
At the swap meet
Jack walked with Danielle nearby, going to several vendors.
They arrived at one that had various toys, like a popular robot hero that turned into a flat nose truck.
"What do ya think?" He asks.
She just briefly glanced at it.
"Uh… it's okay, I guess." She admits.
Jack then grabbed a water gun.
"How about this?" He asks.
Danielle looked at it and shook her head.
"I don't think I need one." She responds.
"It's not about what you need, it's about what you want." Jack said.
Danielle looked at the item again, deep in thought.
"I… don't know?" She went.
Jack then took a knee and whispered to her.
"Something wrong?" He asks.
Danielle looked shy again.
"It's just… I don't really know what I like or dislike. Everything I said to Danny when I met him was stuff I was told to say so that he'd trust me." She whispered back.
The Fenton Patriarch frowned at that before he got an idea.
"Well then…" Jack got up and offered his hand. "Let's see what you'd like or not together, huh?"
The girl blinked at that.
Seeing no other way around, Danielle sighed.
"Sure."
Jack smiled.
As they walked off, they didn't see Danny Fenton watching them from around the corner.
"Okay… so far so good." He said to himself.
Before he could go, someone caught sight of him.
"Hey, Fentina!"
Danny groaned.
"Of all times…" He muttered before looking to the origin of the voice. "What is it, Dash?"
The bully looked mad, as usual.
"I got a D on my spelling test and I'm taking it on your hide!" He shouted.
Danny rolled his eyes.
This is the only reason I'd have let my secret identity not be secret anymore… but getting Dash off my back isn't that worth it. He thought.
"Dash, why don't you try studying for once instead of wasting time?" He shot at his bully.
"Who said I'm wasting time?" Dash said before attempting to get his hands on Danny.
However, Danny thought fast. He ducked out of the way, causing Dash to trip and land on the stand Danny was hiding behind.
"Bye!" Danny went before running off, muttering angrily to himself. "Blockhead made me lose track of them… I better keep an invisible eye on them."
As Dash got up, about to chase after Danny, but the stand's owner stopped him.
"Hey! You knocked my Japanese imported figures! And you broke some of them! You're cleaning up and paying for them!" He shouted.
Dash stiffened up.
"P-Pay? For nerd stuff?" He asked incredulously.
"Do I need to call security?" The vendor asks.
"Uh… look, I don't have any money so…" Dash said, realizing too late he shouldn't have said that.
"Then I guess we should call security… unless you plan to work this off for the next 3 weeks..." The owner said.
"Or what?" Dash scoffed.
"Or I… call the cops." The vendor states.
Dash's face turned pale white upon hearing that.
What followed after that was Jack and Danielle's time bonding.
At first, Danielle kept quiet as she followed Jack. However, they stopped by a stand that sold creepy looking masks. After getting a good laugh together, they would come across a stand that imported figurines, both agreeing they weren't interested. After that, they found a stand with old retro games, with Danielle taking note of some fifth generation 3D platformers. Seeing something caught her attention, Jack bought her a console with some games.
That got her thinking.
Vlad never would have bought something for me… he kept me in that containment pod until I was ready to meet Danny… She thought.
As they kept going, Jack noticed how slow she was.
"Danielle? Hurry up." He said as they walked.
"Sorry, these underdeveloped legs are in need of calcium…" She says.
The jumpsuit clad man had an idea.
"Let's help with that." Jack said before stopping and reaching for Danielle.
He picked her up.
"Hey, what the heck?" She asks.
He then placed her on his back, behind his head and neck.
"Hold on tight." He said as Danielle did so. "There we go."
He carried her on a piggyback ride.
Danielle looked around, noting how odd it feels to be so far off the ground without use of powers.
"W-Whoa…" She went.
"Now, let's keep going, shall we?" Jack said.
''Okay." Danielle said.
While Jack walked, he didn't see the look on Danielle's face.
Her worried looks started to melt into a smile.
As they went on, Danny Phantom watched from above, invisible and smiling.
"Good… they're getting along."
After about another hour, the two decided to grab a bite. Jack new the perfect place, an all-you-can-eat buffet located not that far from the swap meet.
It was mostly seafood with Japanese cuisine. Jack recalled a certain event that happened here, but things were cleaned up, mostly, so it was okay to eat here.
They took their seats.
"So, what was with the looks they gave you when we got inside?" She asks.
"Oh… I may have taken advantage of their all-you-can-eat buffet and insisted that they shouldn't use that saying if they didn't mean it." Jack states.
"What?" She asks.
"Seriously, they should have put some kind of time limit." Jack said with arms crossed.
"Yeah, exactly." Danielle, also seemingly insulted by what she heard.
Jack smiled, happy she agreed with him.
"Anyway, get whatever you want to eat." Jack insisted.
Danielle blinked upon hearing that.
"Wait, what about menus?" She asks.
"It's a buffet, get whatever you want." Jack said.
She blinked again, just to make sure she heard that right.
"I can… get what I want?" She asks.
''Yeah..." Jack said.
Once she saw the buffet line, her eyes widened.
Grilled fish, teriyaki chicken, sushi, teppanyaki, ramen and kobe beef.
Her mouth watered.
"This is the kind of place I was made for…" She said under her breath.
She then got in line for teppanyaki..
It smells delicious. She thought, her mouth still watering.
Danny watched via phasing his head through the ceiling.
"Ugh… I remember. Mom was upset Dad tried to sue this place, only for her to state that all-you-can-eat is just a slogan and not an actual rule." He mutters.
He shook that out of his head and decided to keep watching.
He saw Danielle go wild, taking a bunch of rice, grilled fish, teriyaki chicken, sushi and some gyoza.
Good thing I ate before coming. He thought.
He then watched his little sister start leaving the buffet islands with all that food.
Once Danielle returned to her table, she did so with a plate of food that was stacked almost as tall as she was. She then saw Jack returned, also with a tall amount of food on his plate.
"Whoa…" She went.
"I know, right? They were out of fried banana…" Jack said.
"Actually, I think I got the last one." Danielle admitted.
Once they sat down, they started eating.
Both ate all they could, and as fast as they could. Small chunks of food escape their mouths, making splashes on the floor.
People were sending grossed out looks from the two.
Danny, meanwhile, looked away.
As he did, he saw what looked like two people on a date. The woman on the date had jet-black hair and wore a gold ring.
Seeing that made him feel depressed.
Sam… He thought.
That's when he looked back to the two and saw they were halfway through their meals.
"Whoa…" He went.
His dad used a napkin before speaking again.
"That was a great appetizer, wasn't it?" Jack asked.
Danielle licked her mouth clean.
"Sure was…"
Danny's jaw dropped.
"Appetizer? That was an appetizer?" He asked.
Later
After the buffet, Jack and Danielle chose to walk around the shopping center the buffet is part of to walk off all that food.
They were now full and feeling a bit closer.
"Now that was lunch..." Jack said, happy with what he ate.
"Yeah, I am so doing all the chores to get Mom to bring me here..." Danielle agreed, patting her belly.
Jack smiled, happy that she was enjoying herself..
"Danny could bring you, but I doubt he'd eat as much as you..." Jack commented.
"Yeah, I think a burger or something is all he can do." Danielle said.
She then paused when she recalled something about her brother, namely why he hasn't been as active as normal in his personal life outside of hanging with Tucker.
Jack noticed her suddenly slowing down and looking to the ground with a sad look.
"Little princess?" He asks.
"Huh… oh, I was just… wondering how he was doing after what happened." Danielle said.
Jack looked down at that.
They all knew about the recent break up between Danny and Sam. It was a huge shock as everyone thought that once they ended up together, that was it. Clearly, that was just wishful thinking.
There was no fight or anything. They just said that they weren't connecting as well as they thought they did
It was a surprisingly realistic twist.
Jack sighed.
"I know what you mean. At least they aren't all bitter about it..." He said.
They had no idea Danny was overhearing them from a few feet away from the air, invisible.
He still felt awkward and very bummed about the breakup, since it was something they thought would be fate.
He recalled how their first day as a new couple started well, but the more they spent time together, the more they found it wasn't as fun as they thought. Danny found he wasn't as into her type of music while she wasn't that ecstatic about his favorite type of movies or his love for the history of space travel. By the next few days, their attempts to get close just seemed to not get them as eager to spend together as they wanted.
They then realized that their feelings for each other weren't more from being the opposite gender and being longtime friends in the presence of others' teasing them. So, they chose to be friends again, but decided to spend some time apart.
It was still pretty disappointing, to be honest.
"I guess it was just a phase..." Danny steeled himself.
Dad says Mom wasn't the first girlfriend he had… granted it lasted longer than a week… Maybe there's hope for me yet. He thought.
He's still young and no matter what, he would be happy as long as he doesn't end up as a miserably bitter guy like Vlad was.
Once he turned his head and looked where the two were just standing, he saw they were gone.
"Where'd they go?" He asked, looking around.
As he flew around, he had no idea another was watching from a far enough distance to avoid detection from his Ghost Sense.
Someone with a pair of red-tinted binoculars.
"Hmm… should I attack now? He seems distracted, but by what?" Skulker asks as he looks into one of the stores, seeing a body signature not unlike Danny's. Skulker instantly realized who this was. "The other ghost child, the imperfect copy my former employer created…" Once he looked back to where Danny was, he was gone. "Now where'd he go?" Skulker then put his binoculars down and scratched his chin in thought. "I could sneak up on him, but that one is surrounded by gossipy eyes. I did wonder whether to put his pelt on my bed or wall… now I don't have to decide after all!"
Inside the store
Jack and Danielle were now inside, which was a discount clothing store.
They were looking around, trying to find something for her to wear that wasn't shorts and her usual hoodie.
"So, any new clothes ya got in mind?" Jack asks.
"Uh… don't you guys wear the exact same thing, like, every day?" Danielle asks.
"True but...variety. Plus I can't bring my jumpsuit to church… anymore." Jack says.
"Why'd-"
"Long story short: I still owe $1000 in damages…" Jack adds
Danielle chose not to ask about that and resumed looking.
"If you say so."
''So, what kind of outfit do you prefer?" He asked again.
"I'm more of a tomboy, to be honest. Given how I came to be, that's not a surprise…" Danielle admits.
Jack nodded. He knew that and always noticed how she was more like a boy, given her choice in clothes and how she eats.
Suddenly, a thought came to him and it made him wonder..
"So… does that mean… uh, boys or girls?" Jack asks.
The girl raised a brow at that.
"Huh?" She asks.
"Boys or girls?"
Danielle thought a moment before shrugging.
"I don't know…"
Jack blinked before he answered.
"Well, whichever, always remember… your curfew is 9." Jack said sternly.
Danielle just stared a moment, looking upset, before the two of them bursted into laughter.
Once they started to quiet down, Danielle's smile left her.
"I'm surprised you'd have a talk like this with me, given… I was kind of a mistake." Danielle says bitterly.
However, Jack put a hand on her head.
"Danielle… don't be upset about that. You're not a mistake, you're just the end result of one man's mistake…" Once those words went out, Jack flinched. He saw the look she shot him. "Okay… bad choice of words… My point is, it doesn't matter where you came from… you're a Fenton now." Jack said.
"Would you be that way even if I wasn't made from… y'know". Danielle had to ask.
"Even if you weren't, we'd still treat you like the person you are, not a weapon. The fact you have Fenton DNA, regardless of where you came from, means you belong with us." Jack says.
Danielle smiled at that.
He says I belong with them… She thought.
She heard of Jack through Vlad's mad rantings and the Jack Program he created solely to hurl insults at, but she never took the real Jack Fenton as being so wise.
"Thanks…" She said, She was about to say something else, namely what Jack insisted she called him, but the word wouldn't leave her mouth, much to her sadness. "Sorry…"
"It's okay. I'd love for you to call me Dad, but when you're ready." He insists.
The girl felt relief at that.
He really is a better man than Vlad… She thought.
She was about to speak when her ghost sense went off.
"Oh no…"
Suddenly, there was screaming.
''What's going on?" Jack demanded.
Near the ceiling, it was Skulker.
"Phantom! Where are you?!" Skulker called out.
Danielle and Jack saw him and narrowed their eyes.
"Find someplace to go and be ghostly, I'll keep him occupied." Jack ordered.
"It's Goin' Ghost." Danielle explained.
Jack made a face at that.
"Weird…"
He then cocked his blaster and ran to the ghost. Dani went to find a spot to change.
Skulker was still looking for his prey.
"Where is that whelp?" Skulker questions.
That's when a shot goes past his head. He saw the shot was fired by Jack Fenton.
"Back off, Metalhead!" Jack shouted.
Skulker turned around and frowned. He then had a sinister grin on his face.
"I was hoping to add to my collection, but you did leave my biggest source of income in space." Skulker said before a pair of blades slid out of his arm.
"And I don't regret it!" Jack shouted as he kept firing at him.
With that happening, Danielle had left the store to find a place to morph. She sees the RV being the only vehicle not leaving the area and shrugs.
"Good enough…"
With her small size, she slid underneath the vehicle, away from prying eyes, and morphed.
Inside, Jack was firing at Skulker, who used his superior reflexes to avoid each shot.
"I'm going to stuff you after this!" Skulker taunted as he flew towards Jack and prepared to slash him.
"Get away from him!" A girl's voice shouted before a foot connected with Skulker's face.
Once Skulker shook it off, he saw his target was the one who kicked him.
"Finally… the ghost girl. I was hunting your older brother, but your pelt will do just fine."
"Uh… eww!" Dani went.
"You won't be so grossed out after I claim your pelt!" Skulker shouted as he aimed his shoulder cannon at her.
He fired a rocket that she had to bob out of the way to avoid as it hit the wall.
"Hey, watch it! I know this is a discount store but they got bills to pay!" She went.
However, she was distracted as Skulker hit her with his shoulder, sending her into the wall. From there, he fired another attack, this time from a blaster on his arm.
"Don't worry, I don't plan to cause much harm here, ghost girl..." Skulker says as he attacked again.
To her surprise, it wasn't a blast, but some kind of ectoplasmic slime that formed a hard surface on her from the neck down, and she struggled to get out.
"What is this? I can't phase out of it!" She shouts.
"A special spectral foam I've been working on. It isn't strong enough to hold you for long, but I don't need longer than a minute to knock you out and take you back." Skulker said with a grin.
As Dani struggled to get out, someone outside arrived and saw what was happening before flying in without a care for his safety.
"Danielle! I'm comi-"
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Someone else called out.
It was Jack, who fired at Skulker, sending him into the ceiling.
"GAH! How dare you!" Skulker yelled upon being hit.
"Deal with me before you think of hurting her!" Jack shouted at him.
With that, Skulker flew at Jack
As Jack deals with Skulker, Danny took advantage and went to free Dani by firing a concentrated beam where the foam touched the wall.
"What are you doing here?" She asks.
"Uh… long story." He says to avoid admitting he was spying on them.
Before Dani could ask, she saw Jack was still fighting Skulker.
"Hurry!" She went.
"Hurrying." Danny said.
Jack was still going one-on-one with Skulker, who didn't give in.
Jack pulled out the Jack-O-Nine-Tails and attempted to capture Skulker with it. However, the ghost reacted with firing a net from his shoulder, wrapping around the weapon before it could reach him.
Skulker flew at Jack with a fist ready, but Jack braced himself before the hit knocked him back.
"Stay out of this! I have my trophy now, so leave while you still have a pelt!" Skulker shouted.
"Keep away from my daughter, you psychopath!" Jack shouted.
As Danny weakened the foam enough for Dani to break free, she paused when she heard him say that.
"Di-Did he call me his daughter?" She asks.
''Yeah...' Danny said as he kept going.
Dani felt touched before she saw Skulker backhand Jack, making him hit the floor.
"If you're so determined to end up my prey, I'll be happy to have you stuffed next to her." Skulker said.
"Do your worst..." Jack said in anger
Skulker grinned.
"Only because you said so." He responds before pulling out a glowing blade.
Before he could attack, someone flew in to stop it.
"NOOOO!" A small Phantom shouted, firing a ghost ray at Skulker, destroying his weapon before a swing of her fist connected, sending him into the wall.
The damage to the wall made it clear that she hit as hard as possible.
"WHAT?!" Skulker shouted as he got off the wall.
He didn't have time to react as Dani fired another blast at him. This one knocked him down.
"Get away from my Dad!"
That part was heard by Jack.
As Danny helped him up, Jack's head turned to Dani fighting Skulker. He wasn't exactly okay, but he'll live. It was what she said that got his attention.
"Did she… call me Dad?" He asked, a smile coming to his face.
Danny nodded with a smile.
"I'll rest your pelt for this!" Skulker shouted.
Before he could make a move, a shot of blue energy hit him, encasing him in a large block of ice that hit the floor.
"Not while I'm around..." Danny says, his hand glowing blue.
"Thermos, please?" Dani called out.
"On it, little princess!" Jack said, tossing it to Dani.
She smiled at him before turning to Skulker.
"Laters!" Dani went.
She pressed the button and the frozen Skulker was sucked inside the device.
As Dani sealed the lid, Danny was impressed.
"Nice one, Sis."
"You're a natural at that..." Jack said.
She didn't listen to the compliment, only to his well being.
"Are you okay, Dad?" Dani asks.
"Yes… I am now…" Jack responds.
He smiled at her, feeling happy she's calling him that. Dani smiled back and felt happier when he placed a hand on her head, tussling her hair a bit.
Danny was happy that they were getting along.
"Well… if you give me the thermos, I'll send Skulker back to the Ghost Zone." Danny says.
''Okay..." Dani said as she handed it to him
"See you at home..." Danny said before leaving.
With Danny gone, that just left father and daughter to resume their day together.
Later
The rest of their day went well. First they got some ice cream, then they went to the park, followed by a movie. A comedy that they both found very funny. With all that done, they went to grab dinner at the Nasty Burger.
Danielle was checking out the menu while Jack was about to pay.
"You sure you don't want something from the kid's menu? We can lie and say you're 10." Jack insisted.
"I'm good… besides, you've seen how much I eat." Danielle said.
Jack heard that and nodded.
They both went and ordered the same thing. They asked for the same triple burgers, with extra grilled onions.
Now, they were at the table, about to dine in.
"Awesome!" Danielle said as she began to eat the burger, with the same kind of sloppiness Jack had.
She's definitely more like me than Vlad would have ever expected… Jack thought.
As Danielle was halfway done with her large burger, Jack put his own down to bring up something.
"You called me Dad earlier…"
Danielle paused, looking up at the smiling Jack Fenton before her eyes darted away with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
"Well… you are my dad, after all. I mean, at least from a biological standpoint given my DNA… not to mention, you did go through this whole day with me and I've had a lot of fun with you." She admits.
Jack smiled at that before putting on a stern face.
"Well, don't get too comfy with the fun. Seeing as you skipped most of a childhood, we're homeschooling you to get you ready for high school." Jack says.
Danielle's smile drops and she sighs in disappointment.
"Oh… great…"
After a good second, the two shared a laugh and resumed their dinner.
After taking a few bites of her burger, Danielle rose her head to speak to Jack again.
"Dad?"
Jack's head rose back up.
"Yes?"
"Thank you… for taking me in." She said, having never really said that until now.
Jack grinned and gave a thumb's up.
"Not a problem. At least now I have a buffet buddy."
Danielle smiled at that and felt comfortable.
"I'd like that... " She said before eating again.
The two finished their burgers, burping loudly, much to the disgust of the other people eating.
However, people were talking now about them.
"What's that little girl doing with Jack Fenton?" Someone was heard whispering.
"That's some little girl his family adopted." Someone responded.
"Poor girl… she couldn't get taken in by someone better?"
Hearing that, Danielle sent a glare at the women speaking and stood up from her seat.
"No, I can't! Because Jack Fenton is the best dad ever and anyone who wants to make cracks behind his back has to answer to me!" She shouted.
The women gasped at her outburst
Before she could go deal with them, Jack held a hand out.
"It's okay, sweetheart." He said.
She was surprised by this.
"But… Dad?" She asked, but Jack sent her a serious look.
"I'm used to it. Besides, as long as they don't hurt you, they can say what they want." Jack said.
Danielle didn't like this but sighed as she started scarfing her fries.
"Okay Dad…" She said before looking at the menu and smiling. "How about dessert?"
At home
It's been hours since she got home.
Danielle spoke with her mother on how the day went. How much fun they had and how they beat Skulker. Maddie was relieved, proud even, that the two spent the whole day together and grew close. She was especially happy to see her calling Jack "Dad" now. While she didn't know the full details, she knew there was no way Vlad ever saw her as a daughter.
She had no idea what became of him, nor did she care, but Vlad was such a sociopath that the little girl he saw as a mistake was the only good thing he ever brought to the world.
"Well… good of you two. Now, off to bed." Maddie said.
"G'night Mom..."The girl said.
With that, Danielle was off to bed.
After changing into her pajamas, she asked Jack if he could tuck her in. Even though she's got the mind and body of a 13 year old, having a father to tuck her in is something she never experienced. She wanted it at least once.
The Fenton father did so.
"Night, little princess." Jack said.
"Night… Daddy." Danielle said.
Hearing her say that brought a happy tear to Jack's eye.
After wiping his eye clean, he placed a small kiss on her forehead before getting up and heading to the door.
With one last look over his shoulder, he smiled as she started to fall asleep.
Once the door closed and Danielle drifted to sleep, another person watching felt happy.
Danny phased his head through the wall, smiling and nodding.
He pulled back, ending up back in his room, getting back on his bed and feeling relieved.
She's finally got a dad who cares for her… He thought happily.
New one-shot, it was meant to be for Father's Day, but it was longer than I intended it to be.
Also, from this moment on, unless it's a collab with another's story, I'm following the "Facing the Future" series idea that only those at the Pole know Danny's secret and kept it out of gratitude. Also, Tucker being mayor? No... making him just a temporary choice until someone better suited takes the job seemed more likely. Also, added some realism to Danny and Sam's relationship.
Special thanks to Flower princess11 for help.