DANNY FENTON HAD never been more anxious. Well, except for that time when Sam had convinced him to go on that roller coaster ride at Six Flags, but that was beside the point.
"It's senior prom." Sam Manson looked exasperated, her shoulder-length black hair tied up in a classy updo. She'd changed out of her black and purple dress in exchange for leggings and a baggy purple sweatshirt the moment she'd entered the gym for after prom. "You have to learn to loosen up! Have a little fun."
Danny glanced over at Tucker Foley, who was flirting helplessly with girls on the other side of the gym. He tapped his foot impatiently. "I know, but just-what if Skulker gets out?"
"Skulker's only after you, Danny; he wouldn't hurt the city."
"What about Technus? And Ember? What if cheese-head shows up with a sudden need to destroy everything in his path?"
Sam rolled her eyes for about the twentieth time. Daniel was not going to listen to her reason. He'd been on vacations in the past four years of his ghostly career, sure, but Sam and Tucker had always kept a close eye on the city. This was an entire night without even making a quick flight around town and it was driving the teen that paced in front of her crazy.
"Okay, how about one flight. Just real quick, make sure the ghost portal is locked, check around town; I'll be back in less than-"
"Dang it, Danny!" Sam ground her teeth, careful to keep her voice low. "Don't you get it? Ever since this hero business started up at fourteen-fourteen-you've been nonstop. Can't you take one night to yourself?"
Danny looked at Sam with those big, puppy dog eyes that always made her succumb. Glow in the dark stars reflected in his irises.
Sam shook her head, opting to stare anywhere but her friend's face. "Don't give me that look. Hey, there's lots of stuff to do that can occupy our time. It's only midnight. We could, uh," she eyed the universe themed gym in haste, her eyes landing on a particularly large dark blue banner overhanging a small stage, "look! There's a hypnotist show at one! Danny, you love hypnotists!"
"You know what I would love even more?"
"If you say going on patrol, I swear I will punch you in your-"
"Hey! Make some room for the third wheel!" Tucker squeezed past students, tripping over feet before landing solidly beside Sam. "What's going on?"
"Sam won't let me go on patrol." Danny said it like an accusation, glaring at the girl in question with steel blue eyes. Sam had suggested the blue tie to accentuate his eye color, but now, with his white collared shirt and that sky blue tie, his black hair a mess upon his head, Sam was finding it harder and harder to keep denying his request. She wished she had suggested red or something. Maybe she could convince Tuck and Danny to switch ties . . .
Shaking the thoughts out of her mind, she jabbed a polished finger in Danny's direction. "He refuses to have any fun!"
Tucker shook his head. "You know, I sucked up to Star for two months to get this universe themed prom up and running."
"Really? You're siding with her?" Danny queried incredulously.
His best friend shrugged indifferently. "No. I'm not siding with anyone. I'm just saying that I do a lot for you Danny, a lot, and one of those things happens to include giving Star a back massage at six in the morning. It would be nice if you just stayed and hung out with your best bud, ya know?"
"I was telling him that he should go up for the hypnotist," Sam said.
"Bro!" Tucker wrapped Danny in a side hug, slinging his arm around his shoulder and pulling him close. "I would love to see you hypnotized. Plus, people say that it's the equivalent of eight hours of sleep. How long has it been since you've had eight full hours of sleep?"
Danny put his hand on his chin comically. "Well, there was that-no, never mind. What about the first time with Nocturne? I think I might have been- "
"Danny, the last time you got eight full hours of sleep, you were fourteen and happened to be lacking in the supernatural abilities department." Sam rolled her eyes.
Danny raised his hands in a surrendering gesture. "Fine! Fine. I'll relax. I'll stop asking about going on patrol. Just don't make me go up on stage. What if I say something I'm not supposed to say?"
Tucker chuckled. "That's the paranoid Danny I know. Come on, let's go get some good seats before this crowd starts suffocating me."
"Do I have any volunteers? Does anyone want eight hours of the best sleep they've ever had?"
Slowly, surely, people started walking onstage and taking a seat in one of the metal fold up chairs. Danny heard multiple people mutter that they would like eight hours of sleep, especially with the upcoming late night activities.
Tucker leaned over to Danny, furrowing his eyebrows. "Come on, man! Raise your hand!"
"I'd rather not." He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.
"One seat left! Do i have one more volunteer for the most relaxing sensation they've ever felt?"
Sam groaned and reached for Danny's hand, jerking it upwards before he could protest. Despite desperate feats to keep his hand down without hurting his friend, Sam wasn't backing down.
The hypnotist noticed him and smiled easily, beckoning him with a hand to come onstage.
Danny stayed planted in his seat.
"May I remind you of the ghost hypnosis that Freakshow put me under?" Danny muttered, fighting against his friend's shoving hands.
"Come on, does that guy look evil to you?" Sam questioned.
Danny cocked his head, studying the man. "Well . . ."
"Daniel James Fenton, get on that stage before I beat you in front of everyone here."
"Fine." It was a groan more than anything else, a plea for help shining in his eyes as he trudged over the legs of students and up the stairs to the stage. He plopped down in the seat and crossed his arms, glaring down at Sam and Tucker.
The two smiled broadly. He stuck his tongue out at them.
"Okay, now remember: hypnosis won't work unless you let it. Rest your arms, lock your eyes on one spot on the ceiling, stop tapping your foot. You, in the blue tie, yes you, stop tapping your foot. Just sink into your chair and listen to the sound of my voice . . ."
The show began. The hypnotist-Nick Fredrick, as he had introduced himself-talked in a quiet, slow voice throughout the entirety of it. He meandered along the sides of the stage, winking at the crowd, making a big show. Then, as he walked behind the rows of chairs, he began to count down from ten.
ten,
Sam smiled. Danny's head was actually drooping. Admittedly, it was the most relaxed Sam had seen him in years.
nine,
Tucker looked over at Sam, then fixed his gaze on his best friend. Danny's eyelids wavered but his eyes remained fixed to that one spot on the ceiling that Nick had instructed him to look at before.
eight,
seven,
six,
For a moment, Sam was afraid that Danny was going to fall out of his chair, or go intangible, or something, but he just kept staring at the ceiling, body drooped, hands at rest.
five,
four,
three,
Someone onstage took their eyes away from the ceiling and smirked at Nick. Tucker mused to himself. How could Danny be on the verge of passing out whilst this average kid didn't even look tired? He yawned, shaking his head. Then again, Danny probably hadn't slept for three days.
two,
one.
and sleep.
Sam had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing when Danny's head fell against his chest. Here he was, the savior of Amity Park, being hypnotized by someone who probably learned everything he knew from a beginners magic box and a few hypnotizing lessons on YouTube. It was comical, really.
Someone stood up, shook their head at their friends, and joined them in her seat while Nick ushered anyone that was hypnotized from the crowd to come forward. When no one came, he shrugged and began instructing the hypnotized students. Sam looked around the room and saw Mr. Lancer staring at Danny, his lips lifted in a somewhat smile and his eyes twinkling.
She nudged Tucker, gave him a supportive thumbs up, and focused her attention on Danny.
The show was hilarious, even more so with her best friend in the mix. He was rubbing suntan lotion on his body (a classic among hypnotists), eyeing imaginary girls, forgetting his own name, sharing his dream car with a trademark smirk and an ease that he could only achieve years before, before he studied the room for escape routes and attack points, before he saw the horrors that came with being a hero.
This, Tucker found, wasn't just good for Danny. This was good for them. For Sam and him to see Danny in such an easygoing way.
More people began to gather around the stage, watching Kwan stumble over his words as he realized that he was holding a balloon in his hands, not the new iPhone 7.
Tucker's heart warmed in his chest.
And then became a freezing block of ice upon the hypnotist's next command.
"You are a superhero."
Sam looked at Tucker and shrugged, muttering a quick, "Don't worry," before crossing her arms and slouching back in her chair. She watched Danny's head bob against his chest.
"You fight villains, save lives, you even have your own adoring fan base. Excuse me, sir," he tapped Kwan on the shoulder, "Who are you?"
"I'm Iron Man," Kwan replied in a voice deeper than his normal one. He had a look of determination fixed on his face.
The crowd collectively laughed.
"And what can you do, Iron Man? Show us some moves."
The laughter echoed off the gym ceiling as Kwan made dramatic gestures in his chair, firing laser beams out of his hands and muttering commands to JARVIS.
"Okay, Iron Man, sleep. And what about you, miss? Who are you?"
It continued down the line. Sam tapped her foot anxiously. This was way too close to home. Could they walk onstage and pull Danny out, or would the hypnosis state have long term effects? Was she just being paranoid? Glancing over, she could see that Tucker was nervous, too, fiddling with his thumbs uncomfortably.
The hypnotist approached the last seat.
"Stand up, son."
A tap on Danny's shoulder.
Danny shook his head, looked up at the hypnotist, and stood up.
"Okay, what's your name?"
"Danny."
"No, I mean, what superhero are you?"
"I'm Danny Phantom."
Sam and Tucker held their breaths. Sam was prepared to jump out of her seat and over the heads of the row in front of them. Tucker looked like he was ready to do the same.
The crowd collectively chuckled, though the statement wasn't as funny when there had already been three other "Danny Phantoms" standing onstage.
Nick chuckled. "Danny Phantom, huh? Show us some moves, Ghost Kid."
There was no humor on Danny's face now. His face was hard, stern, his mouth pushed down in the signature half-frown he gave enemies when they'd just interrupted his precious sleep. His fists clenched.
He locked his eyes on the ceiling.
And a ring reached out around his body.
Sam sat straight up in her chair, pouncing forward, but it was too late. There was Danny Phantom, standing onstage, toxic green eyes staring angrily at the ceiling.
The entire gym went silent. Even people who hadn't been watching the show stopped and turned at the sudden light show.
Nick's microphone slipped out of his hands. The loud, static-filled noise knocked Danny out of his stupor, and with a few blinks and a rub of his eyes, he studied the crowd uneasily.
Tucker and Sam had froze in their spots, stuck between joining Danny onstage and staying where they were. What good would they do, anyway?
Their friend's secret was out.
It didn't take Danny long to figure out. He looked down at his hands, queasily studied his jumpsuit, ran his fingers through his white shaggy hair. A breath of cold fear escaped his mouth.
"Oh, God."
Tucker was the first to jump onto the stage. He reached for his friend. "Danny . . ."
"Oh, my God. Oh my God. Tuck, Oh my God!"
Danny backed away uneasily. His eyes were wide in fear. The other students that had been hypnotized were coming to their senses and staring, befuddled, at their rather frightened town hero.
Sam jumped onto the stage, trying to remain calm. "Danny, it's o-"
Her friend took one last frantic glance around the room and flew straight through the ceiling, leaving the gym behind.
The silence lasted for a few more seconds when Valerie suddenly turned and walked towards the door. She slammed it shut.
Voices broke through the silence, yells of excitement and shock filled the air. Dash seemed a bit angry.
Nick Fredrick stood frozen onstage, face white.
Sam stomped over to him, grabbing his collar. Her face was red from anger, though misplaced. "What the hell do you have to say for yourself?"
The hypnotist stumbled for words. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish.
"That's never happened before."
end.