Chapter 5

The next day, Danny told Sam and Tucker everything that had happened, and the day after that, they forced their way into the Zone and somehow got Fright Knight to escort them to the castle, where they waited for Danny until he was done with his meeting with Tulip, a brand new ghost who had a very tragic end. But if she wasn't afraid of spiders then Danny knew which ghost she could hook Tulip up with. So at least that was a plus.

"So, that's it? You guys are just best friends?" Sam asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I wouldn't say best friends, but we get along fine," Danny answered with a shrug. "The meeting went relatively well. Thor has some beef with me because I'm a ghost but other than that we all get along so far."

"Oh, did you get an autograph from Tony Stark?" Tucker asked, not looking up from his tablet.

"Why would I need an autograph from him?" Danny asked.

"Um, to give to me, obviously," Tucker said, with a hint of fake hurt in his voice. He looked up at him, putting a hand to his chest. "Danny, I'm wounded. How can you not be constantly thinking about gifts for your best friend?"

"Because there are things in this world that are more important to me than you," Danny said, deadpan. Sam busted out laughing, and Tucker just feigned hurt again, but he knew it was all in good fun. Hell, in the beginning he was helping Danny with the technology aspect of the reconstruction. He knows how busy Danny is, and how beneficial this alliance between humans and ghosts could be.

"I still think it's kinda cool you're doing this," Sam said, returning them to the topic. "Who's that redhead, though? She looks super badass."

"Oh, Natasha? She's pretty cool. Clint told me she knows how to kill a guy with a paperclip in almost two hundred different ways."

"I think I'm in love," Sam said, swooning overdramatically. Danny chuckled at her antics, leaning back in his chair. He hadn't realized how much he missed this. Missed them. It was refreshing to see them again. He loved his friends in the Zone, but he needed his best friends every now and then to remind him that half of him is still human, and he needs to take it easy every now and then.

"Anyway, how's Amity been since my absence?" Danny asked, changing the subject.

"It's been pretty quiet. Ever since you became king there's only been the occasional ghost hanging out, but it's usually nice ones that are there by accident," Tucker explained. "There was one with flower power that we met last week."

"Oh, Tulip?" Danny asked. "I had a meeting with her earlier, new ghost and all. She seems sweet. Tragic backstory, though."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm glad Amity hasn't been bad. It's weird, though. Why would the ghosts suddenly stop coming all the time? There's a bunch of them that can make portals and stuff."

"I think it has less to do with the fact that you demolished your parent's portal and more with the fact that you're the king," Sam said. He hand was on her chin as she tried to form her thoughts. "Look at it this way. Pariah was a tyrant. He was cruel, scary, greedy, and just downright evil. So it's only natural, with the king having such a negative presence in the Zone, that it would affect the ghosts who live here. They attacked and were greedy. On a much smaller level, sure, but they were.

But Danny, ever since you became the king they're a lot happier and more subdued. They're calm, and collected, and are more willing to help each other. They're taking on more of your characteristics, versus Pariah's pre-end."

Danny and Ticker thought for a moment, absorbing all of it. It made sense. The time the ghosts started chilling out was right after Danny took over the throne. He never thought he would be good friends with Skulker, or Fright Knight, but he has friendly talks with them all of the time now. Skulker hasn't had the urge to murder him in years.

"That...That makes sense," Danny said. "I can't believe I never noticed it before."

"To be fair, you have been pretty busy," Sam said. "And you're just naturally a dumbass."

"Oh, so that's how I became friends with you," Danny shot back, unable to hide his grin. Sam mirrored it, and rolled her eyes.

Before Tucker could butt in, the door opened, and in walked Valerie.

"Hey, guys!" She said excitedly. "How are you?"

There was a chorus of "goods" from the trio. Danny stood up and walked over to her, taking off her jacket and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Jeez, get a room you two," Tucker said.

"This is our room," Valerie replied as she kissed Danny. Tucker started making barfing sounds, and Danny and Valerie, the power couple that they are, lifted their middle fingers up at him in unison without stopping. Sam laughed loud and long. The kind that came from the stomach, that only happened when Tucker was so egregiously disrespected. Watching it had always been her favorite pastime.

Danny and Valerie pulled away and walked back to the table, defiant smirks on their faces.

"I'm hurt," Tucker said. "You hurt me. I hope you're happy with yourselves."

"Oh, plenty," Valerie said. Sam gave her a high five.

"But seriously, Danny, you should introduce us to the Avengers at some point. I wanna get to know this Natasha," Sam said.

"Oh, she's amazing," Valerie agreed.

The conversation melted into one about the Avengers, and how cute Thor's hair is, and how Natasha knows hundreds of ways to kill a man with just a pair of nail clippers. They fell back into their old, easy going rhythm. Danny forced himself to relax his body, and forced himself not to worry about anything.

He really, really needed this.

"Agent Hill," Fury said as she walked over to him.

"Director Fury," she said.

"What did you find?"

"He's from Amity Park Illinois, and was mostly telling the truth."

"Mostly?"

"He did die ten years ago, but not all the way. Shortly after his little lab accident a super emerged out of nowhere. Literally the next day. He called himself Danny Phantom."

"This dumb motherfucker," Fury said, giving a small chuckle. "Using his name. How did nobody find out?"

"Oh, they all did. Except for his parents. The whole town decided it was best to keep it a secret from them."

"Why is that?"

"They're ghost hunters, sir. They've been seen multiple times shooting at Phantom when he was just starting out, and they have been known to say that once they catch him, he'll be torn apart 'molecule by molecule.' According to eyewitnesses, they were being dead serious. No pun intended."

"What are the Fentons up to now?"

"They still experiment and build ghost hunting devices, but the portal was destroyed years ago, shortly after they found out about their son."

"What did they do to him?" Fury asked. There was a hint of tightness to his voice. His words were more crisp, and Hill already knew he wasn't going to like what he heard next.

"Well, sir," she said, trying to keep her voice even. When she had dug up this information it almost made her sick. "He was in his parent's custody for almost six months before being taken by the Guys in White."

"Makes sense. Last I checked, though, they were no longer in commission."

"They stopped operating shortly after Danny escaped. He had help from his friends back home who knew his secret. Anyway, here's the file with all of the information on him. There's also some video footage in there."

"You sound angry, Hill," Fury said calmly as he took the file from her.

"When you watch what happens in there, you will be too."

Fury nodded as he tucked the file under his arm. "Thank you, agent. You're dismissed."

Hill nodded, and promptly left the room. Fury watched her go, listened to her footsteps receding, before returning to his own room to look at everything.

This was going to be a long night.