Chapter 7
The next week or so was long meeting after a long meeting. He would meet with Clockwork, with Frostbite, and most often, unfortunately, the Observant. They would start it early in the day in hopes of being able to leave early the sooner they finished, but those hopes were always in vain, and most days Danny got home only to find that Valerie was already fast asleep.
They shared a fucking bedroom but because of all of these things that needed to get finished and worked out, they had barely seen each other. He wanted to be around her more, because he loved her, and she wasn't mentally exhausting to be around. He could spend all day, every day with her for the rest of their lives and never get sick of being with her. She was the one person on any world he would love to be around like that.
He transformed, got dressed, and crawled into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her. He buried his face in her back and sighed, before slowly drifting off to sleep.
Danny woke up to an empty bed. This wasn't unusual, but his best mornings were always when he was able to wake up next to Valerie.
He yawned and sat up, stretching as he did so. Several of his bones popped, and he groaned. Recently he had been feeling more and more like a goddamn glow stick. But that was okay. It was for the good of the Kingdom or whatever.
He sighed as he got up and ready.
Ghosts didn't really have normal body odor like humans, and they never have to use the bathroom, which is why Danny had been surprised when he found that there was indoor plumbing in the castle when they had moved in. Clockwork explained that the lair changes to the needs of the ghost living in it. And since Danny and Valerie were human, it made accommodations accordingly.
The water pressure was absolutely amazing.
Danny sighed with relief as he stepped out of the shower, not bothering to look in the mirror. He had no interest in reminding of the origin of the scars that littered his torso. He grabbed a towel, and let the fog follow him as he stepped into the bedroom. He grinned.
"Hey, Val," he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
"Hey, Tiger," She said, placing a cup of warm coffee in his hands. "I've got a surprise for you."
"Yeah?" He asked, taking a sip.
"I talked Clockwork into talking the Observant into giving you a day. So I get you all to myself."
Danny didn't say anything. He just set his cup down and walked over to her. She was a lot shorter than he was, but he still had no problem wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck. She hugged him back just as tightly.
"I love you," Danny said into her neck.
"I love you too," she said. "Now get dressed. We're going to Earth."
New York was a pretty fun place as a tourist. As a resident he could see how boring it could be, but having grown up in Amity Park, the skyscrapers and deep dish pizza was the best thing since sliced bread.
They went to Central Park, attempted to ride the subway but they couldn't figure it out so they just flew instead. They also visited the very top of the Statue of Liberty, before finally stopping in for said deep dish pizza.
The TV was stuck on the news about some guy with a ridiculous name breaking out of prison. Seriously, who would name their kid Friedrich Showenhower? Then again, Danny had no room to blame. He named himself Danny Phantom when he first started out. But to be born with that name? What a tragedy.
As Danny half listens while talking to Valerie over pizza, things take a turn for the worse. And considering Danny's occupation, he's kind of surprised it didn't happen sooner.
See, the thing about this pizza place was that it was literally right across the street from a big, white, columns and all bank. Said bank was currently being robbed, now.
The TV cut out, and a new news reporter was on, talking about it. Danny watched as, one by one, several police cars surrounded the bank.
"So much for having you to myself," Valerie sighed. She didn't seem particularly worried.
"We love a good hostage situation," he said, as he stood up. "I'll be quick."
"And safe," Valerie insisted.
"And safe," he promised. He ran to the bathroom, and after making sure nobody was there, he transformed into Phantom, turned invisible, and left through the ceiling.
He flew undetected into the bank. He looked down at the five armed men, and the several terrified hostages cowering by the walls.
Danny flew down, grabbed a mom and her kid, and phased them through the wall, undetected. He dropped them off by the police, and went back.
He did this over and over, until almost all of the hostages were taken care of. They could always get the money back, but not the people. People were his priority.
He had to stop, though, when one of the armed guards noticed. "Hey, weren't there more people when we got here?" His voice was rough and deep, and it made Danny freeze in his tracks. He whirled around, watching as they looked right through him, around the room.
"Yeah, I think there were. Where the hell did they go?" Said another robber.
"That would be my doing," Danny said as he dropped his invisibility.
As expected, all of them drew their guns. Danny raised his hands, making a green dome so that the hostages could escape without getting hurt.
"I suggest you drop your guns," Danny said.
"Please," one of them scoffed. "You're just a guy in a dumb getup. You ain't Iron Man."
"You're right, I'm not," he replied. He sent a variety of ice and ectoblasts towards the armed men, each one hitting their mark with ease. In mere seconds they were taken down. He walked over to one who was still half-conscious, and leaned down.
"I'm much better."
He stood back up, letting the shield drop now that all of the hostages were gone and the threat was neutralized.
As he was getting ready to leave, however, he heard a whimpering, and then a shushing sound. He looked over by the bank teller stations. The sound was coming from behind them. He walked over, going around them instead of through them as to not freak out the traumatized child anymore.
There was a mom clutching her daughter to her chest, tears streaming down her face.
"Ma'am?" He asked, slowly stepping forward. She didn't look up but her daughter peaked an eye out. She couldn't have been more than maybe four.
She shook her mom slightly and pointed to Danny.
"P-Please, don't hurt us," she said. Her voice was shaky, and she had a slight accent that wasn't really anything in particular. Danny held up his hands and dropped down to one knee. He was maybe ten feet from them.
Slowly he brought his hands in front of him.
Are you okay? He signed.
Her eyes widened slightly, but hastily signed back to him. It was a little awkward silence her arms were still wrapped around her daughter, but she still signed to him faster than he could ever sign to her.
Who are you?
My name is Phantom. The robbers are all unconscious now. Police outside. I can escort you out if you want.
She looked him over once. Twice. A third time, before finally tapping her daughter's back and standing up. Danny smiled at her and waved her towards him.
As a safety measure, he trapped all of the robbers in their own personal green domes so that they wouldn't try anything weird. Danny led them to the door and opened it up for them, letting them walk through, where she was immediately tackled by another woman with darker hair.
"Who are you?" The new woman asked.
"Name's Phantom."
"Thank you so much for saving my family," she said.
"I'm just happy to help. And here," he held out his palm, and they watched in amazement as a tiny sleeping cat made of ice appeared. "To match her shirt," he pointed to their daughter. "It won't melt or break. That's the cool thing about ghost ice."
"Thank you," the first woman said, taking the cat. Danny just nodded, waved, and disappeared again.
He went back to the pizzeria bathroom, made sure nobody was there, and transformed back into Fenton. When he walked out, Valerie was sitting there waiting for him, watching the news as a couple police officers escorted the moms and her daughter away, as a small troop and camera crew went inside the bank.
"Very smooth," she said.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later, Val. Knowing the Avengers is gonna put me back on the radar."
"Let's just hope we don't attract the wrong attention. We don't want another GiW on our hands."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Now, how many slices are left?"
The TV blazed with the footage of little King Phantom helping out a tiny family. New Super: Hero or Tall Tale?
A grey hand reached over and turned it up.
"In an amazing amount of luck, not a single person was harmed during this attempted robbery, and not a single cent was stolen. Eye witnesses say that they were taken through the wall and flown-yes, you heard me, flown over to the cops to safety. He would appear and disappear out of seemingly nowhere. The daughter of this lovely couple has a big thank you to say to the one that rescued her moms."
"Thank you Mr. Phantom for the kitty," a tiny child said.
A blurry photo appeared on the screen. It was him alright. Little Phantom wasn't so little anymore. And he was a king now, which made everything that much easier for him. A grin spread across his face, showing his yellow teeth and icy demeanor.
"Oh-ho-ho, this is going to be so much fun."
