Chapter Two

The Second Summoning (Going Ghost)

As we momentarily leave behind the young team of meta-heroes, our tale takes us to another city...but on a different earthly plain. Deep within the United States stands a town known as Amity Park. To most outsiders; this place appeared rather happy, calm and normal.

But then, they would soon discover something that set this place apart from the rest of the nation. You see; some cities dealt with purse snatchers, bank robbers or meta-human villains. But Amity Park had a menace of its own...ghosts.

For some unknown reason, spirits from a realm known as the Ghost Zone seemed drawn to this town. Upon their arrival; they would haunt, terrorize, harass or outright try to conquer all the humans around them. But these villainous forces did not commit their atrocities unopposed, most assuredly.

Out of this city rose a hero; a human lad burdened and yet, blessed as well with the ghostly powers. Though considered rather young for such endeavors, this hero still fought tooth and nail to protect humanity; his name...was Danny Phantom. Born and raised within Amity Park; Danny Phantom or as he is known by his comrades, Danny Fenton (not very creative naming on the lad's part) started out life as an ordinary teenaged boy.

He had a home, a family, he went to school, he had friends (though, small in number) and he dealt with many of the usual stresses that any lad his age would face. But in many ways, he was anything but normal. His parents, Jack and Madeline (Maddie) were Ghost Hunters (not to be confused with the frauds one would find on television.)

Yet, despite their skills at inventing and their vast knowledge of both science and ghost related topics; they were often...grossly incompetent. Jack Fenton (though a devoted husband and an loving (yet rather overbearing father) often did more harm than good with towards Amity Park. His lackluster skill with his ghost hunting weaponry coupled with his oblivious nature often brought the townspeople to nearly riot against him.

Thankfully; his wife, Maddie was the more intelligent side of the duo. She had better skill with the tools, kept her cool when hunting and did her best to be a stable mother figure for her children; Danny and Jazz. But, unfortunately; she was not without her own flaws (as most humans have.)

While not to the extremes that her husband had, Maddie also had moments of obliviousness. She also behaved rather...shall we say, overzealously; whenever partaking in ghost fight or simply being a mother. Because of this combination of craziness, as we shall call it; someone had to be the "sane" member of the Fenton household.

This title, of course fell upon the shoulders of their daughter, Jasmine (more commonly known as Jazz.) Being the eldest child, Jazz took it upon herself to be the one voice of reason when her parents acted out. This led to her becoming a rather studious child, for Jazz believed an intelligent yet calm mind was needed in her home.

Through her studies, Jazz quickly rose towards becoming a rather intellectually gifted child. She high grades, won many awards for her achievements and was already being offered scholarships from the nation's most prestigious colleges. Yet, even with all these boons; Jazz still harbored weaknesses of her own.

Due to her achievements, many of the other students within Casper High often scorned her; they didn't so much as look her way, at times. Perhaps they were jealous or maybe, they felt annoyed by her "know-it-all" personality and didn't wish to associate with her. In spite of all this, Jazz did not let it affect her.

At least; that's how it appeared, on the surface. On the inside, Jazz felt rather alone. With her parents causing such a public nuisance and her fellow students barely associating with her, Jazz had no one to call friend. Suddenly, there came an explosion outside of the school; which caused the student body to go into a panic.

"What's going on" cried Jazz, "are we under attack, should we get the teachers?" As if on cue; the school's resident English Teacher, Mr. Lancer, came running through the hallway in terror. "Hound of the Baskervilles, people" he shouted, "get in your classrooms and hide before it's too late!"

Soon after making this statement, what looked like a ghostly mummy came flying through the air; cackling madly. "Quake with fear, mortal fools" he roared, "bow before the might of Hotep-Ra!" After making his presence known, the ghost known as "Hotep-Ra" proceeded to summon several giant ghostly cobras.

At that moment, Hotep-Ra spotted several jocks rushing for the exit and commanded one of his pets to block their path. With a fierce hiss, the creature slammed its massive tail in front of the door; blocking the students' path to freedom. "Ah, shoot" whimpered one Dash Baxter, the school's "prized quarterback," "I can jump into an end-zone fine...but I can't jump the tail of a monster snake!"

Hotep-Ra gazed down at the students and smiled, as they all trembled in fear like mice caught in a cage. Another of the athletes fell to his knees and begged pathetically for the ghost to spare them. "Leave us alone, please" he cried, "we're too valuable and popular to die...why not go for the nerds instead?"

Hotep-Ra scoffed at them, saying he'd come for the rest of the school's humans in due time. "For now, it's just so much fun to watch you all squirm" he sneered wickedly, "my pet especially like it when their food quivers." Upon hearing being called "food," Dash and his friends all huddled together for safety.

Just as the cobra leaned over the group of jocks, ready to strike; Fate intervened. At that moment, the main entrance/exit's doors shot open; as a tremendous shockwave of green energy sent the cobra flying across the hall. Confused; one of the athletes, Kwan, peeked his face out from his hands to see what was happening.

He looked to his right and saw that the cobra had been slammed against the wall. "What the...what hit that thing" he murmured which scratching his head, his friends all wondered the same thing. Then, flying through the doors; everyone saw a black and white wisp of a figure enter.

The sight of this strange thing caused many to smile brightly with hope. While the cobra, upon recovering from the attack, snarled viciously and began searching for whomever or whatever struck him. "Who dares assault my pets" roared Hotep-Ra, "show yourself and face my power, coward."

As if on cue, the black and grey wisp suddenly formed into a teenaged boy. This boy had hair as white as snow, glowing green eyes, wore a black and white jumpsuit, white gloves and white boots. Upon the center of his jumpsuit, the boy sported a symbol that read "DP."

It didn't take long for the students, teachers and their "uninvited guest" to recognize their savior; the teen ghost-fighter, Danny Phantom. "Sorry, Mr. Ra" Danny cried out, "but I'm afraid this school has a strict 'No Pets Allowed' policy." Several students chuckled at Phantom's joke but Hotep-Ra was not amused.

After that, Danny suddenly flew off on a tangent about Hotep-Ra's presence. "Seriously, dude; you ghosts could give me a bit of a break" he groaned, "it's my Senior Year and I actually want to graduate!" The ghost was undeterred by his opponent's words and, with a wave of his hand, commanded his remaining three cobras to strike.

The beasts hissed loudly and lunged towards Danny, who seemed unfazed by the approaching assault. "Dude...I seriously don't have time for this" he moaned, "but if you insist..." Before going any further, he asked any and all bystanders to cover their ears. Every student and school staff member did as instructed, wondering what Phantom was planning.

Just as the giant snakes came within range; Phantom took in a deep inhale and unleashed a powerful, wailing cry. The sonic force of this attack sent not only the cobras flying but their Master as well. The group crashed hard against the ceiling, breaking through it cleanly.

Then, a strange vehicle appeared over the school and presented some sort of suction device. "Mega-Thermos activated, Danny" a female voice called out from inside the ship, "just give the signal and we got 'em!" As the ghosts continued flying further upward, Danny fired a small green beam from his finger into the air.

The vehicle's pilot spotted this and the "Mega-Thermos" was quickly activated, ensnaring Hotep-Ra and his snakes within its suction beam. With them defeated, everyone in the school below shouted loud cheers of thanks and praise to the hero. After taking a moment or two to soak in the admiration, he turned towards the flying vehicle and saluted the pilot.

At that moment, the windshield's protective steel barrier retracted and the identity of the pilots...or rather, pilots was revealed. At the helm stood Danny's closest friends, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson; both sharing a salute back at him. "Looks like the Mega-Thermos' test run went pretty well, eh" Danny said with a smile, while hovering towards the windshield.

"We're just sorry we couldn't get here sooner, Danny" Sam murmured sadly, "it's getting harder and harder to call Tuck on these missions, these days." Tucker waved his arms defensively and proclaimed it wasn't his fault. "I wanted to come and help, really" he sighed, "but they had me doing all kinds of paperwork at the Mayor's Office."

Danny and Sam chuckled softly at their friend and nodded in understanding. After the event many have dubbed "The Disasteroid Incident" had come and gone, last year; they thought things would be easier, from then on. After all; Danny was now a worldwide hero, the government (save for the Guys in White, for some reason) welcomed his help in achieving public safety and he no longer had to hide his dual identity from others.

Yet, this didn't mean it would be sunshine and roses afterwards. To start with, Tucker was now Amity Park's youngest mayor in history. At first, he and his friends thought this would be fun. But while the town officials did approve of his policies, it left him little freedom for "Me Time."

Said policies included ideas on ghost protection/awareness, a policy granting Danny a full pardon of all the "crimes" he committed (many of said crimes weren't even done of his own freewill) and a strict "Anti-Bullying Initiative" within the town's public schools. At first, Tuck seemed content with his newfound position. But soon, he discovered he had very little time to spend with his friends; be it hanging out or ghost fighting.

That was when Danny asked the city to allow Tucker to fight alongside him, as he did before; while still upholding his position as mayor of Amity Park. Despite the idea sounding rather...outlandish; in the end, the town committee agreed to Danny's terms. But even with this newly gained freedom; Tuck was still rather busy, every now and again.

In spite of all these changes, Tucker was still the same person. He still wore his trademark beret, was still a tech-loving nerd and still flirted with any and every hot girl within range. These days, he'd thought that being mayor would grant him some extra points towards getting a girl...but they still saw only Techno-Nerd Tuck.

Thankfully, he still had his best friends to help give him support; in spite of all this. Speaking of which; to Tucker's right stood Sam Manson, Amity Park's resident Goth/Activist and Danny's now steady girlfriend. Even in her senior year, Sam remained much the same as her friends knew her.

She still upheld her love for Gothic things; like horror stories, the macabre, vampires (except those from teen vampire movies) and all things creepy. She still held on to her individualist behavior, remained a vegetarian and continued to try her darndest in changing the town into her vision of what's "better" for everyone (much to the chagrin of the people.) Yet, in the time after the Disasteroid passed; she began to show some...small yet significant changes.

For one thing; her "Goth colors" had varied in variety, over the past year. In place of her black tank-top, purple leggings, combat boots and her black striped skirt with a green crosshatch design; she gave her look a complete overhaul. To keep up her image as a non-stereotypical Goth, Sam now sported an assortment of dark blues and purples to go with her new style.

These included a pair of blue jeans with tears on the knees, fingerless gloves made with a sort of purple-colored leather, thick bottom sandals with dark-blue straps and a dark-blue, long-sleeved belly shirt (one showing only a fraction of said area.) She still wore her trademark purple eye shadow and purple lipstick. But she changed her decided to change her hair from a small ponytail to a long, braided one.

Whatever look she chose; in Danny's eyes, Sam was still an angel of the night. After turning off the Mega-Thermos' suction, Sam glanced out at Danny and caught him staring blankly at her. "What's with the weird look, Danny" questioned Sam, "it's kind of freaking me out and that doesn't happen easily with me."

Upon hearing this, Danny suddenly snapped out of his daze and began to glow a bright red. "S-Sorry, Sam" he murmured sheepishly, "I just got distracted by the gorgeous gal piloting the Spectre Speeder." Hearing this compliment caused Sam to also glow a bright red.

Even though Sam prided herself as a strong, independent and fierce individual; hearing her boyfriend sweet talk her still made Sam feel giddy...but she never openly showed it. "Did you rehearse that line or something, Mister" she chided playfully, "because if you're trying to butter me up...you're on the right track." The two suddenly began to gaze deeply at one another, lost in each other's gaze.

It wasn't until they heard the loud squeal of a megaphone that they, finally snapped out of it. Danny cast an irritated glance down below to find Lancer and the students, applauding him. "So sorry to interrupt, Mr. Fenton" the teacher chuckled, "but while we thank you for saving our lives...how, exactly do you plan to repair the damages?"

Danny looked down at the wreck roof of the school and chuckled sheepishly, suddenly remembering previous moments where his heroics caused unintentional damages. This time, however; everyone knew his secret and he could no longer pin the blame on something else.
Not that he wanted to, of course; without hesitation, Danny pressed his fingers to his lips and gave a shrill whistle. Using the power of his Ghostly Wail, this whistle acted as a signal of some kind. But a signal for what or whom, no one really knew.

Then, from above Danny's head; a plume of purple smoke suddenly began to swirl. Everyone gazed up at this strange anomaly, wondering what it was and if it meant trouble. Then, after less than fifteen seconds; the smoke took on the form of what looked like a female gin (or more commonly known, genie.)

The jocks down below hooted loudly with desire; upon seeing the genie's flowing black hair, long tail, gorgeous green skin, blue brassiere and shapely hips. With a frustrated growl; Sam, while speaking through the Speeder's intercom, demanded for everyone to control themselves. Danny, on the other hand, simply rolled his eyes at it all and approached the ghostly genie.

"Sorry to be a bother, Desiree" he murmured softly, "but could you help me in repairing this damage here?" The ghost called Desiree looked down and grimaced at sight of the destroyed roof. "I may be able to assist you, Ghost Child" she stated, "however...I require two things from you."

Upon hearing this, Danny gave a groaning sigh and rolled his eyes with a smile. "Desiree" he murmured, "I wish you would fix the damages done to the school...please?" While this was going on, the students and faculty of Casper High looked on in confusion; wondering why Danny was conversing with a ghost.

"What is going on up there" questioned Paulina, the self-declared "Queen of the School; "does that ghost have him under some sort of spell?" Jazz faced the girl and gave a slight shake of the head. "Nope, he's alright" she assured, "it's a bit of a long story, though." Meanwhile, back in the sky; Desiree's hands began to glow a bright purple.

This same glow quickly enveloped the roof debris that was strewn about the grounds. With a few quick waves of her hands, Desiree's ghostly powers quickly repaired the damaged roof. At the same time, all the busted walls within the school were fixed as well.

After that, the students and teachers rushed out of the school and began shouting up thanks for the repairs. "Looks like everything is all fixed, Des" he said with a grateful smile, "thanks a bunch but...what was the other thing you required from me?" Desiree said nothing, at first, she only hovered over to him with a firm look upon her face; which made Danny feel anxious.

Then, before he could utter one word; she suddenly grabbed hold of Danny and clutched him to her bosom; nuzzling him affectionately. Then, she gave him a sweet yet still affectionate kiss upon his lips. This sudden display from the ghost not only caused Paulina to roar with outrage but Sam as well.

Before releasing him, Desiree leaned close to Danny; which made the two aforementioned ladies even angrier. "I told you would be repaid for the wish you made, boy" she whispered sultrily, "and I made good on it today...thank you, again." With that said and after blowing him a kiss, Desiree quickly returned to the "Ghost Zone."

It took a few moments for him to snap out of his daze, as Danny slowly descended from the air. Finally, it was the sounds of everyone chanting his name that brought him back to reality. "Who...What, where am I" he mumbled while rubbing his head, "I feel like I got struck by lightning.

The moment he said this, the Spectre Speeder landed and Sam came stomping out. "Oh, you're gonna be struck by something, when I get through with you" she screeched, "and it's not gonna be pretty!" This statement was enough to bring Danny back to his senses and he quickly levitated five feet away from his girlfriend's reach.

"Sam, please; just give me a moment to explain myself" he begged, "I promise you it will all make sense." After stopping herself from jumping at him, Sam folded her arms and beckoned her boyfriend to speak. Then, much to her surprise; several others decided to listen in on the conversation.

While still keeping himself airborne, Danny took a breath and began his story.

(Flashback)

In the months following Danny saving the earth, he was enjoying being seen as a hero. But in his heart, he knew he couldn't take all the credit. If it hadn't been for the combined power of all the ghosts in existence, they wouldn't have stood a chance.

So, it was then Danny decided to show his appreciation for the ghosts' help. But he had to wait for a certain time to do so. Eventually; the holiday season rolled around again and the Fenton parents were, once again locked in another "friendly debate" on Santa's existence.

Sensing this, Danny quickly made a beeline into the Ghost Zone for some holiday themed R&R. Why would he go to this place for a Christmas getaway, you may be wondering? Well...to make a long tale short, Danny had unintentionally (or intentionally, you be the judge) angered one of the realm's residents; a being known as Ghost Writer.

As his name implied, he not only had a knack for writing stories. But he had the power to trap others into the worlds within the stories he wrote. Especially those who either disrespect or destroy his work, as Danny once did.

During the escapade, Danny learned something interesting about the ghosts he frequently battled. During the other months of the year, they would all want Danny's head on a spike. But during the holidays, especially Christmas; the ghost boy learned of a special "Christmas Truce."

According to Walker (the self-proclaimed "sheriff of those parts;) during the truce, it's against the rules for either side to show hostility towards each other. This granted everyone the opportunity to talk, share stories and have fun; all while drinking eggnog. Though the whole idea felt strange to him, at first; it felt good to not fight all these ghosts for once.

Since then; after learning about the truce and its length, Danny began making trips to the Ghost Zone for some proper holiday fun. On his Junior Year of High School, he mentioned the truce to his friends and Jazz and they asked to join with him. During this trip, all four of them shared many unique experiences.
Sam got to look at some of Ghost Writer's work, Technus made some small upgrades to Tucker's PDA, Jazz (with their permission) psychoanalyzed several ghosts; learning much about their former human lives. As for Danny, he felt content just not having to fight the ghosts for once. There was one moment, however that made him feel...slightly awkward.

During the party, Tucker decided to sport his patented "Mistletoe Hat" and try and gain some Christmas love from the ladies. But all his horndogging seemed to do more harm than good. Several of theses ladies did their best to hold their tongues, however; not wishing to break the truce.

Ironically; it was Danny who ended up getting the mistletoe kisses, not Tucker. This was a prank orchestrated by Ember, who wanted to get a playful rise out of the ghost boy's girlfriend. While Tucker was testing out his new PDA upgrades, Ember stole his Mistletoe Hat and placed it on top of Danny's head, while he was speaking with Frostbite.

"Er...pardon my interruption, Great One" murmured Yeti/Polar Bear-like ghost, "but I do believe there is something hanging above your head." Confused, Danny's eyes gazed skyward and he spotted the infamous sprig dangling over his nose. After that, he heard a flirtatious whistle and turned his head.

There; he saw Ember, Desiree, Dorathea (the Dragon Ghost in human form) and even Spectra approaching him with fresh lipstick on. "Here's a little Christmas gift from us to you" they all said in unison while smiling deviously, "pucker up, ghost boy." Danny, growing slightly nervous, tried to scamper away from them.

But he ended up tripping over the chair and himself, instead. Then, Desiree used her tail to hold him down; as the ghost gals all hovered over him. What followed was a series of giggles, wet kissing noises and muffled squeals of surprise from Danny.

Said squeals, after a while began to die down and give way to pleased sighs. Feeling slightly concerned, Jazz turned towards Danny to see if he was alright. The moment the ladies drew away from him, though and she got a look at his face; Jazz suddenly burst out laughing.

"Oh my...Oh my gosh" she heaved between breaths, "D-D-Danny...you...you should see yourself now, it's hilarious!" After that; the elder sibling proceeded to fall over backwards and laugh uproariously; catching the attention of Sam and Tucker. "Could you tone it down a little, ya wild hyena" groaned the young Goth, "I'm in the middle of a discussion here!"

At the same time, Tucker (surprisingly) turned away from his PDA and was prepared to make his own complaints about Jazz's laughing. But then; when he got a look at what she was laughing at, those thoughts faded away. There on the floor, lying dazed and blissful was Danny; his face almost completely blotched in lipstick.

His jaw almost struck the floor in shock and he wondered how this happened. But then, he spotted the familiar sight of his mistletoe sprig; which was dangling above Danny's face. "DUDE, NO COOL" Tucker shrieked with dismay, "not only did you steal my stuff...but you got all the lovin' instead of me!"

Upon hearing his friend's cries, Danny's mind suddenly snapped out of his daze. "What the...What am I doing on the floor" he murmured, "and what's with all the laughing and screaming?" While trying to suppress his own giggles, Poindexter reached for an empty tray and held it up to Danny's face.

When he saw the different colors of lipstick splotched on his face, Danny almost went pale. "What in the ever-loving what happened to me" he cried with alarm, feeling his hands all over his face. Then, he quickly spotted the mistletoe that still hung over his face.

With a disgruntled groan, he quickly took the thing off and tossed it aside; blushing red with embarrassment. When he spotted the fierce look on Sam's face, his pupils shrank with fear. "Sam...Whatever you saw, nothing happened" he mumbled, "I was...I had too much eggnog, I got tired and needed a lie down and...and, uh..."

Danny's pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Sam began to stomp her way towards him. The young hero could face giant ghostly monsters, wild spirits and vengeful ghosts with little to no fear. But when it came to holding his ground against his parents, Lancer or Sam; his legs would instantly turn to jelly.

Surprisingly, the girl in question seemed to have halted herself halfway up towards his seat. With sweat dripping down his brow, Danny watched Sam closely; wondering if she was mentally planning some sort of payback. Then, she suddenly raised an eyebrow Danny's way and gave him a wicked grin.

"Oh, crud monkeys" he thought fearfully, "I dunno what she's gonna do...but I hope it will be quick and painless." With that thought in mind, Danny closed his eyes tight and his body tensed up; prepping for the worse. What happened next however, took him completely off-guard.

Just as he closed his eyes, Danny's mind suddenly shifted from a fearful state...to a tranquil one. He didn't know why but something happened that felt so wonderful, it felt as if he was in Heaven. Slowly but surely, Danny opened his eyes and saw a surprising sight.

There Sam was, in his arms and locked in a fierce make-out session with is. The real kicker was the fact he was completely oblivious to it. When she broke away; Sam winked at Danny, petted his cheek and whispered "now, I'm even with these gals and you."

Puzzled; Danny asked what, exactly she was talking about. Then, he spotted the mistletoe hat back on his head. After putting two and two together, he glared softly at Sam with folded arms.

"If you wanted a kiss, Sam; you could've just asked me" he grumbled, "you know...instead of simply scaring me half to death!" Upon hearing this, Technus pointed out the flawed logic in Danny's statement; proclaiming that as a half-ghost/half-human, he was (supposedly) half-dead already. Danny tried to think up a rebuttal to explain himself...but he was far too flustered and freaked out to think of anything and sat back down in his chair.

As the party went on, Danny commented on how much fun she was having. "We should really do this kind of stuff more often" he said with a smile, "you guys are actually kinda fun to hang with." Though his words were rather sincere, the ghosts all looked at him with sullen expressions.

"We had fun too, pu...I mean, Danny" murmured Johnny 13, "but I wouldn't get used to it, if I were you." Several other ghosts sided with the teen ghost, some of which felt ashamed in saying so. "The boy's right, Ghost Child" Skulker said suddenly, "we may be chummy tonight...but once the holiday season is over, it's back to business!"

The females were especially sad to think about going back to being enemies. Especially since Ember thought Danny was actually, kind of cool to hang with. Then, Jazz raised her hand and asked a series of questions that would change everything between them. "If you guys don't like fighting us...why not just stop" she suggested, "I mean...why do you attack humans in the first place?"

Upon being asked this, Walker prepared to voice his "rule" on what separated them from humans. When suddenly, Technus stood up from his seat and sighed. "You know...they girl's right" he confessed, "why do we feel so angry towards them, why do we feel the urge to haunt or attack the humans...why do I insist on changin' my hair so much?!"

Upon saying this, the self-entitled "Master of Technology" began to slip into a rant how he was, obviously balding and was failing to hide this from everyone else. Then, almost instantly; several other ghosts began to voice their anxieties, insecurities and bringing out their own existential crises. To say this took Team Phantom off-guard would've been a tremendous understatement.

"Ah, dang it; the dipstick's right" wailed Ember pathetically, "were all wrecks...especially me!" Upon hearing this...and recovering from her initial shock, Jazz offered to help ease their pain by just talking with them. At first, many of the ghosts were hesitant about the idea.

But in the end, they agreed to the girl's suggestion and bared their souls to the ghost-fighting team (no pun intended.) In fact, the remainder of the team's holiday break was spent in talking with the ghosts and learning about them. Through it all, they learned many interesting things.
They learned that the Lunch Lady Ghost was once part of the Casper High cafeteria staff and that she was a stickler for routines. Then, the day came when the school board (from her day) voiced an idea to expand the lunch menu. Naturally, she did not take the news lightly and quit.

On her drive home, she was driving through a heavy rainstorm. At one point, the weather got so bad that radio stations were imploring drivers to not risk at traveling yet. Sadly, the Lunch Lady Ghost was far too angry to care and just kept driving along.

Eventually; this all led to her car swerving on the road, crashing it through the barriers of a bridge and falling into a river...where she slowly drowned. Team Phantom almost went dead white, after hearing all this. At one point, Sam voiced how Casper High still acted cheaply towards its school and unfairly towards the staff today.

The next story they heard was Technus', who revealed himself to be an ingenious inventor in life. "I had many amazing ideas I wanted to show my superiors" he explained, "things like hover boots, cellphones that kept themselves protected thanks to thumb-print scans and even shoe spray." Despite two of his ideas sounding clever, Danny pointed out how people already had shoe spray.

But Technus quickly pointed out that his idea was different. "What's the biggest issue children of any age have in the world" he asked while pausing for dramatic effect; then, he finished off by adding the words "untied shoelaces." Upon hearing this, there was a soft murmur among the trio; as if they were curious about where he was going with his idea.

Then, he snapped his fingers and a briefcase appeared. "What's in there, dude" Danny asked, "please don't say doomsday devices, death rays or any other cliché mad scientist stuff." Ignoring the boy's comments, Technus fished about his case until he came upon what he needed; a small spray bottle.

"Uh...I thought you said your idea was different" murmured Tucker, "that looks like a typical shoe deodorant can." Technus groaned softly and asked for Tucker to remove his shoes. After a minute or two of debating, Tuck relented and removed his footwear; showing only his socks.

Then, after shaking the can a little; Technus began to spray the boy's feet with some sort of black substance. Once finished, it looked like Tucker was wearing actual shoes on his feet. "Behold, young teens" proclaimed Technus, "one of my most creative ideas...spray on shoes!"

All was silent, after this reveal and Tucker took a moment to study his feet. Then, he stood up from his chair and began walking around; as if testing the feel of the "shoes." After moving back and forth a few times, he sat back down and looked at the spray can with great intrigue.

"I've seen a lot of tech and inventions, over the years" he murmured, "but this is...the coolest idea ever!" After that, Danny also voiced his approval towards the idea. "Just imagine how much time people will save" he stated, "no more worrying about tying your laces the right way, no more tripping over them and definitely no more people tying your laces together."

Sam gave a soft nod of the head at their statements, appearing pleased with the idea as well. "With such unique ideas, why did you decide to become a villain" she asked bluntly, "I mean...you'd be able to make thousands, if not millions with your patents." As these words sunk in, Technus could feel the guilt weigh down on him like a one-hundred boulders.

"It's not as simple as that, my dear" he sighed, "not only was the technology not available in my time...but my investors thought they didn't have any 'logical' or 'practical' uses for anyone." This statement was met with a great deal of protest from Team Phantom. "That's a big load, Technus" Danny stated, "I can tell you all kinds of people who'd find uses for this stuff."

Tucker sided with his BFF and asked Technus if he could see his blueprints. Technus' jaw dropped low and his shades almost fell off his face, when he heard this. Upon coming back to his senses and after quickly teleporting, he returned with an armful of papers.

Without hesitation, Tucker immediately began to study the designs of each invention. "Yes, these would work well in the military" he exclaimed while reading the hover boots blueprints, "it would certainly make traversing over enemy territories easier." Technus was taken aback by how much they praised his inventions.

In the end; Team Phantom promised that when they returned home, they'd share them with all the known production industries. "With luck, they might approve of some of them" Danny said hopefully, "which will give you the recognition you were denied so long ago." Technus' eyes swelled with tears, amazed by how his enemy was showing him such kindness; after years of battle.

The remainder of the evening was spent in learning from one another and partying. By the New Year, Danny made good on his promises and helped make their lives (or rather, afterlives) happier. One day, the biggest surprise ever came when Danny announced he'd be working alongside his former enemies.

Naturally, there were many people who believed that the young hero had gone mad. But Danny explained to them how not all of the ghosts were the bad guys. As the aforementioned ghosts appeared in the Amity Park city square, all was silent.

All the humans did was stare at the ethereal beings, unsure of what to say. Then, a group of children stepped forth and made their way towards the one Danny called Wulf. Nervous, the aforementioned ghost cautiously approached the children as well; all while slightly trembling.

He stopped in the middle of the square and waited for the children to approach him. At the urging of her friends; a little girl from this group, no older than five, took a few steps forward until she was but two feet away from Wulf. With a soft growl, the creature held out his hand and smiled.

"Ne timu, malgranda" Wulf murmured in his language, "Mi estas via amiko." While not scared, the child couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion at his odd speech. When asked what the ghost was saying, Danny explained that Wulf was speaking in Esperanto.

"He's asking you not to fear him" he stated, "Wulf only wants to be friends." As a sign of affirmation; Wulf held out his hand, once again towards the child. Yet at the moment, she still appeared hesitant.

Then, as she looked up at Wulf; the little girl saw a soft and gentle look in his eyes. It was as if she were looking into the eyes of a lost pup. With this image in her mind, she approached Wulf more confidently and cautiously placed her hand in his.

At first, Wulf just stood there; holding the girl's hand in his for what felt like ages. Then, with the warmest of smiles; he placed his other hand on top of the girl's and shook it. Upon feeling Wulf's touch, the child's demeanor suddenly changed.

Slowly; her earlier fear and apprehension gave way to a warm, loving sensation. The feel of Wulf's fur on her hand felt like she was truly shaking hands with a fuzzy puppy. When the little girl looked up at the smiling creature, he gazed down with a smile and murmured but one word..."friend."

With this friendly display, other citizens of Amity Park took a chance at commingling with the ghosts. At first, it felt rather odd; conversing with dead beings was considered outlandish for valid reasons. But as the people got to know Danny's associates, they saw them all in a new light.

(The Present)

His tale now over, Danny slowly hovered down to the ground; hoping Sam's temper had cooled. As luck would have it, she did appear calmer...but she still had a slight look of disdain on her face. "What I don't get is...why don't I remember too much of that" she asked, "I mean...I was at that same party with you, as was Tucker and Sam."

With a giggle, Tucker brought out his PDA and showed Sam a particularly interesting photo. In it; Sam appeared to be lying on the floor, her mouth wide open (presumably snoring) and had a doodle of glasses and a mustache on her face. In a mix of shock, mild horror and annoyance; Sam demanded to know how she got to be like that.

"Long story short, Tuck and one of Walker's guards put a knockout pill in your drink and it put your to sleep for an hour and a half" Danny explained, "you must've forgotten about it, when you woke up." With this information in mind, Sam slowly directed her gaze towards her nerdy friend, who had slowly broken out in a nervous sweat.

"Um...you're not mad about this; are ya, Sam" he asked nervously, "I mean...it was all in good fun." Sam said nothing, at first; which made everyone around her quite confused. Then; she threw her head back, let out a long, heaving sigh...and smiled at him.

"You're right, Tucker; it was all in good fun" she murmured, "you know what else is in good fun...ME TURNING YOU INSIDE OUT!" With that, Sam let out a vicious growl and immediately gave chase after Tucker across the schoolyard. As the police tried to hurry off to protect Tucker, Danny quickly called them back; assuring them he'd be fine.

"I've known the two of them since I was a kid" he chuckled, "we act this way all the time with each other, the mayor will be fine." On one hand, the officers all seemed to believe the young ghost boy. But on the other hand, hearing the mayor screaming like a scared child did not make things easier.

Later, after Sam and Tuck finally cooled down; school had been dismissed early due to the ghost attack and everyone headed off for home. Danny, meanwhile took the helm of the Spectre Speeder; explaining that he needed to send Hotep-Ra back to the Ghost Zone. "Take your time, Danny" Jazz shouted from the bus, "we'll see you at home!"

Sam shared a quick kiss with Danny, before also boarding the bus and apologized for her early behavior. "I shouldn't have acted so clingy and jealous" she murmured, "I should know that you'd never double-cross me like that...without reason, at least." Danny smiled warmly at Sam and gave her a reassuring squeeze of a hug.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sammy" he cooed softly, "your inquisitive yet sassy nature is why I love you so much." Sam smiled at him brightly, disregarding his use of her most hated nickname and boarded the bus. With that settled, Danny activated the Speeder and took off.

Alas; due to both his parents' and Vlad's portals being destroyed, sending his enemy back home wouldn't be very easy. Thankfully, Frostbite granted him use of the Infi-Map; a relic that showed any and all nearby portals that would activate at any time. Eventually, Danny found such a portal; deep in the forests outside of town.

Upon reaching the outskirts of said forest; he left the Spectre Speeder, disconnected the Mega-Thermos' filter and carried it off into the woods. Unfortunately, Danny had to endure Hotep-Ra's childish ranting along the way. "Will you stop complaining" the ghost boy groaned, "this wouldn't have happened, if you chose to side with me like the others did."

The mummy ghost scoffed at the idea, proclaiming that all of his "friends" were naught but "loathsome, insignificant traitors." Finally, after twenty minutes of walking and listening to his prisoner; Danny reached his destination. "If my calculations are right" he murmured softly, "the portal should be opening in 3...2...1."

The moment he said this, a large portal appeared within a small pond nearby. When he saw the ghost portal swirling violently in the water, Hotep-Ra suddenly let out a fearful shudder. "Please, don't send me in there" he begged, "my wrappings get wet easily...and you do not want to smell wet 50,000 year old mummy wrappings!"

The ghost's pleas appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, as Danny chucked the container into the portal with a swift flick of the wrist. Once it closed, Danny let out a long sigh of satisfaction. "Another day, another ghost sent home packing" he said with a smile, "time to head home for some R, R & R; Rest, Relaxation and Relief."

With that, Danny clicked his heels and headed off for home. But before he moved so much as two feet away, he was stopped by an eerie voice. At first, it was faint; as if spoken barely above a whisper. But then, Danny suddenly heard it calling out clearer and clearer.

As he put his hand to his ear, Danny could hear the whispers more loudly. "Come" the voices said, "come...come to us!" At first, Danny speculated that it was a possible sneak ghost attack.

But his "Ghost Sense" hadn't gone off and all his ghostly allies were back in town. Then, the voices called out again; this time, in loud yet stoic voices. "Okay, people...if you're trying to prank me; it's not gonna work" Danny murmured while assuming a battle stance.

Much to his surprise, no attacks came; all Danny could see around him was miles of forest...and the occasional forest critter. "Get it together, old boy" Danny whispered to himself, "you're probably just tired from the fight...yeah, must be woozy." With that in mind, Danny proceeded to walk out of the forest.

But just as he neared the outskirts, a gust of wind picked up and a leaf suddenly smacked into his face. With a disgruntled grumble, Danny took hold of the leaf and tossed it over his shoulder. But upon doing so, he saw it flying in odd loops and zigzags; as if something was controlling it.

Then, he heard the same odd voices calling out to him again. "Okay, this is just too freaky" he stated nervously, "I gotta get outta here before anything else weird happens. With that, he took on his ghost form and proceeded to fly out of the woods; not wanting to look back.

The next morning Amity Park's children were busy planning to start on their weekend fun. But Danny unfortunately, had other plans in mind. No sooner had they all finished breakfast; Danny led Jazz, their parents, Sam and Tucker deep into the forest.

"Dude...please, tell me that you're not taking us on a hike" Tucker whined, "I still haven't recovered from our last camping adventure." Danny looked down from the air and assured his friend that everything was fine. "Are you sure" questioned Maddie, "you still haven't told us why we had to come out here."

Just as Danny prepared to explain the situation, they all suddenly heard faint voices on the wind. "What was that" cried Jack, "are we being followed...IS IT A GHOST?! Upon saying this, the Fenton matriarch drew out the Fenton Peeler and assumed a battle stance.

"Chill out, Dad" groaned Jazz with a facepalm, "Danny's senses would be going off, if there were ghosts here." In that instance, all of Jack's previous bravado faded away into disappointment; forcing him to do away with his weapon. After that, everyone asked Danny what was going on.

"I was finishing up with Hotep-Ra, when I suddenly heard...voices calling out around here" he explained, "I thought it was ghosts messing with me...but I was all on my own." Danny's family and friends began murmuring amongst themselves, after hearing his story. Had they not heard the odd voices a moment ago, they would've thought he was going nuts.

"Let's go and investigate, then" suggested Maddie, "ghost or not, I don't want any innocent people harmed in these woods." With that, everyone got into "Buddy System" formation and continued on. For almost twenty minutes, none of them had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary.

Then, just as they were thinking of turning back; Sam suddenly heard a faint whisper of "come to us" on the wind. "Danny...I think I just heard one of those weird voices you mentioned" she murmured cautiously, suddenly tensing up. Within seconds, the rest of the group heard the voices as well.

"What the...where are these voices coming from" questioned Jazz, "are you sure it's nothing ghost related, Danny?" The ghost boy nodded in reply and to add further proof, he gestured at his lips; which didn't produce so much as a whiff of his Ghost Sense. The only option left was to follow the whispers.

Unfortunately, for Tucker; this meant they had to do more walking. They did so for about five minutes and then, the voices called again. This time however, they sounded louder and close. "Quickly before we lose the echo trail" Danny ordered, taking flight into the air.

They ran and ran as fast as they could, listening intently to the echoing voices. Until, at last; their search led them to a large, old and (in Tucker's eyes) ancient tree. "What the...we did all that running to find this old thing" Tucker shouted, "what a rip."

The rest of the group was inclined to agree...but Danny was not convinced. "This might seem weird, guys" he murmured, "but I think we're supposed to be here." His parents blinked confusedly and began checking his vital signs, thinking he was delirious.

"I can't explain it but...something about this old tree feels...weird." Upon saying this, Danny took a few small steps towards the tree; holding his arm out ahead of him. Then, just as he got within range of the tree; a bright light shot out from one of the knotholes.

This sudden assault on their vision caused Team Phantom to shield their eyes for protection. "What the...What's going on" groaned Jack while squinting his eyes, "where is that light coming from?" Alas, everyone else was in far too much distress to answer him.

Then, they suddenly felt the light fading slightly and Jazz took a quick peek to see what was happening. The moment she removed her eyes from her face, Jazz was met with an unusual sight. Before them was, what appeared to be, some sort of portal; to where...they did not know.

"What the...where did this come from" questioned Maddie, "is this some kind of trick?" Before anyone could answer, they heard the voices from earlier again. This time, they seemed to be calling from inside the portal.

"Come through the portal" whispered the voices, "come...come to us." Naturally, five of the six of them were hesitant about the voices beckoning them in and they considered simply walking away. But then, with a loud battle cry; Jack suddenly ran through the portal.

The moment he went through, Jack suddenly disappeared...and Maddie began to fear the worst. Then, they heard his voice calling to them from the other side. "Come on through, family" he cried eagerly, "nobody lives forever, as they say."

At first, Tucker considered fleeing back to town. But Danny quickly stopped him, proclaiming that Team Phantom never leaves someone behind. With that in mind, the remaining Fenton Family members and their friends gathered their courage and rushed through the portal.

The moment they passed through, it closed up behind them completely; leaving only the old tree in its place.

(AN: DUN-DUN-DUN! Another group of heroes finds themselves lured into one of these portals. Where do these openings lead, are the others alright and what awaits our heroes on the other side? Tune in next time, to find out.)

(Second AN: Sorry if this was a little long, folks; I wanted to give Danny a sort of strong heroic feat in him befriending his enemies. I wanted to give him a sort of feat worthy of a warrior.)

(Third AN: I'm well aware that Technus' Shoe Spray is a reference to the Spray-On Shoes from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The invention sounded cool; so, I thought it could be something Technus would've tried to invent)