Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Monster High. I do not own the original story this is based on.
Ectoplasm was a substance Jack and Maddie Fenton had studied for years. They had taken samples from remainders of fights, or by whatever ghosts they could catch. But there was something they had learned over the curse of their studies: the plasmic structure of the supernatural element allowed for a hive-like cellular body. So when a ghost was formed, its entire body could regenerate from anything, simply because in each cell was a brainwave and held consciousness.
As the ectoplasmic remains hit Spectra, the ghost girl lost her human colors as she felt the gooey ooze wiggle in attempt to heal and regenerate. Her right hand shook as she brought it up to her face, staring as the ghostly residue began to slide down like blood.
"Spectra?" Danny asked, placing a hand on his girlfriend.
But Spectra didn't respond as she looked up at the Fenton's. For years, humans had shown to be a threat to monsters when they wanted, but everything the ghost girl knew came from experience. Seeing the ghost boy's parents, scrapping off ectoplasm off their vehicle, made her feel intense fear for the first time in her after life.
Danny stared at his girlfriend, wondering what to do.
"Wow, what an introduction," the Bill Cipher hallucination was circling Spectra's face. His tone was jovial as he perched himself on her head. "I mean, not only was she scared of your parents being ghost hunters, they introduce themselves splattering ghost guts all over her. Maybe when this is over, she might dump your sorry excuse of a butt. I mean, that's definitely a red line here. Or is it a flag? You know what? Let's call it as it is: spilled blood!"
Danny ignored his moment of panic and anxiety as he wiped off the ectoplasm. He glared at his parents from over his shoulder, signaling them to be quiet.
As this occurred, the ghost girl noticed the remains of the ghost putting himself back together.
Spectra stared at the ghost, gesturing for it to escape. Though confused, the creature did so, escaping within the bare minimum of its remains. Whether or not it cared for her help was undecided as the Fenton parents preceded to talk tot he ghost girl.
"Hey Danny, wanna see our latest invention!?" Jack fiddled with the pockets of his jumpsuit, pulling out a weapon of unusual design.
While the ghost boy would take note of it later, Spectra didn't have the heart to stay, already at her limit upon the messy arrival.
"Maybelater!gottago!Bye!" Danny spat out rapidly as he dragged his ghostly girlfriend away. Sam and Tucker followed, pushing ghost girl as fast as possible. After one minute of top speed, the group had vanished from the parent's field of vision.
"Hmmm...that's strange? I wonder why they so soon," Jack said, hunching down. "We just wanted to meet Spectra. I mean, I'm glad we got the ghost but were we too much?"
"Oh, Jack, you know how kids our." Maddie patted her husband on the back. She wanted to meet Spectra too, even if she didn't know the girl's ghostly nature, the parents sighed as they stood up. "It's just natural that Danny isn't ready to introduce his girlfriend."
The two nodded, wishing their son luck as they turned to the RV to analyze the ghost.
"Hey, where'd the ghost go?" Maddie asked as she and her husband investigated the tire treads.
Danny and Spectra turned the corner and then entered an alley. It's dank and dreary setting was calming for the ghost girl as Sam and Tucker let go. The latter offered to guard the entrance as he convinced the former to give them a moment.
"Spectra, are you alright?"
Danny got his reply in the form of a squeeze. The ghost girl held onto her boyfriend on the verge of tears as she sniffled.
As the two hugged, Sam and Tucker said not a word. The goth, though jealous of the ghost girl, could not find it in her heart to be mad after seeing the ghoul showing such fear and anxiety.
"That was...scary. And I don't mean that in the good way," Spectra said.
"I'm sorry," Danny said in her ear. "I didn't think this would be so bad. I know my parents aren't the nicest to ghosts but—"
"Please just hold me," Spectra interjected.
Danny complied, taking his girlfriend to the park. Sam and Tucker stood by the two, not sure how to act or respond, but had Danny's back at least. Even her jealousy couldn't make her want any harm to happen on the ghost girl, if not for the time being. But the hug did prick her heart.
Sam sighed loudly, tilting her head back with deep breaths.
Minutes passed as Spectra shook less, regaining her composure as she serrated from Danny.
"Thanks," Spectra finally said. Her eyes didn't meet anyone's as she leaned against the wall. "I didn't think meeting your parents would be so...scareable."
"If by scareable you mean, covered in ghost goo, then what were you expecting?" Sam snarked. The boys gave her a harsh glare, but she ignored it. "Hate to break it you, and I really do mean it, but their ghost-obsessed hunters. What were you expecting?"
Spectra sighed, walking up to the goth girl with a tearful stare. The words hurt, but the h be told, the ghost girl had different expectations of her first meeting with Jack and Maddie. She would have preferred if they already knew and accepted ghosts, but after the debacle of the Fenton Assault Vehicle, that was now a distance away.
"I guess you're right," the ghost girl uttered. She felt Danny squeeze her hand and smile. That warmed her heart, giving the desired effect as she decided to push back meeting the Fentons.
"So, you said something about your friends being here?" Danny asked.
"Yes, for the Eclipse Evening."
"That's right! Eclipse Evening!" Sam exclaimed as she started dragging the boys. "Come on! We're gonna be late! We gotta get to the mall!"
The goth girl pulled, but stopped as she heard Spectra fall again. Sighing, she dropped the boys and walked over.
"Isn't there a way for you to change back to a ghost and fly over?" Sam asked.
"No." Spector pushed herself up and steadied herself. Dusting off her skirt, the ghost girl made sure her outfit was not displaced. "I couldn't get to a transformation amulet, so I had my beast friend use something instead. She can explain when we get to the mall. We're all meeting there."
A flash of light appeared as Fenton transformed into Phantom. He flew over, hoisting the ghost girl like a princess, making her smile with a happy blush. She could get used to this treatment.
"Then I think we should take Air Phantom," Danny quipped, gesturing for Sam and Tucker to grab on. The goth girl gave a small scowl, but complied as the four jetted to Amity Mall.
Landing near the entrance, Danny let his friends off as he transformed back. But it his surprise, Spectra held onto him, still carried like a bride.
"Um...you can walk with some help, right?" Danny blushed with his question.
Spectra turned a deeper shade of crimson as she nodded silently. She never let go of the ghost boy as her feet touched the ground.
The mall doors were being filled with people as banners for the Eclipse Evening were hung. It was a new gothic event showing off unknown wonders of the world.
"Eclipse Evening?" Danny whispered to Tucker, glancing at the entrance.
"Don't ask me who names this stuff," Tucker responded. "I didn't pay attention to what it was called, either."
Danny, Spectra, Tucker, and Sam walked inside, where the ghost girl was surprised at the surroundings. Beyond the fact the shops and designs were different, one couldn't tell this was a human mall. Touring the different logos as they neared the center of the mall, she made mental notes to stop by later. It was probably a certain fact that her friends had visited much of the shops already.
At the eye of the mall, there was a raised stage with a curtain covering it. Danny looked around to see not only goths but also regular people. Some even seemed like they came from other towns.
Spectra looked around for her friends, using Danny to jump higher.
"Where are they?" Spectra aksed.
Sam would have butted in, but a chipper voice caught her off guard.
"Spectra, over here!"
The ghost girl squealed as he ran to her friends. Though they weren't in true monster form, the ghouls could recognize each other a mile away. They hugged like a group of valley girls as Danny walked over.
"hey, ghouls, how are ya?" he asked.
"Hey, Danny," the ghouls greeted in unison.
Tucker dropped his jaw at the sound of what could be called a symphony of fan girls greeting a rock star from a private limo. This was something only heard through television. Filled with emotions, the techno geek jumped the gun.
"Please don't tell me you dated all these girls?!" Tucker cried out. He closed his eyes, almost waiting for the inevitable answer, but only heard snorting and snickering. He opened his eyes to see Danny in his laughter. The ghouls just looked confused and slightly annoyed.
The ghost boy tried to explain, but he couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Is he fearious?" Clawdeen snarked. With hands at her hips, the disguised werewolf stared with a dead gaze as the other looked in aghast confusion.
"Ok, you better start explaining yourself, normie," Cleo demanded, stroking up to the boy.
Danny got in between her and Tucker before turnings turned gruesome. After a quick explanation of Spectra's initial date and the encounter with the Guys in White, the latter was now spotting an apologetic face as Sam stood silently by.
"Wow...I'm sorry," Tucker said. "It's just with Danny's record at the dating service, and the way you said hi..."
"No worries. It's an honest mistake," Danny remarked nonchalantly.
"The same could be said about anyone. But can someone please tell me why creatures of the night are acting like your average valley girl and cheerleader?!" Sam asked, yelling at that last pet. She couldn't believe what she was noticing. All her life, monsters and ghouls were the stuff of horrifying legends that would wet the pants of every kid she ever knew.
The ghouls looked at the goth like the latter was crazy and ignored her. Even her friends did not seem to bother with her outburst.
"I met Spectra's friends during our blind date. Apparently, they couldn't resist spying on us," Danny said, and the ghouls had slightly embarrassed looks about that.
"We already said sorry about that," Cleo said, annoyed.
"Yeah, but it still happened...and then I had to save them from the Guys in White," Danny said, earning cringe fraces from Sam and Tucker. No explanation was needed as they knew first hand how the government ghost hunters operated. "Yeah, but everything is alright between us."
"Besides, Danny fright be okay...as far as personality goes, but I already have my Deuce," Cleo said, referring to her gorgon boyfriend.
"And I have my main mate, Gil," Lagoona added, thinking about her freshwater sea monster man.
"Jackson and I are going strady, but Holt is there too..." Frankie said, placing an unsure hand on her stitched face.
"Boo should see my Clawd," Draculaura said, smiling as she thought of her werewolf sweetheart.
Clawd's sisters, Clawdeen gave a roll of her eyes at that remark. However, she did not say anything in regards to romantic interests, having no one she had her eyes on. Well, not that she would say out loud.
Tucker was eyeing the werewolf with a funny face, wondering about the difference between human and monster culture..
But before anyone could ponder on the girl. The surrounding lights went off, with the remaining focus on the curtain, which rose. There was a dome-like structure with a strange gentleman wearing a top hat and cane in Victorian clothes. No one could see his face because of the long hair that covered his whole head, save for his nose, which was freakishly long.
"Ladies and gentlemen, goths, ghouls, and creatures of the day…and night," the man spoke with dramatic projection as he made grand gestures with his hands. "Welcome to the Eclipse Evening. I am your host, Zakerick Howler. Now, I'm sure some of you are concerned, whether or not you're a parent, about this being a school night, but here we denounce the blasé of the redundant and routine with something to liven up your new school year."
With a loud tap of the man's cane, the dome opened up to reveal several holographic entities of ghastly description. They moaned and shrieked as some of these beings morphed by turning inside out. It was scarier than most ghosts for most of the audience, save for select groups.
"Whoa!"
"Freaky!"
"I want my mommy!"
"Ewww!"
"What is this?"
"Creepy."
"This is sick!"
The ghouls watched in awkward and nervous silence as they listened. Stings of pain could be felt n their hearts as they noticed
Danny and his friends were not fazed by anything, mainly because they spent most days fighting ghosts. Spectra and her friends, on the other hand, stared with fear crawling through their bodies like maggots, eating away at their flesh, not because of how scary they looked, but from how the humans reacted. To Danny and his friends, this was how monsters seemed, but even the ghouls had never thought of mankind in such a manner.
"Is this how the normies see us?" Frankie commented.
"But we're not all like that. That was in the past," Draculaura added, putting away her phone.
Cleo put a hand on Ghoulia's shoulder, calming the zombie girl, who kept a brave facade. This left Lagoona an dClawdeen silent, putting their heads down as they processed their emotions.
But the event had only begun as the showman tapped his cane again.
"And now, I bring you creatures of the night!" Mr. Howler exclaimed as he laughed maniacally. He pointed at the dome, which showed monsters chained up on display, roaring in agony as their sounds echoed in the mall.
The ghouls almost jumped as they saw fellow monsters being shown in such a manner. While the relationship between humans and what they called the occult was strained due to one not knowing the other, the event was barbaric and scary to them. And their feeling of dread grew as a lot of the teens laughed it off.
This was mainly due to being attacked by ghosts constantly, but they and Mr. Howler could hear doubtful jeers.
"That's the lamest use of special effects I've ever seen!"
"They look nothing like the ghosts we see!"
"There a guy in Oregon with better props than you!"
Danny looked at the showman. Despite the covered face, he was clearly in a rut, grinding his teeth. But then, the man calmed himself and looked to the crowd. But the boy's attention was diverted to Spectra, who gripped his hand tight. He looked to see the other ghouls shivering in fear, and that's when he knew these creatures were real.
"I was going to save this for the end," Howler said in an eerie calm tone. "But since you all don't believe this is real, why don't you have a peek for yourself."
The man tapped his cane again, and a bright red light covered the stage, blinding everyone. When they dimmed, the audience saw how the chains on the monsters dropped. The creatures of the night gave a bloodthirsty howl, scaring the mall goers as they ran before jumping to the ground. The monsters smashed anything in their paths, leaving a wave of destruction.
Tucker recorded everything on his PDA out of teenage instinct when a minotaur jumped toward the trio and knocked them back. Spectra couldn't do anything nor her friends. They could only look at the humans and the fear in their eyes, but then remembered they had an angry minotaur huffing at them with glowing red eyes. The ghouls screamed, running for cover.
"Maybe we should've waited for those amulets to restock!" Lagoona screamed.
Danny got up as the mall was torn apart. Seeing his girlfriend and her friends in trouble again, he had to do something.
"I gotta handle things before it gets worse," Danny said as he jumped into a nearby scenic bush and changed.
Within moments Danny Phantom flew in and rushed to the Minotaur, pushing him up and away from the crowd.
"I heard of the monster mash, but I think that requires a beat," Danny quipped as he blasted some of the abominations. "And you guys are terrible dance partners."
Danny's attacks brought the attention of the others to him. He could hear cheers as he flew in to fight back the horrors as the ghouls watched him fight again. Ghoulia turned her attention to the stage where Mr. Howler had reappeared.
"And right on time," Howler looked at his watch. "And here I thought nothing would happen. Ha! Haw!"
Danny blasted the charging Minotaur into the fountain before immobilizing it in ice. The beast struggled and cracked its cold prison. Thinking fast, Danny brought his fist in between its eyes. Danny didn't want to hurt him, especially after finding out about peaceful ghosts and monsters, but it was necessary.
The screams of other teens could be heard as a bulky cyclops was closing in on a group. Tucker and Sam managed to distract him by shouting in their direction.
Danny flew over and kicked the cyclops in the side. The one-eyed beast glared at him as Danny poked him in the eye, making him run away in pain. The cyclops slipped on ice, courtesy of Danny, and crashed into the nearest wall.
"Look on the bright side, at least your eye doctor will give you half-off," Danny quipped, but his gloating didn't last long as another abomination gabbed his foot with his fangs. It hurt, but the ghost boy powered through and blasted it away.
"I don't know if this works," Danny pulled out the Fenton Thermos. "But, it's worth a shot."
To his surprise, the thing was being sucked into the thermos. Danny closed the lid and glanced at the rest.
"OK, you might not be ghosts, but if this works on you, I'm OK with that."
Danny flew in rhythm as he fought the monster and 'ghosts,' punching and blasting the former while vacuuming the latter. And it worked well. Danny kicked a Yowie up and tied it down with the stage curtain, had every 'ghost' in the thermos, and managed to trap a swamp monster in a tanning booth. However, he didn't start the device. The ghost boy was wrapping things up with grabbed the tail of a kitsune when something seemed off. He had flung her into the fountain with a frozen prison when Danny landed on the stage.
The ghost boy turned when he heard Mr. Howler clapping slowly with a malicious grin.
"How come you're still here?" Danny asked Mr. Howler, who hadn't moved from the spotlight.
The man had a satisfied look as if nothing bothered him. He studied the crowd; Danny seemed like a side note to him. Danny marched up to the showman and hoisted him by the collar, now Howler was looking at the ghost boy.
"For a guy named Howler, you're a quiet one," Danny brought the man's face to his. Well, as close as he could.
"My, my, that went well," Howler said confidently. He looked to the crowd again. Impatient with the man's attitude, Danny threw him down, but the man still paid more attention to the people. He knew that bothered the ghost boy.
Danny looked in the same direction and saw nothing wrong. He had everything under control, the teens and adults were alright, but it seemed some had left already. Danny didn't know if they were OK, which worried him for a moment. The ghost boy walked over to Zakerick Howler, expecting some more answers, but the man got up himself and uncovered his eye.
"What a dramatic turn of events," Mr. Howler had his cane up. Danny, unthreatened by the object, aimed a charged fist at him. "But I think the first act is over. Hmmm…so sad, you know I wanted some more chaos, but you know me."
"Dude, I don't know you?"
"Really?" Mr. Hoiwler now looked confused. "This worked too? Well then, Ta! Ta!"
Zakerick slammed the cane's tip into the ground, and a puff of smoke enveloped him. Danny rushed but found nothing as the smoke gave way to air when he passed through. Danny searched the area for the man till the sound of a specific pair of ghost hunters graced his ears.
"Freeze, punk!" Jack Fenton aimed the Fenton Bazooka while Maddie brought out twin ghost pistols. They would have started blasting if not for some teens getting in the way.
"Hey, lay off him, man!"
"Yeah, he saved us from the monsters and ghosts!"
At the teens' words, Jack and Maddie glanced at the destruction but saw no monsters or ghosts. Maddie placed a pistol in a holster as she picked up a scanner, which found nothing but Danny Phantom. At least it did until Danny reached the ground when Jack looked at the device.
Danny transformed back and met with Sam, Tucker, Spectra, and the ghouls. They were all shocked by the monster rampage's events, especially the latter. bits of the ceiling crumbled and fell, crashing onto abandoned food stands. The ghost girl kept her distance, wanting nothing to do with Danny's parents right now.
"Dude, that was crazy!" Tucker exclaimed. "And we fight ghosts."
"Bat's putting it mildly!" Draculaura got out her phone and started taking pictures.
"And the weird thing is…that Zaker guy talked like I knew him," Danny focused on his friends more. "Do we know him?"
Sam and Tucker shrugged as they didn't have a clue. It was obvious that neither Frankie, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Draculaura, or Spectra would know the guy, but it was strange how he seemed to have real monsters. Of course, Danny and Tucker knew more people after the summer, and a more significant part of the world came to them. Or, more specifically, Danny. This might have been someone met throughout the season, but that was not the answer.
"Danny, I think we'd know if a gothic, freaky showman—Oh my gosh! That was Freak Show!" Sam connected the dots. "Why do our bad guys post billboards, and we never notice?!"
Danny heard this and dragged a hand down his face.
"You'd think we'd know better by now," He muttered, hating this.
The ghouls heard this and were curious.
"Freakshow?" Frankie asked, confused.
Danny was about to answer when the sound of an ecto weapon fired, courtesy of Jack Fenton mistaking something for a ghost. Spectra leaped into his arms, shivering like mad.
"Wow, your parents sure know how to leave a first impression," Bill Cipher said, reappearing with a chuckling eye. "I wonder how her friend will react when they see how fanatic they are about ghosts. I mean, they saw them aiming right at you."
Danny sighed, leading the group out of the mall, away from unwanted parents and anyone else. The teens did not notice how some eyes followed them, narrowing with predatory interest. But that would not matter, as Freakshow always had more up his sleeve.
Walking to the nearby parking lot, Danny placed Spectra on her feet, but not before Draculaura took some photos. Despite the fear, it was adorable how the ghost boy carried the ghost girl like a princess, earning some awes from the ghouls. Sam stared in disbelief at the monsters' behavior, almost having an existential crisis.
"Why the heck are you doing that!?" Sam yelled.
"Doing what?" Cleo retorted with an authoritative tone. She looked at the goth girl like a head cheerleader, angering the latter.
Sam would have retorted, but the mummy ghoul was not in the mood for anything the former had to say. Neither Spectra nor the others had a remark, missing the goth's perspective. The boys would have explained, but the ghost boy was busy with his hallucination, with Tucker distracted by the ghouls in curiosity.
"Ahhhh..." Ghoulia rasped.
"Ghoulia's right," Frankie said, much to Sam and tucker's confusion. The stitched monster walked up to Danny. "Can you tell us about this Freak show?"
"He's a human who has more knowledge of the supernatural than we know, but this time was different," Danny said, noticing how the scenery back at the mall fitted his MO. Creepy monsters, a stage, but he couldn't help but wonder why he didn't have his usual flair with him. On top of that, the ghost boy had him put in jail twice, yet barely paid any attention to him.
"I don't get it," Danny looked around. "What was the plan here? Mess with me?"
"Huh, and here I thought the guy would have the whole circus act," Tucker stated.
Sam smacked him upside the head for that.
"Knock it off, Tucker." Sam sighed in embarrassment but noticed how Spectra hadn't said a word. "You going to be OK?"
Danny appeared worried but gave his friends a grin. Whatever Freakshow had planned, he could take it. With his parent's being…well, themselves, the ghost byo s thought it would be best to leave before anything embarrassing or culturally insulting happened and head to another area for fun.
"Why don't we head to The Nasty Burger and hang out for a while?" Danny asked.
Spectra nodded, now calm as the ghouls agreed. They followed Danny, wanting to have fun and reminisce before the day's end. However, the only goth in the group would have many questions afterward.
Having fled the scene, Freakshow took off his disguise, now happy with his results. The humans had panicked when the monsters had "freed themselves," leaving them scared.
"If they think that's freaky, then they don't know what's coming! Ha! Ha!"
However, the crazed former ringmaster paused as he felt something strange. He reached into his coat, pulling out a small scanner. The device was beeping like crazy as the man read the readings.
"This energy signature! This is what I've been looking for. The staff of Waz! It's been here all along? Where did that come from?" He said as the device died down. It seemed he only picked up the signature for a moment.
"And now it became a waste of time, but it was dramatic," he said with a wicked smile. Besides, I have a little charm of bad luck. So I can at least use that. Ha! Ha!"
Meant to update this yesterday, but...yeah. Anyway, I've mourned, and now I'm good to go. May Angela Lansbury rest in peace.
Anyway, You'll be seeing the next update this month, along with Phantasma. Not much to say, but you probably noticed how this is similar to a chapter of Danny and Phantasma at the end. I never thought about writing this spin-off till years ago, so back then, I had different plans for the side story, so I've had to gut things into this story. The deja vu is not over yet.
Special thanks! to Flower Princess11 and Jay the Average Fanboy for all their help! Couldn't have done this without you guys.
Thank you for leaving a review:
RonaldM40196867: Probably. No clue. Tucker has Velma. Bill Cipher is a monster and not what the ghouls are. There are some Danny Phantom ideas I have in mind, but they're not set in stone. Some ideas include crossovers like Sabrina, another Grossology crossover, Fugget About It, DC Super Hero Girls, and maybe even something else. While there is an idea about a Danny Phantom story with Desiree, but I'm focusing on my current stories first.
danifan3000: Hard to say. A therapist will require trust, and not just on Danny's end. If Black Canary were to be the therapist, the Justice League would also have to trust Danny. Plus, Danny would not know about this, as would anyone not working in the league.
Invader Johnny: It's gonna get worse before it gets better.
LockAndKey989: Hopefully.
Luiz4200: I think their pride in ghost hunting will block their empathy.
Jebest4781: Thanks!
William Escobar 608: 1) Sí. 2) Sí. 3-5) Te das cuenta de que Sam no es real, ¿verdad? 6) Ni idea. 7) Sólo que mucho peor. 8) Lo investigaré en algún momento. 9) Tengo ansiedades, la vida real y muchas otras cosas que pueden detener mi progreso. 10) Sinceramente, no me importa el karma de Sam, principalmente porque no es un plip en mi radar.
Jonas(Guest): Yep.
Guest: Eh...that doesn't sound like something I'd write. Cute, but not my cup of tea.
Jay the Average Fanboy: Probably not. Monster realm. Never heard of it.
ZoomedIn: Thanks!