Keeper Revisited
by Shadowesque13
Summary: "My Brother's Keeper" alternate ending. What if Jazz had died?
Rating: PG-13 for major angst, character death, and rather gory descriptions
Genre: Angst/Drama
Dis: I don't own Danny Phantom, or else MBK woulda had a lot more angst to it. It belongs to Nick and Butch Hartman, the master of making great cartoons.
A/N: Thank my friend Zyalea for wanting me to put in the gory description of Jazz. I wasn't planning on it, but I loved the way I wrote it out, so... I thank her for contributing! (and early apologies to WormmonABC...)
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"And when that last domino falls, eliminating the speaker, I'll leave you here to take the blame. And when I'm done with you, you'll be sure it was all your fault!" cackled the demonic black form known as Spectra. Her grip on Danny tightened, not about to give him any chance to save the day.
"I've just about had it with you dumping on me!" shouted Danny, rage building as he watched the dominoes fall one on top of the next, closer to the button that would initiate the lasers, killing Jazz at the podium. He squirmed and writhed in her grasp, unable to summon the strength to break free of the doctor's vice-like grip. So he did the next best thing; he reached around for the Thermos, holding her little assistant. After a few tries, he was able to grasp it and pulled it around from his back to his chest, pointing it toward Spectra. "So I think it's time to join your partner in crime!"
Fear flashed across her face as she let go of the hybrid, suddenly flying in a different direction. Danny tumbled a few feet before floating back up, aiming the Thermos. A bright light shot out of the device, flying forward.
He missed.
Spectra had vanished through a wall, narrowly avoiding being caught in the pulling force of the Thermos. Danny turned it off, growling. "Where are you?" He looked back through the window. "Oh no...Jazz!"
He went invisible, intangible, blasting at high speed toward his sister. He would be just in time, but he would make it. Only a few dominoes left... He felt a jerk on his leg, stopping him from going any farther. Looking back, he saw Spectra, holding his leg, pulling him back. "Oh no, you don't!" he cried, grabbing the Thermos once more.
But Spectra had seen this coming. Speed like a bullet, she knocked it out of his hands. It clattered to the floor, but that was nothing compared to the sound of the beams charging up. A red glow began to fill the room. "No! Jazz!"
"It's too late, boy! The girl is history! And there's nothing you can do!" She used this moment to relocate her hands from his leg back to his shoulders once more. "Nothing but watch as she's vaporized in front of your eyes!"
He struggled more. It was useless. He called out to her, hoping she'd hear, hoping she'd move out of the way in time. "Jazz! Jazz, get out of there!" She merely glanced in their general direction and shrugged. She hadn't heard. And moments later, she wasn't able to.
A collective gasp, more half-hearted due to Spectra's previous work, filled the room when two fiery red beams of destruction connected with Jazz's body. She didn't even have time to scream. Only a few seconds after it started, all that was left was her badly burnt body lying on the stage. Nobody moved for the span of at least a minute.
"Well now, time to complete my plan, shall we?" Spectra whispered in Danny's ear, phasing them out a door into a hallway right outside the gym.
Danny didn't even blink. He had just witnessed the death—no, the murder of his sister. His bright, happy, helpful, older sister...gone. Just like that. No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't be.
Spectra set him down right outside the doors they went through. She turned back into her Human form and gave a small snicker and smirk. Danny stood and shook his head. What was he doing just standing around for? He had to get help! Two bold, familiar rings enveloped his body and was regular Fenton in a matter of seconds. He was about to push the doors open, about to go in to see when Mr. Lancer ran into him.
"Oh, Daniel, thank god I ran into you! Something terrible happened! I was just on my way to call an ambulance..." He stopped and stared at Danny. "Wait, what are you doing out here? Everyone's supposed to be in the gym."
"I...I..." He faltered. He had to think of some excuse. That's when Spectra began to speak, cutting him off.
"I caught Danny sneaking around here," she began, a fake look of concern on her face.
Lancer peered at him suspiciously. "You're the only one besides Miss Spectra here who wasn't in the gym. Why?"
Spectra, once more, answered for him. "I think he's been here the whole time, skipping the Spirit-A-Thon."
"More than that, I think he may have something to do with this devious plot."
"What?" Danny was shocked. He knew what Spectra was doing now. Nobody would believe him; he was just a kid. Spectra was the only one who wasn't in the gym with him. Who were they bound to believe? "I didn't do anything! I'm innocent! I was just on my way from the bathroom when I heard something!" he made up quickly. "Why would I want to kill my own sister?"
"I believe you were furious at her for the past few days, Mr. Fenton..." Lancer ran off again, glaring slightly at Danny. "I'm going to call 911. You make sure everyone else is alright and keep this one out of any trouble."
She waved him off and, when he had turned the corner, turned back to Danny. "And now, boy, I'll go convince everyone that you did this. You weren't here the whole time, and everyone knows you hated her all this week. You'll get all the blame! And I'll keep looking fabulous! Since Virtent is out of the way, I can have all this misery to myself!" She grabbed him by the arm and skipped inside the gym in that overly peppy façade she put on. Immediately, any wrinkles that had appeared on her face were gone in an instant. The mood was worse than ever, the gym filled with shocked and saddened looking people. "Come now, students!" she ordered in a cheerful voice. "Let's file out of this room outside. Come on, that's it." The students of Casper High complied, walking slowly out of the gym straight outside where minutes later an ambulance would park.
While she kept a firm grip on Danny's wrist, he managed to catch a glimpse of the corpse that was Jazz. There was no doubt in his mind that she was dead. He didn't want to believe it, and yet it was right in front of him, undeniable. The dominoes, the large red button, the "sparklers", the crisp podium, and Jazz.
Her burnt and blackened skin left a smell like that of charcoal. A small bit of smoke emanated from the body. Her hair which had been a few shades lighter than red had been shortened and darkened, sticking up all over the place.
Her eyes were wide, staring, unblinking. They were mostly rolled back into her head, but a glint of her once beautiful blue eyes was still seen.
There were random spots all over her body that had erupted into cuts, bleeding, dripping slowly onto the stage. It formed a small pool, making a contrast between the black and gray that her form had become and the bright red surrounding it.
Her clothes had practically melted and now stuck to the charred flakes that was her fair skin, epidermal layer scorched away, leaving what had to be at least 2nd degree burns all over. He didn't even want to know what it must have felt like. If she could have even registered the immense pain before her demise.
His only sibling had been murdered in front of him, and now he was the one to get blamed for it when the true villain was standing right next to him.
Spectra had managed to drag him away, outside with the others. Crying, sobbing, staring blankly as if still trying to understand what had happened. She reveled in the misery and angst, letting his arm go momentarily. He grabbed the nearest trash can and vomited violently.