WA-HOOO! (I love hockey games) Boom boom chick! Boom boom chick! We will we wiiiiill rock you! (boom boom chick)
Disclaimer: Still owned by the one and only,Butch Hartman. (Hey, is there a new episode this Friday?)
Dun duh-nuh-na! Chapter 5!
He was falling through the sky in a weird sense of déjà vu. The ground rushed towards him as he fell, headfirst, his silver bangs streaming behind him. Grotesque skeletal fingers reached up towards him as he screamed soundlessly.
The skeletal fingers morphed suddenly into his classmates who immediately screamed and ran away from him.
Shaking his head, he looked around in confusion at where he now stood safely on the ground. Danny barely had time to take a deep breath and figure things out when he saw the ground darken beneath him.
He gulped and looked fearfully behind him at whatever was casting a shadow over him. His head craned up to see the top of a dark …thing towering over him. Backing up slowly, he saw the dark form shift into the outline of a girl. Piercing glowing eyes opened slowly and cast an eerie light on the black landscape.
She leaned in towards his frozen figure, her eyes narrowing in hatred. Danny closed his eyes tightly, wishing it all away. Stinging pain raced across his chest, he opened his mouth to scream.
"Danny?"
Danny closed his mouth with a moan.
He opened his blurry eyes to see Jazz standing over him. She smiled at him as she placed something white on his chest. Danny sucked in his breath as he felt the stinging sensation again.
"Sorry, but I have to clean these up." She motioned towards the cuts running down his chest. "How are you feeling? Sam and Tucker were really worried when they dropped you off here." Danny looked around as his room swam into focus.
"Where are Sam and Tucker?" He asked, ignoring the other questions. She waved her hand dismissively.
"At the police station with mom and dad, explaining... some things. In fact, I need to get down there soon. Do you think you'll be ok by yourself for awhile?"
Danny nodded as his groggy mind sank back down into sleep.
The blood red sun was just fading below the horizon as Danny looked out his window and sighed. The sun cast long shadows through his room and bathed the walls and carpet in red light. Danny turned back to his room, a halo of red light reflecting off his midnight black hair.
Danny began to pace around his room, following an already worn path around the carpet. So everyone knew he was Danny Phantom, he could deal with that… right?
He sat down on the edge of his bed and covered his face with his hands. Everything was changing so fast! He didn't know what to do.
He tucked his knees under his chin, staring blankly at the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red light flashing. Turning around, he saw his phone on his desk flashing at him.
Getting up slowly, he walked over to the phone, looking at it curiously. He had 17 messages.
He hit the play button.
"Is this where Danny Phantom lives?" A small voiced asked, sounding shy. "I-I just wanted to say thank you. I saw you help the town… and I want to grow up to be just like you!" The quiet voice stopped, apparently confused on how to go about thanking her hero.
Danny stared at the machine in astonishment.
The quiet voice continued. "My mom tells me that some people think that you are evil." Her voice grew stronger. "But I want you to know that I think that you are a good ghost!" Danny heard the child's mother take the phone. "What my little Sophia means to say is thank you, Danny Phantom." She paused, her voice growing warmer as Danny heard Sophia agreeing in the background. "And God bless."
A click signaled the end of the call, but the machine continued with the second message. Danny continued to stand there, his eyes wide, staring at the machine in disbelief.
"D-Danny Phantom?" This time, the voice sounded older. "I don't know if you remember me, but you saved my life when all of those skeletons attacked our town. And I just wanted to say… well, thanks."
Another click, and then the next message started up. Danny had just managed to gather his witts about himwhen the next message blew his mind away.
"Mr. Fenton," Danny gaped at the message machine as Lancer's voice continued. "I heard about your unfortunate exposure in school the other day. But that is no excuse for you and your two friends' absence from school today! I expect to see you at school tomorrow, homework in hand." There was a slight pause, Danny managed to close his mouth."But, I will…" Lancer sighed, apparently regretting what he was about to say. "I will let you slide on a FEW homework assignments, and I will also erase some of your tardies and absences."
Danny's mouth had dropped again.
Mr. Lancersighed again, then his voice regained its normal tone of authority. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Mr. Fenton."
Danny stared wide-eyed at the machine. Was that even possible? Mr. Lancer had given him homework passes? He was going to excuse his absences! …Mr. Lancer!
Danny stared at the machine in shock for a moment, then…
"Yes!" Hejumped into the air, thrusting his fist up. He then started to dance around his roomas the next message started.
"Danny?" He stopped, staring over at the machine. Valerie's confused voice stuttered, then continued.
"I… I can't believe… You're…?" There was a long silence as Danny stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the machine. "I guess," There was a slight laugh. "It sort of makes sense… I mean, you always seemed to just disappear when a ghost showed up… and you never really tried to hurt me, even though I…" Another long pause. "I… I'm sorry Danny. I was just so mad! I wanted to blame someone, anyone, when my dad lost his job." She swallowed hard. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, recently. And now that I look back on it, you really did everything you could to help me out, even if it meant exposing me to my father." Her voice did get a little bitter at this point, but she continued quickly. "I really need to talk to you, Danny. There are still a lot of things I'd like to know, and I think you at least owe me an explanation." She paused, her voice sounding hopeful. "See you at school tomorrow?" There was another pause, and then the call ended with a click.
Valerie apoligized to me? With a suddenly suspicious glance around the room, Dannyyelped as he pinchedhimself. The next message started as Danny finally admitted that he wasn't dreaming.
"Danny Phantom! Hey! How's it going pal? Say, this is Harriet Chin, remember me? From Vlad's reunion?" She paused, then hastily continued, apparently realizing she was talking to a machine. "Well, I was wondering if you would let me interview you? Y'know, like 'Danny Phantom; the Hero of Amity Park.' Or, 'Danny Fenton; the Man Behind the Mask.' I'd even let you choose the title! Well, anyway, give me a call!" She rambled off her phone number and then hung up with a cheery goodbye.
They wanted to interviewhim? Him! He had never even made it into the papers, unlike Dash whoseemed to have his face in the papereveryday for his "Outstanding Pass That Won the Game!"
...well, unless he counted "Inviso-Bill Spotted Again" or "Ghost Boy Attacks Mayor!"
The rest of the messages played by, most of them from people calling to thank Danny, or tell him that he was doing a good job. There were a few more about news stations wanting an interview or 'The True Story of Danny Phantom.' (Danny got a kick out of that one) But there were also a few, very few, calls saying that Danny should leave the hero business to someone older.
Danny instantly deleted those calls.
He flopped on his bed, smiling happily up at the ceiling. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. His mind wandered through all of the calls, replaying the first one, when the little girl had shyly tried to thank him. He felt warm as he tried to imagine the little girl, smiling up at her mom as they called to thank him.
Resisting the urge to play the messages over again, Danny stood up and frowned out the window.
He needed to figure some things out.
Like why had Skulker wanted to expose him? That just wasn't like him. Skulker wanted to hunt down and capture him, not humiliate him!
He rubbed his swollen shoulder, feeling grateful that Skulker had only dislocated his shoulder, not broken it.
Danny shook his head, remembering once again the events that had lead up to him changing back in front of his classmates. He remembered fighting Skulker, and the sinister weapon.
Danny stopped short. That weapon, it wasn't meant to kill… He paced around some more, sorting through his blurry memory. The beginning was crystal clear, but after Skulker and him left the roof of the school, it faded into what seemed like a bad dream; fragments of sentences, blurred images and a remembered feeling of fear. He dug deeper into the memory, searching for something just below the surface…
Danny looked up suddenly, remembering something. An image of Skulker with his foot poised over Danny's head, the stubbornly solid floor beneath him.
He stopped pacing around his room, the remembered feeling of falling and not being able to stop it following the image of Skulker. His eyes widened as he glanced at the scrapes on his arm that would usually have healed when he turned back into his human self.
Danny kneeled down on the floor, pressing his hand against the carpet. He concentrated and, after a flash of light, leaned his weight down on his now white-gloved hand. With a yelp, Danny fell face first into the carpet as his hand phased through the floor.He held his face in his hands, feeling stupid.
Floating up and hovering in the middle of his room, Danny ignored his stinging face and glanced around quickly to make sure no one was snickering in a corner.
Ok, Danny thought, floating back down to the floor, maybe it only shorts out my powers when… Oh, who am I kidding, I have no idea. He looked over at his phone, wondering if he should call Sam or Tucker.
"Danny! You in there?" Danny gasped, changing back to human as his dad burst through his door. "Hey, Danny! I'm glad you're awake! Your mom and your sister are downstairs, and we'd all like to hear your story." His said, smiling proudly at his son.
"Oh… oh right," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. For a second, he had forgotten that his parentsmust've heard about him beingthe ghost kid."I'll be down in a sec." His dad nodded enthusiastically and closed the door. Danny heard his dad's footsteps stomp all the way down to the kitchen.
Danny stared at the door for a second, thinking. Of all of the reactions that he had played out in his head, none of them had even come close to what had just happened.His dad had acted like it was, well, normal to find out that your son was half ghost. He didn't even try and take a blood sample or anything.
Dannyblinked atthe door, his eyes focusing again.
Hetook a deep breath, unconsciously straightening his shirt. Well, here I go…
"You were hunting ghosts the whole time?" His mom asked incredulously. His mom, Jazz, and his dad were all sitting around the dinner table, drilling Danny about his secret life as Danny Phantom.
Danny stuttered, looking away form his mom. He didn't quite know what to expect from his mom who, before this, had tried several times to kill him when he was flying around as Danny Phantom.
"That's great sweetie!" Danny sat there, still stuttering, when he finally registered what his mom had said.
"…what?"
"You're turning out just like your father and I, fighting back evil ghosts, and we couldn't be prouder!" Maddie and Jack smiled at each other, oblivious to Danny sinking down in his chair in embarrassment.
"Yeah, Danny! And now your old man can show you some of his moves!" Jack yelled enthusiastically, holding up his fists and duking it out with an imaginary ghost.
Danny was about to sink further into his chair when he remembered his dad's fight against Vlad. If he could teach me how to beat Vlad… Danny smirked as he visualized holding up a beaten and bruised Vlad, a triumphant (but still menacing) smile on Danny's face as he threw Vlad back into the ghost zone. His heroic image of himself then turned around and grabbed Sam by the waist, swinging her down into a passionate ki- Whoa! Back up there Danny!
Danny was brought back to harsh reality as Jazz suddenly entered the conversation.
"Aren't you two going to apologize to Danny for all of the times you tried to kill your own son!" Jazz yelled at them, making their two parents flinch. Jack rubbed his neck nervously and looked to his wife for the rescue. Maddie instantlyswooped over to Danny and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.
"We are so sorry dearie! If we had known it was you…" she continued, ignoring Danny's protests.
"Eep! Mom …Mom! …MOM!" Maddie let go reluctantly and, much to Danny's chagrin, ruffled his hair affectionately before returning to her seat. Danny glared at her as he tried to flatten his hair.
"We really are sorry, sweetie."
"It's ok, mom, you didn't know." Danny absently reassured her, still battling his unruly hair. Maddie still looked upset.
"If there's anything that we can do to make it up to you…?" Danny's eyes widened suddenly. Raise my allowence, no, get rid of my curfew! Ignore my bad grades! Wait, even better, do my homework for me! Yes!
Danny opened his mouth, but Jack cut him off.
"Why, we'll just help him fight off the ghosts that haunt this town!" Maddie jumped up.
"That's a great idea, Jack!" Danny closed his mouth with a snap. Yeah, or you could do that. He thought sarcastically.
He quickly turned around as his mom smacked a wet one on Jack's cheek. Jazz giggled at Danny's expression.
After a while, Jazz had left to finish her homework (since she had already known about Danny's secret) and Jack and Maddie had asked for a recount on what had happened from Danny Phantom's perspective.
After Danny had reached the part about Walker overshadowing the mayor and framing him, Jack had gotten up angrily and marched down to the lab muttering something about "No one frames a Fenton!"
Danny continued his story to his mom, skipping a few minor details, like the Ember incident and the school dance when he had overshadowed his dad. He also left out the part about Vlad being a halfa, as he could now use that as leverage against Vlad.
It felt good to finally tell all of this to his parents.Almost like he was sharing the responsibility that he had carried alone for so long. No, not alone, he thought, Sam and Tucker were always there, helping me out.
But, somehow,his parents knowing that he wasDanny Phantomwas different then Sam and Tucker knowing. Yeah, he talked to Sam and Tucker about his problems, but mainly only just to be able to tell someone.
Now he could go to his parents and ask them for advise with any of his problems... just like any other normal kid.
He and his mom had moved over to the more comfortable family room, and she was sitting on the couch with him, listening attentively to his story. He was telling his mom about when he had some trouble fighting a ghost that was more powerful then him (known to his mom as Plasmius; the full fledged ghost that died of old age and loneliness) when his mom interrupted him.
"I can help you with that, sweetie." She said, looking at her son with a proud smile.
"…really? How?"
"I don't mean to brag, but I am a ninth degree black belt." She said,a slight grin on her face."I could teach you a few tricks."
Danny shot up, staring at his mom in disbelief.
"Me? Learn from a ninth degree black belt!" He said, his words rushing out in his excitement. He grabbed his mom's hand and turned towards the lab. Ha, Vlad is so going down! And all thanks to my mom, the women of his dreams. Talk about irony!
"C'mon, mom! Let's go!" His mom held him back.
"Whoa, Danny, not tonight. Lancer's expecting you to have your homework done tomorrow."
Danny turned around slowly, realizing that he had forgotten to erase the messages before his parents got home. He hoped beyond hope that she hadn't heard all of them.
His mom smiled at him knowingly.
"Go do your homework, my little hero. We'll train on the weekends."
Danny's face turned a bright red at his mom's new nickname for him. It didn't help that she ruffled his hair affectionately again.
"Mom!" He smoothed his hair again as he scowled at her.
She just smiled at him. "Now go do your homework, Danny. Mr. Lancer said that he would only excuse a few homework assignments."
Danny nodded sullenly, still tryingto flatten his hair.
Maddie watched her son head upstairs towards his room.At the top, he stopped and turned around.
"...thanks, mom." He said quietly, then dissapeared inside his room.
Maddie smiled, already looking forward to the weekend.
Woo! I loved writing about the little girl calling Danny up and thanking him. Heh, and Mr. Lancer… I really couldn't imagine him saying anything else. He seems like such a stickler for the rules.
Oh, yeah, and do any of you know what a 9th degree black belt is? Or what they can do? Cause I definitely don't. Crap. I'll have to look that up…
Mistake on my part! I forgot to mention what day it was in the story, heh, oops! Danny vs. Skulker and the School and the following chapter was a Wed. This chapter was Thursday, and next chapter is Friday, the last day of school for the week. Sorry bout that.
So, randomness!
Erm, no, I'm trying more for drama, but there will be some angst in it. (And I love happy endings) Dude, yes! Fondu is amazing, especially the chocolate variety. Heh heh, yeah, I sorta have a girl in my school that I'm modeling Paulina off of. (Sad that people like that actually exist, no?) Sweet! I'm so glad you liked that ending, I probably changed it like five times before I got frusterated and left it as is. (and I hope you like this chapter!) Wow, the sibling induced torture... andwith a small car thrown in!(add a question mark there)Brutal! (Here's yonder update!) Heh, yeah. The messages will help hima lot, though. (And just wait til next chapter, when Sam comes along!) Ha ha! Oh man! That's the best reaction yet! (Sam should have a victory dance like Jazz and Maddie!) Heh heh... yeah. I'll better explain his reaction in the next chapter. Oh, and thanks for the fav! (Wow, my story is on a favorites list? Ahh! Ego, stop inflating! Stop it!)
Reviews are as amazing as passing a Calc test! And that, my friend, is nothing short of a miracle.