AN: This will remain in the future unless otherwise noted. Enjoy the fic and be sure to review.
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman, The Metamorphosis to Franz Kafka, Back to the Future belongs to Universal Studios; I "own" Jane and April.
High in the tall reaches of the Rocky Mountains a man lay in hiding, a quiet hermit of the mountains who hadn't left the mansion in well over ten years. His hair was extremely long and white, falling all the way to the middle of his back. He wore a black business suit out of habit but the suit was old and worn. He was a tall man, standing at about six foot even and very slender.
The man sat in a plush, velvet red chair, in the middle of his extremely large mansion, his back to the large door behind him and he was facing the roaring fire place. At the moment he was absorbed in a book (The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka) and didn't notice the small, blue spirit float into his room. That is until a red wisp of air escaped his mouth, the man looked up, "Yes, Jane?"
The small ghost was a little girl with blue skin and blonde hair. She was dressed in a maid's outfit and had her hair pulled into pigtails. She bowed to the man, "Master Vlad…there is a visitor here for you sir," she said in a charming British accent.
Vlad waved his hooked hand in the air as he replied, "Send whoever it is away." After his fight with Danny Fenton all those years ago, when he had lost his hand, Vlad Masters had retreated into a life of solitude in the mountains. He hadn't used his ghost powers in all that time and had not had contact with anyone Ghost Zone or otherwise either…except for his servant Jane.
The girl glanced to the side then back to the chair where Vlad sat, "But, sir…he says it's urgent."
Vlad sighed, shutting his book, "Fine, fine." He sensed Jane leave and he stood up, his back creaking. His ghost sense went off again and he turned around, his eyes widening in mild shock, "And just who are you?"
The being Vlad was now facing was defiantly a ghost. He had blue skin and an ethereal white aura. His hair was pure white and he wore a strangely familiar suit that was black and white with a 'D' emblazed on it. A cape was draped from his shoulders and seemed to float by itself. The ghost smirked at Vlad, "Hello old chum…I figured this was where you'd be hiding…of course…since part of you is me it wasn't too hard to figure out."
"Who are you? What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I…suppose the boy never mentioned me…I understand…I am sort of a sore spot. The name is Dan Phantom…and I'm here…for a favor."
((Cue Danny Phantom Theme Song))
((Samantha Fenton's House))
Danny drifted lazily in his sleep. He didn't want to wake up for a long, long time. However he could hear voices near him, drifting in and out of clarity. 'Where am I,' he thought. He felt a sudden throb in the back of his head and groaned.
"Danny?" one of the voices asked.
"Sam? You wouldn't believe the dream I had. There was this weird girl with black and white hair and she was a halfa like me. She told me I had to go to the future to save myself from…my other self."
"Weird am I?" another voice chimed in.
Danny shot up and found that he had been laying on a black leather sofa. His eyes swiveled around the room to land on two people standing over him. One was the girl from his "dream" and the other was an older woman, he assumed to be her mother. The woman's purple eyes showed concern for Danny and he was taken a back by how familiar they looked, "Where…where am I?"
"Did the table give you amnesia…you're in the future dork," the "dream" girl said.
"April…what…what table?"
April sighed, "We 'landed' at my house and you banged your head on the table when I fell out of the time portal on top of you."
"You never were one for graceful entrances," the older woman muttered.
Danny looked to her now. She had short black hair pulled back into a messy bun. She wore a black knit sweater and a long purple skirt that fringed at the ankles. She smiled at Danny and he gasped as he recognized her, "S—Sam!"
"Yeah…it's me."
Danny ran a hand through his hair, eyes wide, as he stared at an imaginary spot on the couch, "How long have I been out?"
"We're in the future…people age…how many times must I say it," April cried out exasperatedly.
Sam ignored this and put a reassuring hand to Danny's shoulder, "Only a few hours…are you going to be okay?"
Danny looked up at her, "Y—yeah…last time I traveled to the future I wasn't so freaked cause I got roped into a battle so quickly. Speaking of which…where are Tucker and everyone else?"
"We weren't sure how you'd react, so Tucker and everyone else agreed to wait elsewhere. If you're ready to see them we can…we need to start discussing what to do about Dan anyway. Before he makes his move or finds out you're here," Sam said.
Danny nodded and stood up, following Sam and April out of the living room. Just as they were passing an in-table by the doorway that connected the living room with the rest of the house, Sam reached over and laid the picture on its face so that Danny couldn't see it.
He noticed this and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, 'What was that about,' Danny thought, 'Come to think of it…if April, as I first thought, is Sam's daughter and she has ghost powers…could she be my…NAH, not possible…maybe she was just in an accident like me.' But even as Danny thought this another thought accompanied it, a thought that freaked him out and made him strangely happy, "She…is my daughter."
Sam and April stopped, both turning with equally shocked expressions, "W—what?"
Danny glared at both April and Sam, "Why didn't you tell me!"
Sam tried to laugh it off, "What are you talking about? You're fourteen…how can you have a kid?"
"You know what I mean Sam."
Sam sighed, "Alright…Danny…this is April Fenton she's mine and your daughter…in the future."
Danny nodded, crossing his arms, "There…now that you've admitted it…I don't mind doing this." Danny threw his arms in the air, screamed, and ran off.
April looked to her mother, "Uhm…mom…should you have told him that? I mean…what if you guys don't have me now that he knows…"
"Don't worry…Danny will get used to the idea…he just needed to let that out of his system. At fourteen Danny was still pining after Paulina," Sam shuddered, "but he comes around to his feelings eventually. Besides you travel to your future and find out you have a kid and then we'll talk." Sam pecked a kiss on April's forehead and walked towards the kitchen.
April sighed, she knew her mom was trying to comfort her but a part of April was hurt by Danny's reaction. 'Does he hate me,' she mentally asked herself. She didn't want to think he did…but his reaction didn't sit well with her. She turned to the stairs and headed up for her room, she had to think about this.
((Rooftop of Sam Fenton Household))
Danny had phased up to the roof, he found that after a stressful day that the wind blowing through his hair always calmed him. He stared out at the future around him. It wasn't as 'futuristic' as when he had seen Dan Phantom, there were no hover cars nor was everything chromed. Danny imagined it had something to do with the fact that since there was no evil version of him, that the advancement of technology didn't need to take place to protect humans from some crazed ghost lord.
The fourteen year old halfa sighed and his eyes drifted up to the sky, he didn't know how many more surprises like this he could handle.
"DANNY!"
"AHH," Danny shrieked in surprise, nearly falling off the roof. A strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. Danny turned around to find himself in the company of a bald African-American man of average height. The man wore a dark green turtle neck with a red jacket over itand khaki pants. He smiled down at Danny, "Hey Danny…it's been awhile."
"Who are you?"
The man laughed, "It's me…Tucker."
"T—Tuck? You…you aren't wearing glasses and…you're bald."
Tucker laughed, rubbing the shiny chrome that was his head, "Yeah well…people change."
Danny sat back down on the edge of the roof and the older Tucker joined him, "What's troubling you?"
"This whole…future thing. It's just hard to get my head around…that's all," Danny muttered.
"I understand…but you should really give it a chance. You and Sam make…will make a great couple…of course you're fourteen now right? I know it's weird to see all this…but hey, it could be worse…you could still have a future as an evil ghost trying to kill people."
"I guess you're right. It's just…a kid? Though I guess being fourteen I have no right to call her a kid at this point…God I'm so confused," Danny shouted to no one in particular.
"Try having twins."
"Wait…what?"
"Oh…I guess it was still a bit early to reveal that. Yeah, I married Valerie and we had twins…Carrie and Conner…they're about April's age…well…you're age I guess. Man you're right this is confusing," Tucker said with another laugh. "Look, don't worry about it; you're here to help yourself…future self. Then you can go back to your time and enjoy life knowing what a happy future it's going to be."
"What are you…some kind of Hallmark card writer?"
"Not that they make cards for people who've traveled to the future to save their future selves but I did have a job there during college."
"Maybe you should start writing them."
Tucker stood up, "Look…just…try not to think about it so much. Roll with the punches and all that. April's a good kid…you two will get along just fine. After all…she does take after her dad."
Danny stood up as well, "Tucker…that doesn't help."
"Oh…sorry…but just go talk to her okay…I think you running off probably freaked her out...or worried her to say the least."
The halfa sighed, "Yeah I guess you're right."
((April's Bedroom))
April delivered a swift kick to the punching bag that hung in her room. April's bedroom was different that most girl's bedrooms. Aside from the punching bag in one corner, there were posters of rock and punk bands all over her room. The walls were painted light purple with a blue border and her bedspread was black. The laptop in a far corner of the room was off and buried under piles of DVDs and comic books.
Sitting on her bed was her dear and close friend Carrie Foley. Carrie had her own laptop in her lap but wasn't paying attention to it; instead she was watching her friend beat the tar out of her punching bag. Carrie frowned; she knew April only did this when she was worried or upset. She was glad she had decided to come over after all. Her mother had called telling her April was back from her trip and Carrie had rushed over, Valerie might not let her fight ghost but she did keep her informed of April's doings.
"Calm down April…I'm sure you're dad didn't mean it."
April slammed a fist into the bag, "Don't you understand Carrie? He's not my dad yet. Call him Danny…then I don't feel as bad as I punch the crap out of this thing!"
Carrie sighed, "The point is…he's our age…think how weird this must be."
April, in mid strike, paused, "I know…it's just…it hurts you know."
"I'm sure it does…but he agreed to help, right…it's not like he's going to leave. Besides you're still here which means he hasn't decided to NOT marry your mom…later in his life."
April stared at her friend, "What are you talking about?"
"The whole time stream thing, if Danny were to change anything in his past…future…whatever…you might fade out of existence, disappearing completely because you would never be born."
April scratched her head, "Do what? You're saying I could…vanish?"
"Didn't you ever see Back to the Future?"
"Uhm…no…what's that?"
Carrie groaned, "I forgot you hate old movies…just…never mind."
There was a knock at the door and April went over to it, opening it up. In her doorway stood the young Danny Fenton, smiling happily at her, "What do you want," she asked.
"Can…can I come in," he asked. April stepped aside and Danny stepped into the room. It reminded him a lot of Sam's room, 'Well…I guess taste is inherited…well maybe I not…I don't think I dress like my father,' Danny thought as he looked around. He opened his mouth to say something when he noticed a skinny African-American girl sitting cross-legged on the bed with micro braids and wearing a yellow tee-shirt and jean over-alls. "Who's this?"
April glanced over at Carrie, "That's Carrie…don't worry…she's knows about us."
'Carrie,' Danny thought, 'Carrie…oh yeah Tucker said his daughter's name was Carrie.'
Carrie smiled at Danny and stood up, "Nice to meet you…past Danny."
"Nice to meet you."
Carrie looked him right in the eye and then whispered in his ear, "If you're expecting to get gambling tips from me you can forget it…I saw all three Back to the Future movies and I will not tamper with the time line."
"Uhm…what?"
April sighed and shoved Carrie out of the room, "Will you knock it off…give us a minute."
"Alright…just don't do anything I wouldn't do," Carrie said with a wink.
"Uhm…ewww," Danny and April both said. They glanced at each other and April slammed the door shut.
Carrie chuckled to herself, 'Neither of them can take a joke…jeeze."
((Vlad's Rocky Mountain Mansion))
Vlad Masters, halfa villain extraordinaire, had just lost his title. Here he was, tied down in his chair by a substance he couldn't phase through, in his own lab. True, he hadn't been to the Ghost zone in forever but that didn't stop him from experimenting with stuff. The man who had bested him, a man by the name of Dan Phantom, was rummaging through numerous drawers, "I still don't understand…you were a future Daniel…yet you're me as well…how is that possible?"
"All will be explained once I find those blasted gloves," Dan Phantom muttered tossing a fishing rod over his shoulder.
Vlad struggled against the bonds, "When I get out of here!"
Dan Phantom scoffed, "Please…I am ten times stronger than you. It is only by chance that Danny beat me last time. Ah…here we are," he exclaimed as he pulled out a pair of very evil looking gloves. They looked similar to the Fenton ghost gauntlets but with deadly sharp points at the fingertips.
"Put those back," Vlad shouted, "You…you're going to rip out my ghost aren't you."
Dan Phantom looked down at the gloves as he put them on, "No…not yours. These are one of the few inventions that can harm a ghost…or a halfa. No dear Vlad I don't plan on ripping your ghost out…but there is another halfa who could use a little less humanity," he muttered, wiggling the fingers and causing the light to flash off of the surface of the metal claws.
Vlad's eyes widened and Dan turned to him, "April and Danny are mine."
To be continued…
AN: So…what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Want to make fanart for it? Just kidding…sort of. I had fun writing this chapter. Nice little cliff hanger there if I do say so myself. I've been daydreaming a lot about this fic lately (mostly the major battle that will take place later) and even sketched some stuff…though when I'll get the time to scan those in I do not know. Maybe over Christmas…who knows? Anyways please review!