Disclaimer: I don't own Spiderman or Danny Phantom Stan Lee and Butch Hartman own them, respectively.
((Room 102, Kaufman Hall))
Normally when one meets a stranger they cautiously ease into a relationship.One shouldstart with an exchange of names, discuss likes and dislikes, and THEN move into secrets.
However, for Danny and Peter, they had skipped straight to the 'Let's share our darkest secrets' part of a relationship…and they hadn't even known each other for a whole day. The two hadn't meant for it to happen…it just did. Of course, when your secret is being a superhero and the person you're hiding it from HAPPENS to be a super hero too…one can understand why it would be hard to keep it a secret for very long. Well, maybe Danny and Peter didn't see it that way:
'How could I have been so stupid? Good job Danny...you can't even hide your secret identity from a person you've known for less than twenty-four hours. You can keep it from your parents but the first stranger you see you pour your secret out too,' Danny mentallyscolded himself, head planted in his hands which were propped up by his knees. He was sitting on his bed in this position and not paying any attention to his roommate…who a) knew his secret and b) was Spiderman…although Danny was dwelling more on the first part of his problem than the latter.
Peter's thought pattern was pretty similar, 'Peter you are such an idiot. You've had a roommate before this and kept it a secret…how could you be so stupid as to let it slip about seeing the battle? Of course you didn't know HE was at the battle too. That's not the point…what if he tells someone…it was bad enough when Green Goblin knew…I don't even KNOW this guy!'
Peter was sitting on his own bed, legs crossed, and staring up at the ceiling. Both sighed simultaneously, "You just better not tell anyone else," they both said.
Danny looked up and Peter looked down, their eyes locking. "Why would I tell anyone you're secret identity? At least you're all human…I'm half ghost! My own parents would probably hunt me down!"
"Human? I shoot webs from my wrists…since when is that human?"
"Look I barely know you…for all I know you could be the one who sent the ghosts after me."
"Hey! I didn't even know ghosts existed before today and on that note how do I know you're a good ghost?"
"Uhm, hello I FOUGHT the other ghosts."
"SO DID I."
"Oh…good point."
The two were silent for a few minutes, then Peter sighed, "Look…let's just accept the fact that we're both 'good guys,' and move on to the more important questions."
"Which would be," Danny groaned.
"What are you?"
The half ghost sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his, "I'm a half-ghost. A couple of years ago when I was 14 my parents built a portal to ghost zone. It didn't work for them though and they just kind of gave up on it," he laughed. "Then my friends convinced me to go in and check it out for myself. Being the curious kid I was I decided to do it. I walked in and accidentally triggered the on switch because next thing I knew I was turning invisible and phasing through solid objects. Of course the weirdest part was having my hair turn white and my eyes glow green."
"THAT was the weirdest part?"
"Well it was the first thing I noticed! So what's your story?"
"Well unfortunately I don't have your experience with powers. My 'accident' happened only a few months ago. I was on a field trip with my classmates to see this exhibit on spiders. They had a few genetically altered ones and one of them got loose. Strangely enough the spider decided me, of all people, would make the best snack and took a bite outof me. I went home pretty woozy and the next day I woke up sticking to random things and shooting webbing at lunch trays. I even dodged this one guy's fist without even blinking."
"You got beat up too?"
"All the time," Peter muttered darkly.
"Man do I feel you…luckily for me I could escape my locker whenever Dash shoved me in."
"Yeah…lucky you."
"Hey! My powers aren't all fun and games! The majority of the town hates my guts because of a fiasco a few years back that got me labeled as Public Ghost Enemy Number One!"
"You think YOU have it bad…try being hated by the majority of the population of New York and then having to turn around and hand in pictures of yourself so you can get a pay check from someone who is spreading said bad publicity."
"Ouch."
"Yeah…ouch," Peter said sourly.
((Five Star Hotel, NYC, New York))
Harry sat at the bar of the hotel with a number of shot glasses around him. He had used his fake ID to obtain the alcohol and the sweet liquid running down his throat made him feel really good. He would be at home doing the same thing except Vlad Masters had called him to the hotel on "Urgent Business" So he was now at the bar waiting for the elder man to meet him, "He asked me to come here…so why the hell am I the one waiting," he muttered.
"Cheer up old chum. I promise you it will be worth your time," Vlad whispered in his ear.
Harry sat up straight and turned to the old man who was standing beside him. He was dressed in his usual business suit and had a silver laptop under his arm. "I have some footage that may interest you…you said you were looking for Spiderman, correct?"
Harry raised an eyebrow, "What do you have? SHOW ME!"
"Quite boy…do you want the whole bar to hear," Vlad asked. "Come, to a more private booth."
Vlad led Harry to a private booth in the back of the restaurant. When they were both seated Vlad opened his laptop and turned the screen so that Harry could see it. He then opened the video file and clicked so that it would play. Vlad had spent a great deal of time editing the footage together into a comprehensible movie, he had just finished it up while Harry had been getting himself drunk at the bar.
Once the video started Harry couldn't pull his eyes away. At first it hadn't interested him because he thought it was just some weird movie featuring a white hairedguy getting pulverized by a group of transparent figures. That is until Spiderman had swung in and rescued the white haired person. He clenched his fists as he saw Spiderman pretend to be a hero and fight off the beings. When the video clip finished Harry's eyes locked onto Vlad, "How did you get this? WHERE IS HE?"
Vlad shut the laptop, "What did I say about yelling boy? I'll tell you where he is…at a price of course."
Harry slumped in his seat, he knew there had to be a catch, he should never have mentioned Spiderman to this man. He thought of his father, what would he have done? Would he have given in? 'Of course if he was here you wouldn't be in this mess anyway,' a voice whispered in Harry's mind. Harry clenched his fist tighter and glared at the man, "What do you want? What do I have to give to have that bastard's head on a platter?"
The business man's smile sent shivers down Harry's spine, "I want you're company of course Harry. I want Master's Industries and OsCorp to merge. However, I will bargain with you Harry…since I know just how much your father's business means to you. I'll let you keep your shares of the company. All your employees can stay on…I just ask for a few things."
"And what would that be?"
"One. I want one of your top scientists to help me with a little side project and you can't ask any questions about it or any of my projects for that matter. Two. Some of Spiderman's DNA…his powers intrigue me and I want to know how they work. Three. A press release of our merger by next week. Four, and my last request, that my name comes first in the name of our merged companies."
"And what exactly is the name of our merged company," Harry managed to ask through gritted teeth.
"Master OsCorp, of course."
((Room 102, Kaufman Hall))
"This thing actually catches ghost," Peter asked, examining the Fenton Thermos.
"Everything my parent's make catches ghost…or destroys them. Well everything except the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick," Danny said. Peter raised an eyebrow and Danny laughed, "Trust me…you do NOT want to know."
"You trapped the ghosts we fought from earlier in here right?"
"Yes," Danny said. "Now I just need to figure out where to release them at…I mean usually I'd toss them back into the Fenton Ghost Portal…but that's all the way back in Amity Park…not exactly in easy flying distance."
"Didn't you think about that before you applied to college here?"
"To be honest I was hoping the ghosts would leave me the hell alone while I was away," Danny muttered.
"Obviously that didn't happen…but why would they come all this way just to attack you…I mean if the ghost portal is so far away and that's their only way out."
"I hadn't thought of that," Danny said. "Oh man."
Peter raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"It has to be Vlad. For some reason he sent them after me. They did say it was a graduation present."
"Vlad?" Peter asked. Danny opened his mouth to answer but a blue wisp floated out instead and Peter looked up at the ceiling as his spider sense went off.
"Trouble," they both said at the same time and at just that moment three familiar old vultures floated down from the ceiling.
The leader of the birds, wearing a fez, barely looked at the boys before turning to his comrades, "There it is fellas"
Danny stepped in front of Peter and transformed into his ghost form, "What do you three want? More importantly what does Vlad want?"
"What's that phrase you kids use? Oh yeah, none of your bee's wax," the lead vulture said and motioned with his beak to his two friends. The two other vultures dove at Danny and drove him out of the room, phasing through the window.
The lead vulture now turned to Peter who still held the thermos, "Now if you'll be a good human and hand over that thing I'll be on my way."
Peter looked down at the thermos then back at the bird, "First off, no I won't hand it over and second," Peter lifted his left hand and squeezed it, sending a string of web at the vulture, sealing his beak shut, "I'm not exactly your average human."
The vulture went transparent for a second and the web fell off. Peter's mouth dropped open, "Bad move kid," the vulture said. The vulture extended his claws and flew at Peter and going transparent, the two phased through the window just as Danny had a few seconds earlier.
Speaking of Danny, he was engaged in an arial battle with the two other vulture ghosts. They swooped at him with their talons but Danny dodged to the side and blasted back at them with his energy blasts. It clipped one's wings but the other screeched and managed to rake Danny's shoulder. Danny cried out in pain and blasted at the vulture again. The vulturecircled backand tore into Danny and the two went spiraling down to the earth.
Peter's vulture, as soon as they were outside, released him and clawed at the spider themed hero. Peter back flipped away from the claws and jumped up into a nearby tree. The bird flew up at the tree and Peter fell backwards, avoiding the bird, and stood upside down, his feet sticking to the branch (he was barefoot so it worked).
The lead vulture spun mid-air and flew at him again. Peter shot out a line of web and swung for the Kaufman dorm building. He landed on the wall and started to climb his way up. 'Luckily its kind of late and everyone's inside,' he thought as he flipped up to the top of the roof.
The vulture, wasting no more time, flew at Peter again, "Give me the thermos boy!"
Danny heard the screech and looked down, he had managed to pull out of the dive the vulture had caught him in, "UP HERE!"
Peter looked up to find Danny Phantom floating above him. Peter looked back to the vulture coming at him. Peter dove out of the way of the attacking bird. When he landed he hurled the device at Danny. The ghost boy reached for it but he had forgotten about the other vulture. The other vultures flew down and caught the thermos in his claws. "Ha ha!"
"Not so fast," Peter shouted, shooting a web line at the thermos. The bird squawked as Peter pulled him down but then the bird came to its senses and merely phased itself and the thermos from the web. Peter's web fell uselessly to the ground and the bird trio flew off. Danny landed on the roof and transformed back to his normal self, putting a hand to Peter's shoulder, "I blew it," Peter mumbled.
"They're ghosts…don't worry…I have plenty of thermoses. Besides…Skulker and the others usually escape again anyways…it's the vicious cycle that is my life," Danny said with fake cheer.
Peter sighed, "I guess. I'm just not much help with ghosts…it's like my powers have no effect on them."
Danny smirked, "Maybe I can help with that. I did manage to sneak some of my dad's better weapons here with me incase I did run across ghosts."
"How'd you manage that?"
"You don't know my dad," Danny said, rolling his eyes.
To Be Continued
AN: How about that? Danny and Peter make a great team, ne? I love all the reviews I'm getting for this and am glad so many people like it. Also, since this is the author's note, I thought I'd "note" that each chapter will have a one word 'S' title. For example the first chapter was aptly named "Start" while chapter two was "Setup" since it 'setup' the story and stuff. This was titles "Special" because Danny and Peter discuss their "Special" abilities. Thanks for tuning in and please leave a review for me!