Chapter 6: Phantom vs. Gentleman
"Craddock?" Batgirl asked in surprise.
"Do you know him?" Danny asked.
"Danny Phantom, this is James Craddock, the Gentleman Ghost." Barbara introduced the two ghosts to each other. "Craddock, this is Danny Phantom, the hero of Amity Park."
"You said it, Batgirl." Dash whispered and then directed his attention to Dale. "Do you think Phantom's got her phone number?"
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Phantom." Craddock politely replied. "You may call me Gentleman Jim."
"Nice to meet you too, Jim." Danny decided to play along somewhat with Craddock's politeness game.
"Gentleman Jim, if you please." Craddock corrected the halfa.
"Gentleman Jim. Now would you please stay out of the way while I rescue those people?" Danny asked, deciding he had nothing to lose.
"I am terribly sorry, Mr. Phantom, but I'm afraid I must refuse." Craddock replied while drawing a gun. "Now, if you'd be so kind to give up so I won't need to waste any bullets on you."
"Uh, you know I'm also a ghost, right?" Danny asked, amazed at the idea someone's trying to hurt him with bullets. 'Then again, Superman also has met his quota of bad guys who hoped to hurt him that way.'
"Phantom, I'm afraid those bullets are made of Nth metal." Batgirl commented.
"You're correct, milady." Craddock commented back.
"The what metal?" Danny asked in confusion even if the context should've made it clear even to clueless people.
"Nth metal is one of the few things known for being able to hurt ghosts." Batgirl warned Danny.
"That is correct." Craddock added. "So, are you willing to heed my warning, Mr. Phantom."
"Not a chance, Craddock." Danny replied, no longer wanting to be polite with the so-called Gentleman.
"Well, if you don't care about your own existence, I must remind you that Nth metal bullets work on the living as much as normal bullets do." Craddock reminded Danny and pointed his gun at the bus. Danny quickly blasted it out of his hand. "Nice shot, Mr. Phantom." Craddock genuinely said. "I didn't know you had that power."
Meanwhile, Black Manta and the Riddler tried to grab the fallen gun but Batgirl used a grappling hook to pull it away.
"Do you mean you don't?" Danny mockingly asked.
"That's correct, Mr. Phantom." Craddock confessed. "I only have… another gun!" He said and fired a shot at Danny, who blocked the bullet with a ghost shield but it somehow still hurt him. "Wow. That Nth metal thing hurts." Danny commented.
Meanwhile, Batgirl was trying to shoot Craddock but Black Manta and the Riddler kept trying to steal the gun from her.
"Are you ready to give up now, Mr. Phantom?" Craddock asked without losing the politeness he held as a reason to call himself a Gentleman.
"Never!" Danny shouted and shot a blast but Craddock dodged. Craddock tried to shoot Danny again but the halfa kept flying away. Danny's plan was to make Craddock run out of bullets, assuming the Gentleman Ghost didn't have the power to reload his gun but Batgirl managed take advantage of the fact Craddock was floating in one place to hit him with a bullet, which rendered his white outfit black and made him visible. Craddock quickly recovered but the shot gave Danny enough time to hit him with a blast. Danny then sucked Craddock into a Fenton Thermos.
"What runs fast and knows when to make an exit?" The Riddler asked. "We!" He and Black Manta then started to run. They opened the door that was closed so nobody but Kwan would escape and found several cops. "You're under arrest." Detective Bullock said.
"How did you know where to find us, Detective Bullock?" Danny asked.
"That kid you helped escape told us where… Hey! How do you know my name?"
"I told him." Batgirl quickly replied to cover up Danny's blunder.
"Whatever." Bullock dismissed the matter. "Are there any criminals other than those knocked down punks?"
"The Gentleman Ghost has been captured into Danny Phantom's thermos." Batgirl answered.
"I don't wanna know." Bullock said. "You both just leave before I regret letting you do so.
Danny then used his intangibility to fly away with Batgirl. "So, what'll you do with Craddock, Danny?" Batgirl asked.
"The same thing I do with every ghost captured into a Thermos, Batgirl." Danny answered. "Send him back to the Ghost Zone."
"Danny, I don't think he's been there before or that he can ever be." Batgirl hesitantly commented.
"Why not?" Danny asked in confusion.
"Craddock was a highwayman back in the 19th Century until a gunslinger known as Nighthawk killed him." Batgirl explained. "Because of that, his soul cannot leave the earthly plane until his killer's does."
"Highwayman? That explains his guns." Danny commented and then realized something. "Wait a minute. If he's from the 19th Century, shouldn't his killer be already…"
"Unfortunately, Nighthawk is the reincarnation of Egypt's Prince Khufu, who's bound to keep reincarnating and to never pass on due to his prolonged exposure to Nth metal." Batgirl explained. "I'm not sure how it'll affect the chances of having him sent to the Ghost Zone. Do you mind just keeping Craddock locked inside this Thermos until I consult Batman on this matter?"
"I wouldn't be able to send him to the Ghost Zone before returning to Amity Park anyway." Danny replied. After that conversation ended, Danny returned to the hotel and told his friends about his adventure with the Legion. Talking to Tucker was easy because they were sharing a room but Sam had to be included through the Fenton Phones. "So, you actually met Gentleman Jim?" Sam asked with more excitement than usual from her.
"You've heard of him?" Danny was surprised.
"I'm a goth." She explained. "Gentleman Jim is said to have gotten his first horse as a gift from the ghosts of highwaymen from the 17th Century." She said and then repeated what Batgirl explained about Craddock.
"Actually, the bit about ghosts from the 17th Century was the only thing Batgirl didn't tell me." Danny explained.
"Too trivial for the moment." Tucker commented. "There are more important things to discuss."
"True." Sam agreed. "Danny has yet to tell what became of Gentleman Jim and the other villains."
"No!" Tucker replied. "Danny, did you get Batgirl's phone number?"
"Tucker!" Sam shouted.
"What?" Tucker asked like he's not doing anything wrong. "Since Batman won't give us even his autograph, we need another DeeceeCom County hero's number for emergencies unless Danny's got Supergirl's and/or Starfire's numbers. Either way, it'd be a good fallback plan if things between Velma and me don't work. Of course, Danny gets first pick in case of also needing a fallback plan because he saw them first."
"No wonder only one girl wanted a second date with you." Danny replied and Sam agreed.
"Tucker, you shouldn't treat girls like leftover goods." Sam said. "Sexism aside, having one of those superheroines' numbers would be good." 'And they would be people I'd be comfortable losing Danny to even if I don't like Supergirl's color scheme and Starfire seems to be so sickly sweet.'
Wanting to dodge the subject, Danny mentioned Batgirl's warning. "So, are we meeting Batman again?" Tucker eagerly asked.
"Probably." Danny answered.
The conversation was interrupted by a bellhop telling Danny and Tucker they and the other students should go to the lobby to welcome the rescued ones.
"It was fantastic!" Dash exclaimed. "We got to see Danny Phantom and Batgirl in action! They fought so well together! I think they're a couple."
"Liar!" Paulina shrieked in protest. "Phantom is mine!"
"Really?" Barbara maliciously asked as she showed up. "What's like dating a ghost?"
"We never exactly had any dates but I know it's just a matter of time." Paulina proudly declared.
"Don't pay attention to her, Barbara!" Danny told his girlfriend with a hint of desperation. "She's just a crazy fangirl!"
"You're just jealous because Danny Phantom's got the heart of a hot cheerleader, Fenton." Dash commented. Dale and Kwan laughed at Dash's comment.
"In case you've forgotten, Dash, there was a cheerleader among the twenty-seven girls Danny could've chosen instead of Barbara?" Tucker maliciously asked.
"There must be something wrong with her if she wanted a second date with Fenton." Dale said. "She was probably possessed by the same ghost who possessed Paulina."
"What?" Barbara asked.
"Paulina was possessed by a ghost who wanted to use me to make her boyfriend jealous and used my secret to blackmail me into playing along." Danny whispered to Barbara. "That was before I entered the dating service."
"Okay, Danny." Barbara whispered back.
"Please, students." Mr. Lancer got their attention. "We have no time for this now. Please go to your rooms."
As the students obeyed him, Dash talked to his friends. "Guys, did you see how worried Fenton was when his girlfriend heard about Paulina and Phantom?" He asked them.
"Yeah." Kwan answered and both he and Dale nodded. "Odd, isn't it?"
"No, Kwan." Dash replied with a solemn expression. "Actually, things are starting to make sense."
Meanwhile, the captured villains were being interrogated. "For the last time, what did you want with those students?" Detective Bullock asked.
"I'm not telling until Batman tells me how he escaped my death trap!" The Riddler defiantly replied.
"I'll tell everything you want!" Black Manta desperately said. "Just keep him away from me!"
"Traitor!" The Riddler muttered.
"Alright, punk." Bullock said. "Start by telling what the Legion of Doom wanted with those students."
"With Danny Phantom befriending the Bat-family, the Legion decided it was time to have a ghost of our own." Black Manta explained. "The students were bait to lure Phantom and force him to fight Craddock."
"And hopefully to force Batman to tell me how he escaped." The Riddler added.
"I kept my part of the deal now keep yours!" Black Manta demanded. "I can't put up with his obsession!"
Bullock motioned to a pair of uniformed cops to take Riddler to a cell. "What about Daggett?"
"Who?" Black Manta asked in confusion.
"Roland Daggett, the guy said to have waged a big deal of money against the visiting team." Bullock stated. "Are you saying he had nothing to do with this mess?"
"Exactly, detective." Black Manta answered.
"Whatever." Bullock grumbled and then addressed other cops. "Take this trash to a cell away from the Riddler's."
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Team Phantom was resuming their conversation. "So, you're saying Batman will probably come." Tucker asked with a smile. "Would he be more willing to finally give me an autograph?"
"Tucker, how can you think of autographs when we have a ghost to deal with?" Sam asked with a scolding tone.
"Jim's already inside a Fenton Thermos." Tucker reassured his friends. "There's time to talk about autographs."
"Each moment Batman spends thinking about this is a time he could be working on another crime." Danny argued. "Don't you remember what Batgirl said about a drug ring? We don't know which crime Batman will NOT be investigating while he's helping us with it."
"Yeah but at least he should leave a contact number since you have worked with at least three superheroines." Tucker argued back. "I know Supergirl and Batgirl didn't meet you through he dating service but Starfire did. No offence to Barbara but, what does she have that Starfire doesn't? True, both girls are beautiful but Starfire is an alien Princess whose powers make her a match for Superman! Were you feeling insecure because of your lack of popularity as Danny Fenton?"
"I just happen to prefer Barbara, Tucker." Danny answered he agreed Tucker wasn't completely off-mark about how he felt regarding the idea of someone like him dating Starfire. "Good night."
"Good night, Danny." Both Tucker and Sam replied.
In the next morning, in Beverly Hills, three High School girls were minding their own businesses when a giant tube sucked them and they landed inside an office with another girl their age and an almost bald man.
End chapter.
Author's Note: At first, I thought about using the origin the Gentleman Ghost was given in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" without mentioning the time travel but then I decided to use the basic aspects of his comic book origin, which I only know from reading the Wikipedia file about Craddock.
Answer to Leonardo (guest): Estou grato pela ajuda mas não creio que a Sam suspeitaria uma coisa dessas da Batgirl. Talvez da Bárbara antes de saber que ela é a Batgirl. Quanto a como os estudantes e os professores vão saber que ela é a filha do Comissário, eu já tenho planos mas não darei spoiler.
Answer to Chester A Bum (guest): Lancer and Tetslaff suspect Barbara. I'm not saying anything about the other teachers. Yet. As for safety risk, the teams that visit Amity Park have to worry about ghost attacks so they're practically even. No cheeseheads. Just a fanfic author who doesn't know which state Gotham City is in. Or so a certain merc would say. Are there no interstate championships?