Chapter 35: Danny Phantom vs The Ghost
An armored criminal broke into a Wayne Enterprises R&D building. To be more exact, the criminal phased himself inside the building. Unbeknownst to the intruder, that action triggered a silent alarm. The security guards quickly reacted by donning their special goggles. They already had their wrist rays.
Upon hearing the guards approaching, the intruder turned himself invisible but it didn't help. "Freeze, ghost!" The guards' leader demanded.
Realizing that invisibility was useless in that case, the intruder quickly phased himself through the floor before the guards had a chance to shoot him. "Wayne, your guards might have stopped me but I'll be back." The intruder said to the building after leaving it.
The next day, in Amity Park, Danny was returning from a quick patrol. Upon entering home, he found his parents talking to Iron Man. "At which point of life did I stop being surprised at superheroes visiting me?" Danny asked.
"Nice to see you again, Danny Phantom." Iron Man said. "I was discussing with your parents about how their anti-ghost security stopped the corporate spy that broke into Wayne's Research and Development building."
"A job well done!" Jack proudly declared and then took a more serious expression. "Which reveals something new about the intruder."
"The intruder was identified as one of my enemies, the Ghost." Iron Man stated. "Actually, a human villain using a technological armor to emulate ghost powers. Until this incident, I didn't even suspect there was something really ghostly about him. After all, Invisigirl can turn herself invisible and Shadowcat can phase through solids and neither of them is called a ghost. However, your parents have just assured me that the Ghost does have some real ghostly power otherwise the defenses they installed for Wayne would've ignored him."
"The Guys in White!" Danny exclaimed.
"Do you mean those government agents sent to Amity Park to catch ghosts?" Iron Man asked. "What do they have to do with it?"
"At some point in the past, they captured a ghost named Skulker and studied his armor to copy ghost powers." Danny explained. "I've already seen them phasing through solids."
"I guess we should ask them some questions." Iron Man commented.
Meanwhile, at the Guys in White's headquarters, someone else was interrogating them. "Batman, I don't know how you broke into our headquarters but we don't have to answer your questions." Operative O said. "Leave before we arrest you."
"No." Batman simply responded.
"Look, we respect the Justice League but your organization has no authority over us." Operative K stated.
Another operative showed up. "Sirs, Tony Stark and Danny Phantom want to see you."
"No." Operatives O and K exclaimed. While the Justice League didn't have the required Government support, the Avengers, especially Tony Stark, had it.
As Danny and Tony entered the building, Tony was wearing his Iron Man armor minus his mask so people would be sure it was him. "Does anyone care to explain how one of my enemies has your ghostly technology?"
"Sir, do we have to say it in front of them?" Operative O asked while pointing at Danny and Batman.
"Yes." Tony Stark bluntly answered. "Now answer before I call Agent Alpha."
Meanwhile, inside Commissioner Gordon's office, he was discussing the purchase of anti-ghost weaponry. "Dad, you're not doing it just to spite Danny, are you?" Barbara accusingly asked her father.
"Princess, no matter how much I think you're better off without Danny Fenton in your life, the town's been considering it ever since the Gentleman Ghost and other villains abducted students who were visiting Gotham." Commissioner Gordon explained. "Some town councilpersons remained reluctant until Wayne became a ghost's victim. They've only authorized the purchase of one Fenton wrist ray and one Fenton Thermos but it's better than nothing."
"Wait a minute." Barbara asked. "Would the Fenton Thermos work on a person whose ghost powers come from an armor instead of them being half-ghosts like Danny?"
"No, but it pleases me to be ready when an actual ghost causes trouble." Commissioner Gordon explained.
That night, when the Ghost returned, he found a certain Dark Knight waiting for him. "You're too far away from New York or Amity Park, Zed." Batman said.
"Zed?" The Ghost asked in fake confusion.
"You know, the rogue Guy in White." Danny explained as he phased himself in.
"They told you about me?" The Ghost was genuinely shocked this time.
"Iron Man demanded them to tell." Batman said.
"Tell him I said hi." Zed the Ghost said as he phased himself away but Danny flew after him. "You won't escape, Zed."
Zed stopped in mid-air. "Well, it seems I'm about to do what my former partners were too incompetent to." He said and tried to shoot Danny but the ghost hero blocked it with a shield.
"Nice try, but you're not faring any better than they ever did." Danny taunted the villain. "You don't even sound like the villain who created monsters to fight the Power Rangers."
"I'm not that Zedd!" Zed shouted.
"So, are you that former gang leader turned cop from the Police Academy movies?" Danny asked.
"Ok, that's it." Enraged, Zed tried to punch Danny, which was exactly what the ghostly hero wanted. Since Zed had to stay solid for the attempt, Danny took the opportunity to kick his gut. While the villain recovered from the shock, Danny phased him out of his ghost suit.
Since the battle attracted the cops' attention, Danny decided to hand Zed over to them. "Is that the Ghost, Danny Phantom?" Detective Montoya asked.
"He's a rogue Guy in White and his name is Zed but yes, he is the Ghost but not without this armor, Detective Montoya." Danny explained.
"We'll need your official statement to confirm it, Phantom." Detective Montoya said.
"Yes, Ma'am." Danny replied.
After Danny gave official statements, he decided to visit Barbara since he was in her home town. "And Batman let you handle the Ghost on your own?" Barbara was surprised.
"It was your area of expertise." Batman replied as he revealed his presence to the two college students.
"How long were you in there?" Danny asked Batman, who refused to answer.
"You'll get used to it." Barbara commented, freaking Danny out even more.
"Iron Man has been fighting the Ghost before either of us bothered with him and you didn't let him join us." Danny commented.
"Tony Stark is one of my competitors." Batman said. "I cannot trust him not to be the one who hired Zed."
"You probably still suspect Tony Stark wants to clone Thor." Barbara accused the Dark Knight.
"He works with S.H.I.E.L.D., Barbara." Batman argued. "We never know what to expect from them."
"Honestly, I'd understand if he suspected Luthor." Barbara whispered to Batman.
The next day, Danny told his parents about it. "Anti-ghost technology being used for evil?" Jack asked with a frown. "The nerve of him."
"I hope the cops lock him away and throw away the key." Maddie added.
"Me too." Danny replied.
End chapter.
Author's note: The idea of Marvel's Ghost being a renegade Guy in White whose ghost armor was based on Skulker's armor from "Double Cross My Heart" was something I planned to do ever since I started working on After Dates fanfics. The name I chose for the character was based on the fact that the Men in Black are led by someone named Zed and one of their enemies is a former Man in Black named Alpha. Since a character named Alpha heads the Guys in White or at least outranks Operatives O and K, it'd make sense for a renegade member of their organization to be known as Zed.
Answer to Leonardo (Guest): O que eu adoraria ver num revival é como a Kim e o Ron passam pela faculdade. Obrigado por gostar das minhas referências.