It's been six months since Jazz and Danny watched the conference. And the headaches with those weird images have been getting more frequent, and slightly more painful, as time went on.
It actually almost got him killed on more than one occasion with his enemies. And without his usual backup, it was getting harder to recover and win his fights each time.
By this point, Danny has started to avoid his friends. They've giving him cryptic hints and weird lectures that had something to do with his hero work, both against the criminals and the ghost, although the latter has become less of a problem thanks to his parents and the GIW taking them for experiments, as well as Danny's victory over Pariah Dark.
Despite the fact he refuses to rule, the other ghosts have started to look up to him as their leader, much to the Observer's chagrin. Danny wouldn't be surprise if they managed to convince him to officially become their ruler in the future when he becomes an adult.
(Danny never fully knew/understood the influence he had in the Ghost Zone. He still doesn't realize the amount of influence he held.)
But that didn't stop him from checking up on the parallel dimension to make sure everyone was okay, and even to hang out with his friends and some of his once enemies, now turned friend, such as Ember, Youngblood, Skulker, although he does sometimes chase Danny for the fun of it, and Technus.
It was actually nice how much Danny has become a part of the ghost community these days. Especially with how separated he felt with the people in his own community.
He's starting to agree with Jazz now that he thinks about. Danny needs new friends. Valerie as Red Huntress doesn't, pun unintended, hunt him down anymore or proclaim him to be an evil villain. They actually work together as allies, partners even.
So much so that, with decrease of ghosts coming from the ghost zone, mostly ectopuses or Box ghost, the Lunch Lady, and Johnny 13 make there appearances here and there too.
Danny would deal with the humans, alerting Red Huntress whenever his Ghost Sense would go off, and she would deal with the ghosts, letting Danny know whenever her police scanner picked up on anything for him.
Red Huntress is more than ready to face any of the current ghost opponents on her own. But if she is ever feeling down the weather or needed help, she had her own ghost phone to contact him, and vice versa with Danny, albeit less often though.
Both rarely happen, but it helps to be prepared
With how things were going, Danny took away Sam and Tucker's ghost equipment. This definitely made things worse between the trio, which Danny honestly expected, but it had to be done.
On the bright side, he gave some of the equipment to Red Huntress, allowing it to be easier to contact one another and leveling her up in the battlefield against ghosts.
Danny cannot tell you how relieved he is to have her on his side.
But he can tell you that she was starting to get worried about him. Because of these headaches, more than once, he had to call her up for help more, over the last month or so, than he would have liked.
It wasn't until recently, when meteorite passed over Amity Park and crashed over into the next town over that Danny somehow finally made sense over what was going on with his head.
He activated his ghost phone, opening up communications between him and Valerie.
"Phantom, you saw that meteorite too, right?", Red Huntress picked up immediately.
"Yeah, listen, I think I have a lead to what's going on, especially with my head recently. I'm going to be out of town for a, hopefully, short while, okay?"
"Right, don't worry, you can count on me. I'll do everything I can to keep this town safe. Ghost or no ghost.", Red assured him.
"Great, thanks Red."
"What are partners for?"
Has Danny mentioned how much he loves fighting with Red? He loves fighting with Red, he's never really thought that much into it before, but he and Red Huntress work well together as a team. Maybe even better than with Sam and Tucker.
(He held his breath, he could hear the blood pounding in his ears, but it didn't hinder his hearing over their next words.)
With that said, Danny sent a quick message to Jazz stating that a Code Green was happening. Therefore, preparing her to tell their cover story if their parents were to call.
Like Danny, Jazz was never a really good liar, but as they both got deeper into the world of Ghosts, no, the world of heroes, the two quickly adapted.
He had everything set and ready for his absence, now it's time to finish the last step, leaving.
Danny let the familiar cold feeling run through him as a ring of light appeared at his waist, separated into two and he transformed into Phantom as the rings passed over his body. After his transformation, Danny flew off, going through his bedroom window.
He had no idea where he was going, yet he knew how to get to his unknown destination. Following the feeling to where he was needed. Because he may not know what was happening to him, the world, and with these alien monsters, but he knew where he was needed. It may sound weird, but he follows his Ghost sense all the time, this is not so different.
So, the halfa flew onward, ready to fight once he reached his location, because something told him that whatever is going on, is a big part to the attack on Earth at that exact moment.
…...
Danny was flying high overhead in a seemingly abandoned desert.
"Okay, mysterious feeling, why the heck am I flying in the middle of the tundra in the middle of nowhere?", Danny asks rhetorically out loud to himself.
As if in answer, his head was filled with quick bright flashing images, much clearer, and no longer painful as in the past. He could hear a clear call for help, surging him forward.
It wasn't long when he saw bright flashes of light and explosions up ahead.
"Oh, that's why.", Danny replies, speeding up, his legs turning into the wispy tail for speed, in order to get to whoever was in need of help.
He entered the scene of battle just as a black man wearing a black and green suit with a green lantern like symbol on his chest caught the Bat plane, that was shot down by alien aircraft, using some sort of green energy that came from his ring.
A Green Lantern. Clockwork told him about the organization. Danny couldn't help but admire how these powerful rings are able to bring different type of species from across the universe together.
The alien ships started firing at the Green Lantern, but Danny flew through him, throwing up a ghost shield with one hand, protecting the two, while firing multiple ectoblasts with the other, bringing a ship down and crashing into a second.
From above him, Hawkgirl flew past and smashed her glowing mace on top of one ship, then smashed it against another.
Bringing down two more ships.
A green man, that looked almost like a ghost, hey his skin is green, but he wasn't glowing nor was Danny's Ghost Sense acting up around him, the Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Superman converged and flew together in a group, Phantom joined them as well, flying next to the green man.
"Sorry I'm late, there was an uprising in Rigal Nine.", Green Lantern apologized.
Danny wanted to say something, anything really, but flying and fighting with a group of heroes that have been fighting longer than him, surely, is rather intimidating and awe inspiring.
He is fighting with Superman, Hawkgirl, and a Green Lantern, how cool is that!?
Danny surged forward with the group, hand and eyes glowing a bright green as he shot several alien ships down while simultaneously going in and out of intangibility to help dodge lasers and ships.
At one point, Danny flew up towards the belly of a ship, going through it, and then, with a burst of speed, he shot straight down, holding his fists together high up his head and clobbered the top of the ship, sending it spiraling out of control towards the snowy ground, and explosion indicated its successful destruction.
Danny paused fighting, going intangible so as to not worrying about getting hit, as he heard a scream from Hawkgirl. He whirled to see her laying against a lone cliff, an alien ship circling around for the kill, but before Danny could do anything, a woman flew down in front of Hawkgirl, wearing a red and blue one piece with gold accents, red and white boots, silver bracelets, and a golden headpiece. Her long raven hair was flying wildly from the wind.
"Allow me.", she said.
The alien ship shot many rapid shots at the two women, but the newcomer used her silver bracelets to block/redirect all of them. She even redirected several blasts back at the ship, shooting it down with its own shots.
The alien ship was heading their way, but Danny was already there, he grabbed both women by the shoulder, turning all three of them intangible. Allowing the ship, followed by its explosion, to pass harmlessly through the trio.
"That felt...", Hawkgirl trailed off.
"Tingley?", Danny finished for her.
Hawkgirl tilted her head at the echo in his voice before answering.
"Exactly."
"Who're the two rookies?", Danny heard the Green Lantern ask.
"Don't know.", replied Superman, who threw an alien ship at a cliffside, creating, yet another, explosion.
"Thanks.", Hawkgirl then said to the two, as the woman bent down to help her up.
The woman smiled.
"No problem.", Danny replied, before shooting up and towards the Bat plane.
Followed closely behind by the women, and they were all later joined by Green Lantern, the unknown green guy, and Superman. As well as a blur followed them from down below.
The group landed, except for Danny, who remained afloat, tail still present, just in case. But he couldn't help but gape at the superhero Flash who held the missing wing from the Bat plane.
What kind of a day is this turning out to be for him? So many things that he thought would never happen to him, are happening all at once today!
"Woah, where have you been all my life.", Flash said, handing over the Bat plane's wing to Superman.
"Themyscria.", she answered.
"Huh?"
"The home of the Amazons.", Hawkgirl replied, "I thought it was merely a legend."
"Really? That's so cool.", Danny asks excitedly leaning forward, but keeping plenty of space between the two, "Pandora told me a lot about the Amazons and their home. What's it like there? How do you repopulate?"
"I assure you, it is as real as the ground we stand on. I am Diana, Princess of the Amazons.", she explained.
"Pinch me I must be dreaming.", Flash says, but yelped as Superman harshly elbowed him.
"Themyscria is protected by the Gods, I could not stand idly by while the rest of the world is in danger.", Diana told them.
Diana than frowned in confusion and turned to Danny, giving him a scrutinizing look.
"What do you mean you have spoken with Pandora? She's been dead for millennia.", Diana asked curiously, if not warily.
"Oh yeah.", Danny says, remembering who he was talking to, "She is dead, but she's a ghost that lives in the Ghost Zone."
"The what?", Batman raised a brow.
"The Ghost Zone, a parrel dimension permanently connected to Earth and vice versa. A place where ghosts live.", Danny answered.
"And who are you?", Green Lantern says skeptically, "Or what, is a better question?"
"I'm Phantom, protector of a small town in Illinois called Amity Park.", Danny answered with a bright smile.
"But what are you?", Green Lantern pushed.
"Isn't it obvious?", Danny flew around in a quick circle, much like a dog chasing its tail, to showcase his wispy tail, before it separated into legs and he sat cross-legged in mid-air, "I'm a ghost."
"You're a Ghost?", Flash asks, "Like Casper, ghost? Beings made of ectoplasm ghost?"
"Yep!", Danny nodded with an unbothered smile.
"But then you would have to be dead.", Superman states, eyes wide, "Now than I'm listening for it, I can't hear your heartbeat."
The adults fell into a short silence. They all understood the world to be cruel. But it's harder to see, such as the evidence floating right in front of them, of that a child has died young.
"I'm a ghost, what'd you expect, can't be one unless you're at least a little dead.", Danny replies with a shrug, "Besides I've been protecting Amity for little less than two years against chaotic ghosts, destructive ghosts, trouble making ghosts, and even sadistic tyrant fruit loop ghosts. You would find hunting and fighting ghosts is a lot easier when your one yourself."
Superman steps closer towards the two, "Either way, it was lucky when you two showed up when you did."
"No, not luck.", the green guy stepped forward, "I telepathically summoned them."
"Look, I'm usually pretty quick on the uptake, but would someone please tell me what the heck is going on here?", Flash asks.
Everyone turns to the green man expectantly.
…...
J'onn, as he introduced himself explained the situation to the group while Superman fixed the Bat plane. It wasn't long before he rejoined him once J'onn finished explaining.
"So J'onn, you came to warn us?", Diana reiterated.
"This too weird.", muttered Flash.
"I've seen stranger things.", Green Lantern retorted.
"As strange as ghosts?", Danny asks curiously with a tilt of his head.
"Depends.", Green Lantern replied with a shrug, "Maybe even stranger."
Danny nodded as if something was confirmed, "Sounds about right."
"We first encountered them a thousand of your Earth years ago.", J'onn dove into his story, his people's history, "It was a golden age, our Martian civilization was at the height of its peace and prosperity. And then, they arrived."
J'onn spite the word 'they' as if it disgusted him. Danny wouldn't be surprised, he can kinda guess where this is going based on experience and the fact Mars was discovered as a wasteland.
"Where they came from, no one knew, but they were determined to make our planet their own.", J'onn continued the story, pulling Danny out of his thoughts, "We Martians were a peaceful people, the taking of any life was abhorrent to us. But we quickly learned the ways of war.
For centuries the battles raged on, every trace of our once great civilization was obliterated. We fought valiantly, but the invaders were parasites who fed on our psychic energies. As we grew weaker, they grew stronger. They even absorbed our shape changing abilities.
Finally, a small group of Martians that survived the planet for one final desperate attack.
Inside their underground stronghold, they unleashed a powerful nerve gas that paralyzed them. The attack was successful, but the cost was dear. I was the only survivor. The last of my kind.
I sealed up their citadel to keep them in a constant state of suspended animation. For over five hundred years I stood guard over them, but then, while I was in the hibernation cycle, astronauts unsealed the stronghold and accidentally released the Invaders.", J'onn finished his story.
"Wait.", Flash cut in, "Those astronauts never said anything about finding anything on Mars."
Green Lantern scoffed, "Some pencil pusher in Washington could've decided it was classified information."
Sounded like the government. Man, Danny is starting to grow a mild distaste for the government. Anti-Ecto Acts and the GIW aren't helping their case either.
"With all the Martians gone, the Invaders have nothing left to feed upon.", J'onn explains, "So they've turned their sights to Earth. I narrowly escaped, and came here to warn of the upcoming danger. While I was held against my will, the Invaders sent their advanced agents to disable Earth's defenses."
"That's why they sabotaged the deep space monitoring network.", Batman said in realization, "So that we couldn't detect their activities."
"They may also have had a hand in disarming all of Earth's Nuclear Weapons.", Danny said with a hand to his chin, "It make us defenseless against their attacks."
Batman nodded in agreement.
"We've got to stop them.", Green Lantern declared, his eyes glowing a bright green.
A green light compared to Danny's toxic glow of his eyes and powers when in use.
"It may already be too late.", J'onn said somberly, turning away from the rest of the group.
Suddenly lightning crackled in the distance, Danny whirled around to see unnatural smoke with lightning inside of it. Definitely made by the Invaders.
"What are they doing?", questions Hawkgirl.
The Invaders are nocturnal.", J'onn answered, "They want to block out the sun so they can live in perpetual darkness."
"Friends of yours?", Flash asks pointedly to Batman.
Danny hit him lightly, for his ghost strength that is, at the back of the head.
"Ow!", Flash shouted irritably, rubbing the back of his head as he glared at Phantom who rose a challenging brow in return.
Cheeky kid.
"It's no joke.", Batman scolded.
Flash pushed himself to the front so he was standing at J'onn's side.
"What's the big problem?", Flash asked, "Can't you whip up some more of that nerve gas?"
"Unfortunately, no.", J'onn denied.
"Why?", Danny asks lightly.
"The gas can only be made by a rare Martian plant.", J'onn answered despondently, "I brought a sample with me but it was destroyed when I was captured."
Danny groaned in frustration, "No one can convince me otherwise, the government sucks!"
"Uh... what's plan B?", Flash asked.
"We'll have to take out those factories.", Diana replied.
"Lady, this is no job for amateurs and kids.", Green Lantern said sternly while pointedly glancing at Danny as well.
"We Amazons are warriors born.", Diana retorted vehemently, "You want to test me?"
"Might I remind you the fact that I have been fighting ghosts with no help from other heroes for two years?", Danny cut in irritably, "I know how to be a hero and the responsibilities that come with it."
Diana and Danny glared down the Green Lantern, who returned them with one of his own.
"Let's not fight among ourselves.", Superman cuts in, "John, we need all the help we can get."
"Fine. Sorry your highness, kid.", Green Lantern apologized bitterly.
Was it just Danny, or did he sound like he wasn't really sorry?
"Okay, we have multiple objectives, so we need to split into teams.", Green Lantern ordered.
"Dibs on the Amazon.", Flash called, zipping to Diana's side with an arm around her shoulders.
…...
Danny hid invisibly behind Batman and Diana as one of the giant Invaders from the asteroids passed them by, remaining oblivious to their presence.
Batman peaked out first to check if the coast was clear, falling back in order to let the giant crawler pass them by, what Danny has started to call the giant things, leaving them undetected.
"Hiding like cowards is not the Amazon way.", Diana protested angrily.
"Don't think of it as hiding, think of it as recon, or scouting.", Danny said brightly, remaining invisible.
"Phantom?", Diana looked for him, but there was no sign of their younger teammate, "How long have you been by us?"
"The entire time.", Danny answered nonchalantly with a shrug, despite Diana being unable to see the action.
Realizing this, he turned visible, floating right next to Diana behind Batman.
"I'm a ghost, I can turn invisible, really helps with quick getaways and sneak attacks when I need an edge.", Danny says with a small smile and another shrug.
"They must have a weakness.", Batman says quietly to the two, making no indication he was listening to them, "Once we find it, we'll strike."
That's when J'onn joined the trio, being intangible, or density shifting as he called it, and came through the ground to rejoin them while remaining undetected.
"I have scouted the outer walls.", J'onn reported to the trio, but mostly Batman of course, "There are no openings."
"Then we'll make our own.", Diana declared.
"Or we could-."
She flew off before Danny could finish his counter plan.
"Wait!", Batman raised a hand in front of J'onn, eyes pinned on Diana curiously, "Let's see what she can do."
Diana flew straight towards one of the crawlers, lasso in hand. The crawler immediately noticed her and shot at her with its eye, she dove down, dodging the blast, and flew low by its knees. Diana spun the lasso above her head and threw the end, hooking it on one of its legs. She speedily flew around its legs, like what the Snow speeders did to the AT-ATs in 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'. She came to a stop, placing her feet on top of one of the legs, griping her end of the golden lasso tightly.
"Hera, give me strength.", Diana called out before pulling with a grunt.
The crawler's legs converged together, causing the thing to lose its balance and crashed on top of the wall, effectively destroying it.
She stood, heroically, on top of the downed thing before pointing inside the hole she made.
"There's your opening.", she said and flew deeper inside.
The other three stood there for a moment, comprehending what she did.
"Not bad.", Batman stated.
J'onn and Danny flew forward with Batman grappling right behind them. Each landing right beside Diana who was currently using her bracelets to block the shots fired by the retreating Invaders. Stumbling in order to avoid the sunlight.
"They run like cowards!", Diana shouts turning to the three men, or boy in Danny's case, behind her, "What are you waiting for?"
She ran forward, J'onn flew after her, after a moment of hesitation, this felt a little too easy, Danny bit his lip and flew after them. Not noticing Batman's calculating gaze at the sun before running behind the halfa.
But each time they tried to delve further into the factory a squadron of Invaders would block their path and they would have to retreat and try a different route, only for the same thing to happen again.
It wasn't long before they ran into another squadron of Invaders blocking their path.
Diana covered their backs with her bracelets as they retreated several steps back for cover while Danny kept shoot ectoblasts at the Invaders in order to keep them back. Refusing to let them get close.
"They blocked us off again.", Diana said in frustration.
"It's almost like they knew what we are thinking.", Batman replies as he threw a batarang with a blinking red light on it.
It exploded on one of the columns, causing the Invaders to scatter.
"Any ideas J'onn?", Batman calls back to the Martian.
J'onn just looked like he was staring off into space.
"J'onn!", Batman shouted.
"Superman and Hawkgirl are down.", J'onn answered calmly, "They have failed."
"What?", Diana said in surprise and disbelief, "Are you sure?"
He nodded, "I can sense it."
Danny ducked, avoiding a stray laser that almost hit him.
"Where to now?", he asks, not even daring to look back.
J'onn then pointed to a new route, "This way, hurry!"
The three ran with Danny flying behind them, regularly looking out of the corner of his eye to check if they were being followed or chased by the Invaders.
It wasn't long before one of the walls opened, creating a new hallway, where three Invaders stood shooting at the groups back. Danny made a ghost shield behind them in order to create a short reprieve before they turned a corner for adequate cover.
J'onn and Diana flew up to a tunnel that was placed several feet above the ground.
Danny paused to wait for Batman, but he silently gestures for Danny to go ahead, shooting a grapple behind the halfa just as he flew inside the tunnel, where Diana waited for the two.
Danny flew forward, Batman behind him, and Diana flying behind Batman. After several seconds of flying, or running in Batman's case, the group paused, Diana checking their backs for any pursuers.
"We lost them.", she announced.
"For the moment.", Batman states, taking out a new device from his utility belt.
Electric knuckles, he placed it over his knuckles and it sparked bright blue electricity dangerously.
"That's so cool.", Danny breathed, staring at the device in awe.
"Look.", J'onn called out, catching his teammates attention.
Diana and Batman stood by J'onn while Danny floated behind the three.
"It's the center core.", J'onn informed the three.
Danny's eyes studied the entire room, grimacing as he noticed the place was crawling with Invaders, literally for a quite a few of them.
"This may be a little harder than we initially thought.", Danny states, doing his best to hide the nerves, but Batman noticed.
"I thought you could handle yourself?", Batman asked questionably with a raised brow.
"I can.", Danny replied, albeit weakly, "But I'm more used to ghosts, even powerful ones, the most I've fought the living is the low time criminals over the past few months."
Before Batman could replied, Danny pushed forward, both unsure if he was trying to convince Batman or himself, maybe a little bit of both.
"But I'll be fine, I can adapt.", Danny states, sounding a little more confident in himself, "I've had to plenty of experience in the past where I had to protect my city from ghost's while simultaneously avoiding capture so I wouldn't become a lab rat."
Diana and J'onn shared a worried look, one that Danny didn't notice.
Batman, on the other hand, studied the halfa for a second. He could tell that Phantom was unsure in his abilities, but Batman knew from what he has seen that the kid, despite being a dead one, is strong. He'll step up when the time counts, that Batman is sure of. Satisfied with what he saw in the young hero, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
"How could we shut it down?", Batman asked J'onn.
J'onn pointed high to a stone suspended in a red energy shield above everyone else.
"The Ion Matrix Crystal.", the Martian explained, "If we could move that, we'll shut down the whole Plant. I'll need a diversion."
"You got it."
"It's my time to shine.", Danny states with a grin before sinking down in the ground and appearing in the middle of the Invaders.
None noticing his appearance, well, none until he placed his fingers in his lips and gave a loud shrill whistle, successfully gaining all of the Invader's attention.
"Man, what a dump, you guys actually like it here?", Danny asks loudly.
The Invaders immediately grabbed their blasters, going to shoot at Danny, but Batman threw a batarang before any of them could take the shot. It exploded on a pipe that dumped weird dark red sludge. Diana pulled a tendril/column thing, ripping it from its place high above her, causing white sparks to flash and a nasty smog to be released from it.
Meanwhile, Danny was keeping all eyes on him as he shot stray ectoblasts at the Invaders, but mostly flew above them, his legs merged into his wispy ghost tail for better maneuverability in the air.
"Man, you guys' suck!", Danny called out to the Invaders below, enjoying himself immensely, it almost felt like how when he first started out fighting ghosts before Sam and Tucker found ways to help him, "No wonder you guys have to steal other people's planets, you probably couldn't even take care of your own if you're this bad at taking care of your ship."
He ripped some more cables, causing them to spark and some small explosions scattered across the room.
"Like that!", Danny shouts as some invaders scattered from his chaos, "Whoopsie!"
Danny dove done as a barrage of red lasers were shot at where he was just floating seconds earlier. He dodged several more blasts, because of the smoke, he was unable to keep an eye on Diana, Batman, and J'onn. So he tried to keep as much attention on him as possible in order to keep as many Invaders away from them as he could.
"Miss me, miss me, now you gotta kiss me~!", he sang as he did looptey-loops in the air, amused with how easy it was to mess with the Invaders.
All in all, Danny acted like exactly what he was, an annoying teenager. Perfect for distractions.
Suddenly, the entire factory violently shooked.
Danny turned to see J'onn holding the Crystal out of its energy field. He also noticed the Invader sneaking up on him with its blaster.
He wasn't fast enough to stop the blast, but he was fast enough to catch J'onn, landing firmly on his own two feet, tail gone when Danny dove for the Martian, supporting all of J'onn's weight on top of him.
"J'onn!", Diana called out worriedly, beating back three Invaders as she quickly flew to their side.
She took J'onn off of Danny, supporting his weight instead while, Danny guarded the two, using his ectoblasts to keep the Invaders away from them.
"Get him out!", ordered Batman, "Now!"
Diana carried J'onn flying him out, with Danny close behind, watching their back, still shooting several ectoblasts in order to keep Diana's path clear and as safe as possible.
The wall began to slowly close in front of them, Diana got through, Danny barely made it, but Batman was two slow to follow.
"No!", shouts Danny, halting in flight at the sight of the closed doors, but no Batman.
Danny flew forward, going intangible, only to receive a harsh shock to his body. Danny screamed as he flew back, limbs twitching.
He groaned, trying to get up, he had to help Batman, but he was too tired and in pain, the electricity was almost as bad as when he was first turned into Danny Phantom, the portal was still way worse 100%, but this was too much for Danny, especially since he was tired from using his powers all day.
All he could think of as he fell back down, slowly falling unconscious, faintly hearing the sounds of the Invaders blasters, that he was glad he managed to learn to stay in ghost form when falling unconscious. From or after battle.
The last thing he saw was two figures, one being mostly green, standing in front of his blurry vision. Then darkness.