Another one for Phic Phight! This time, for datawyrms and things-i-cannot-do-in-amitypark on Tumblr!


"...curfew for eight p.m. on weekdays, and nine p.m. on the weekends," the public relations officer was saying on the screen. "And lastly, there will be ecto-scan checkpoints throughout the city where public officials will be scanning people, objects, and structures at random for ecto-contamination. Once again, these are temporary measures we must take to protect the safety of the citizens of Amity Park until we and the state of Illinois can contain this problem. Thank you."

The broadcast cut to the news anchor. "For those just tuning in, this press release was just issued by the federal government today regarding the escalating ghost problem in the city of Amity Park Illinois, and surrounding areas. The full list of towns affected by these new sanctions can be found on our website."

"Well, shit," Sam said. "I guess we can't bring our ecto-weapons to school anymore."

"We'll have to figure out a way to hide the thermos," Tucker said.

"That or we somehow get Danny's parents to figure out a way passed the scanners."

"Given that your parents would rather die than leave the house without their weapons, I'm sure they're already thinking of solutions to pass the scanners. And we all know how much your dad loves rambling on about ghost shit," Tucker said. "You know, I bet if we just mentioned the idea, he would do it no questions asked."

But Danny was hardly listening to his friends. Despite Sam and Tucker's seemingly nonchalant attitudes, Danny's stomach was rapidly plummeting to the floor as ice settled in his veins.

"I just don't understand how this is legal. They can't really force us to a curfew." Sam scoffed.

"Well, it is the federal government." Tucker's eyes trailed over to Danny. "Hey man, you okay?"

He stood, gripping his head in his hands, and paced the floor, muttering a chorus of, "oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck" as he walked.

"Danny?" Sam asked.

But he couldn't explain himself. He couldn't even begin to untangle the thoughts jumbled in his brain, all the what-if scenarios, and inevitable problems.

He turned back to the TV where a blonde field journalist was talking into her microphone, her back facing a line of picketers outside the Mayor's office armed with anti-ghost signs. "...this, after months of growing political unrest as the ghost situation has gotten worse for the city. And at the center of it all, one controversial teenage ghost, Danny Phantom."

The camera cut away to a close-up of a stout woman with curly red hair. "They're a danger to our children," she ranted. "I have two sons at home, and every day they go to school I'm always worried about getting that phone call that their classroom was attacked. It's relentless, and it's only going to get worse."

"And you believe Phantom is at the epicenter of this?" the journalist asked.

"Ever since the city started letting that ghost Phantom show up, this has been our life. They all need to go, him most of all."

"Danny, don't listen to that idiot," Sam said, scowling at the woman on the screen. "She has no idea what she's talking about."

Danny shook his head. Sam and Tucker didn't get it.

"We never used to have these problems back when I was a kid." An older man with a handlebar mustache glowered into the camera. In his hand he held a sign that read, Go Back To Your Grave. "It's only when Phantom showed up that all these ghosts started terrorizing the city."

"Danny…"

"No—" Danny's voice wavered. "They're right. It—it is my fault. I was the one who stabilized the portal."

"Don't be an idiot."

"But they're right. Listen to them."

"Didn't your parents move here because they had measured that Amity Park had the weakest connection between Earth and the Ghost Zone?" Tucker pointed out. "It seems like this was always kind of inevitable."

"I know, but—"

Sam stood abruptly and put her hand on Danny's shoulder. "It is not your fault that the connection between the realms stabilized. It was a freak accident and it could have happened to anyone. So stop blaming yourself. Besides, Tucker and I were there too. If anything, we're just as responsible as you."

"Exactly!"

Danny refused to look into their eyes, instead suddenly finding much interest in the purple and black decorations covering Sam's hangout room.

Off in the distance, he could hear the reporter carry on. "...others appearing in support of the elusive ghost."

"He protects us," a new voice said from the TV. "He's mostly here during ghost attacks, and otherwise he disappears or can be found hanging out in the air and doing his own thing. It makes me wonder if he was from Amity Park, and that's why he feels so drawn to protect our city."

Sam lead him back to the couch, and Danny collapsed into the plush cushions.

"We need to come up with a plan," Sam said. "A way for you to have a voice here as Phantom. You can't exactly schedule a press conference because legally, you're not even supposed to be here. And it looks like now, the government is really going to be upping their numbers around here. They'd never let anything so public slide."

"Not to mention, considering you can't go out in public in human form till we know how strong the sensors are, you'll have plenty of time to be Phantom," Tucker said.

At that, another wave of dread crashed through Danny, and he buried his face in his hands. "This is so messed up. What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't be in public as Phantom or I'll get arrested and handed off to the government to do god knows what, and I can't go in public as Fenton or else I'll get outed immediately."

"At least it's summer! That gives us plenty of time to figure out a way to get around the sensor problem till September." Tucker said.

"Still messed up."

"You can still go out as Phantom," Tucker said. "You just can't get caught. 'Cause, you know, the no legal rights to exist thing."

Danny leaned back against the couch and rolled his eyes up so far that his head craned up to stare at the ceiling. "Oh yeah, no big deal!" The sarcasm was dripping in his tone. "I'll just keep doing my thing, constantly surrounded by federal agents who have every legal right to kidnap and torture me! No big deal at all."

Sam tapped his shoulder, and Danny looked over to see Sam's phone being shoved in his face.

"Hey, Danny," Sam said, pointing to the screen. "I have kind of a weird idea."

Danny took the phone, and to his confusion, a popular comedic podcast duo was splayed on his screen.

Tucker peered over his shoulder. "Hey, isn't that those guys who tweeted at you recently to come on their show?"

"Yeah, and we ignored them because Phantom isn't a media monkey," Danny said, pointedly handing the phone back to Sam.

"Well, that was sort of before this whole mess started," Sam said.

Realization hit Danny at once, and his mouth dropped in disbelief. "You of all people, Sam? I thought you hated PR stunts!"

"This is different!"

"How is this different?"

Tucker cackled. "See? I told you both that this was a good idea. But no, you didn't listen to me before! Now look who was right!"

"Tucker, we didn't listen to you before because it's a bad idea," Danny enunciated.

"It's not, dude! Think about it!"

Danny shook his head. "I'm not some…some circus act!"

"Then don't be one," Sam countered. "You don't have to do anything showy or put on a character. Just be yourself. I think that's what they want, anyway. Phantom has never done a real sit-down interview before. This could be a good thing. And like you saw on TV, people don't really get what's going on, and they're blaming you because they're scared and looking for someone to blame. You make it too easy."

"And no pressure, dude," Tucker said, leaning in. "But 'surprise podcast guest' is going to be the only way you'll be able to get any good PR till the feds give up."

Danny sat there for a few moments of contemplative silence. On one hand, Sam was right. Danny had never done an interview before, and most videos of Phantom showed him in a more goofy manner. The public didn't know how seriously Danny was taking this ghost problem because he had never talked about it. Not to mention, hardly enough people outside of the ectoscience community read enough papers to understand the science behind why Amity Park specifically was a hotbed for ghost attacks.

But on the other hand…well, interviews were terrifying. What if he messed up? What if he accidentally said something he shouldn't have? What if people were able to make the connection between Fenton and Phantom?

He looked back at the TV, where the news was showing various images of the picket mobs stationed around not just Amity Park, but other cities in the US too. All holding anti-ghost signs, all fueled with hatred and misinformation.

"If we do this, I'm not going in blind," Danny said. "I wanna practice beforehand."

"Sure, that was a given," Tucker said.

"And I get to pull out at any time."

"Of course."

"And I won't be showing off my powers or doing any tricks for them."

"We'll be sure to let them know."

"Okay." Danny breathed out, running his hand through his hair. "Okay, I'll do it."


datawyrms prompt: Ghosts having no legal rights is A Problem.

things-i-cannot-do-in-amitypark prompt: The federal government has had enough of Amity Park. Placing rules and sanctions on the city, they demand that the 'ghost problem' is taken care of– or else. Tensions are high, the politics are worse, and the hero of Amity Park, a ghost, finds himself caught in the middle of it.

Thanks for reading!