Amity Park's Hero
Kendra leaned against the window of the SUV, watching the land glide past. The air conditioning was cranked full blast since the beginning of the hour-long drive. Vanessa sat comfortably behind the wheel. Warren had claimed the front passenger seat, jokingly pointing out their surroundings. Bracken and Tanu were seated in the middle row, the former chatting with the knights in front while the latter was busy writing in a worn, spiral notebook.
Seth and Kendra took up the ends of the backseats. Seth was fiddling with his handheld game while contributing to the conversation. Kendra contented herself with just listening, mulling over the information of the mission and the conversation from a week ago.
During the battle at Shoreless Isle, not all of the demons had gone into the new prison. One had manage to slip away. According to Grandpa Sorenson, the demon's name is Terminas. Not much was known about her. What was known was that she was the sister of Kurisock. If the she-demon was anything like her brother… The Knights of the Dawn had tracked her general location to be around the Great Lakes, where she has been causing mischief a bit over a month ago. This matched up to two other important pieces of information.
Two weeks prior, Agad verified that a long-lost relic resurfaced; one that had just as much, if not more, potency than the keys to Zzyzx. The Reality Gauntlet: an item which cam grant the user the power to manipulate the fabric of reality itself. The gauntlet had been absent for over a millennia. Not much is known about the history or other details, just that there are the three gems (the different aspects of reality) and the power source gemstone. The last, and most recent, use of the gauntlet was in the same area as Terminas was tracked down. While neither provided exact locations, the third point of interest gave the Knights of the Dawn an idea on where to start searching.
About a year ago, a small city began to have strange occurrences. Over time, the city recognized and named the threat that was causing problems: ghosts. Ghosts had taken to terrorizing the people and causing damage and mayhem. A handful had even attempted to enslave the citizens on various occasions. It would have been bad if not for one factor: Phantom.
The ghost boy had, since the beginning, protected the town from the more hostile ghosts and kept the people safe. For some time, the media had the ghost boy dubbed 'Inviso-Bill' until the incident where the entire town was pulled into another dimension. That was when the ghost boy's name was revealed to be 'Danny Phantom'.
"I thought people couldn't see magical creatures without drinking the milk." Seth had asked when he and Kendra looked over some of the articles. Bracken had explained that the veil that kept humans from interacting with magical creatures had been somewhat eroded because of the constant exposure and other extenuating circumstances had enabled the citizens to recognize what was actually going on, but not more than that.
Some Knights, ones that Kendra wasn't too familiar with, went to investigate the city to gather information. It was clarified that, while they weren't the spirits of people who had passed, they were spectral beings and came from what the locals called 'The Ghost Zone'. Agad was fairly certain that the Ghost Zone that the people referenced to was in fact the fabled 'Infinite Realms' that was closed off some millennia ago (when? Agad cannot say). This realm acted as the space between different worlds and realms. The realm would have many doorways springing up, connecting various places and times. There was, once upon a time, permanent gateways in various places (like how the fairy shrines connect to the fairy realm).
"'Welcome to Amity Park: A nice place to live'. Can't wait!" Warren read the sign in a somewhat snarky tone. "It's as if they're asking for trouble with the sign. Well, I'm definitely excited to see Maddie again."
Warren had brought up the idea of visiting his cousin Maddie's family in the town. Maddie Burgess, now Maddie Fenton, had been close to Warren and Dale. Even though her, her sister, and their parents had no idea about the magical community, Maddie had gained an interest in the supernatural. During college, she met her husband, who also desired to look into the scientific aspects of old myths and the supernatural. The Fentons these days were not only 'ghost scientists', but also 'ghost hunters and experts'. While the two were brilliant (even if Jack was oblivious, over-enthusiastic, and klutzy), they were badly misinformed about the supernatural.
The ghost hunting couple had two kids of their own, a daughter and a son. The youngest, the son, was Kendra's age, if not a bit younger. The sister was two years older than her brother. Warren thought that it would be great for Kendra and Seth to meet the Fenton siblings while they were investigating the town.
It was morning time, the city was waking up. After some debate, the occupants of the SUV decided to grab breakfast at the mall before head edging off to the Fenton residence. Vanessa and Tanu went to get the food and Bracken stayed outside to mentally connect with Raxtus to let the dragon know that they had arrived in the city. Raxtus, being part of the team, was sent ahead to scout around. Warren, Kendra and Seth were left to wander the mall.
"Do you think we'll see Phantom?" Seth asked eagerly.
Kendra shook her head, "we only just got here. According to the reports, Danny's elusive."
"Danny?"
Kendra shrugged. "That's his name, right? He probably would prefer that instead of Phantom. It's just like you being called Sorenson."
"Okay, point made. It sounds kinda like when Mr. Yelnats is scolding me during math."
Kendra watched the hustle of the mall. There were a lot of teenagers enjoying their summer vacation. A Latina in a pink blouse and leggings and a blond girl with a white top and red pants strolling by, their arms heavily laden with bags of clothes. A red-headed, bespectacled boy entering a gaming store. A muscular blond guy in a letterman's jacket accompanied by an Asian guy in matching attire talking obnoxiously. A raven-haired boy in a white shirt, jeans and red sneakers intently looking for something. Kendra watched the black-haired boy; something about him stuck with Kendra. She was pulled out of her musings when Warren asked her a question. She answered and returned her gaze to look at the teen, only for her to find that he disappeared.
"Guys," Seth froze in his tracks. "Something's here in the mall."
Warren and Kendra exchanged concerned glances. "Are you sensing any undead?"
He shook his head. "No, this is different. I can't hear its thoughts like the undead, but I can kinda tell its intentions and mood."
Warren rose an eyebrow. "And what are you sensing?"
"…A need for activity, slight irritation, a desire for… attention… Huh? It wants to… play?"
A scream broke the three from their concentration, people running out of the mall to get away from whatever is causing trouble. A loud barking echoed, and a monstrous, neon green dog phased through the wall not a few feet away from the two siblings and their cousin. Kendra backed away from the growling ghost dog, but noticed Seth was approaching the beast. "Seth!"
The ghost dog, having heard Kendra call out, turned and noticed Seth. Crouching down, the dog gave a low growl. Then to Kendra's horror, Seth reached up and started to scratch the dog under the chin. Fortunately, to the amazement and relief of Warren and Kendra, the ghost dog stopped growling and wagged its tail in happiness.
"You're a good boy, aren't you? You're not going to eat me?" Seth asked in a tone one uses for animals and babies. The dog panted, cheerfully barking. Then to everyone's shock, the ghost dog shrunk down, now only an excitable, glowing green puppy.
"ARF!" Yapped the former monster dog, leaping into Seth's arm and smothering the boy's face in dog kisses.
Seth laughed. "Awesome! Can we keep him?" Kendra smacked her brother in response. "OW!"
"What were you thinking?! It could have eaten you!"
"C'mon, I totally stopped the ghost dog. And he's friendly, see?" Seth held up the ghost puppy, who only yapped cheerfully in response.
"Kendra's right, that was irresponsible and dangerous." Warren then looked at the ghost pup in Seth's arms. Holding out a hand, he let the green dog sniff his hand. Deeming him as a friend, the ghost dog licked Warren's hand. Warren chuckled at the puppy's friendliness.
"Wow, I never seen anyone able to calm him down like that."
The three swiveled to the source of the new voice. Floating a bit away from them, gawking at the scene, was a teenager around Seth and Kendra's age. The boy wore a black suit, with white boots, gloves, collar, and belt. On the chest of his suit rested a white 'D' with three tails on the side and the negative space inside created a 'P'. His messy hair was a snowy white. Glowing green eyes watched them in surprise and curiosity.
"ARF ARF!" Barking excitedly, the ghost dog leapt out of Seth's arm and pounced the floating teen, covering his face in slobber.
"GAH! Cujo, down boy!" The white haired teen laughed, trying to push the dog down. Kendra felt herself relaxing. Somehow, she felt at ease around the teen.
"Cujo, Huh? A Stephen King reference, nice!" Warren grinned.
The teen perked up, grinning at the adventurer. "Finally, someone recognizes the reference! And doesn't the name fit this guy?"
"Totally!"
"So Cujo's your dog?" Seth asked.
The teen shook his head, standing up. Now that Kendra was getting a good look, she could see that he was glowing. "Cujo isn't mine. He just likes to pop in and visit." His voice had a echo to it.
"Are you Danny Phantom?" Kendra asked.
The grin was answer enough. "Yes I am! I take it you're new to town?"
"Yeah, visiting relatives. I'm Seth, this is my sister Kendra." Seth eagerly shot out his hand, which the ghostly teen accepted.
Kendra shook the teen's hand next. Through the hand contact, she got a sense of his aura. "Nice to meet you. Is there a preference on what you would like to be called?"
"Eh, Phantom's fine, though I prefer Danny." Phantom shrugged. "Anything but 'Inviso-Bill'…" he then grumbled under his breath, something about finding whoever was the brilliant person that came up with the name.
Warren smirked at the teen. "Not fond of the media's title?"
"If they what to call me something, they can use 'Phantom'. I'm using that as my hero name."
"Superhero… I knew it!" Kendra heard Seth mutter to himself.
"And I'm Warren Burgess, the cousin to these two." Warren introduced himself.
Phantom turned to the young man, a brief look of surprise and something else flickering across his face, which he quickly disguised as he shook hands. "A pleasure to meet you all…"
"Do you get frequent attacks from ghosts?" Seth asked, looking to eager at the prospect in Kendra's opinion.
"Welcome to Amity Park: a nice place to live," Phantom snarked, earning a snort from Warren. "While there are a good number of ghosts that like to cause trouble, only a small handful could actually hurt people, and I stop those ones before they could get a chance."
Phantom floated up, Cujo secured in his arms. "Well I need to be heading off. And this troublemaker needs to brought back home." He playfully glared at the puppy, who only yipped in response. "I hope you all have a good morning and enjoy the rest of your stay here." He then flew up, phasing through the roof of the mall.
Seth stared at the spot where Phantom was last seen in awe. "He can fly and go through walls… why can't I fly?!"
"He's most certainly something else," Warren remarked. He then turned to the siblings. "What did you guys make of him?"
Kendra had a thoughtful expression. "I could read a bit of his aura thanks to Bracken's tips about my abilities. What I got, he's honestly good natured…"
"I was getting similar feelings as well!" Seth added. "Like a calming presence."
Warren hummed in thoughtfulness. "He recognized me."
"He did?"
"Not necessarily me. He seemed to recognize my name when I introduced myself." Warren explained. "He tried to hide his surprise." A jingle of a phone caught his attention. "Looks like the others are ready."
…~~~oOo~~~…
"Wow, they certainly went all out." Tanu said, admiring what sprawled before them.
Kendra and Seth simply gawked at the odd structure that towered before them. It looked like a UFO had landed on top of the house and had various satellites, laser-looking things and other odd items bolted onto the structure. A giant neon sign that read 'FentonWorks' proudly and boldly hung on the front of the house.
"I bet you could see it from space!" Seth declared, eyeing the UFO in eagerness.
Vanessa casted a tired glare at Warren. "You and Dale knew Maddie since when you were kids?"
Warren chose to ignore the hidden comment. "They added a larger sign…" Striding up to the front door, he gave a firm, brisk knock. It was only a minute before the door opened to reveal a red-haired woman in a teal jumpsuit. The woman had amethyst eyes, her hair coming to her shoulders.
"Warren Burgess! It's been too long!"
"Maddie!" The two cousins briefly hug before pulling away. "Dale says hi and sorry for not coming."
"It's a shame he didn't come to visit."
"Eh, probably for the best. Besides his job, you remember how he gets when traveling."
Maddie snickered. "Who can forget? Everyone come in! I got snacks in the Kitchen".
The inside of the house, compared to outside, seemed normal. The luggage was left in the living room as the group headed to the kitchen. A plate overfilled with cookies sat on the table, along with veggies and dip. Seth went straight for the cookies.
"So, where's Jack and the kiddos?" Warren asked, plucking a cookie from the plate.
"Jack's down in the lab and the kids are out with friends." Maddie replied, pulling out cups from a cabinet.
"Lab?!" Seth questioned, though it came out garbled with his mouth full.
"Seth, no talking with your mouth full." Kendra scolded her brother.
"We have the lab built into the basement. So these are Scott's kids?"
"Yep. Kendra and Seth Sorenson." Warren gestured with his hand at the siblings, then jabbed a thumb in the direction of the blix and potion master, "and they're Vanessa Santoro and Tanugatoa Dufu."
The Samoan held out his hand, which Maddie accepted. "You can simply call me Tanu."
"We also have Bracken. He'll be joining up with us later."
Kendra sat down at the table, taking a cookie and munching on it while the adults just chatted.
"… we've come a long way on our studies. The 'Ecto-converter', for example, is able to convert energy of ectoplasm into a form of usable energy that can power whatever we need."
"That's fascinating." Tanu remarked. "You really developed all this just from studying ghosts-"
"GHOST!"
Seth and Kendra jumped out of their seats when a door slammed open, a large, dark-haired man in an orange jumpsuit came hurtling in yielding (to Seth's interest and Kendra's worry) a rather large bazooka.
"Did someone mentions ghosts?!"
"Jack, there's no ghosts. I was just talking to our guests." Mrs. Fenton indicated Warren. "You remember my cousin Warren Burgess."
"How can I forget family!" Mr Fenton scooped up Warren in a bear-hug.
"Nice to see you again Jack!" Warren chuckled, slightly breathless after the hug attack.
The patriarch of the family then turned to the rest of their guests. "I would like to welcome you all to our home. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask 'cause we'll be more than happy to help, or my name isn't Jack Fenton!"
Kendra and Seth exchanged looks; her's questioning and his excited and somewhat amused. Before anything else was said, the sound of the front door was heard.
"Mom, Dad; we're home." A voice belonging to a girl called out.
"We're in the kitchen dears. Come meet your cousins!"
Expecting more people clad in jumpsuits, Kendra was pleasantly surprised to see two normal teens stride in. As said before, they seemed to be around her age. The sister, a aqua eyed, long red haired girl, was older and had an air of maturity about her. She was dressed in a black top with her pants and headband matching her eyes.
The brother was about Kendra's age. Raven locks curtained sky blue eyes that were much like her own. Looking at his tee shirt and jeans, Kendra recalled that she had seen him at the mall earlier. There was something else though, but she couldn't quite place it…
"Jazzy! I haven't seen you in forever!" Warren gave the girl a light, one-arm hug.
"It's great to see you." She smiled politely.
"These are our kids Jasmine and Daniel." Maddie introduced the siblings.
Tanu held out a hand to the Fenton siblings, "I'm Tanugatoa Dufu, but you can call me Tanu. Is there a preference in what you would like to be called?"
"I go with Jazz." Jasmine- or Jazz, said as she accepted the handshake.
The brother shrugged in a carefree manner, "Eh, I prefer Danny."
Kendra froze at that remark. It was not too long ago that someone else said the same thing in the same manner. She glanced at Seth and Warren. It seemed as if she wasn't the only one who was thinking the same thing.
There was one way to verify.
When it came to her turn for introductions, Kendra held out her hand. "Kendra Sorenson."
Danny accepted the handshake, giving her a pleasant (and familiar) smile. As soon as their hands touched, Kendra reached out with her powers. Though muted, the aura was unmistakable. To Kendra's surprise, a tingle shot down her spine as her newly discovered cousin regarded her with a look of surprise.
Kendra became certain of two things. Somehow, Danny and Phantom were one and the same. There was more to him than met the eye… and judging the knowing look on his face, he could tell there was more to her as well.
"It's nice to meet you."