Disclaimer: I wish I owned Danny Phantom! Desiree: -turns me into Butch Hartman- AHHHHHHHHH! CHANGE ME BACK CHANGE ME BACK! -is changed back-
Oh god, oh god, oh god.
Where was the thermos!?
Tucker frantically continued to dig through his bedsheets. Did he fall asleep with it? His dresser drawers were torn apart and a mess. The half-ghost himself was ready for school, but he still couldn't find that damn thermos.
"Tucker! Let's go! You're going to be late!" his mother called for the millionth time downstairs. Tucker scowled.
"I'm co-oming!" he yelled back. He threw his hands up in surrender at nobody. He'd have to find it later. He grabbed his backpack and an extra bag, packed with sleepover items, and hurried down the stairs.
"But Mom, I'm too old to carry a Barbie lunchbox!" his sister's voice was whining as he came down the stairs. "And I'm too old for twin buns! Can't I just get my hair straightened so that it'd look like the other girls'?"
"Absolutely not, your hair is beautiful and you should be proud of it," his mom scolded her. "And we've discussed this. I haven't had time to go get a new lunchbox, we'll go this weekend. Just take the Barbie one for today."
"But Moooom!"
"Olivia, not now!" Angela sounded tired and irritated. "TUCKER!"
"I'm here!" Tucker half-yelled back as he hit the bottom stairs. His mom sighed, handing him their lunchboxes.
"You're running late!" she scolded. Tucker forced himself to take a short breath before replying to avoid snapping back. "Get a move on, you two!"
"I know, I know, I'm sorry," he apologized, accepting both lunchboxes. Olivia scowled angrily, and she opened the door, slamming it shut behind her. Angela's eyes flashed angrily, and she immediately stormed to the door, opening it quickly.
"Olivia Nahed Foley, we will be discussing your attitude when you get home!" she yelled after her before giving an exhaustive sigh. Tucker gave a small smile as he slipped by her.
"I'll talk to her," he offered to her. He pecked her cheek. "Bye, Mom." Angela seemed to soften.
"Have a good day at school baby," she told him. Tucker smiled and began to rush off after Olivia to walk with her.
He soon caught up to her, and he realized just how fast and angry Olivia seemed. Tucker kept pace with her.
"Hey, you okay?" Tucker questioned. Olivia scowled, refusing to look up at him.
"I'm fine," she muttered, and she kicked a rock.
"Are you sure? You seem-"
"I'm fine!" Olivia snapped. Tucker handed her her lunchbox, only to be ignored.
"Don't you want your lunchbox?" he questioned.
"I'm too OLD for a Barbie lunchbox!" she yelled. Tucker reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
"Liv, what is up with you?" he demanded to know.
"Tucker, I'm just!" she growled in frustration as she was forced to stop in her tracks. Her hands gripped the straps of her backpack tightly as she stared at the ground. "I'm not a baby anymore."
"Well, you need to eat lunch," Tucker said, and he handed her his lunchbox. "Just take mine, okay?" Olivia stared at the lunchbox, and her shoulders slouched heavily, face falling exhaustively as she took it.
"...Thanks," her voice came out in a light whisper. Tucker wrapped his arm around her in a sidehug, keeping his arm in place as they began to walk again.
"You're not too old for a Barbie lunchbox. If you like it, you should carry it," Tucker assured her, giving her a light squeeze. Olivia clutched both hands on the handle of Tucker's lunchbox in front of her.
"But I'm almost thirteen. Should I upgrade to something more...adult? Like a normal print?"
"Aw, Liv, it's your life," he assured her. "You should do what you want. Who even told you that you're too old anyway?"
"...My school psychologist told me that clinging onto childhood likes can harm your experiences as an adult." Tucker frowned, but he didn't have time to comment. They reached his friends and where they'd normally break off. Olivia quickly slipped from his arm. "Bye Tucker!"
"Uh, Tuck? I think you and Olivia accidentally switched lunchboxes," Danny immediately pointed out. Tucker glanced at the Barbie lunchbox in his grasp.
"Long story," he explained before he grinned. The trio began to walk across the street and continue down towards their school. "I'm ready for the convention tomorrow though. I'm already packed and everything." He held up his second bag. He noticed that Sam had one too.
"I'm so ready!" Sam chirped happily. "I really, really wanna know more about those ghost plants."
"I was reading over the schedule, and I found out that there's a ghost researcher that's going to give a lecture on how to safely urban explore! We have to go," Danny insisted. "I still want us all to go do that this Halloween."
"But that's when it'd be the spookiest," Sam fake-complained teasingly. Danny chuckled.
"Not as scary as that lunchbox," Danny continued teasing, jerking his thumb to Tucker's Barbie lunchbox. "Is the long story that you wanted a proper excuse to ditch us and follow her again?" Tucker rolled his eyes.
"Nah. Olivia's been in this mood lately where she keeps saying she's too old for her old stuff. She and Mom fought earlier about taking the lunchbox to school, and it just seemed easier to switch with her," Tucker explained. Sam cocked her head curiously.
"That's so unlike Olivia," she said. "She's one of the most confident girls I know. I've seen her win arguments and such against Jazz, what's got her so ruffled?"
"I dunno man," Tucker sighed. "There's just so much changing lately. Dad's got a new job, new school year, and...ya know, the ghosts thing. I don't know how to keep up with it all."
Sam was quiet for a while, pressing a crosswalk sign as they all came to a stop, waiting for the light to turn.
"...Has Olivia talked to Dr. Spectra?" she questioned. "She works at her school too, right?" Tucker stared blankly at her.
"Uh, I think?" he tried to think back on if she did or not. "I know she spoke to her, but I don't know if she had like, an appointment or something. Why?" Danny glanced between the two, thinking as well.
"Cause like...I dunno," she shrugged her shoulders, glancing at the ground a bit nervously as she lightly swung her sleepover bag. "It's gonna sound so crazy but…" Danny began to study their friend.
"...Are you...thinking that Dr. Spectra may be a ghost?" Danny asked slowly. Sam nodded.
"Just cause, you know," she quickly began to talk. The light turned, and she hurriedly began to cross it, her friends following her. The second her foot hit the sidewalk on the other side, she continued. "She doesn't...really seem to be making things better. And just, with the whole ghosts thing...God it sounds really stupid, forget it."
"No!" Tucker spoke suddenly. Sam glanced at him as they walked. "...I think you're onto something." Sam visibly brightened a bit. "Cause...I keep thinking it's just the static electricity in the room, but...I keep getting that feeling."
"Your spidey sense?" Danny questioned.
"Yeah, and I've just been, like, brushing it off because I keep getting shocked in the room-"
"Yeah, me too," Sam interrupted. Danny nodded.
"But what it's it not static electricity. What if...what if I've been sensing something?"
"How do...how do we find out?" Danny asked. Tucker glanced at Sam. Sam winced a bit before giving a soft sigh and nodding.
Black lines ran down Sam's cheeks as she left the psychologist's office. She had a tissue in her hands, wiping the tears away best she could, black smears staining her cheeks. Dr. Spectra seemed as cheerful as ever, hand on her shoulder and she lightly patted it.
"It gets a bit worse before it gets better, dear," she assured her. "I'll see you next week, alright?" Sam forced a smile.
"Thanks, Dr. Spectra," she managed to croak out, sniffling as she went down the hallway. Dr. Spectra smiled, giving a cheerful wave before going back into her office, shutting the door.
Tucker sat invisible in the air, cross legged, staring intently. Once alone, Spectra sighed happily. A mist of glowing blue energy began to swirl around her. Taking in a deep breath, she ushered it towards her. It faded into her skin, and Tucker's eyes widened. She exhaled happily, shifting to sit in her chair, crossing her legs and leaning back.
A green blob phased through the floor. It shifted and transformed into a familiar form: the assistant he had seen earlier. The man frowned at her the second he finished his shapeshifting.
"Why are you wasting all your time on these stupid teenagers when we have bigger plans at the other school?" he questioned. Dr. Spectra hummed. "Especially the Fenton kid?"
"The Fenton boy is just a waterfall of misery. It's delicious!" she declared with a disturbingly peppy chirp to her voice. "All that angst and guilt, the depression, the self-harming, it's just too irresistible, Bertrand."
"You need to be more careful," her assistant warned. The ghost began to float, and he drifted towards her. "You made him pass out last time." Dr. Spectra waved her hand dismissively.
"I'm giving him a break," she scoffed. "Don't worry about it." She glanced over her glasses at him, smirking. "You just worry about making the preparations while I handle the small fry."
Bertrand sighed, but nodded.
"I don't have much more to do," he assured her. "We should be ready to go in a week or two." Dr. Spectra hummed, checking her nails before standing up.
"Good," she replied. "Now, let's go and get some coffee before my next appointments. That elderly man at the coffee shop just has so much misery and regret, it's fun to pick at."
She scooted around her desk, holding her hand out to Bertrand. The man smiled, taking it. They squeezed their hands together as he morphed back into a blob. Grasping their other hands together, they phased through the wall and left the room.
Tucker worriedly turned visible a few moments after they left, slowly moving to the ground and stepping foot on the rug. He stared at where they had left.
"You are a ghost," he whispered to himself in a frightened awe.
"We need to get rid of her, now," Danny instantly blurted out the second Tucker finished his story. The trio were outside with some other students at the picnic benches, eating.
"I didn't fully get what you guys meant by how she was bad until I saw her, and God, it just makes so much more sense I can't believe I was right," Sam stressed, grabbing onto her hair and pulling it a bit anxiously. "I told her all about my mom!"
"Tucker, you need to go and get her now!" Danny almost exclaimed. Tucker winced.
"I...I can't," he said slowly, and he stared at his food instead of looking at his friends. "I...I have no clue where the thermos is."
"You lost it already!?" Danny gawked at him. Tucker opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and put his hand to his head. Did he? Was the night before even a reality?
"I don't think I lost it?" Tucker was clearly unsure. He looked back up. Sam was still looking a bit freaked out over having spoken to a ghost about her personal issues, while Danny looked irritated, scowling. "There was this ghost I encountered last night. In your basement," he explained. Danny's face instantly dropped. "He actually knocked me out? I think? The encounter was so...weird, I can't...I think it was a dream? But I'm not sure? My body still hurts as if we fought, but I woke up at home. I remember him so clearly, and the conversation and passing out and everything leading up to passing out, but I woke up at home."
"What happened in my basement?" All annoyance was dropped, and Sam finally began to pay close attention to the situation too. She took a deep breath before eating a few chips as she listened.
"So I went into the lab, and there was this ghost. He looked like an old mad scientist, and he had this green skin and white hair, and red eyes, and he was just, hanging out," Tucker began. "Like, no, he was studying the ghost portal I think. He didn't want to fight me. He told me to basically go away, but I asked him what he was doing, and…" Tucker trailed off with a shudder. A realization hit him, and it cause his stomach to knot up as his blood ran cold.
"What?" Sam questioned.
"He knew me," he whispered. "He knew me. He knew me as a ghost boy that used his powers for good. He knew about the thermos. He...guys he knew me. He knew my name and what I do. What I've been doing."
Danny frowned, biting his lip. Sam reached into her backpack, pulling out a notebook. She flipped to a blank page, digging for a pen before beginning to scrawl out notes.
"Okay. We really do need to keep a track record of all of this," Sam declared. "So, this ghost knew you upon sight, first one so far to recognize you," she spoke mostly to herself as she took notes.
"But how can he recognize me?" Tucker blurted out. "I've barely existed as Tucker Ghouly. How can my name spread so far already?"
"Let's get back to that in a bit," Danny interrupted. "What happened after he recognized you?" Tucker thought for a moment.
"He began using these cool powers, these powers I've never seen before. Have never imagined doing. Like these superhero blasts and shields and duplication and it was honestly so goddamn cool. He knocked me out, and next thing I remember...I was in bed," Tucker explained, slumping in his seat. "I didn't have the thermos, couldn't find it. I looked all over my room. I don't know if it's still in your basement or if he took it or what."
"We'll look this weekend," Danny assured him. "And if nothing else, my parents should have more. We'll just take another one. No big."
"No big? There's a ghost out there with a thermos, how is that no big deal?" Sam questioned. She immediately flushed a bit at her statement before ducking her head down and continuing to write notes. "Uh...let's get back to Spectra. I wrote some stuff down on her, and am I just going to assume we're waiting till Monday to deal with her?"
"Yeah, no other choice," Danny sighed.
"But what's her big plan?" Tucker asked aloud. "She mentioned that she and her creepy assistant had plans. What are they? We need to make sure they're not going to go off or activate even with them gone."
"Maybe we should look around in her office," Sam suggested. "Do some investigating?"
"We do, we need to really get some research done this weekend. We can probably find some time after the convention day ends this weekend," Danny replied.
"Actually," Sam's eyes sparkled. "We could do a lot of research there! There's probably all sorts of great things to learn! I'll bring my camera so I can take pictures and videos, and this weekend I'll organize all of the information I collect, and we can go from there. This is such a good opportunity to pick up on things that could really help us."
"Eh, enough about ghost stuff for a while," Danny waved his hand dismissively. "I finally listened to the Ember chick you guys told me about. She's not really that commercialized, I like her. I actually downloaded her music today."
"She has a concert coming up!" Sam perked up. "I bought us all tickets to it already, actually. I wanted to make sure we got them before they sold out. She's becoming a huge hit quickly." Danny gave a slight frown.
"I hope she doesn't become another industrialized pop garbage can," he complained. Tucker rolled his eyes.
"Just enjoy the music, man," Sam complained. "Do you think she's too popular to possibly ask her to come and play at the Homecoming dance?" Danny gave a long, exaggerated groan.
"Oh come on, Sam. Don't tell me you're turning into one of those girls that's going to be obsessed with dances and getting some dude to ask her out," he whined.
"What's wrong with liking to dance?" Sam demanded to know. "Or wanting a guy to ask me out to one?" Danny huffed.
"Nothing, it's just...well what's the point?" he scowled. "It's high school. High school relationships just don't last that long, and we got bigger things to worry about. Like college, or in our case, ghost-hunting."
"No reason we can't take a break and have a day off every now and then," Tucker defended Sam. "I mean, Homecoming's going to come up on us quickly. We should start seeing who we wanna ask out."
"Nobody," Danny replied firmly. "I don't really want to go on a date. I'll go with a group of friends, but dating's overrated."
"Suit yourself," Sam replied. She smiled dreamily as she shifted to put her head in her hands. "I just think it'd be sooo great to spend the dance with a boyfriend, you know? We could get dinner beforehand, and afterwards we can just roam the park and talk the night away while watching the stars." The more she spoke, the more far-away Sam's expression seemed to go as she daydreamed of her prince charming. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Sam, we're fourteen," Danny told her, voice deadpanning. "None of us have any money, and our curfew is ten. There's no way that you're going to get anything better than the Nasty Burger dollar menu and a quick handshake goodbye before your parents pick you up from the dance soon as it ends because there's chaperones everywhere." Sam made a face at him.
"It could happen when we're like, sophomores or something!" she argued, giving a small pout. "But come on. You gotta admit, it'd be so cool if Ember came to our dance and performed and then later on she's like, an international star!"
"Hey Foul-ly!" Sam gasped in surprise as Tucker's face was slammed into the table. Danny immediately began to stand up, growling protectively. Tucker felt a tight grip on the back of his head, keeping him to the table. "What's with the Barbie? When are you going to grow up and get a big-boy lunch box?"
"Fuck off, Dash," Danny snapped. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Danny get pushed back, tumbling back over the picnic seat and onto the grass.
"Get off me!" Tucker scowled, beginning to squirm under the grip.
"Or what? Your weird freaky friend's not here to protect you!"
"Get back from him, you big bully!"
Tucker could hear people beginning to run, a few crying out in fright. The grip on his head loosened, but didn't let go completely. But it was enough for him to pry himself out of Dash's grip, half-scooting, half-tripping down the seat of the table before fumbling out. Tucker looked up to see Sidney, looking distressed but furious at the same time.
"Sidney!" Danny gasped, and Sam quickly stood up from her seat, growing pale.
"Oh fuck this," Dash cursed, backing up a bit. He glanced to his sides, and upon realizing his friends had already abandoned him, he turned and ran for the school.
"So the bullies are getting bullied," Sidney grumbled. "It's about time you saw justice."
"Dash has been kicking my ass my whole life," Tucker informed him, standing up straight. He looked around, and he noticed the school yard had become deserted. A flash of light, and two rings appeared to transform him.
"You're no different that the other halfa! Nothing but a big bully that takes advantage of the humans and bullies the ghosts!" Sidney scowled. Tucker froze.
"Other...what?" Danny questioned. Sidney looked at him puzzled, as if the information was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Halfa. Halfa human, halfa ghost," he explained. Tucker's mouth felt dry and excitement began to rush through him.
"There's another?" he asked quickly. Sidney scowled at him.
"Why should I tell you a bully anything?" he asked back hotly. He raised his hands. Abandoned school supplies began to float, rushing towards the trio. "Why should I do anything nice for people who hurt me so much!?"
Tucker rushed for his friends, grabbing their upper arms. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating hard. He felt Danny shiver hard in his grasp, and Sam soon do the same as they both turned intangible. A rush of pencils and sharply folded papers went right through them. Tucker grabbed onto them tighter, picking them up and flying them back into the school.
The three tumbled into a dark room, immediately feeling crowded.
"Ow!" Sam cried out. "Somebody's on my hair!"
"I think that's me, sorry!" Danny apologized.
Light filled what appeared to be a janitor's closet, Danny's hand resting on the light switch. He lifted a foot so that Sam could sit up. She began smoothing out her hair and pulling herself to her feet. Tucker did the same as he transformed back.
"Tucker, you gotta go get him! He's going to destroy the school!" Sam pleaded. Tucker threw up his hands.
"How!? I can't beat him permanently in a fight, I'm not that strong yet! And I don't know where the thermos is!"
"Were you able to release Sidney back into the Ghost Zone before you passed out?" Danny questioned. Tucker shook his head.
"No, the other dude must have let him out, and-and Sidney just came right back." Tucker sighed heavily, resting his back against the wall. "We gotta find another thermos."
"Do your parents have another one?" Sam asked Danny hopefully. Danny sighed, shrugging.
"I honestly don't know, I'll have to look. I think if nothing else, I can try to make a new one, cause like, I know the prog-" He jumped as he was interrupted by the bell, signaling the period being over. "I know the program, and I can probably just remake it. I'll see what I can come up with if I can't find anything."
"In the meantime, I'm going to keep my eye out for that one ghost. He's obviously powerful, and we need to be super careful of him," Tucker replied. He opened the door to the closet for his friends to exit, following after them to class.
"Mom? We're home," Danny called out as he opened the door to his home. Tucker and Sam came in after them. Sam shut the door behind her, locking it for them. "Jazz said she'll be home later, she's doing nerd stuff at the library."
"Alright!" Maddie's voice echoed distantly. Tucker could hear her walking up the stairs, and the basement door soon opened. "We're in the lab, preparing for tomorrow. Do you guys want to order a pizza around six for dinner?"
"Yes please!" Danny eagerly agreed, alongside a chorus of "Yeah!" and "Please, Mrs. Fenton!" from his friends.
"Okay, then come down and get us when it's about six so we can order, we shouldn't be doing anything experimental so you can just come right on down," Maddie instructed, and she shut the door again before heading down the stairs.
"Hey, Tucker right?" Tucker felt Nico's hand slap down on his shoulder, and he glanced over his shoulder to see the man smiling warmly at him. "You're interested in some of the programs I've written, right? You wanna come help me do the final tuning on some of my stuff for tomorrow?" Tucker broke out into a grin.
"Hell yeah!" he blurted out. He glanced over his shoulder at his friends. "Uh, you guys mind?"
"Not at all!" Sam chirped, waving a hand. "Go on!" Danny nodded eagerly in agreement. Danny held out his hand, and Tucker passed along his backpack and sleepover bag.
The man went up the stairs towards the guest room he and Vlad were sharing in the OP center, Tucker eagerly following. Tucker put his hand on the banister as he went up the steps after him.
"What are you presenting at the convention, Mr. Technus?" Tucker questioned. Nico hummed.
"You can just call me Nico. But I've been developing a camera that can take photos of ghosts despite them being invisible," he explained. "The technology is in the lens, but it needs some fine-tweaking to make sure that the image can properly detect and show up."
"That sounds so amazing," Tucker awed. Nico opened the guest bedroom door. Despite only being there a short time, the room was already littered with inventions and spare parts, as well as clothing and other miscellaneous items. He glanced up at Nico curiously. "But, that sounds like really good ghost-hunting technology. Why not implement it in like, a scanner or something?" Nico rubbed the back of his neck with a light chuckle.
"The technology needed to power the thing is kinda heavy for a scanner. The camera's more like a video camera. But I'm hoping if the proof of concept is good enough at the convention that it can be bought, and we'd be paid to make it more sleek and portable." Nico moved towards the bed, where a large video camera style invention was laying on the bed, spare parts around. A small tool bag laid near it. Nico pushed a few parts out of the way. "Here." He picked up a small tool from the bag, motioning for Tucker to come over. "Have you ever built a computer before?" Tucker nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, I built my current computer with my dad," he explained. Nico nodded.
"Good, then this should be easy." Nico began to point out how to click the spare parts on the bed into the camera.
"Why is this thing in pieces anyway?" Tucker questioned, snapping a piece into place.
"Easier to transport, and to be completely sure it doesn't break before the big presentation," he replied with a chuckle. "This is the main time I'd rather not have the darn thing break on me. I've been working on this a long time, and it's something I'm really eager to show off. It's the first ghost-hunting intended weapon I've developed in a while."
"Really?" Tucker questioned, glancing up at him. Nico nodded, and he handed Tucker another piece.
"Where you think that goes?" he questioned. Tucker stared at the camera on the bed before hesitantly hovering the piece over a certain area. Nico grinned. "Yup." Tucker smiled and began to screw it in, accepting screws as Nico handed them to him. "Lately I've been doing a lot of software programs for Vlad. Ever since he bought Axion Labs, he's been wanting a new software to replace the old one. The old one only runs on Windows 95."
"Damn," Tucker whistled softly. Nico laughed.
"My exact words," he admitted. "You're a good kid, Foley." Tucker beamed, and he paused as he felt Nico's hand rest on his shoulder again. Nico was giving him a serious look. "So, you should really know that there's a lot of people in this world you can't trust. Talented and smart guys, those with so much potential and so much to offer, people like us, we have to stick together, you know?" Tucker raised an eyebrow, a bit unsure but nodded.
"Yeah. I think I get it," he said slowly. "I mean, I don't really see many black men in the industry. It's just...It's super cool to see one on all the tech magazines." Nico lightly patted his back.
"Yeah, man," he agreed. He motioned to the camera before taking it from Tucker. He put the final piece on. "You're a natural, Tuck. You're going to go far in this line of work. You ever want a job, just give me a call." Nico reached for a wallet on a dresser, pulling out a business card to hand to Tucker. He accepted it eagerly, reading it. "Even now, Vlad and I got all sorts of part time work that a student can get into."
"Thanks, Nico!" Tucker said cheerfully. He carefully put the business card into his own wallet. "Do you need any other help?" Nico shook his head.
"Nah, it's all put together," he replied, turning the camera over in his hands. "I'm going to put it up, then got some business to go over with Vlad."
"Alright! See you tomorrow!" Tucker waved as he left the room.
Nico glanced up, watching as a glimpse of the kid slipped into Danny's room. He went to the door, closing it and softly locking it. Black rings appeared, and he picked up the invention. He stood in front of the mirror and switched it on as he began to test it.