Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom
Phone Call Part 13: Checks and Balances
"What do I have to do in return for this Presidential pardon?" Danny asked suspicously.
The President murmured, "I never thought my greatest temptation would come from of a sixteen-year-old ghost boy."
"I didn't agree to anything," Danny readily reminded him.
The President said simply, "One would think being President would be power enough, but the wisdom of our founding fathers put in inherent checks and balances. As powerful as the Presidential office might be, I often find myself frustrated by the reality of my limitations so..."
"So you want to use me for the Greater Good," Danny supplied sardonically.
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"No, what I want is to know what keeps your powers in check," the President corrected.
The President was already paranoid enough without knowing about Clockwork and the Observants, not to mention his evil future self.
"There are checks and balances in the Ghost Zone as well. Like us, they've had to band together to deal with tyrants or make agreements for mutual benefit," Danny explained.
"There are governments and laws?" the man asked.
"Er, sorta, but ultimately, it is the same thing that keeps you in check."
"And what is that?"
"You swore an oath. I made a promise."
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"Forgive me, but that sounds a bit naïve," the President said doubtfully.
"Not to a ghost. It binds to the very essence of their existence so you can see they would take something like that very seriously," Danny told him.
"So if a human promises a ghost something, it would just believe it, just like that?" the President asked a bit incredulously.
"Yes and trust me you do not want to go back on your word," Danny warned, his voice unconsciously slipping into a chilling echo. "Where do you think all those ghost stories about evil, revengeful ghosts came from?"
AN: I suppose it's useless to beg for forgiveness on slowness of updates. For the record, I blame my Danny-Muse who just wasn't going to cooperate unless I wrote about things he thought needed to be dealt with. The good news is the rest is mostly done except for the editing so the next few updates will be quicker.