Danny Phantom flew over the town of Amity Park. He sighed to himself as he scanned the peaceful streets below him in the golden light of late afternoon. Today hadn't been great. Because he had to run off and fight the Box Ghost yet again instead of doing his job at the grocery store, he got fired. Danny shook his head. He understood, to a degree, where his employer was coming from. His old boss needed someone she could depend on to be at work when her employee agreed to be there. Something Danny couldn't offer. He knew Sam would understand but he hated the look of disappointment in both of their parents' eyes. Sam's parents disapproved of their relationship. Danny's parents didn't understand why Danny couldn't seem to keep a job. But it meant that yet again, Danny was job hunting. Sam had told him that she didn't mind supporting the both of them with her inheritance from her grandmother and with her job down at the Town Hall, but Danny didn't want Sam to have to pay for him. He hated that every date they went on, Sam had to pay. He was supposed to be the gentleman and pay for his date. While Sam liked their relationship to be equal, down to sharing bills and roles in their shared house, Danny still disliked letting his fiancé pay for everything. She even paid for the dinner when he proposed.
Danny was tired of being a failure. He barely scrapped through high school. He couldn't get into college. And now he couldn't even support himself. He shook his head. He needed to find a job where his future boss wouldn't mind if Danny disappeared for a couple of hours with no explanation. Danny would ensure to fulfil all his duties in this imaginary job, but he couldn't be constricted by work hours. Unfortunately, any job like that was high paying and required a proper education. Something Danny lacked.
Suddenly Danny gasped as a sharp chill raced up his spine and his throat, misting into a cloud of breath out of his mouth. Danny scowled with determination as he scanned the streets below. He grinned to himself when he saw two ghosts zipping through the buildings. A female and a smaller male ghost. The female wore a following simple light blue gown with her glowing orange hair pulled back into a loose bun. The male ghost wore simple grey and light blue trousers and a long shirt and glowing red hair long enough to brush the ghost's shoulders. Danny dove down into the streets, chasing the ghosts. He may not be able to hold down a job, but he could protect his town. He focused his energy and made a duplicate before zooming ahead to cut off the ghosts, letting his duplicate hang back to stop the ghosts doubling back.
The ghosts cried out in alarm and stopped before they barrelled into Danny, glancing nervously behind themselves to see Danny's copy closing off their escape.
"What are you two doing here?" Danny called.
"None of your business halfa," the woman growled, floating protectively in front of the younger ghost.
"It is if you're up to no good," Danny retorted, scowling at the duo.
"Mother, why don't we just tell him? We're not doing anything bad," the male ghost muttered. Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Halfa, we're just sightseeing," the woman relented with a sigh.
"What are you sightseeing?" Danny pressed, relaxing his posture.
"The human world. It's changed since we were last here. Our travels have just brought us through your town. Will you let us pass?" the woman elaborated. Danny sighed before nodding.
"If you don't mean any harm to anyone in Amity Park, then I'm okay with you being here. But if you cause any trouble then I'll have to shove you both back into the Ghost Zone," Danny warned.
"We won't cause any trouble," the younger ghost assured with a tentative smile.
Danny gave the duo a curt nod and dissolved his duplicate. As he turned to go, a blast of blue energy whizzed past all three ghosts. Danny spun around to see two men in white suits standing on the street below, aiming their guns at the trio of ghosts.
"The Guys in White. When will those idiots learn they're not welcome here," Danny growled to himself.
"Phantom, you are under arrest," one shouted up to him. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Really and here I thought I won some kind of prize," Danny retorted sarcastically. The Guys in White agents below scowled at him.
"Come quietly-" the other started.
"Or what? You'll be forced to shoot me down? You've tried to take me down before. I'm still here," Danny challenged boldly, drifting closer to the two ghosts he had chased.
"Have you encountered these guys before. Don't lie to me," Danny asked, not moving his gaze away from either ghost hunter as they spouted some law.
"No. Never. What do they want?" the woman replied.
"To destroy all ghosts. When I give the signal, run. These guys have been chasing me for years, they'll leave you two alone," Danny decided.
"Thank you halfa," the female ghost whispered.
Danny charged forward to the ghost hunters below, blasting the pavement at their feet.
"Well, I'm not coming quietly. Start shooting," Danny shouted and both ghosts took their chance to run away. The ghost hunters narrowed their eyes behind their sunglasses and fired their guns at Danny, ignoring the ghosts fleeing. Danny expertly dodged their shots and led them down the street. Danny gasped in surprise when two white vans pulled out in front of him on the street and a further seven Guys in White agents piled out with weapons pointed at him. Danny stopped dead in the air and turned to fly back where he came from but was stopped by the two original agents and another four newcomers. Danny gritted his teeth nervously before plastering on a cocky grin.
"Okay, you proved me wrong. You guys aren't completely useless. But still doesn't change the fact that you're out of your league," Danny taunted as he desperately tried to plan out an escape route.
"Leave him alone!" someone shouted, and Danny turned to see the two ghosts flying towards him. The female seemed to be chasing her son more than coming to Danny's aid, but the male ghost's shout distracted the ghost hunters enough for Danny to dart out of danger. Before he could get out of range though, the ghost hunters fired a barrage of blasts into the sky, both hoping to hit the halfa and to cut off his escape. Danny twisted in mid-air and sped towards the two ghosts. He grabbed the boy's arm and yanked him along as the trio fled.
"You shouldn't have come back. These idiots are resourceful. If they lock onto your ecto-signatures then they'll hunt you down," Danny reprimanded.
"You helped us get away," the boy pointed out before yelping in alarm when a blast nearly hit him.
"Because they were after me, not you two," Danny admitted.
"Kendis, we should go. We can't fight ghost hunters but the halfa can," the female ghost interjected, grabbing her son's arm as they turned a corner and tried to pull him down an alleyway.
"But Mother-" the boy began.
"Now that those hunters have seen you working with me, they'll branch out and try to catch you both as well. It's best that you stay close to me and I'll protect you," Danny corrected as he pushed the female ghost out of harm's way and pulled the boy down a side street, heading towards the park. In the streets, while Danny had plenty of cover, so did the Guys in White. He had to take the humans' advantage away.
They burst out of the streets and into the wide-open parkland. The female ghost gasped in alarm and tried to pull her son back into the safety of the cramped buildings.
"No. Trust me. I can protect you out here better than you can hide in there," Danny called before the two ghosts fled. The female ghost hesitated before following Danny further into the park where they stopped near a fountain.
"Hide in those bushes. Don't come out until I say. Can you make shields?" Danny ordered. The female ghost nodded.
"If things get dangerous, stay hidden but make a shield to protect yourselves, just in case of stray shots," Danny instructed before gently pushing the younger ghost towards the full shrubbery. The ghosts hid themselves amongst the foliage and soon enough the Guys in White charged across the lawns and surrounded the fountain. Danny licked his lips nervously as he hastily made a shield to stop three separate shots hitting him.
Danny scowled at the hunters as his frantic thoughts tried to pull themselves together into a plan. Normally, Danny would just fly away, hide in an alleyway, turn back to human and phased through a few walls to put some distance between his halves. By the time the ghost hunters realised they lost Phantom, Danny Fenton was usually near to Fentonworks, relying on the ectoplasm in the building to hide his ectoplasmic signature until the threat passed. But with two ghosts relying on him to protect them, Danny couldn't follow his usual plan. He could suck both ghosts into a thermos, but he doubted they'd let him. He also didn't like the Guys in White seeing his reliance on Fenton tech in case they finally put two and two together and came looking for Danny Fenton. His first plan to lead the hunters away while the ghosts got away before going back to his usual plan had been destroyed by the young ghost coming back. Now the hunters had reason to believe that Danny and these ghosts were allies, they would hunt down the ghosts to learn more about Phantom, maybe even to use them as bait for a future trap. Danny also didn't like fighting humans. He didn't know how strong to make his attacks. He didn't want to hurt a human or worse, kill one, but he was starting to realise that he only had one option left. And that was to fight his way out of this mess and protect the hidden ghosts.
Danny blew a tuft of white hair out of his neon green eyes before he pulled two ghost rays into his hands.
"You want me, come get me," Danny taunted, narrowing his eyes at the crowd of ghost hunters. Blasts of destructive blue energy erupted into the air forcing Danny to defend himself. He blasted the hunter's weapons into useless charred lumps of metal, he froze the grass below making the hunters lose their footing, he dodged blasts and made shields to protect himself. The fight lasted a further fifteen minutes before Danny sent out a pulse of ghost energy, knocking all the hunters back. Danny landed beside the fountain, panting breathlessly, and scanned the area before deeming it safe for the ghosts to come out of hiding.
"Come on out. I think they're all knocked out now," Danny called and leant against the fountain as he recovered from the heated fight. The boy popped his head out first and skipped out to Danny with a broad grin.
"Thanks mister. I'm Kendis," the boy introduced himself. Danny chuckled and ruffled the ghost's hair.
"I should thank you Kendis. You saved my butt back there. I'm Danny Phantom," Danny returned with a smirk.
"Kendis, we should leave," his mother decided.
"Okay Mother," Kendis mumbled.
"Do I get to learn your name?" Danny wondered. The female ghost sighed as she beckoned for Kendis to follow her.
"Leto, if you must know. Thank you for your help but we should leave," Leto answered. Danny nodded in understanding.
"Any time," Danny concluded.
Suddenly, with a shout, one of the Guys in White scrambled to his feet, pulling a glowing knife out of a strap behind his back. The hunter threw the blade at Danny but the halfa easily side-stepped the flying weapon. However, Danny realised a moment too late that Kendis was right behind him. Danny spun around to see the blade embed itself in Kendis' chest. The young ghost cried out in pain before falling back to the ground. Leto surged forwards with a scream of fear and anguish. Danny turned back to the hunter to see the human charging forwards with an anti-ghost pistol in his hand. He lunged at Danny, brandishing his gun wildly despite both knowing that they were too close together for the weapon to be of any use. Danny wrestled the human to the ground before lashing viciously out with an elbow, knocking the man out.
Danny rushed to Kendis' side. Leto was clutching her son to herself, desperately trying to stop the ectoplasm oozing out of Kendis' gaping wound, the glowing knife lay on the grass beside them, stained with green ghostly blood. Danny's eyes filled with tears as he saw Kendis' ghostly glow fading before his eyes. The knife had hit the ghost's core. It was fatal hit.
"Leto, I'm so sorry," Danny whispered, knowing there was nothing either of them could do to save Kendis. Leto's yellow eyes flicked to him before blazing brightly with anger.
"That knife was meant for you!" she hissed before turning back to her son as he tried to gurgle something to her. She hushed him, tears spilling down her light green cheeks. Danny stayed with the ghosts, watching Kendis slowly fading from the world, leaving nothing but a knife covered in ectoplasm and a dark green stain on his mother's gown.
The adult ghosts knelt in silence on the grass, ignoring the water splashing in the fountain, the birds twittering in the trees nearby as the day came to a close, the numerous Guys in White agents surrounding them starting to stir.
"Leto, we have to go," Danny croaked, realising that if either of them stayed any longer then they'd be back fighting the Guys in White agents.
"I don't care," Leto coughed, her tears flowing freely.
"Kendis wouldn't-" Danny began only to be silenced by the furious glare Leto turned on him.
"Don't you dare say his name. Because of you, he's gone. I shouldn't have listened to you. I should have gotten him away from you," Leto snarled.
"I'm sorry Leto. But if we stay then the Guys in White will wake up and try to catch us again," Danny retorted gently.
"I don't care," Leto repeated, picking up the knife that ended her son's afterlife.
"You may feel like that now, but you won't forever," Danny started.
"You have no idea of the pain I'm in. The pain you've caused," Leto growled, her eyes pulsing. Danny swallowed his reassurances before nodding.
"You're right. I don't know how you feel right now. But sitting here and letting those hunters catch you won't change that," Danny attempted. Leto sniffled before nodding in agreement.
"You're right. Sitting here won't help. Kendis deserves justice," Leto muttered before turning her burning gaze on Danny.
"You have to pay," she decided, clambering to her feet clumsily, clutching the knife in her hands tightly. Danny blinked before scrambling to his feet, ready to defend himself. Leto scoffed at him and shook her head.
"No Phantom. I don't want to kill you. You deserve to know my pain. One day, you'll have a child of your own. I vow to you on the spot where my son left me, you will feel my pain. I'll use this very knife and take your child, just as you took mine," Leto vowed before she jumped into the air. Danny blinked before speeding after the female ghost. He couldn't let her escape until he could talk some sense into the ghost. He understood that Leto was hurting, and he had played a part in that pain, but he couldn't let her hurt his future child. However, as the ghost hunters stirred beneath him, stumbling to their feet and grabbing whatever weapons they had left, they fired them up at him. Danny yelped in alarm and in the time, it took for him to dodge the attacks from below, Leto vanished. Danny gulped down his sorrow, guilt and fear as he realised that Leto had escaped, her vow echoed in his mind. Danny sped off across town, ducking into an alleyway and ran to Fentonworks, hiding among the ectoplasm residues until the Guys in White gave up.
Every night for two months Danny woke up in a cold sweat beside Sam, nightmares of Leto returning to exact her revenge on him and his future child. He hadn't told Sam about Leto and what happened to Kendis. When he eventually made it back to their shared home, Danny had merely told her that he had a close call with the Guys in White. He didn't want to worry Sam when he was already looking for Leto, hoping to appease the ghost or make amends somehow. But every ghost that came to Amity Park had never heard of Leto. Danny had borrowed the Infi-map from Frostbite for an afternoon, but he hadn't managed to find Leto. Frostbite said that the map may not be able to locate the ghost he sought since she was moving or perhaps the map felt he needed to find something else.
One day, Danny walked into the house with a deep sigh. He managed to find a job down at the docks in one of the warehouses. His new job wasn't challenging, he simply had to move cargo on or off incoming ships. But it had been a long, tiring day learning the new job. Sam poked her head out of the kitchen with a grin before disappearing and reappearing moments later with his favourite mug in her hand, filled with tea.
"You're in a good mood," Danny remarked with a smile, accepting the drink and Sam led him into the living room, pushing him into a seat on the fabric black couch. Sam had insisted that they decorate the house as soon as they moved in, getting rid of all the brightly painted walls and replacing them with a stylish monochrome colour scheme. She said it followed their personalities, her darkness as a goth and Danny's light as the town hero.
"Well, why wouldn't I be?" Sam challenged lightly, dropping into the seat beside him.
"You're a goth. I thought they were meant to be miserable," Danny pointed out, sipping his tea to hide his smirk. Sam rolled her eyes.
"Okay, maybe I'm not hardcore goth in that respect. I can be in a good mood," Sam conceded.
"So, why are you in a good mood?" Danny pressed.
"I got some good news," Sam answered, grinning knowingly at her fiancé.
"Really? What kind of news would be so good to make you this cheerful? Did Amity Park open a load of Vegan restaurants?" Danny guessed. Sam shook her head and grinned at him.
"Better?" Danny prompted and Sam nodded happily.
"Wow. Er… your mom became a goth as well or something?" Danny offered instead. Sam laughed and shook her head.
"I think I'd hate that," Sam remarked with amusement. Danny chuckled in agreement.
"I dunno Sam. Why are you in such a good mood?" Danny asked. Sam dug her hand into her dark grey cardigan pocket and Danny sipped his tea while he waited for Sam to fish out whatever she wanted to show him. Suddenly she thrust something right in front of his eyes. It was white, the length of a small ruler with blue writing on it. Danny went white when he realised why Sam was showing him the pregnancy test. Two red bars faced him. It was positive.
Sam waited a moment for Danny to join in her joy but when she realised, he wasn't happy she leant back.
"Danny? Are-aren't you happy?" she ventured. Danny blinked at her before hastily putting down his mug that he had nearly dropped in shock.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Well, I haven't seen a doctor about it yet, but I did do two tests," Sam replied.
"Both positive?" Danny pressed. Sam nodded, frowning at his lack of happiness.
"I thought you'd be happy Danny. We did talk about having a family. I know it's a little earlier than we both expected but… you do want kids, right?" Sam admitted. Danny turned to her before nodding quickly.
"Of course, I want a family with you… it's just…" Danny trailed off, Leto's words echoing in his mind yet again. He had thought he would have time before he had a child to find the ghost and stop her exacting revenge somehow.
"It's just what? I know you wanted to be married before we tried but it's happened now," Sam encouraged scowling with hurt confusion.
"Sam… I haven't told you something," Danny began.
"What!?" Sam huffed impatiently.
Danny blew out a long breath before turning to her and told her the entire story, leaving out nothing. Sam's joyful eyes dimmed with sorrow and then fear when Danny recounted Leto's promise.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" Sam exclaimed once Danny was finished. Danny sighed and shook his head.
"I wanted to find Leto myself and try and help her grieve for Kendis. Try to make her see that it wasn't my fault and take back her vow of revenge. I'm sorry Sam. I should have told you before now. I'm happy we're having a baby, honestly but I can't help but think of what Leto promised. She will come after our baby," Danny muttered. Sam held a hand to her stomach before shaking her head.
"We have to stop her," Sam decided. Danny sighed and nodded.
"I've tried to find her Sam, but I haven't even found a clue where she might be hiding in the Ghost Zone. Maybe, before we decide what to do, you should see a doctor. Just to be sure we're having a baby. But can you… keep it secret. For now, at least. Just in case," Danny suggested. Sam nodded immediately.
"Money talks Danny. I hate using my inheritance for things like that, but I can pay a doctor to stay quiet and not ask questions," Sam confirmed.
A week later Danny and Sam sat anxiously in a doctor's office. Sam had found a private doctor who she had paid handsomely to keep their visits secret, assuming they had to see the doctor more than twice. Sam clutched Danny's hand under the table while her other hand rested on her stomach. Danny wasn't sure what he wanted the doctor to say. He hadn't lied to Sam, he wanted to be a father. He was excited to be having a baby with Sam but every time he recalled Leto's vow, terror hit him full force, drowning out all the joy he should feel. The doctor shuffled into the room, closing the door behind him.
"Ah, Miss Manson, and you're her partner?" the doctor greeted, nodding to Danny who gave a soft confirmation. The doctor settled in his desk chair and flipped through a few pages, reading the scrawling notes he had in Sam's file before putting the file down and turning to the anxious couple.
"Congratulations Miss Manson. You're expecting a child," the doctor revealed with a smile. Sam gasped and Danny's eyes slipped shut as the news hit him full force, renewing the terror in his heart. The doctor blinked at the couple before frowning uncertainly.
"I'm sorry, is this an unwanted pregnancy? I can refer you if you wish-" the doctor started.
"No. I don't want that. I'm having this baby," Sam refused. It went against everything she believed in to consider getting rid of the unborn child she was carrying. Danny nodded in agreement.
"We want this baby," Danny affirmed.
"Then I don't understand," the doctor admitted.
"It's… a complicated situation," Sam confessed, glancing at Danny as he squeezed her hand.
"I see. Well we'll need to schedule our next appointment for your first scan," the doctor continued, pulling out his appointment diary.
Danny stopped listening as Sam decided on a time and date, taking a card with the details on it and slipped it into her purse before pulling out a wad of cash.
"Please, can you keep everything between us secret. We… need to sort out all the complicated stuff before we can let anyone know. Even my file. You can't add this pregnancy in to it. Not yet," Sam requested. The doctor tentatively took the money with a frown.
"It is part of doctor/patient confidentiality that I keep everything you tell me in this office private," the doctor pointed out.
"You can't even tell colleagues that you got a positive pregnancy result if you're referring to me," Sam interjected.
"Miss Manson are you in some kind of trouble?" the doctor asked, glancing at Danny. Sam shook her head.
"No. It's complicated doctor. That's all you need to know. Nothing we can't handle but we have to sort everything out before it can be public knowledge that I'm having a baby. Please. Just take the money and give us your word," Sam encouraged. The doctor sighed before agreeing and tucked the money into his pocket.
As Sam and Danny left the doctor's office in Elmerton and got into Sam's car, Danny was still sorting through his thoughts. They sat in silence. Sam blew out a rough breath.
"I'm gonna be a mom," Sam whispered with a shaky laugh. Danny offered her a weak smirk and put an arm around her, pulling her into a gentle kiss.
"You'll do brilliant. But… I can't be this baby's dad," Danny mumbled sadly.
"What are you talking about Danny?" Sam retorted in confusion. Danny sighed.
"The only way to protect our baby is to make it impossible for anyone to know I'm their dad," Danny began.
"It's gonna be pretty obvious Danny," Sam remarked.
"Not if we act now. You can pay the doctor to say on file that you got pregnant a month into this pregnancy or whatever. He doesn't know my name. Just my face. You can say that I got into trouble and to protect our kid, that I had to leave," Danny resumed.
"Danny, I don't understand. Even if we do that, it'll be obvious that you're the father," Sam argued. Danny shook his head.
"Not if we break up. If you date so many guys, none of them could even know who's the dad," Danny decided reluctantly.
"Break up!? What!?" Sam exclaimed.
"Think about it Sam. I've been looking for Leto for the last two months. If I haven't found her by now, then who's to say I'll be able to find her before you start showing that you're pregnant? Who's to say that I'll find her before you give birth? We can't hide a whole pregnancy. Not from everyone. But if we can hide that I'm the father from everyone, then there's no way for Leto to learn the truth. I'll keep looking and when I find her and stop her from ever coming after our baby, then we can be a family," Danny explained.
"But I love you. I can't lose you," Sam whispered, tracing her hand along the side of his face. Danny leaned into the touch and nodded sadly.
"I love you too Sam. I don't want to do this anymore than you do. But it's the only way I can think of to protect our baby," Danny muttered.
"What if our baby takes after you?" Sam asked.
"I don't think that's possible Sam. I wasn't born half-ghost. I don't think it can be passed down in my DNA to our baby. You can keep a close eye and if they ever show ghost powers then you know where to find me. But… I don't think our baby will inherit my ghost side," Danny theorised. Sam shook her head, tears glistening in her purple eyes.
"When do we have to start this plan of yours?" Sam relented miserably.
"I'll get fired again, on purpose for a change. We can use that as a trigger to break up. Then you have to get back into the dating game straight away. Date as many guys as possible and… and do the deed with them. Even the guys you date have to be kept guessing Sam," Danny planned. Sam sniffled and nodded reluctantly.
"But as soon as you find Leto, you'll come and tell me. Promise?" Sam stipulated. Danny grinned, although his blue eyes were still filled with sadness, as he nodded.
"The second I do, I'll be back. Promise," Danny agreed. Sam swiped a hand across her face, wiping away the tears that had escaped her eyes.
"I guess I can't tell our baby that you're their dad," Sam mumbled.
"Yeah. No one but us can ever know Sam. Not until Leto is taken care of and our baby is safe," Danny confirmed. Sam started the car and leaned over and kissed Danny on the cheek.
"If we only have until you get fired, I'm gonna treasure our time together Danny," Sam promised. Danny gave her a half-hearted smile.
"With my reputation among employers, I doubt it'll take long if I actually try to get fired," Danny admitted. Sam gave him a sad smile before pulling the car out of the parking space and headed back to Amity Park.
And that's exactly what happened sixteen years ago to cause Danny and Sam to break up.
Let me know your thoughts on the story so far and what you think might happen.
Until the next chapter.