Been kind of getting back into Danny Phantom lately, and seeing as this idea has been churning in my head since I first saw Butch Hartman's "Danny Phantom 10 Years Later" videos, I figured now was the time. Some of it is pretty blatantly stolen, some of it is my invention, but regardless I don't own Danny Phantom or any related properties.
If the thought passes your mind, leave me a review and let me know what you think! I don't often write fan fiction these days, but if it picks up traction I'll keep it going (even it takes me forever to wrap it up, lol). Regardless, I hope you enjoy.
The last eleven years had been hell. Literally.
He could not conceive of a worse way to spend a decade than the way he had. His captors took joy in ruining his every day, invading every waking moment, humiliating him, working him to the bone. Rotted. That's what it was. He felt rotted from his long tenure in chains. A haunted shadow of what he should have been by now.
He felt his fangs extending as he brooded about the time lost, flying into the farthest reaches of the Ghost Zone.
But no matter. It was all behind him now. The fools had given him an inch, and just one inch was all Vlad Plasmius needed to take a proverbial mile. They wouldn't make the same mistake twice, he made sure they could not. And now, he was on his way home.
Well, almost home. Earth seemed rather off limits to him since the Phantom Planet incident, but after a quick errand in the edge of recorded existence that would all change. He had never been this far in before. It wouldn't be a surprise if no halfa or human had. Come to think of it, the ghosts who had once traversed this darkness were probably gone now too.
The space of the Ghost Zone had lost its accents, all the stars and spiraling energy vortexes and hidden lairs had gone. He could barely see his own hand in front of him for a time, but at last it was there: an asteroid of white rock, inlaid with rivers of greenish-blue magma. In the center, nestled in a small crater, a run down castle of red bricks.
The main doors creaked open, and the smell of isolation hit him vividly. A staircase of broken red stone invited him into a descent. The guards here had long been gone, time treating them as poorly as anything else in the known universe. A pink swirl of light around his fist lit up the way as he proceeded down, gliding through the lost fortress. Soon enough he came upon the crypt. Rows and rows of coffins, well over fifty in total, lying in the void of being forgotten. He passed all of them without a second thought.
The next chamber was guarded by the Five Cavaliers. Legends in their own time, and ancient beyond belief. He'd discovered their existence by complete accident shortly before the disaster that got him banished, and he was confidant he was still the only one to know of them. They would be an insurmountable challenge if he had come some 300,000 years ago. Too bad they were all in infinite slumber. Pariah Dark really had done him a favor here. Vlad chuckled as he passed them all, their very large and impressive weapons and shields meant nothing if they could not use them.
At last he had reached it. The Forgotten Mausoleum. The coffin inside this chamber was larger than even the eight foot tall Cavaliers. His prize was floating above it, the item he had been searching for since he'd learned of its existence years past. The trinket that occupied his every thought, the platform that lifted him up when adversity tried to drag him down, the rock he used to solidify himself in moments of doubt. The most powerful ghost artifact of all time was before him, totally unguarded.
He grabbed it with a slight tremor in his hand, the ancient magic vibrating and buzzing as it resized the blade to fit him as if it was custom made. A pleasant sigh escaped him, it was light as a feather, and it hummed with spectral echoes as he swung it around to test it's potency. Oh yes, it was genuine all right. Another chuckle escaped his lips, and he soon let it evolve into a full scale evil laugh. It filled the chamber, journeying throughout the burial site, but none of the residents were bothered by it; he was the first being to come here in thousands of years.
He felt a fire inside him burst to life, a fire that was doused a decade ago when he awoke with his wrists chained together. It felt proper, as if a natural law of the universe had been re-proven and set right once again. Now, there was only one more thing he needed.
The coffin top broke easier than mother's vase. He admired the sword once more, noticing the way a pink fire seemed to burn inside the ancient steel, mirroring the pink plasma energy contained in his toned frame. Nothing could stop his wicked grin now. He reached a hand in and pulled out an immaculate crown, the only other thing in this entire dump that hadn't gone senile. The gold was topped with diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. A band of rare ghost metals carved as runes lined the rim of the ornate headpiece, and sparkled under his touch, much like the sword.
It fit better than his own silk gloves. The magic took him at once, and his tattered rags from prison faded. In their place, a set of white finery over glowing chain mail. His new cape was golden, and his complexion shined too. He felt like a new man, and twice the ghost he had been on his best day. His fangs practically dripped with energy as he took in his newfound power and laughed. The echoes of his triumph made the entire Mausoleum shudder.
"I'm coming for you now Daniel, and this time there's hell to pay!"
The last eleven years had been good. Really good.
Amity never looked so clean, Danny decided as he glided between the gray clouds of the night. And after a satisfying day of hard work keeping the peace, home never looked so good. Fenton Tower, the worldwide headquarters of the Fenton Corporation built right on top of the old home his family had lived in for decades, was visible even from here. Hopefully dinner was waiting, it had to be nearly 10 o'clock.
"Danny Phantom!"
Danny sputtered to a stop and turned. Oh, perfect.
"What do you want Skulker?"
The ghost hunter floated up to Danny's level, smirking, and bearing a long metal staff. His suit had undergone minor changes over the years, he'd developed a few new tricks, but his eyes burned with the same green fire they always had.
"You know exactly what I want. For a long time I underestimated you, saw you only as prey. Now I realize the truth. Now I see you are-"
"Hey, can we cut this short?" Danny asked and yawned, "I'm so over it tonight."
Bringing his eyebrows back down to place, Skulker nodded, "Fine. Tonight will be the night I finally defeat you. Then, I shall be the one to rest."
"Try me," Danny dared.
They rushed towards each other, Danny's hands glowing green, Skulker's staff lighting up with yellow electricity on each end. Both swung several times, neither landing a solid blow. Skulker feigned a strike to the head and then rolled backwards, shooting a plasma blast at the halfa hero. Danny went intangible just in time for the energy ball to shoot through a few clouds and burst into sparkles.
Never dismayed, Skulker charged again. Danny held up his left hand to block the staff strike that came over head, and with his right hand, he lined up the shot. The electric discharge stung, but it was well worth enduring. A green bolt smashed into Skulker's boot as he rebounded upwards after striking.
With half the hunter's mobility kaput, not to mention his balance, Danny landed an easy strike. One punch to the head rattled him enough for the thermos to come out. The upgraded models were faster, but there was something that felt right about using the original. Skulker cried out in protest as his form became small and gaseous, sucked into his prison without a chance to escape.
"You think after all this time he'd realize it was pointless," Danny mused with a quickly fading smile.
Then he let out a sigh. A few people from the windows of nearby buildings cheered. He waved back at them. He was used to that, the celebrity status, the money, it was all nice, but the feelings he had as a 14 year old were what he missed. Even using old mementos like the original thermos didn't quite do the trick to sate his nostalgia withdrawal.
What the heck was the matter with him? His family was happy and healthy, he was winning the war for Earth's safety, he had everything he could ever want, including a happy engagement to Sam... So why did it feel like there was just one more thing he needed to round it all out? And what was it?
As he flew towards home again, twirling the thermos around his fingers, he pondered the same questions for the millionth time. Einstein would have called him crazy, because he kept arriving at the same answer every time: He missed the one thing that could never be taken back. He missed the innocence, the naivety of being an adolescent. He regretted the things he hadn't done when he was 14, and a few of the things he had. The way things ended up was good, he wouldn't trade his life away for anything...but he also knew that was an itch he would never be able to scratch.
He opened the window to his office of the Fenton Corp HQ and slid inside, reforming his legs and transforming back to a full human.
"Surprise!"
The lights of his office came on all at once and his parents, Jazz, Tucker, and Sam came out of their hiding places. Danny shielded his eyes, and stumbled towards his desk to put the thermos down.
"Hey!" Danny smiled and walked into the group for a hug, "What's the deal?"
"You're kidding right?" Jazz asked.
"Why it's your birthday sweetie, you can't have forgotten that!" His mom chided gently.
Danny had to look down at his feet and really think about it, but yes..he had forgotten today was his birthday. Tucker handed him a plate with a slice of chocolate cake and he accepted with a grin. He hadn't been expecting it. Any of it. Wisps of the old life came pouring back as his father turned on the music and blew a party popper.
"Let's boogie! Happy birthday Danny!"
A handful of party games, embarrassing stories, and helpings of junk food later, it was time for the gifts. Tucker was up first, and turned everyone's attention to the projector on the wall. Personally, Danny couldn't wait.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, and of course to the birthday boy himself, I present my latest creation!"
The screen behind Danny's desk went black and an automated drumroll sounded off, and with the click of a button a green grid sparked to life. Lines began to run together from the sides of the screen and connect in odd angles, and over his narration Tucker's present came to life.
"What is it you may ask? Nothing less than a new, state of the art neural-anatomical artificial intelligence! Taking the shape of a ring, emblazoned with the company logo of course, it connects the Fenton Supercomputer Jazz runs straight into your head, and even beyond. We're talking a direct link into your nerves, your reflexes! You'll be faster than fast and stronger than strong! Any information we have in our database will be at your beck and call with just a thought."
"And it'll give me time to take a more active role in the field," Jazz added with a smile.
"Wow...I don't know what to say," Danny admitted.
"It's not finished just yet, but I'll have it to you by next week," Tucker promised, finger guns blazing.
"Nice dude."
The friends hugged briefly, then Jack Fenton tore his son away and directed him to a box resting by the filing cabinet near the door.
"Son, I'm afraid the gift your mother and I got you isn't nearly as cool," He took a small moment to embrace the pain and regret, then wiped a budding tear from the corner of his eye and smirked the kind of comforting smirk only a dad could put on, "but we think you'll like it all the same."
Danny grabbed the box and removed the lid, and a smile lit up in his face.
"Don't let them exclude me!" Jazz protested, "I helped collect some of it too."
Danny tore the lid off and felt the breath leave him. A treasure trove of photos, souvenirs, and mementos of days gone by collected and put in one place. He began rifling through it all as a bittersweet feeling took hold of him. This is what he wanted, this was his adolescence incarnate. It was amazing to see how young he'd been, how close even then that he, Tucker, and Sam were. All of it, his history exactly as it was then, and it was all in this little cardboard box.
"We spent a few months going through old photo books, security footage, and the like," His mother said, "We hope it means as much to you as it does to us."
He swallowed the lump in his throat, "It does. Thanks guys."
Then everyone turned towards Sam, and a light blush came to her cheeks, "Well, I might have another present or two saved for later…"
Danny's cheeks flushed a bit too.
"But it's kind of funny," She went on, "Your family's gift was about the past. Tucker's gift represents the here and now. Mine is…"
She moved towards his desk and trailed off then turned to face them all and smiled.
"This last one is...well, it's sort of a present for everybody. A promise of things to come," Sam said, and pointed at his desk where the final gift lay.
It was a manilla folder, blank and bare except for a heart scribbled on the front with Sam's name in the middle of it. Danny smiled as he opened the folder. His heart jumped. Several black and white images fell onto his desk and he put a hand to his mouth, looking to Sam with wide eyes.
What was it he was missing? The freedom of being 14?
She nodded, with a prevailing grin, "I'm pregnant."
So much for that.
Cheers and congratulations poured in from all sides, but Danny was practically deaf to it all. He could only look at his fiance with a gaping mouth and a thrashing heart.
When he was capable of thought he did the only thing that came to his mind and rushed to her, and they kissed.
Everyone clapped and gathered around for a group hug. For a moment in time, life was better than ever before, and better than he ever thought it could be. He was going to be a dad. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, being 14 didn't seem anywhere near as attractive. Right now, all he wanted was to jump ahead in time and clutch Sam and their child close to him. Tears were trailing down his cheeks, and he laughed for the sake of pure joy. Life was about to get really, really good.
It all came crashing down as another round of clapping came into existence, from behind the group, from a man whose face they hadn't seen since...
None of them could speak, so the intruder did.
"I'm sorry...am I interrupting something?" the intruder asked, a wicked smile smoldering on his face.
No. It wasn't possible. Not like this!
"Plasmius!"