CHAPTER 22: SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 1
New York City has often been heralded as one of the most diverse cities in the United States, a fact contributed to by its status as a port for many immigrants seeking a new country to call home since the 1890s. The same people that have come to the land, welcomed by the iconic beacon of hope called the Statue of Liberty, have come to bring the cultures of their past homes with them, contributing to its melting pot of society.
Throughout the years, the people who had come to this city had taken their families with them or started some of their own, bringing new individuals that carried the ways of life both their home country and their forefathers' countries. Today, after many new generations, New York City holds citizens of many races, creeds, ethnicities, heritages, past and present nationalities, and beliefs.
Despite no two citizens holding the same religious and spiritual beliefs as one another, the people of New York still carry a mutual respect for one another, acknowledging that their beliefs are equally as believable and worth respect and tolerance as a guideline for human morality.
But on the fateful day of September 11th, 2001, they had come to find out that some beliefs were more equal than others.
In an act of radical Islamic terrorism, the twin towers of the World Trade Center came crashing to the ground, bringing 1,368 feet of steel, concrete, and glass, along with the occasional human body, coating the city with destruction and death unlike any before seen in the history of the United States of America.
Glorious human architecture brought down by an airplane hijacked by men convinced that their deaths would allow them ascension into paradise with the death of infidels, the only natural response seemed to be to retaliate. For an unspeakable act of violence as this, no punishment is too great, so went the mindset of the country.
However, military contractors and war profiteers were just as quick to the fervor as the American public, interesting themselves only in gaining profits for themselves out of the matter. Invading two separate nations in the Middle East against international law in the name of avenging the lives lost on 9/11, the violence perpetuated into a neverending cycle of death and destruction that bred worse results than the original sin.
At the same time, the war, carried out with perverted cries of liberty and justice, emboldened the American public with a sense of superiority, creating an innate imbalance of right and wrong, as if no wrong could be done by their hands. Deciding to take justice into their own hands, they began to turn on their own fellow Americans that believed in the same god and religion as those who committed the act: Allah, and Islam.
Swept up in the fury of the war, many Americans began to turn on their fellow citizens, all on the basis that they had worshiped the same god as the terrorists who attacked their homeland, leading to more violence and death on American citizens perpetrated by their own fellow countrymen.
Antipathy and disfavor began to reflect on those who held even the slightest deviation in the beliefs they supposedly shared, labeling those who differed in league with the terrorists; the other. In its act retribution, those who sought to strike back against the terrorists became no different in practice, carrying the same ultimatum to put upon everyone else:
'If you're not with me, you're with them, and if you're with them, then you must die'.
Whether out of irony or a complete lack of self-awareness, also located in New York City is a building which acts as the headquarters of the United Nations, an organization meant for all countries on Earth to come together and discuss international issues plaguing all of their nations to be resolved.
The idea is pure and virtuous in its own way, but the merits ultimately mean nothing with the wars and conflicts which the nations of Earth share with one another, or the polarizing differences in their culture that prevent any agreement on true solutions to their problems, or the monetary corruption which makes those without morals lord over these issues so they may never be resolved for their own gains.
Now, the city of New York no longer has to concern themselves with any of these Earthly affairs, for what now comes as a threat to all nations regardless of what personal interests they have for themselves. Today, all nations present share the same goal and same objective for themselves:
Self-preservation.
How sad it is that unity between nations can be finally be found from the threat of annihilation, coming too little and too late.
The President of the United States, bringing together the nations of the world to discuss the means to fight back against the undead threat that has brought death to many on Earth already, began the debates by addressing the full abilities of the enemy and the possible means to defeat it.
"For years, Danny Phantom was mostly presumed to be an urban legend among the youth in Amity Park, brought up among likewise assumptions of the existence of ghosts brought by Jack and Maddie Fenton, a married couple of self-proclaimed paranormal investigators previously disavowed by most of the scientific community. Of course, we now know for a fact that the so-called 'urban legend' is indeed true. Most reports seemed to recount Danny Phantom operated primarily within Amity Park, fighting other ghosts with a small group of close friends as amateur ghost hunters. Evidence seems to support that the true identity of Danny Phantom is Danny Fenton, son and second child of Jack and Maddie Fenton, and his friends two teenagers named Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Following a freak accident explosion at a local Nasty Burger, said two friends, along with all the Fentons except Danny, were killed, and Danny was soon put into the care of Vlad Masters, a former classmate and close friend of the Fentons. Investigations have shown that Vlad Masters, like the Fentons, had his own personal interest in ghosts and other paranormal investigations, as evidenced by technology found in a destroyed laboratory beneath his house bearing strong similarity to those found at Fenton Works, the company founded by the late Fentons. From what we've gathered from the research by both the Fentons and Mr. Masters, it appears that they have discovered definite proof of the afterlife, and the existence of ghosts, which, somehow, has led to the existence of Danny Phantom." The President said.
Concluding his first point in a long speech, the many representatives of the United Nations quietly gasped and murmured among themselves in response.
"What we know of Danny Phantom is only speculative, going on firsthand accounts of those who have supposedly encountered him in his hometown of Amity Park. We know of his obvious destructive and flight capabilities, reports also include ability to phase through solid objects and turn invisible, not even detectable through means of thermal imagery. He has been primarily attacking nations with highly religious populations and significance, including Israel, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Vatican City, Indonesia, and most of Africa and the Arabic states. The exception to his trend of religiously significant nations has included Hong Kong, which is the first reported target of his attacks. The reason why he had chosen a mostly secular target to begin with has been up for question, but consensus rules that the choice most likely was at random as either a display or test of power. Though his targets have been primarily religious in nature, perhaps for personal ideological reasons, it is clear that none of our nations are safe from his power. None of the nations he has attacked have been able to cause any significant damage to him, regardless of their military strength. This makes it clear that conventional means of infantry and artillery attacks are ineffectual, leaving the question now open for the use of nuclear weapons. I am opening the floor to discussion on the use of nuclear arms, and humbly ask for the support needed to defeat the enemy." The President said.
A swift response is what was expected of the many countries present, either in support or condemnation of the proposition put forth by the United States. Despite the expectations set up, however, no nation is quick to give any response whatsoever, choosing instead to talk among themselves to contemplate the issue.
Tension is strong enough to make the president respond in anger, brought about by fear of the consequences of what will come of the answer.
"Well, one of you say something, damn you! We're talking about nuclear weapons here, don't any of you have something to say?" The President asked.
"With all due respect, sir, as destructive as Danny Phantom is, nuclear weapons would do far more damage than he ever could, and would have long-lasting effects on us and the human race many years down the road, assuming we will even survive that long." One world leader said.
"We're at war here! We have to put all our options on the table. Regardless of how powerful he is, he's just one man!"
Standing up from his seat, placing himself above others to make his position made loud and clear, one world leader spoke out his protest of the president's motion.
"No, Mr. President. He is not a man. This being is not of Earth in any way. There are only two labels in which to call this thing. One, is a devil. The other, a god. A vengeful god who wishes nothing more but to destroy all that we believe in." The world leader said.
"And what would you suggest we do about this 'vengeful god', exactly?" The President asked.
"Our position is not to try to escalate to more destruction. That will prove fruitless for us and fruitful for him. Instead, we wish to offer Danny Phantom not any threat... but a position of nobility. A sovereign."
The suggestion brought forth louder murmurs and discussion from the world leaders, all taking the idea with varying degrees of curiosity and condemnation. The loudest condemnation came from the President of the United States, reacting to the idea out of both disbelief and appalment.
"Are you insane?! This creature has brought a level of genocide never before seen on Earth, killed hundreds of millions of people, and you want to make him a king?!" The President shouted.
"Would you have him kill hundreds of millions more while we kill hundreds of millions of our own trying to stop him? It is clear that we have no means of destroying or defeating this being. The only option left to us is to try to appease him in hopes that he will gladly accept our offer and spare our lives." The world leader said.
"You want to worship him and give him whatever he wants just so he won't kill you? Do you realize how insane that sounds?!"
"Mr. President, the vast majority of your country's population carries beliefs in Christianity, which portrays a god that makes demands not too dissimilar with the promise of paradise to avoid damnation. Most religions carry this dichotomy in one way or another. If you are willing to believe it when it comes to a god you cannot see, can you not do the same for one you can see?"
The line of questioning put an end to the incredulity of the proposal, ending all dissent in a silent and serious period of thought that put all minds towards following the new idea set forth. That same silence had come to a swift end in mere seconds of the world leader's interest in it put forth, with all countries following suit to offer their own countries and riches to the supernatural being that threatened them.
"My country offers the highest position of power for Danny Phantom!" One world leader shouted.
"No, my country will be the new homeland for Danny Phantom!" Another world leader shouted.
"We will offer full citizenship and make any and all economic changes to suit his needs!" A different world leader shouted.
"My country will make Danny Phantom king!" Yet another world leader shouted.
As mentioned once before, it was the intention of this meeting that the world could at last come together to find a solution to a threat which would bring doom to all their lands and peoples in one final hurrah for world unity. Unfortunately, it seems that even now, it is not even likely that dream will be accomplished in the face of this nightmare.
Bickering with each other as if children fighting over a toy (or, more accurately, buyers all fighting for the highest bid), the meeting devolved into a cacophony of pure chaos between all the leaders of the nations. Trying to regain control of the room, the President of the United States began shouting even louder than those squabbling among themselves to make an offer to their destructor that may not even appeal to him.
"People, people, people! We are at war with a supernatural being that is a threat to all our nations and people! He could destroy any of our countries at any given time! None of us are safe from him! We don't know what he wants! Why would offering him any position of power be of any interest to him?! He's living power, if he's even really alive! This is no time to try to become the next world's sole superpower! If we don't stop him, there won't be a world to have power over-!" The President began to shout.
Before the President could finish his speech any further, a blast of cryokinetic energy fired down onto his body, freezing him into a solid brick of ice in an instant. The instantaneous change in his thermal state brought out shocked gasps and terrified screams out from the many world leaders in the room, but it did not compare to the sounds of wonder that came from their mouths when they saw what followed.
Flying down from the ceiling, the being named colloquially named Dark Danny, formerly known as the superhero Danny Phantom, landed gracefully on the podium behind the frozen body of the President. Reaching out with a single finger, Dark Danny poked at the human icicle, sending it falling to the ground to shatter the instant it collided to the floor.
Disposing of the deceased President, Dark Danny took to the podium, looking back at the various world leaders. In response, the remaining members of the United Nations all began scrambling to make their own offers to him directly, fighting over each other to gain his favoritism once again.
"Mr. Phantom, I'll give you complete access to my country's resources!" One world leader shouted.
"No, I'll give you complete access to my entire country!" Another world leader shouted.
"My people would all be willing to serve you, Mr. Phantom! You would make a perfect king!" A different world leader shouted.
"My country has far more territory than any one else here! You would have a greater domain if you chose my nation!" Yet another would leader shouted.
"SILENCE!" Dark Danny shouted.
Giving out his discontent show of frustration through the power of the Ghostly Wail, Dark Danny's scream put the room to complete quiet in an instant; none daring to continue making their desperate and hopeless offers to him. Gaining a silent room ready to listen, Dark Danny made good use of their open ears, hoping in turn to open their closed minds.
"You should have listened to the President. Maybe if you had pooled your resources together just to try to fight me, you might have at least stood a chance, or at least put up a hell of a fight to go out with. But he was onto something a lot more interesting than anything you could offer me. None of you know anything about me. None of you even knew that I existed until I started blowing up a few cities and countries. As far as you're concerned, I was just as invisible as the gods that a lot of you worship, and equally as unbelievable. But I am real, and I'm also, as far as you all know, all-powerful. I can indeed destroy any of your countries anytime I want. But I'm only destroying the most religious countries... for now. So, tell me, with all that information, what do you think I want?" Dark Danny asked.
The world leaders who shouted out their pathetic offers all went silent in a terrified state of contemplation; Dark Danny's question making their next words a degree of care above and beyond even the etiquette of the United Nations. Previously offering positions of high political power and status, these offerings, the highest of gifts that could ever be received by a human being, seem ultimately of no value to Dark Danny.
That is, of course, because he is no longer a human being, and holds no sense of value towards anything of Earth any longer. This, however, leads to a question asked by Dark Danny himself, and lingering in the minds of all the countries of the planet Earth to try to answer:
'What does a god want'?
As guessed with many civilizations with their own ideas and constructs of gods, the first item that is offered is worship.
"We have the largest population out of every country on Earth, Mr. Phantom. You would have the most amount of followers to worship you and tend to your every need." One world leader said.
"Mmm. A bunch of sycophants pathetically crawling on their knees for me to ask me for personal favoritism? Not very original, are we?" Dark Danny asked.
"Their souls would be your property. You would do with them as you please, Mr. Phantom."
"Their souls? You think I want their souls? Cliche. Pointless. A soul is nothing more than a jumbled mess of ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and desires. All the things that make someone human. Why would I ever that? What value is there in possessing another human's soul?"
"Well... Because... You see... Uh..."
"Yes?"
"Because... Uh..."
"Yes, I'm waiting."
Growing anxious and desperate to find an answer, the world leader finally found one that he believed would be of satisfaction to Dark Danny.
"Because... Our souls would give you an undying love!" The world leader said.
Given a hollow platitude as an 'answer', Dark Danny was not satisfied with what he was offered. Looking back at the world leader to see a fake smile in an attempt to appear genuine and caring, his viewing of the rest of the room saw that every single other world leader present held the same look on their faces, all hoping that the offer would be enough to see their lives spared.
"Your souls are the only thing that give your lives any value at all. If you were so willing to throw them away on me to save yourselves, then they were worth nothing to you. Not only would that make it less than worthless to me, but it also makes your lives all the less valuable, doesn't it?" Dark Danny asked.
It was not.
Raising a sole hand to the cabal of world leaders, Dark Danny fired a long stream of ectoplasmic energy towards them, incinerating their bodies to ash mere seconds. Watching their colleagues and fellow leaders of their countries befall the unforgiving hand of a being they viewed as a god, those who were not immediately slaughtered by the blast of ectoplasm tried to flee from his attacks by running for the nearest exit.
Their flight was made in vain, as they soon discovered seconds into their attempt at doing so. Continuing the blast of esoteric energy coming forth from his hand, Dark Danny continued to kill the world leaders present in the chamber, ending their lives one by one through the hellfire which came from his hand.
Watching the many leaders of the Earth's countries fall from his hand, Dark Danny finally lowered it when there remained no more lives to take. Finished with his assault on the world leaders, he looked to the empty chamber, watching what remained from the carnage he had unleashed.
Through his otherworldly act of vengeance, all world leaders present in the chamber perished, taking from the world its leading force of order in their respective governments with their deaths. All that was left behind from the many statesmen and stateswomen killed were ashes and dust, leaving no one and nothing to represent the various nations of Earth.
Flying out of the U.N. headquarters, Dark Danny fired yet another blast at the base of the building, destroying the foundation which it stood on and sending it crumbling to the ground. Taking down an establishment of glass and concrete, the destruction he caused was not just one of material existence, but also that of a symbol of unity which spelled doom for the world.
After all, if no one can come together to fight a common enemy, then what hope has the human race?
Here, in the present time, in this new timeline, the nations of Earth again come together, again congregate in this same building priding itself on the unity of all nations...
...and again brought together by the entity once known as Dark Danny, now calling itself Demon Phantom. But just as this timeline is much different from the one which spawned the evil apparition, the reasons for why he has brought the many nations of Earth here are much different as well...
...but they are no less different in their ultimate goal: The complete destruction of all life on Earth.
Previously killing the entire Fenton family (with the exception of Danny, which he is currently unaware of), he has taken the form of his present counterpart, and the four colleagues he has made for himself, Vlad Plasmius, Skulker, Ember McLain, and the Fright Knight, have taken the bodies of the rest of the Fentons to assume their identities, reaping the advantages of being the most powerful family on Earth.
One of those benefits is their friendship with Tucker Foley, who sits as President of the United States on a losing battle for reelection. Another is the knowledge that many countries around the Earth, having their religions disproven and delegitimized by public knowledge of the Ghost Zone, are attempting recreate their own versions of Danny Phantom in the form of their gods.
Concocting a geopolitical strategy to use these many projects to his own ends, Demon Phantom, with the aide of President Foley, launched a military attack on the country of Haiti, putting an end to their own project and appropriating their technology and research for themselves. The act is but a small drop in the bucket of the many projects that sought to recreate Danny Phantom...
...but it serves as a larger part in their strategy to put an end to the experimentations, serving both the purposes of boosting President Foley's approval ratings with the American public, and giving Demon Phantom the tools needed to create his own weapons against the world superpowers now equipped to fight ghosts such as himself and his subordinates.
Once again, he stands before the many leaders of the world, but not as an explicit and outright threat attempting to make a philosophical point. Instead, he acts as a spokesperson for the company named Fenton Works, and explaining why the work that the many countries of Earth are carrying out are against international law.
At least, so far as he and President Foley can stretch their argument.
"So, you see, the issue is quite simple. The technology you have been researching and developing is all based on our technology. Technology we have patents on, and we have not given you permission to use. The experiments you have been carrying out are not only are of high concern to basic human rights, but they infringe on our patent rights, which costs Fenton Works a substantial amount of money each year with your attempts to recreate our equipment. That's why we're calling for every country that has any sort of project based on Fenton Works technology to be surrendered and rendered forfeit, or else we will be launching a full-scale lawsuit on all your respective governments to retrieve our technology once again." Demon Phantom said.
Giving a threat to what might literally qualify as the entire world, all present in the United Nations let out a collective series of gasps and angry murmurs; none taking too well to the ultimatum given out by Demon Phantom. Shocked that such a threat could be made so seriously by one government to many, no nation took the news sitting down, clamoring over one another, finding Demon Phantom's speech preposterous.
President Foley's reaction was to grow nervous over the unsettling of the world leaders, looking to what he believed to be his best friend for solutions to the problem.
"Danny, man, this isn't working, what are we supposed to-" President Foley whispered.
In response, Demon Phantom raised a lone hand, silencing the president in an act of reassurance.
"Relax, Tucker. I got this." Demon Phantom said.
As many nations had their issues with the ultimatum, their leaders were quick to respond, with one of them beginning with a question coupled with a statement of anger.
"Is this a joke? What kind of a demand is this? Has all the fame finally gotten to the head of the United States?" One world leader asked.
"They passed that point with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan! This insanity is even further than that!" Another world leader shouted.
"Oh, I assure you, this decision really has naught to do with President Foley or the American government, save for their cooperation in this matter. It was all Fenton Works that made this call, as it is our technology." Demon Phantom said.
"What difference does it make? The American government has always been close to its own corporations; receiving untold numbers of campaign contributions, giving political favors in return! How much did you buy the president for?" A world leader asked.
"I wouldn't be so quick to throw stones in this glass house. How many countries among us here are flat-out dictatorships? Theocracies? Authoritarian regimes that allow no freedom of speech, press, or sexual expression?"
"Do not try to distract us from the issue at hand! You are demanding we surrender our own deterrent forces! Do you suggest we hand over our armies or nuclear weapons to you next?" Another world leader asked.
"Oh, no, no, nothing so extreme as that. This isn't a matter of who's got the biggest stick. It's simply a matter of preserving intellectual property. I imagine any one of you would do the same if one of your own ideas were stolen."
"This is not a question of intellectual property rights. Governments make their own replications of weapons for their own defenses on many occasions, the Chinese have been doing this with old Soviet weapons for years." A different world leader said.
"Yes, but those were legitimate trade deals made between two nations, which, I might add, dissolved years past the original agreement. What you are doing is akin to piracy and reverse engineering; you simply look at what we've done, and you try to copy it for yourselves. If you wanted access to our technology, you should've called us to make a deal. Had we known what kind of use you had for it, we would have told you 'no', but you would at least have the decency of having tried to do it legitimately first."
"And what about U.S. law on these affairs? Does it not prevent any patents from being held on weapons of mass destruction? Are your own patents on this technology illegitimate?" Yet another world leader asked.
"Ah, yes. You're referring to U.S. Code, Title 42, Section 2181. I had a feeling one of you would ask that. I've actually got a copy of the document right here."
Demon Phantom took out a piece of paper referring the aforementioned legal document, reciting its contents for the United Nations.
"The document reads: 'Inventions relating to atomic weapons, and filing of reports. No patent shall hereafter be granted for any invention or discovery which is useful solely in the utilization of special nuclear material or atomic energy in an atomic weapon'. However, the key words in this conversation are 'atomic' and 'nuclear'. Fenton Works does not deal with, has never dealt with, and has no current plans to deal with, atomic and nuclear energy. What we deal in is strictly ghost energy, often referred to as 'ectoplasm'. There currently exists no such laws in our country or any other preventing the use of patents in inventions in the field." Demon Phantom said.
"No doubt kept that way from your countless lobbying to maintain your monopolistic power! Everyone in the world has a right to explore the world beyond death, and defend themselves from what comes from it! You can't put patent protections on the afterlife!" A world leader shouted.
"Oh, but we can, and we did. And I'm afraid you have to pay the price for infringing on our patents."
In a sea of negative reactions over the announcement, most attempting to criticize the decision by pointing out any and all legal problems that could exist, but one leader instead stood tall to make a more direct response by responding to the demand with hostility.
"Perhaps some of us will not be so quick to comply with your ridiculous demands, Danny Phantom. Suppose we will not surrender our technology or adhere to your lawsuits? What makes you think we would allow you to take it from us?" The world leader asked.
Demon Phantom, still in the form of the hero named Danny Phantom, looked back with a not-so herolike scowl, with a lone eyebrow raised.
"'Allow'? Who ever said anything about 'allowing' us to take it back?" Demon Phantom asked.
The thinly-veiled threat gained a quiet gasp out from the many leaders in the Untied Nations, and an angered response from the world leader receiving it. President Foley, still kept out from the speech and debate, looked on to the new conversation with fear and anxiety, unsure where talks would soon lead, and not liking where they might end up.
"You dare make a threat to the leader of a sovereign nation? Do you intend to start a war with our countries? If you are, then I must warn you, we will not hesitate to defend ourselves and make use of our army against the United States if they plan to take such an action." The world leader asked.
"Start a war? Of course not, no one here wants that. However, we will still be needing our technology back, and, if you're not willing to give it back, then you won't be giving us much choice other than to take it back. The Haitian government took a stance much like yours, you know, and I don't believe it needs saying how their resistance fared against us." Demon Phantom said.
"So it is war you want! Perhaps we decide to send a nuclear missile in the heartland of America, in return for any military force you use against us, and we wipe you off the face of the Earth? Then what will you do?"
"To a puny little nuke? A few things, I can imagine. I could knock it off course and send it into space... or I can blow it out of the sky myself... or I can even send it right back where it was sent from. Hell, I could even take the nuke myself and let it detonate against me. I've always wanted to see what a nuclear weapon would do against a ghost. Not a lot, I'd imagine. Bombs are meant to destroy things in the physical world. But I'm only halfway into that world. I've got the other half in the world where nukes don't do anything."
Having his threat of a nuclear weapon, the world's most powerful destructive force, be laughed off by a single being, the world leader fell into a nervous silence.
"Let's not be mistaken. You can make any kind of threat you want against the United States, but, any kind of threat you make to them, you make to me, and I'm someone that you simply can't afford to threaten. Do you remember what the news headlines read when my existence was first confirmed to the world? Many people misremember it as 'Superman exists, and he's American'. It didn't say that. It said 'God exists, and he's American'. Now, I'm not a particular fan of the term, but there is an underlying point in the term. I will have no other gods before me; not any of your gods, or any that could pose a threat to my country or its people. You can either cooperate and see this dilemma solved the easy way, or... you can roll the dice and see just how merciful this 'god' is. The choice is yours." Demon Phantom said.
The entirety of the United Nations fell into a deep, contemplative silence at the final speech, none sure how to respond to the threat made towards them. Looking to one another in hopes to find the correct way to reply to a demand of this scale, in the presence of a man with the ability to put an end to the world.
All nations know very well that they have the capability of fighting back against ghosts, their defenses all able to inflict damage upon Danny Phantom as well, but they also are unsure if such methods would be fully effective, or if the resistance would be harmful for them down the line.
If the most powerful man on Earth sold you the weapons to defend your country from threats from the supernatural, would it be wise to anger him?
Eventually, it is decided that it would be best not to provoke any anger from Danny Phantom or the Fentons, and all nations agree to a measure to surrender any and all technology relating to inventions by Fenton Works to the company, putting an end to all of their military projects trying to bring forth their gods.
In attempt to save face from the threatening implications of what he believed to be his best friend, President Foley made a point to personally apologize to and thank each world leader prior to leaving the United Nations, hoping the gesture would be enough to placate their anger. However, when meeting with many world leaders, he found that their emotional states were not ones of anger...
...but of deep, primal fear, and many leaders were making apologies to President Foley in hopes that they would not anger Danny Phantom.
"Yes, yes, I'm very sorry for how things turned out. If there's anything that I or my government can do for you, please let me know. Thank you very much." President Foley said.
Greeting the last of the departing world leaders, President Foley, accompanied by a pair of Secret Service agents, moved to speak to Demon Phantom, ready to criticize his actions for nearly causing international chaos. Formerly showing strong support of the idea, his interest had reversed to opposition on seeing it enacted, not knowing how tense and dangerous the debate would be in practice.
"Danny, what were you thinking, man? You nearly started World War 3 back there!" President Foley said.
"Don't worry, Tucker. I had them right where I wanted them. Besides, it looks like we didn't even really need to make that little detour to Haiti after all. Oh, well, at least we had a nice Caribbean trip out of it." Demon Phantom said.
"Damn it, Danny, I'm supposed to be the sarcastic asshole here, and I'm the goddamn president. I agreed to this so I could put a stop to these rogue Danny Phantom projects and keep people safe."
"And you did. How many lives would've potentially been lost if we hadn't done what we just did? Even if we landed ourselves in a war, we would've landed ourselves in a much worse war if we let them continue through with these projects. Who knows? They could've made a ghost even more powerful than me, we wouldn't want that, do we? Infantry and armies I could fight, but a more powerful version of myself? If I couldn't beat that, then nobody could, could they?"
Still angry as he was, President Foley could not deny the more dangerous outcome that could have potentially risen, nor the results bred today.
"I guess that's a fair point. But I still don't think you should've gone full fear-mongering with all the god talk." President Foley said.
"Tucker, we've both seen the afterlife for ourselves, and we know what's on the other side. These people still doubt whether what we've seen is real, and still assert their own wrong guesses are real. Anyone unwilling to accept the truth and accept reality is little more than a child. And just like a child, you've got to remind them where their place is." Demon Phantom said.
"But you're a hero, Danny. You're supposed to be better than that. We're supposed to be better if we're supposed to be a good example."
"Oh, please, Tucker. We're the United States government. We never sought out to be a good example. We just wanted to make sure we stay the most powerful. That's all."
Stepping to a curtain nearby the stage, Demon Phantom and President Foley stepped through to continue their conversation, but, upon seeing what was before them past the curtain, both of their minds instantly snapped away from the topic of discussion, instead coming to a completely shocked silence upon seeing what they saw.
The sight in their eyes that made them pause in total shock was that of Jack Fenton and Jazz Fenton intimately groping and kissing one another; an incestuous act committed between father and daughter. The sight, is of course, a deceiving one, as the souls that truly occupied their bodies were Skulker and Ember McLain, two lovers not of any blood relation in their past lives, thus marking no signs of incest...
...but the truth cannot be made clear without revealing the true identity and nature of Demon Phantom and the 'Fentons', putting the group in a difficult position to explain themselves from. Naturally, the response from President Foley, as sane man would do, was to open his eyes and jaw wide in shock, unable to comprehend the reality set forth before him.
"What... the... hell...?!" President Foley stammered.
Initially not understanding the reason behind President Foley's shocked reaction, a quick look at one another from Skulker and Ember reminded one another of the bodies they were occupying, giving them the answer to why he stared at them with a look of completely disgusted shock.
Having extremely low expectations for how they would respond, Demon Phantom looked back to them with a furious scowl, fearing that his plans would be compromised over their mistake. Looking back at the enraged super-powered being, fearing what sort of wrath they provoked from him, Skulker and Ember, releasing each other, stood upright in an attempt to feign normalcy, even when the time for such actions were long gone.
"Oh... uh... Hey, Tucker, how's it going?" Ember asked.
"Hey, uh, Tucker... my man! How's it hangin'?" Skulker asked.
"Oh, no, no, no, you are not just gonna act like you weren't just doing what you were just doing." President Foley said.
"What? What were we doing?"
"What do you mean, 'what were we doing'. You were going to second base on your own daughter, man! What kind of sick shit is that?!"
Unable to pass off their unintentionally uncharacteristic act, Skulker and Ember silently scrambled for a justification, with Ember stepping forth to make the attempt.
"Well, uh, you know... It's, uh... the future! We shouldn't be so judgmental about stuff like that anymore." Ember said.
Cringing in frustration over the recovery attempts by the two, Demon Phantom stepped forward to try to save the mistake personally.
"Er, heh-heh, I suppose all this talk of World War 3 and super-ghosts has really gotten to everyone around here. There was a lot riding on this day, after all, we all do crazy things in the heat of the moment. Maybe we should be going now. We'll have to catch up another time, Tucker, we've got a lot of work to do back at Fenton Works. Goodbye for now, old friend." Demon Phantom said.
Grabbing Skulker and Ember by the ears like disobedient children, Demon Phantom began dragging them off the scene, continuing to scold them along the way.
"And I've got a lot of work to do with the two of you idiots. You nearly blew our entire cover." Demon Phantom whispered.
Watching the 'Fentons' depart, President Foley was left with his sense of anger blasted into full confusion, uncertain of what to make of the entirety of events which unfolded on this day. Having seen his best friend act completely unlike himself by making a threat to various world leaders and two of his family members incestuously kiss one another, the bizarre event is unlike any he has ever seen, nor one he knows how to take.
For the two Secret Servicemen accompanying him, they, too, are unable to comprehend what they saw, but they are much more passive than their president.
"Huh. So that's how it is in their family." One Serviceman said.
"Not this family. Not like that. I don't know what's going on here, but something ain't right with Danny Phantom. If I didn't know any better... I'd say that wasn't him at all." President Foley said.