Author's Note: Whoa… People like this! That's pretty kickass, actually. Thanks, everyone! I was going to have that just be a one-shot, but since you asked nicely, I'll give another part of this story a try, see if I can strike gold again.
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything used here.
Comical Relations Part 2: The More Things Change…
7 months. That is how long its been since things started changing in Amity Park. It used to be so simple… The town could count on either the Phantom or the Red Huntress to swoop in and save the day from clearly-evil threats of the undead sort. But it was not to remain so basic. That was made evident all those months ago by the sudden betrayal of Ember McLain on the mostly-mechanical hunter, Skulker, during a brutal double-team attack on Amity Park.
To this day, the little blob insists that the Phantom and the "Bitch" were in cahoots on the betrayal the whole time. Bruised hunter ego aside, the truth was that Team Phantom was just as surprised when, instead of crushing Phantom's skull in, she suddenly smashed Skulker's "head" off with her guitar mid-battle, dumping him in the process before flying off to who-knows-where.
All Sam would say about it was that she'd "almost pity the next guy she got her claws into. Almost.". Tucker groaned, wishing he'd gotten the moment on his PDA. "What can I say? It was a sweet shot! Bam, off with his helmet!" he reasoned as he contained the unconscious green blob within his Fenton Thermos.
Danny had considered it luck at first. Hell, part of him still considers it a result of mere chance that she did what she did. After all, what if Skulker had actually cared for her and treated her right? What then? Only Clockwork knew… Either way, he felt like he deserved some sort of explanation.
Boy, did he get one… A black eye later, Danny learned the hard way that upset women sometimes just needed some space. Not to mention, the whole "heroes/villains" thing… Not surprising that Ember would punch first and ask questions later, considering that she most likely thought he tracked her down just to throw her back to the Ghost Zone. It took Danny throwing his one empty Fenton Thermos up in the air and shooting it to bits to prove to her that he wasn't going to drag her back yet. (Good thing the family made quite a few!)
"Fine, so you're not going to 'cuff' me, 'officer'… What's your point?" she growled, in full-on rebellious teenager mode.
"Ember, I… well… Why?" Danny never thought he'd actually get very far with her about talking. So, he just asked the first thing that came to mind.
"It wasn't to become some damn goody-goody, if that's what you're thinking. I just had enough of his bullshit… All day long, he'd talk about hunting this and shooting that, not to mention his damn fixation on destroying you. To be honest, it almost made me wonder if he's… you know… 'in the closet', if you get what I mean…" she grumbled.
"Ok, that's disturbing…" Danny couldn't help but feel a little green at the thought of the green blob having a boyfriend, indulging in a hunting fetish in bed… Scratch that, he felt VERY green. Truly disturbing…
Ember couldn't help snickering at his reaction. "Ha ha. Dipstick can't handle being 'poached'?" She sneered. After all, they were still enemies…
"Not helping!" He never thought anyone could have the urge to vomit just from hearing a description of something…
Ember just watched intently as her nemesis' admittedly-nice-looking face contorted in disgust while clearing the nasty image from his mind.
"Ugh… So, anyway… Point taken, he was a crappy boyfriend. Well… man, this is awkward… I think you did the right thing for yourself."
"Pfft… You're only saying that because what I did kept you alive." Ember scoffed. 'Of course, he'd call anything that saved his life 'the right move'. Self-righteous prick…' her mind railed, flaring her temper again.
"No, really... Why put up with someone that won't be there for you? I bet he refused to hear you perform any new songs."
Ember remained silent. He had her there.
"How about him doing anything together that YOU like doing?"
Ember glared. Again, he was right.
"Did he forget your birth—"
"ALRIGHT! So you understand how it was the right move! Just happened to be at a great time for you! I assure you, it's merely coincidence…" Ember growled, taking out her guitar, prepared to fly off again.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help…" Danny said, almost offended, a frown on his face. Ember hovered in the air.
"Persistent, aren't you?" Ember looked down upon her enemy, suddenly wondering if he was really as big an asshole as she thought. It wasn't like he demanded a fight or anything…
"There's two sides to every story, Ember. Some say you're pure evil. Others say you're just misunderstood. So far, I don't see any evil. Just a girl who's tired of being played." The halfa spoke, almost sage-like. Totally worthy of a dramatic comic book scene…
"Although I've never had anybody say that to my face before, which is actually kinda… nice, for a change… You sure do go for those cheesy sentimental kind of lines, don'cha, Baby-Pop?" the diva said, laughing. Not an evil laugh (alright, maybe a little), but more of an amused laugh. She couldn't help but be amused when his shoulders slumped and his face fell in what he perceived as failure.
"Aw, c'mon… I was trying!" he griped, almost like a normal annoyed teenager without any superhero problems to worry about.
"Keep trying, Dipstick. You'll come up with something original someday!" she guffawed as she flew off. Danny shook his head, at least content with the fact that his 'moment' managed to lift her sour mood, at least so he believed. Like he said, he never really thought of her as a true villain. More like a rival, at the time… That opinion of her would change over the course of time.
Fast-forward to present day…
If there's one thing that was truly stupefying about Amity Park, it was the lack of common sense with criminals. Most criminals with brains would probably think twice about doing anything illegal in a town where superpowered vigilantes roam the streets, apparently saving lives and generally helping uphold the "dreaded" law.
Not Amity's criminals. They still try anyway! Case in point, what seemed like a cool summer Thursday night…The quiet was interrupted by the classic cry for help from a young woman, trying to escape on foot through the Park from the pursuit of a jilted boyfriend who got a little too grabby for her tastes…
"Come on, baby. You know you want the D!" came the cocky response (no pun intended) of said soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. He seemed to be gaining on her…
"NO! I told you, I'm not ready! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she shrieked, pushing her legs to run faster. Faster, must go faster.
"Well, I'M ready! Does that mean nothing?!" he said, getting irritated with the chase.
C'mon, legs, go faster!
As it turned out, she would soon get some deserved rest.
"I'm gonna get me a great slice of 'pie', baby! You'll love it! Just wait and…" the randy rapist was interrupted by a loud guitar chord, the very sound waves of which knocked him over, sending him tumbling a few feet. The woman shrieked in fright, wondering if one of the town's many super-criminals decided to 'have some fun'. Quickly getting behind a nearby tree, she dared a look back to see what was going on.
To her fear, it was indeed a ghost. A pale ghost-girl in a mostly black punk-rocker outfit with blue hair flickering like fire and a glare like cold ice. However, the glare seemed to be directed toward her pushy ex.
"Wha… Wha, what the hell…? What's your problem…?!" the schmuck said, voice quivering between indignation and cowardice. The blue/pale-white specter, custom guitar in hand, hovered closer, her mouth seemed to snarl even more.
"The lady said no, dirtbag…" Ember simply said, slowly hovering closer. She'd definitely have fun with this clown…
"But, but, but, but she'd like it! She's just shy, that's all! Ya don't know if ya like something until you try it, brah!" he stammered, his defense as frail as his legs seemed to be, seeing as he could do nothing but push himself backward with his hands, scared. Ember's eyes glowed fiercely. It was guys like this she couldn't stand. Especially since… no, that was then… It's over now. But that didn't mean she could just let things like this go unanswered.
She adjusted her grip on her guitar so that she was holding it like an axe instead of a musical instrument, something she normally resorted for close combat against other ghosts… Horndogs tend to only understand lessons in one way: the hard way…
"No! Please, no! I'll leave her be! Alright?! Please! I'll leave! No, what're you doing?! Please!" his begging kept going as Ember approached, raising her glowing, power-infused 'axe' overhead. The poor goon didn't know whether she'd aim for his head or his… 'smaller head'… Either way seemed to spell doom.
…Until a white-gloved hand gently-but-firmly landed on Ember's shoulder. She stopped, knowing who would have the nerve to casually place a hand there…
"You know better, flame…" Phantom said in a low voice, trying to keep the conversation between him and her.
"But… but he… he was gonna…" she stammered. She knew she let him down. If he wasn't nearby, she would've created one more patient for the emergency room. Danny sighed.
"I know what he was gonna do… That's why he's going to jail." As he said this, he quickly went over, grabbed the two-bit 'bro' by his shirt collar, lifted him onto his feet, put his arms behind his back, and used his ice powers to create solid 'ice handcuffs' to restrain him.
"Yaah! Damn, that's cold! Brrr… You can't do this to me, bro! I got rights!" the freezing jerk said, trying to muscle his arms out from the ice cuffs.
"Yeah? And we got witnesses. The woman you were chasing, for example. Then, there's me." The fact that Phantom was pretty much accepted by the town and thus had credibility wasn't lost on the offender.
"And me!" Ember chimed in gruffly. The town was still quite unsure about Danny's wild new 'teammate', considering the damages her 'heroics' tended to cause, not to mention the stolen music-related items she'd claim as 'rewards'…but perhaps, if this goes to court, her word would be accepted as long as she testified with Danny? Maybe. It would be an odd situation. Still, it was more trouble for the goon.
"Come on, guys! I'm tellin' ya, she's ready for it! She just doesn't know the thrill, bro!" the slimeball whined, wriggling in Phantom's grasp as he held him in place by his shirt collar.
"Are you out of your mind? Women aren't sex toys!" was Phantom's stern response, his green eyes glowing. The perp let out a distinct, unmanly "Eep!".
"You're so lucky Phantom just happened to be in the area. Otherwise, you would have had a painful time learning that women are just as human as you dumbass males!" Ember added, floating away to calm herself down.
The sound of sirens could be heard approaching from the distance. The scared woman must've called the cops. Good for Phantom. "I hope you remember the lesson learned here today." he said, sighing afterward as he delivered a light (for him) punch to the side of the goon's head, knocking him out so he wouldn't be a problem for the cops to handle.
Looking around, he noticed the frightened woman the pervert was chasing, still hiding behind the tree. He flew over to her. "Are you alright, ma'am?"
"Y…yes… Thank you…" The petite blonde was quivering. It was understandable how Ember's actions would leave people a little nervous about the ghosts' intentions.
"Er… Sorry about Ember. Her attitude, I mean…" Danny began feeling awkward. Did Batman ever have to set the record straight to people about Catwoman?
"Yeah, that's… That's fine. Umm… She had a rough love life too?"
"That obvious, huh?" Danny said, a light smirk on his face. Thank God for icebreakers. The woman seemed to lose her nervousness at the somewhat-surprised tone of his question.
"You kidding? Some woman goes apeshit on a random guy stalking a woman, how can you not at least consider the possibility?"
"Got me there." With that, the rest of the event was a typical comic book crime scene 'wrap-up'. Cops arrive, criminal gets thrown into the back seat of a police cruiser, police get statements from both Phantom and the would-be victim, cops inform Phantom that he should 'keep an eye on Ember', the woman thanks Phantom again for the rescue and asks that he say thanks to Ember for her as well, Phantom flies off for the night.
It wasn't often that Ember was distressed. At least it wasn't often since their relationship began, anyway… But he figured that the first thing to do to look for her would be to check her favorite Amity Park haunts. Pun totally intended…
The music store turned up empty, as did the concert hall, her favorite spot in the Park (a small clearing, appearing to be separate from the rest of the park), and even the roof of the tallest building downtown (she liked the view). With a sigh, he started for home.
As he flew, he passed over the movie theater. Glimpsing down at it, he had a thought. This late at night, it shouldn't be packed with many people, if any… Phasing invisibly through each of the theater rooms, his hunch proved correct when he saw Ember, glowing hair and all, sitting all alone in the spacious room while watching the late, late, late showing of the new X-Men movie. Ah, movies, the power of escapism!
He floated over, sat in the seat next to hers, and willed himself visible. Ember wasn't surprised, the frown and thousand-yard-stare going unchanged. She knew he'd find her eventually…
"Em?... You alright?" He didn't know where to start. Comic book heroes seemed to know what to say to their lovers. Well, except maybe Spider-Man. He's kinda awkward too.
"Oh yeah… I'm fine for somebody that almost murdered someone in cold blood… Just peachy, thanks for asking." Yep, she was sore and kicking herself, covering it with sarcasm…
"Ya know what? It's fine. Don't sweat it" the halfa answered, daring to put an arm around her in that classic "watching a movie with a date" maneuver. Ember looked at him, eyebrow raised.
"What? No noble speech about how I let you down or how lucky it was that you just happened to be flying about on patrol?" She wondered whether she should throw his arm off her or not.
"Nope. I understand why you reacted like that. I also understand that it's kinda hard for former villains to change their ways completely, not that I'm expecting a 100% different Ember, of course. That'd be kinda…not you. I enjoy how you are. I'm just saying that old habits die hard, ya know. I mean, hey, things worked out, right?"
She decided that his arm stays. "Yeah? Well, I understand that you still can't think of something originally clever, Baby-Pop…" she muttered, knowing that the dig about originality would probably hit a nerve. She knew it did when Danny responded with a low grunt. It was their running gag and they enjoyed it, in their own strange way. Almost like Batman and Catwoman seemed to enjoy physically fighting each other occasionally…
"But still, I'll give you a little credit for being such a flatterer." she said, leaning into him while still half-heartedly watching the movie. The duo resigned themselves to watching the mutant action on the screen.
In truth, a part of Danny wanted to consider this incident another stroke of chance, this time with him saving her from a dark path. The same part of him was a little disappointed that she was so tempted. But some erudite lecture wasn't what was needed, not for her. Especially since he still remembers a certain dark moment of his comic-esque career involving his own dark side… What was needed was caring and forgiveness, as corny as that sounded. It would take some time for Ember to return to her usual, loud, spunky self, but for Danny, any progress was good progress.
Two days later, he definitely knew she was feeling better. The Fenton Turntables, part of a strange theory that Jack had thought up about music luring in ghosts, ended up stolen at some point in the day. On Danny's desk, there was simply a note saying "Thanks for the sweet turntables, Baby-Pop. Consider that your 'cheer up' gift to me. Love, Ember, Queen of Rock!" He couldn't help but smile and shake his head. Why turntables? Was she thinking of becoming a DJ?
He began to wonder if he would ever have some semblance of a normal life. Then he realized that he probably wouldn't, because… hadn't most superheroes asked themselves that very question at least once? He then began to wonder how well a comic book series about him would sell…
Author's Note: Part 2, done! I think I did a good job, but I'm not sure. Feel free to chime in and let me know. Thank you. By the way, I admit that I probably should've come up with names for the scared woman and the horny bro, but I'd probably end up using names that've been used a thousand freakin' times or something. Pardon me for that!
On a side note, never been one for self-promotion, but perhaps I should give it a shot. Ahem… If any of you DP fans also happen to like Teen Titans and/or Beetlejuice (cartoon version), check out my other recent works!
"Raven Can Be A Real Witch Sometimes" - A Beast Boy/Raven fic about Raven finding a suitable costume for Halloween. Hilarity and pop-culture references ensue.
"Grim Reminder (And Other One-Shots)" – A series of loosely-connected one-shots which are mainly BB/Rae with hints of Robin/Starfire. The running gag of these is that each of the stories have something to do with aspects of pro-wrestling (You know, the WWE).
"Silent Payback" – A Beetlejuice/Silent Hill semi-crossover fic about what happens when Beetlejuice's enemies somehow curse Lydia's hometown of Peaceful Pines to have the same demonic problems as Silent Hill. Will be a BJ/Lydia pairing. Currently, on hiatus but I'm hoping to get back on track on this one. Perhaps some reviews can spark some inspiration?
If you look at my profile, I know there's a few other fics I wrote/tried to write. Those were from years ago when I was younger. If you want to see rookie writing, feel free. Lol. No regrets.
Anyways, feel free to review! It'll be much appreciated.
