Author's Note: Like the previous chapter, this is kinda a crack-plot idea. Only moreso… And this time, it's more of a drabble than a full-fledged chapter. But this weird idea came to mind and I think it's too good to pass up. It's mainly a comedy piece involving one reference to something. Hint: Anybody that's been following WWE in recent months (their rookie brand, NXT, in particular) will immediately know what I mean when the joke goes into effect. Everybody else, I'll explain but I hope the joke is funny enough to be understood by non-fans anyway. After all, it's more of a musical joke than a wrestling one. So keep that in mind as you read this, as I'm kinda going all "let's see what happens" with this chapter…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything I happen to use here. Not one thing. Just this silly plot idea.
Chapter 12: Danny's It Factor
Consciousness wasn't a friend to Danny Phantom one Friday afternoon, especially because the 'Love Slave' and his beloved Ember were ambushed by a combination of SkulkTech 2.2, Fright Knight, and for some reason, an aggressive Klemper. One would wonder if the shock from the normally friendly annoyance's change in attitude was part of why the ambush worked well enough to quickly render Phantom unconscious, leaving an already wounded Ember to face the trio alone.
But for that time, all Danny knew was darkness. The last thing he had seen before fading out was Ember lashing out at SkulkTech with her guitar and, from his position of laying on cracked asphalt, the fact that their fight had started to draw citizens to come watch. Another fact of living in Amity Park: When metahumans and ghosts fight as often as they do there, the incidents aren't referred to as attacks or even as a 'war on crime'. To some, it's free entertainment.
Eventually, with no clue of how much time had passed, the halfa started to regain consciousness, the feeling of pain instantly making its presence known, despite his ghostly form's slight healing factor. Opening his eyes, he was expecting to see the form of a gloating SkulkTech, wanting to savor the final kill. Instead, he saw Ember standing above him. Bruised, battered, her outfit worn from battle, exhausted… with a smug grin on her face?
"Em? Ugh… Wha…. What happened…?" he asked as he tried to even move. Still appearing to be the cat that ate the canary, Ember gingerly kneeled down and grabbed his arm, carefully pulling him up.
"Oh, nothing really. Just took care of business while you were napping." she said in a sly tone as she helped stand him up. "Had to crank your mom's little power booster she gave me last Christmas to the max, but it worked."
"You… You beat them all by yourself?!" Danny exclaimed in shock. Some of the surrounding citizens nodded their heads, witnesses to the whole thing. Ember's grin widened.
"Well, ya know what that means, my Baby-Pop!" she said, using whatever was left of her power to conjure up their realm's iPhone stereo. As Ember adjusted the volume speakers (to 11, naturally) before fidgeting with the song choices, Danny realized what she was going to play, remembering something that the ghostly rock star had stuck in her head recently…
"Oh God, no! Ember!"
"Keep calling my name, Dipstick. It's only gonna make the moment feel that much better!" she said as she found the song she wanted to play for the gathered people.
A piano started playing, but just a couple of the lower notes, repeatedly as if the player was testing the piano… or setting the tone. Danny groaned… Ember spread her arms to bask in the attention… And then, the lyrics hit, as subtle as a sledgehammer.
"GLORIOUS!
No, I won't give in! I won't give in!
'Til I'm victorious!
And I will defend! I will defend!"
Drawing her guitar, Ember then played along with the electric guitar part of the song. For the life of him, Danny could not figure out why she was blasting this like it was her theme music. He was used to Ember loving and needing attention, but… was she just bragging that she managed to stop crime without him for once?
"GLORIOUS!
No, I won't give in! I won't give in!
'Til I'm victorious!
And I will defend! I will defend!
And then, I'll do what I must!
No, I won't give in! I won't give in!
Oh, so glorious!
Until the end! Until the end!"
Whenever the lyrical parts of the music were going in between guitar sections, Ember was practically parading herself around like she had just won a heavyweight championship, much to the amusement of the gathered citizens. She even managed to direct the crowd into a close bunch and began crowdsurfing when the lyrics repeated itself again. The fallen bodies of the knocked-out villains laying near the makeshift mosh pit of humanity added to the effect of Ember's grandstanding, from Danny's point of view Although, Danny had to admit that beating two of the Ghost Zone's toughest bruisers (and one persistent weakling) on her own was quite a feat worth telling about…
Still, did she really have to do all this showboating about it? At his expense?
Instead of blaming her, Danny decided to blame the source of Ember's inspiration here: the Internet. Since when did a pro-wrestler's theme song get so viral?
"GLORIOUS!..."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok… Well, there's that. My first drabble ever and it's a crack idea I'm not even sure some people will fully understand. But I'll explain.
So, a few months back, WWE hired popular independent wrestler, Bobby Roode (nicknamed 'The It Factor', which explains the chapter title), for their NXT brand. Couple of months ago, he debuted on TV (or rather, on streaming internet). They gave him this particular theme music… and, for the fan community at least, it pretty much went totally viral. People keep downloading it, entire audiences sing along en masse when it plays at shows, creative people snuck the theme into TV shows/cartoons in parts where characters are doing something involving music, even a photobombing-esque trend called 'GloriousBombing' became a thing.
If any of you are curious, look Bobby Roode's NXT theme up on YouTube. It's entitled "Glorious Domination". Although, I think to fully understand my drabble, you should probably check it out. (A heads-up: It does repeat itself, as plenty of pro-wrestler theme songs tend to do after so long. At least this song's catchy as hell, even if it may be in a 'WTF?' kinda way.)
As for Ember, even though the theme doesn't sound like her usual taste in music genre (although it does have a decent amount of electric guitars), I just think the song would kinda fit her if she REALLY felt like gloating about something she did. She does get power from attention, after all. "Look at me! Aren't I glorious!?" That sorta thing.
Reviews would be greatly appreciated, as I'm quite unsure if this drabble will go over well. I realize sometimes we swing and miss when we post stuff. I just would like to know if I hit the proverbial home run or if I struck out. Maybe I hit and got as far as second base?
Speaking of reviews: Review Replies! Although, I know at this point I'm answering some old mail as I haven't updated in a while….. umm…. Oops? Maybe I should have PM'd my replies this time?
Invader Johnny – Yeah, maybe they're better off staying home. Especially after what I just put Danny though in this drabble. Lol.
Keeper Of Worlds – I hope this one's funny enough for ya too. Glad ya liked the 'Love Hina' chapter.
SeaFeudJagger – Thanks! I wish someone would draw that pic of Venom-Danny and Black-Cat-Ember too… Sweet idea. As for Dan, I'm not sure about including him. But him being evil is overdone? Wasn't being evil his whole point in the show? Just my thoughts on it. Hmm… A preggo Ember, huh? Sounds fun.
DannyPhantom619 – Glad ya liked it.
LoboRei12 – Thank you. It's nice to know that people like how I thought to present things, a little slapstick but with some realistic things too. Not everything can be solved in a half-hour. Just ask Sam about her parents! Lol. As for Ember, I kinda admit that when I look back on it, you're right. I didn't realize I had made it that particularly one-sided when it comes to who gives who crap. Your idea of Ember feeling bad about it is worth considering. I hope you didn't mind this new chapter being a short drabble of a weird idea. In a way, I guess plenty of people have "WTF?" moments in their lives and this drabble could be counted as one of those moments for Danny and Ember.
Darthdeadpool – My 'Love Slave collar' joke's turned into quite a winner, it seems. Thanks for the kind words.
Not sure what's next for this story, but I hope it's something to return this story to less "crack-y" ground, in case this chapter goes over like a wet fart in church. In any case, thanks for reading!
