Sasia93, Snickerer, Danny-Phantoms-Future-Wife, Lady Jarine, Soul Eater, Sunshine Silverjojo, dragon-game, and Coronadofwb all get cookies.

Chapter 4: Routine

I do not own Danny Phantom, Ghost World, Lyrical Ballads, or Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

The next night, Thursday, Lancer stayed late at Casper High preparing for his Friday classes. As he finally shut off his computer, he glanced at the clock above the door of his office. Eight o'clock. Lancer shook his head in exasperation as he slung his coat over his shoulders. He'd missed dinner because of working too late, again.

As he was setting his fedora on his head, he shivered despite the warmth of the room and saw an inexplicable plume of ectoplasm-tainted breath leave his mouth. His eyes narrowed in confusion, and then the ground shook, a sure sign of a ghost in the vicinity. Judging by the strength of the vibrations, this one was probably in the school itself.

Lancer looked longingly at his briefcase, then carefully placed his hat on top of it and muttered, "Ghost World." He had the power to fight ghosts himself, after all, and there was no knowing where Phantom might be at this hour, if the ghost was actually fighting on the side of the humans as Lancer now suspected. His rings slid over his body bringing up the familiar cold sensation and the moment he felt the transformation end, he started off in search of the ghost.

He found it about two minutes later in the science lab and hovered over it for a moment trying to figure out the best way to take it down. As far as he could tell, the ghost was a purple caricature of a frog. It stood about five feet at the shoulder, and its hind legs were as thick as Lancer's body. The frog's eyes swirled an iridescent green and a sheen of ectoplasmic slime covered its skin. He didn't even want to think what the thing's tongue looked like.

Well, thought Lancer, it can't be any worse than the Lunch Lady. Here goes nothing. He fired a ray at the frog, then shot around to its other side as it turned to find the source of the irritation. Lancer fired another blast, and moved out of the way again. He repeated the sequence, but this time the frog didn't turn its body. Instead it sat there for a moment and blinked at Lancer, hovering above it, then suddenly flicked out a massive length of tongue and caught the teacher around the waist.

Lancer let out a startled cry and hit the tongue with a bolt of energy reflexively, but unfortunately it just caused the frog to tighten its hold on him and Lancer was drawn towards the ghost's mouth gasping for air. He managed to hit it between the eyes with another blast and the frog reeled, smashed Lancer through a row of beakers laid out on a counter and slammed him against a wall. Lancer tugged frantically at the tongue, but it wouldn't loosen, and suddenly he was moving towards the open mouth again.

Just as he'd given up hope of ever getting out of this mess, a ball of green ectoplasm hit the frog in the back of the head, and it dropped Lancer, who scrambled away hurriedly and pulled himself up by grasping the counter with both hands.

"You okay?" Phantom yelled as he ducked down under the frog's chin and delivered a swift uppercut.

"Bit bruised!" Lancer called back as the frog sailed past him and broke the glass of the chemical cabinet. Phantom quickly pulled his Thermos off his back and sucked the dazed ghost frog into it. Then he somewhat shyly approached Lancer, white hair hanging messily in his eyes. The ghost looked so much like the students he dealt with that Lancer laughed despite himself. Phantom quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, accusatorially and slightly offended. Lancer quickly put on a straight face again.

"Nothing. You just reminded me of something, that's all."

Phantom nodded. "Mmm. Well, if it helps any, ghosts heal quickly. Those bruises'll be gone in a couple hours."

"That fast?" It made a kind of sense that injuries wouldn't last as long if you were dead. Lancer had never really thought about it (never had the need to, really). Would the same thing hold if you were somehow only half-dead? He supposed he'd find out soon enough.

Phantom nodded and rose a little in the air. "Look, um, I should be getting back on patrol. Do you want to come with me, learn the ropes? I mean, you seem to want to help with the ghost fighting stuff..." He was starting to look very uncomfortable.

"Of course!" Lancer jumped at the invitation, forgetting about his need to go home and eat something. He joined Phantom in the air, grinning, and they flew out through the ceiling. He followed the younger-looking ghost for a moment in silence, then drew level with him.

"Do you patrol every night, then?"

"Yeah. Sometimes a couple times. How come you were at the school?"

"Umm," Lancer answered, stalling for time to come up with an answer that wouldn't betray his identity. He wasn't sure he could trust Phantom completely yet. "I was in the area, sensed a ghost, and went for it. I probably shouldn't have, though. I wasn't very good."

"Neither was I when I started," Phantom said encouragingly. "I almost lost to the Lunch Lady. If it wasn't for dumb luck, I would have."

"Really?" I suppose in hindsight I can see that. It was the first time anyone saw him, after all. Lancer shifted topic as they flew on past the town hall. He needed to know exactly what he was getting himself into. "So how many ghosts are there in the average week?"

"Usually about four or five," the boy answered. "Most of them are animals, though. It's the human ones that you've got to watch for. They're harder to get rid of, and they keep coming back."

"Good to know," Lancer said gratefully, filing the information away. Interesting how we only ever really see the humanoid ghosts. Phantom must be doing a pretty good job of dealing with them.

They completed the rest of the fly-by of the city in silence, then came to a stop above Casper High again. Lancer looked at Phantom curiously.

"The patrol's done," Phantom explained. "I think we're safe for the night. I, I guess I'll see you around then?"

"I suppose so," Lancer answered, and Phantom took off in the direction of one of the subdivisions. He descended back into his office and changed back to human almost reluctantly. Still, he picked up his fedora and his briefcase and left the school, feeling a little let down. His first major meeting with Phantom had been spent in near silence. He did seem to appreciate the company on patrol, though, and willing to support Lancer with his fighting.

Lancer climbed into his car and clipped on his seat belt, then realized that his abdomen was barely hurting at all anymore. The healing abilities must indeed work for half-ghosts too. It was a comforting thought, since it meant he wouldn't have as many obvious injuries to cover up at a human.

He placed his key in the ignition, started the car, and drove home. He should probably make an early night of it, considering that he'd been out late the night before and been pretty active that day.

---

Lancer arrived at school the next morning feeling rested but more than ready for the workweek to be over. He entered the school office humming a tune that stopped in his throat at the sight of a worried conversation between Principal Ishiyama and Steve Falooka, the head of the science department.

"Oh, good, William, you're here," Ishiyama asked, turning to him.

"What's going on?" Lancer asked, despite being fairly certain what this was about.

"The science lab was trashed last night," Falooka told him. "You often stay late. You didn't happen to catch the culprit, did you?"

"What? No. It must have happened after I left." Lancer swallowed. Half the damage was his fault. "How bad is it?"

"All replaceable, thank goodness," the principal said, "but we'll have to cancel labs for the next week or so. There was a chemical spill and it ate a hole through the floor. Are you sure you have no idea, William?"

"I heard and saw nothing," Lancer answered. "Perhaps it was a ghost?"

"Phantom!" Falooka declared. "He's a troublemaker, that one is. Doesn't care what he does to things. I hope the Fentons catch him soon." Lancer paled slightly. Granted, a bit of the damage was Phantom's fault, but Lancer didn't feel he deserved a bad rap for it. And to have the Fentons catch the boy, or Lancer himself...

"Maybe it wasn't Phantom?" he suggested. "I mean, he's not the only ghost in town. It could have been any of them."

Falooka sputtered. "Of course it was Phantom! He's the only ghost we consistently see at Casper!" He grabbed the stack of mail he'd come in for and stalked out. Lancer began to make his way towards his office, unaware that the Asian principal was following him.

"Since when have you been on Phantom's side, William? Didn't you just tell your English class how dangerous he was?"

Lancer jumped and dropped his hat, which he'd been about to hang beside the door. "Lyrical Ballads! Sorry, Beth. And I wasn't necessarily saying Phantom was good right now, just that we shouldn't be jumping to conclusions."

"All right." Beth Ishiyama didn't sound like she completely believed him as she turned to leave the doorway. "Don't forget about the meeting at lunch."

"I won't." Lancer finished pulling off his coat and turned to his desk, where he flicked open his briefcase and took out the history papers he'd graded. He just hoped that a ghost wouldn't attack during school today. He couldn't just run off in the middle of class, unlike some of his students.

---

Mercifully, there wasn't a ghost attack until that afternoon, when he was presiding over detention. Danny Fenton had made it into the room for the third time that week, due to something involving several pieces of bubble gum, a badly drawn caricature of Dash Baxter as a caveman, and bad timing. In his twenty-five years of teaching, Lancer had never seen a boy with such a talent for trouble as Danny.

The vice-principal was reading behind his desk and keeping a periodic eye on the only student in the room to make sure he was actually doing his homework rather than doodling or staring out the window. Suddenly Lancer shivered and let out that strange plume of breath again.

Oh great, another ghost. This is ridiculous. Then he noticed that Danny had stiffened as well, and froze. Rime of the Ancient Mariner! He didn't just see that, did he? Well, doesn't matter, I've got to deal with this anyway.

Lancer cleared his throat and stood up. "Mr. Fenton? I just remembered I forgot some marking in my office. I'll be right back." Great, William. Now you're lying to your students... Danny nodded, and Lancer left, walking a short ways down the hallway before transforming and flying quickly up onto the roof to see what was going on. He spotted two figures in the parking lot and quickly went invisible before they spotted him. Since they were the only unfamiliar things in the area he went down for a closer look.

A dirty blond boy of in his early twenties was straddling a large motorbike and arguing with a girl dressed in a punk style, her back to Lancer. For where the teacher was floating, they looked fairly normal, even if their clothes were out of date by about twenty years.

"Aww, Kitty, come on!" the boy complained. "You've seen the school again. Now let's get out of here before Phantom shows."

Lancer's pointed ears perked up. Phantom? They're afraid of Phantom? Then they must be ghosts. Sounds like they used to go here too.

"I meant inside, Johnny." The girl folded her arms. "And we both know Shadow can take him, so let's go!"

"Kit-ty..." Johnny protested. "It was a fluke we even got out of the Zone. Just get back on the bike and..." Kitty whirled around and started staking towards the school. Lancer noticed that her skin was actually slightly blue as he flew to block her path and got a better look at her. He appeared about two feet in front of her and she shrieked.

"You're not getting inside," Lancer told her and her boyfriend, who'd leapt off his motorcycle to join the frightened girl. "Either of you. So forget it."

"Really?" the boy scoffed. "You and what army?"

"Me," came a slightly younger, but very angry, voice slightly to Lancer's right. "How'd you get out of the Ghost Zone, Johnny?"

"How'd you think we got out, Phantom?" Johnny shot back. "Now look, we don't want any trouble from you, honest."

"Good. That means you two have two minutes to get back to the Portal before we come after you."

"And if we don't?" Kitty asked stubbornly.

"Then it's the Thermos for the three of you." Phantom pretended to check his watch. "Your time starts now..."

Kitty dodged to the side and started running for the nearest door to the school. Phantom tackled her while Lancer waylaid Johnny, who grimaced at the other ghost's grip.

"Shadow!" he yelled.

Who?

Two hands closed on Lancer's ankles and he found them moving quickly towards the ground in front of Johnny. He landed hard on his back and saw Johnny standing over him laughing. Then the boy's face disappeared as he went to help Kitty and it was replaced by a nearly shapeless mass with two very pointed fangs and dreadlocks. Lancer let out a cry of fear despite himself, and then the creature (he assumed this was Shadow) launched itself at him. A moment later Lancer was back on his feet, hand and eyes blazing, and fingering a stream of ectoplasm coming from a fresh wound on his cheek.

The half-ghost sent the ray of energy from his hand at Shadow, creating a temporary hole in the creature but otherwise not fazing it. The black shape landed a vicious blow to Lancer's gut, making him stagger backwards gasping in pain. It used his distraction to send him spinning through the air.

Lancer bounced on impact and sent another ray at the thing. When it again didn't react differently, he started sending blast after blast at it in frustration, vaguely noticing that there didn't seem to be quite as fighting in the background anymore. The holes Lancer was creating simply knitted themselves together, but they were getting slightly slower at doing so. Lancer realized the creature was light sensitive, and began to prime an intense blast to send at it.

Shadow lunged at him again and Lancer drew his arm back to lob the ball of energy he'd somehow created. Just as he was about to release it, though, the ghost arched its back and get out a shriek of pain. It seemed to be tearing apart. Then suddenly a bright blue-white light appeared and Shadow began to be sucked backwards. Lancer realized it was Phantom's Thermos and hit the ground immediately. He didn't want to be trapped in that thing.

When Shadow had vanished, Lancer stood up again, slightly miffed. "I almost had him."

Phantom shook his head. "No you didn't. Ectoenergy's not strong enough to hurt him badly. You need something stronger, like this." He held up a flashlight and twirled it like a pistol.

"Anyway," Phantom continued, stopping the flashlight from spinning, "I'd better be returning this. See you around." He took off across the parking lot, vanishing from sight after about twenty feet. Lancer quickly vanished as well and flew into the first floor men's washroom, where he transformed back to human in front of the mirror. The cut Shadow had given him was already healing, and mercifully bleeding red rather than green. Lancer straightened his tie and left the washroom in the direction of his classroom, carrying on a mental monologue as he did so.

I did almost have him. If I'd been able to throw that ball, I'm sure I could have done something useful. Phantom's cocky. Thinks I'm weak when I'm not. I know how to use these powers. Well, apart from that ball one, which I didn't know I could do. Hmm, wonder if I've got other powers I don't know of? Something to test. Phantom didn't even say thank you. Neither did I, mind, but, argh, I almost had himRobinson Crusoe

The detention room was empty. Danny was missing. Lancer's eyes narrowed at the boy's abandoned backpack and homework. He wasn't going to get off lightly for this.

There was the sound of pounding feet in the hallway and Lancer turned towards them. Danny was pelting down the hall, looked a little fearful. He skidded to a halt in front of the irate teacher and tried to catch his breath.

"Hey, Mr. Lancer... Er, I can explain?"

"I doubt that," Lancer said. "That'll be fifteen minutes longer for leaving without permission, and five for running in the halls." Danny opened his mouth to protest but the portly teacher grabbed his arm and forced him into the room.

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped, watched the teen stumble slightly and wince. They both resumed their seats and Lancer made sure Danny was getting back to work before returning to his novel.

About forty minutes later, Lancer glanced at his watch and announced, "You can go, Mr. Fenton."

"Thanks!" Danny looked incredibly relieved as he dumped his homework into his bag, and left. Half a minute later Lancer gasped out the plume of breath that seemed to signal a nearby ghost. He sighed, considering leaving the job for Phantom to handle alone, thought better of it, and popped his head around the door. Danny was standing a good thirty feet down the hall, his cell phone to his ear. He wouldn't notice Lancer's transformation.

Good, thought Lancer. "Ghost World." The rings encased him instantly. Lancer went invisible and stepped through the wall into the hallway. Danny had dropped his backpack to the ground, and as Lancer watched he reached straight into his locker without opening the door. Danny pulled out a slightly battered silver thermos and looked around cautiously. Seeing no one, the boy relaxed slightly but remained alert. A moment later, two blue-white rings, not unlike Lancer's, appeared at Danny's waist. As Lancer watched in shock, the ghost forgotten, the rings moved away from each other, revealing, of all people, Danny Phantom. Danny took off immediately through the opposite, and Lancer quickly followed him, mental jaw agape.

Well, that explains a lot.

---

Lancer followed Danny to the school gymnasium, where the younger half-ghost was already zooming around two giant green octopuses and shooting ectoblasts. The octopuses were trying to grab him in their tentacles, but Danny was managing to keep one step ahead. Unfortunately, when he noticed Lancer's appearance, one of the ghosts grabbed his ankle and flung him through the air.

Danny screamed and tried to get a clear shot of the ghost's head. Lancer fired a blast at the ghost, and it let go of Danny, who yelled a hasty "Thanks!" before continuing the fight. Lancer flew closer and started firing shots as well.

"There has got to be a better way to do this!" he yelled to the boy.

"Nope," Danny hollered back, ducking a tentacle, "not really! We've got to get them weak enough to suck them into the Thermos!" A second tentacle appeared almost out of nowhere and grabbed Danny's wrist, causing him to drop the Thermos. It clattered to the gym floor.

"Crud! Let go of me!" At the moment, the gym doors burst open and Sam and Tucker ran in.

"Danny!"

"Thanks for coming, guys! Tucker, wanna toss up the Thermos?" Lancer blinked even as he himself was trying to evade the octopuses' arms.

Sam and Tucker know about Danny?

Tucker's aim was off, and the Thermos flew just out of Danny's reach to be caught by an Ectopus.

"Tucker!" Danny yelled angrily, finally freeing his hand.

"Sorry!"

"Hold on," came Sam's voice. "I think I've got another in my bag." She slung her spider knapsack off her back and started rummaging in it. Danny turned to Lancer, looking a little panicked.

"We've got to get that Thermos back. Those other ghosts are still in it."

Lancer nodded and the two part-ghosts chased the Ectopuses out of the gym and into the sky high above the school. Danny made a signal for Lancer to fly left while he flew right. They both fired ectoblasts as they closed in on the ghosts, only to watch the ghosts drop the Thermos and fly away. Danny lunged for the metal cyclinder and caught it.

Why on earth did they do that? thought Lancer.

"Oh, great." Danny had stiffened and was glaring over Lancer's shoulder. "Get behind me. Now."

As Lancer was obeying, he heard a voice that sent chills down his already cold spine. Whoever this was, they weren't a nice person.

"Why Daniel, what a surprise. I drop by Amity Park to visit my favourite little ghost and I find out he's made a friend." The speaker smirked, though Lancer, still in the process of repositioning himself, didn't notice. "Care to introduce us, Daniel?"

Lancer turned fully behind Danny and saw that the voice belonged to a ghost hovering about six feet away with his bulky arms folded across his chest. His black hair formed two horn-like spikes and his teeth were pointed like a vampire's. He wore a gray and black costume, and a white cape with red lining waving in the breeze behind him. His skin was a pale blue and his eyes glowed red.

No, thought Lancer, not a very nice person at all.

"No one you should care about, Plasmius," Danny spat.

So this was Vlad Plasmius? The only ghost as elusive as Danny Phantom? The photos Lancer had found for the lecture four days ago (had it really been just four days?) didn't do his malevolence justice. And he and Danny clearly had a history. Just what was his student getting up to in his spare time?

"Au contraire, child," sneered Plasmius, "I care about every ghost. You should know that." He smirked, challenging Danny. "Now, are you going to introduce us, or am I going to be forced to take matters into my own hands?"

Danny moved grudgingly forward until he was halfway in between the two other ghosts. He turned to face them, and Lancer noticed that he didn't look very pleased.

"This is Vlad Plasmius. Vlad, this is..." Danny trailed off and looked pleadingly at Lancer.

"Uh... Will." Why the dickens hadn't he thought of a good pseudonym yet? "Will... Spirit."

"Will Spirit? Well, Will, I do hope young Daniel has told you only good things about me. The boy's been known to lie on occasion." Another smirk. "If you ever need something, be sure to drop by. I have more than ample resources. Oh, and Daniel, don't forget I'm watching you. Give my regards to your mother. Will, it's been a pleasure meeting you."

Plasmius vanished in a cloud of green smoke, and Lancer turned to Danny, a million questions boiling to the surface of his mind. The green-eyed boy shook his head.

"Not now. I, um, have to make sure those two kids are safe. Um, yeah. Bye!"

Danny soared back down to the school and disappeared. Lancer followed him, but thought better of pressing the boy for answers. There would be plenty of later opportunities, and he's taken up enough of Danny's Friday as it was.

By the time Lancer made it back into his office a few minutes later, Danny, Sam, and Tucker were already heading down the front steps. Lancer let himself fall against the window frame and rubbed the bridge of his nose. All this was going to call for a lot of adjustment...

---

"So that's what Lancer looks like now?" Sam asked as she and her two male friends began to make their way towards the school gates.

"Yeah," Danny replied.

"Sweet!" Tucker had managed to get a digital photo of Lancer's ghost form on his PDA and was grinning madly.

"Not bad, considering what he looks like normally." Sam allowed herself a slight smirk.

"Unless you consider his stomach," Tucker pointed out, jabbing a finger at the picture. "The guy seriously needs to lose some weight."

"He fights pretty good, though, for a beginner, and he seems to want to help," Danny said, adjusting his bag. "Oh, and he introduced himself to Vlad as Will Spirit, just so you know."

"Will Spirit? What sort of a name is that?" Sam asked in slight distaste.

"I think he made it up on the spot," Danny said. "Hope he doesn't regret it later."

"It's better than Inviso-Bill," Tucker teased, causing Danny to flare up at his old moniker.

"That wasn't my idea!"

"What was Vlad doing here, anyway?" Sam probed.

"Probably looking for Lancer," Danny groaned. "You know, 'get the new halfa on my side so I can take over the world'..."

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