Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
A quick note: This chapter's a lot longer than the rest of them. It just kept going and going and going… Okay, and I haven't even seen that commercial in forever. Now I have it stuck in my head. Aurgh! Also, I didn't copy and paste this story from the script. I was actually watching the movie while writing it, so if I wrote Spiderman instead of Danny Phantom, that's why.
Reviews: darkbunny92, Samantha-Girl Scout (hiya Sam ), PotterPhan21, acosta perez jose ramiro, KILLERGRIM23, Esme Kali Phantom, teddygeiger'sinsanecrazyluver, bertie reads heaps, Word Life 316, phantasiashadow (from Chapter 3).
Special thanks for pointing out my booboo in Chapter 4 (I'll be fixing it sometime soon ;;): Samantha-Girl Scout, PotterPhan21, acosta perez jose ramiro, KILLERGRIM23, Esme Kali Phantom, bertie reads heaps, Word Life 316.
Special thanks to acosta perez jose ramiro for sending in a replacement song for Spiderman's song!
Chapter 5: The World Unity Festival
Danny walked into the apartment he and Tucker shared, closing the door behind him. Vlad Masters was pacing around the front room talking on the phone with someone. Tucker was sitting boredly at the dining table with his homework, watching his uncle. Vlad raised a hand in greeting to Danny before returning to the phone.
"He's making his weekly inspection," Tucker said, pointing at his uncle with his pencil. "He's spent half of it on the phone." He looked back down at his books. "I'm glad you're here. I could really use your help." He looked up as Danny sighed, gripping the back of one of their dining chairs. "You okay? You look like you got second place in the science fair."
"No, I, uh, I was late for work, and Dr. Conners fired me."
"You were late again?" Tucker burst out, staring at his friend. "Dude, where do you go all the time?"
"Uh, around," Danny said vaguely.
Vlad hung up his phone right then, walking toward the living room. "Danny Fenton, maybe you'll tell me who she is?"
"This girl Tucker's been dating."
"Vlad," Tucker interrupted, shaking his head.
"When do I get to meet her?" Vlad asked, undaunted.
"Vlad!"
"Well, sorry, sir. Tucker hasn't mentioned her." Danny looked at Tucker pointedly who looked up almost guiltily.
"Hey, Danny, you're probably looking for a job now, right? You could help out, Vlad."
Danny shook his head. "No, I appreciate it, but I'll be fine."
"I'll just make a few calls," Vlad said. "It's no problem."
"No, I couldn't accept it, sir. I like to earn what I get. I'll find my own job."
"You want to make it on your own steam." Vlad was impressed. "I respect that."
Tucker looked dejected, sitting alone at the dining table while Danny went into the kitchen and got some orange juice, glancing down at the newspaper in front of him.
"What skills do you have, Fenton?" Vlad asked.
"I was thinking about something in photography," Danny mumbled distractedly, reading the ad on the front page.
The guard removed the lock on the cash truck, preparing to move the money from the truck to the bank. He stopped as a gun suddenly cocked, and he found himself looking down the short barrel of a pistol.
"Hello," the thief said before smacking the man in the side of the head with his gun. The man dropped to the ground unconscious. "Let's go!" he shouted to his companions. "Move it!" They gathered around him with rifles. "Watch the street."
A camera was tied to a nearby street post, facing the crime in place. The flash went off as it snapped a picture, distracting the criminals who pointed their guns at it. A shadow flew at them, passing the camera before pushing two of the men to the ground as he landed, doing a flip to land on his feet. He fired two Ghost Rays at the other two men then spun around as the other man tried to punch him. Danny's hand glowed, charging up for a Ghost Ray, but he simply punched the man instead. The strengthened punch made him fly back into a nearby car, leaving a rather larger dent in the side.
Danny turned to the camera, grinning. "Cheese," he said, then the flash went off as it snapped a few more pictures.
Mr. Jameson flipped through the pictures while Danny stood before his desk, anxiously waiting for a reply. Jameson looked up at the young photographer then back at the photos.
"They're crap." He flipped to another one. "Crap." He looked at another. "Crap." He turned to the last one. "Mega crap." He set them on his desk. "I'll give you two hundred for all of them."
"That seems a little low," Danny said.
Jameson held them out to him. "Take them somewhere else." Danny took his photos and stood, moving to leave. Jameson pressed a button on his phone as it buzzed.
"Sir, your wife said the tile you ordered for the foyer is out of stock," his secretary said.
He picked up the phone. "Tell her we'll just put a rug there." He hung up and turned back to Danny. "Sit down!" He held his hand out for the photos. "Give me that." Danny handed it to him, sitting down. He blinked, a little dazed. "I'll give you three hundred. It's the standard freelance fee." Jameson handed the photo to his reporter. "Tear up page one. Run that photo instead."
"Headline?"
"Danny Phantom, hero or menace? Exclusive Amity Park News photos."
"Menace? But he was protecting that armored car," Danny objected.
"I'm the editor in chief. You take the photos, I'll make up the headlines. Okay? All right? That okay with you?"
Danny blinked. "Yes, sir."
"Goodie." He wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Give this to my secretary, she'll give you your money."
"I'd like a job, sir," Danny said, taking the paper he handed him.
"No job. Freelance. Best thing in the world for a kid your age." He stood, pulling Danny out of his chair and putting an arm around the young man's shoulders as he led him out. "Bring me some more shots of that newspaper selling freak, but I never said you have a job. Meat: I'll send you a nice box of Christmas meat. It's the best I can do." He opened the door and pushed Danny out. "Now, get out of here. Bring me more photos."
Danny stood outside the door for a moment stunned. He shook his head then walked over to the secretary's desk, pulling out the slip of paper. "Hi, he said I should give this to you."
She looked at the paper. "Ah, welcome to the Amity Park News." She wrote out his check and handed it to him.
Vlad stood at the head of a table of business men. "As of today, MasterCorp has surpassed Aerospace as the leading supplier of weaponry to the United States military. In short, ladies and gentlemen of the board, costs are down, revenues are up, and our stock has never been higher." He smiled widely, obviously glad that his business was doing so well.
"It's wonderful news, Vlad. Wonderful. That's the reason we're selling the company," one of the board members said.
Vlad blinked, his smile fading. "What?" His voice was dangerous and commanding.
"Yes, Aerospace is recapitalizing in the wake of the bombing, and they made an offer that we can't refuse."
"And you didn't tell me?" He barely kept a growl out of his voice.
"Well, they certainly don't want a power struggle."
"The deal is off if you come with it," another member said. "We expect your resignation in thirty days."
"You can't do this to me! I started this company! Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed?" he shouted, eyes flashing red, but none of the board members seemed to notice, nor did they care about his outburst. "Max, please," he said, addressing the last board member to have spoken.
"The board is unanimous. We're announcing the sale after the World Unity Festival. I'm sorry." It was an empty apology, the kind of apology that someone said simply to be polite. Max wasn't sorry, and Vlad knew this.
"You're out, Masters," the first board member to have spoken said.
He scowled, breathing hard, looking down at the table. "Am I?" he whispered before looking back to the board member, a slow, evil smile crossing his lips.
"Welcome to MasterCorp's World Unity Day Festival!" the announcer shouted as the crowd cheered. "And now, people here's Ember with her song Remember!" (No, she's not going to put anyone under her spell in here. I just don't like that Macy Gray person's voice. Yick…)
It was, it was September,
Wind blows, the dead leaves fall,
To you, I did surrender,
Two weeks, you didn't call...
Danny wandered through the crowd with his camera, taking photos of some of the cultural costumes people were wearing. Jameson probably wouldn't pay for them, but someone else might. He stopped, lowering his camera as someone reading the Amity Park News came into view. "Amity Park fears Ghostly Specter," the headline read. He sighed heavily; he wasn't a criminal!
Your life goes on without me,
My life, a losing game,
But you should, you should not doubt me,
You will remember my name...
He moved on through the crowd, snapping a few pictures of Ember before moving toward the buildings around the square where the festival was taking place. He raised his camera, pointing it at one of the statues holding up the balcony and snapped a photo. He moved his camera up to the people on the balcony and snapped another photo. His camera drifted further left.
Oh, Ember, you will remember!
Ember, one thing remains!
Oh, Ember, so warm and tender!
You will remember my name!
Tucker and Sam stood on the balcony together talking. He lowered his camera once more, gazing up at them. Tucker was supposed to be his best friend, but best friends didn't take the girl that he knew his best friend was in love with.
"Sam, why didn't you wear the red one?" Tucker asked, rubbing his girlfriend's arm gently. She turned to him, slightly shocked at his words. "It's just that… I wanted to impress my uncle, and he loves red."
Sam smiled, trying to reassure him. "Well, maybe he'll be impressed no matter one. Besides, you think I'm beautiful." And there was no way that she was going to wear any color aside from her work uniform, which she was forced to wear as it was.
Tucker smiled too. "I think you're gorgeous." He leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned away, her smile fading some. She pretended not to notice that he had wanted to kiss her so he gazed down at the crowd instead, spotting Danny staring up at them. "Uh, Sam, let's go inside. I think I left my drink in there."
Your heart, your heart abandoned,
You're wrong, now bear the shame,
Like bad dreams in cold December,
Nothing, but ashes remain...
Danny looked away from them as they moved out of his view then gasped as a blue mist escaped his mouth. He looked around, eyes searching for the ghost.
Tucker moved toward the door with Sam, greeting one of the board members. He shook his hand before leaning toward the man. "Have you seen my uncle around?"
"No, I don't think he's coming today, Mr. Foley," the board member replied.
Danny continued to search for the ghost before he finally caught sight of a figure floating toward the festival.
"What is that?" people asked. "That's new this year!" Everyone was watching it and pointing. Some of them were cheering and laughing, but Danny was gazing at it intently, a feeling of foreboding coming over him. Ember stopped singing as the crowd around her began staring up at the thing, and she looked too. Everyone was watching it; everyone was wondering what it was. People cheered as it flew overhead. The figure circled around then flew toward the balcony. Sam began to slowly back away from the edge as it came closer.
An evil laugh escaped the figure's lips, and he fired a pink Ghost Ray just underneath the balcony. The story beneath the balcony exploded, and Sam screamed as the balcony began to tip toward the street. Debris from the building began to fall, and people began to run. Danny took off, ducking under a table, transforming, and taking to the skies. He fired a green Ghost Ray at a piece of the balcony that was about to fall on two onlookers. They ducked as smaller pieces began to tumble down on them.
Sam screamed as the balcony began to collapse right under feet, and she fell toward the railing onto a piece that was separating from the rest of the balcony. "Tucker, help me!" she screamed, fumbling around for something to get a grip on.
"Sam!" Tucker struggled to stand and get to her.
The statue beneath the balcony broke apart, and Sam screamed as the balcony she sat on tilted toward the street further. Tucker had finally made it to his feet, but his gaze turned to the ghost who was floating only a few feet away from the balcony. He had black hair with a white streak down the center, and it was pointed in horns. His eyes glowed red, and his outfit was a white jumpsuit with a cape lined with red.
"Out, am I?" he shouted at the board members still on the balcony before tossing a glowing pink ball of ectoplasm toward them. It went off, and they disintegrated, leaving only ash in their place.
Tucker made his way to Sam, calling her name, but his journey was cut short as a large piece of the building hit him on the head. He fell to the ground, knocked out cold. Sam stared at him for a moment then turned her gaze to the ghost who had just flown up beside her.
"Hello, my dear." He grinned, revealing pointed teeth, and she screamed.
"Look, it's Danny Phantom!" some said, pointing to the sky.
Sure enough, a familiar black and white blur sped toward the other ghost and shot him out of the air. The ghost fell into one of the tents, collapsing it. A piece of debris hit one of the balloons, and it popped, knocking over a piece of the stage. A boy of only twelve years old stood right about where the stage was going to collapse, staring at it wide-eyed.
"Move, kid!" Danny muttered, crouching on the wall.
When the kid made no move to move, Danny took off again. He made it in just enough time to turn the kid intangible. When the debris had settled, he flew them out of it and handed the kid to his grateful mother. This gave time for the other ghost to rise out of the tent unharmed. Danny shot off to fight the ghost who simply grabbed his fisted hand, smirking.
"Impressive," the ghost said then shoved him back.
Danny flew back with a shout, flying through two tables of food and drink before crashing into a lamp post that snapped and hit an innocent person on the head. The ghost took to the air once more, laughing at the other people's fear before chasing after Danny, firing small Ghost Rays at him as the younger ghost ran. Danny took to the skies to avoid the shots then whirled around as Sam screamed.
"Help! Someone help me!"
She was still struggling to get onto the more stable part of the balcony, but her movement only seemed to lodge more pieces loose, and the statue beneath that part of the balcony gave way completely. Danny flew toward her only to be intercepted by the other ghost who slammed him into a nearby window and began beating his head against the metal bars around it. He lashed out with a punch, turning intangible and phasing through the other ghost before dropping onto the balcony as the ghost elbowed him.
He turned to Sam who was gazing at him with fear etched in her beautiful lilac eyes. "Hold on!" he told her.
The ghost whirled around, preparing for another Ghost Ray, but Danny took a deep breath and let out a Ghostly Wail, throwing the ghost through the building. "We'll meet again, Danny Phantom!" the ghost shouted as he flew away.
Sam screamed as the railing behind her gave way, and she flipped over the edge, falling head first toward the ground screaming. Danny dove off the balcony, tucking his arms in close to him to fall faster. She gasped as he caught her then flew off with her in his arms. She looked up at him as they left the festival behind. His white hair was thrown back by the wind, green eyes gazing intently forward. She clung to him for dear life, smiling some. He had saved her.
He touched down on top of a building that had a garden. "Well, beats taking the subway." A couple that had obviously been having a private, romantic moment leapt up. "Don't mind us. She just needs to use the elevator," Danny said, making Sam laugh, then he moved to take off again.
"Wait!" She caught his arm, pulling him back. "Who are you?" His face looked so familiar.
He smiled, glowing green eyes gazing into her own lilac orbs. "You know who I am."
"I do?" she whispered, gazing at him in awe.
"I'm Danny Phantom!" he said then ran and leapt off the side of the building, allowing himself to free fall for awhile before flying away.
Sam ran to the edge, watching him with an enraptured look on her face as he flew off, whooping in joy. She smiled and kept watching him until he disappeared from her sight.
"Incredible? What do you mean by incredible?" Tucker asked when he talked to Sam later that night on the phone. Danny leaned over to look at his friend from where he sat in the background; Tucker had his back to him. "No, stay there. I'm going to come over." He paused as she replied. "No, I'm going to come over." He sighed at her reply. "All right, fine. Fine. Will you call me in the morning? And… and we'll go and have breakfast, and, um, I want to buy you something." She must have asked why. "Because I want to. It'll make you feel better. Okay? And what do you mean 'incredible'?" Danny couldn't help but laugh a little, silently. "All right, I'm sorry. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs—" He was interrupted as she hung up. He hung up too then turned to Danny. "She's just a little shaken." Danny just nodded. "Look, Danny, I know I should've told you about us. I mean, you know I'm crazy about her." Danny decided not to add the fact that he was crazy about Sam first. "You never made a move, man."
Danny nodded, swallowing hard. "You're right. I didn't."
An awkward silence fell between them. "I-I'm gunna go to bed now," Tucker decided.
Danny nodded, glancing down at the floor. "I'm gunna stay up for a while," he mumbled distractedly, thinking about the ghost he had fought.
"What was that thing?" Tucker asked as he made his way upstairs.
"I don't know," Danny admitted. "Whatever it is, somebody has to stop it."