"Danny come on it's time to go home!" A young woman named Maddie Fenton with light brown hair called from the park bench.

A young five year old came running towards her from the sand box barely giving himself time to wave back to the two other children who shouted goodbyes at him. He came to a screeching halt at his mother's feet and the woman stood upright.

"Ready to go sweetie?" She asked he nodded and panted but took her hand. The two walked through the park as the sun slowly began to fade to a summer night. "So what did you do today honey?" Maddie asked her son.

"Tucker, Sam, and me-"

"Tucker Sam and I." The mother corrected.

"Mommy you didn't play with them." The boy said confused and earned a light laugh from the woman. "Well anyways-"

"Anyway."

"I don't care about grammar." Danny said quickly obviously catching on to her little game. "So we played this game where we were all superheroes. And guess who I was mommy! Guess!"

Maddie smiled down at the youngster who was brimming with so much excitement. "I don't know Danny who were you?"

"I was Superman! He's really strong and awesome and he can fly. I've always wanted to fly haven't you?" The jump suited woman nodded slightly but was more astounded by how fast he could say things. "And I got to save the town and it was really really fun. And I think it'd always be really cool to be a hero!"

"It would be wouldn't it." Maddie agreed still clutching her son's hand.

"Yeah! I could save people and fly and help the world and fly!"

"You said fly twice." Maddie chuckled.

"I know." The five year old responded. "I just always wanted to." They continued on in silence for a while before Danny spoke again. "Mommy?"

"Yes Danny?"

"If I was a superhero would you still love me?"

Maddie looked at him in almost shock. "Who wouldn't I love you?" She asked as they stopped in front of the house.

"Well..." Danny began shyly. "in some of the comic books people don't like the heroes at all. What if I was one would you still love me?"

"Danny I'll love you no matter what." Maddie reassured her son and kneeled down to hug him. "Now come it's time to make dinner." She said standing upright and taking his hand while leading him into the house.

---------------------

"Oh darn it." A sixteen year old boy muttered as a shot fired up just missing him.

He flew faster then ever as a woman in a teal jumpsuit ran skillfully beneath him. Surely he could lose her but lately she'd been absolutely hell-bent on taking him down, it was all he ever heard about.

Another shot went up and this time hit him in the stomach. He floated in the air in pain for a moment and wiped some of the sweat and ectoplasm off his forehead. They'd been going at it for almost two hours by now and because he couldn't hurt her she was still very energetic while he was exhausted and wounded.

The halfa had already tried to go intangible and go home unnoticed but her ghost tracker found him with ease. And with her expertise her gun found him as well. What he wouldn't give for a few seconds to escape or destroy the tracker. How cruel was the world that the woman hunting him was his mother?

Danny was weak by now and his body was starting to refuse his request for fast maneuvering. As the minutes passed Danny doubted he could keep taking all of her merciless shots. And he was sure she knew it too. He was sure that she was very much aware that he was lacking in energy and that anytime now he would fall from the sky.

Another green light streaked upward through the sky and hit it's mark. The half ghost was faced with the impact to his chest and it knocked the wind out of him. Gasping for breath he plummeted to the ground and hit the basketball court pavement in the park.

She'd be here in a few minutes and he couldn't even move. His own beaten body betrayed him and changed him back to his human form, the form of her son. And he was terrified. What would she think when she saw him? Worse still what would she do?

His heart began to pick up pace as he heard heavy footsteps heading towards him. He needed to go and he needed to do it now. But as he attempted to get to his feet he fell back down. When he picked up his head again he saw a gun held a few inches from his head. Black boots were planted firmly to the ground before him.

"What are you?" Demanded the voice that used to sing him lullabies.

He refused eye contact and mumbled his name under his breath with his head hanging. Black bangs were hiding blue eyes and a few fancy gashes caused by her.

"Look at me." She barked with a cold voice. "Get your head up now."

He obeyed and managed to ease himself to his knees with some great effort.

"Now, who do you think you are?"

"Your son." He replied fighting the fear away from his voice but he was unable to stop the shaking of his body.

Maddie's breath hitched in her throat. That thing was Phantom only moments ago she'd seen him fall there. And yet the trembling figure before her looked exactly like her son. Anger rose in her as a bitter thought came to her mind.

"You bastard!" She cried causing startled blue eyes to look back up at her. "You killed my son didn't you? Didn't you!" She screamed.

The same blue eyes turned away from her and she took it as an answer. "You killed him!" She cried out in agony. "My little Danny is dead." She clutched her head. "Did you even give him a fighting chance? I bet you didn't I bet you just did it for fun. I'll kill you you disgusting ghost I'll rip you apart!"

The gun was once again pointed to him. And Danny wasn't sure how to explain to her that he was the ghost. How could he even make up her mind? She was frantic and angry and in despair over something that hadn't happened...yet.

"Mom wait don't." Danny chocked out in the knowledge that she shoots to kill.

Maddie tightened her grip on the gun so her hand began to hurt. "Don't you dare call me that." She growled. "You can't be my son. And just because you can take his form doesn't mean I'll believe you."

Danny felt his heart pound harder and faster against his chest he was certain that she could hear it by now. She wasn't going to listen to him or even reason. Her mind was made up and it decided that he was the enemy and that he was really dead. And what else could he do? Too weak to run and he wouldn't fight her even if he could. He decided that he would just have to accept his fate.

That's when he realized that he was going to die and at his mother's hands. He didn't want to die especially like this. Tear began to involuntarily fall from his eyes and he trembled uncontrollably. He held his arms against himself and rocked back and forth with his head down.

Maddie loosened her grip on the weapon and watched the boy with the raven hair crying. And there was no doubt in her mind that this child was hers. Her chest constricted at the thought of what she was about to do to him.

"Oh my God what am I doing." She whispered and threw the weapon to the side.

And instead she fell to her knees and wrapped the frightened boy in her arms and held him tightly in her arms. He seemed more terrified by her motion and tried to pull away.

"Shh now Danny I believe you and I'm sorry." She felt herself begin to cry as well. What on earth could have possessed her to shoot her son. Hell, she'd never shoot anything that looked slightly like her son. And yet she almost killed him herself. "What happened to you Danny?"

Danny had calmed down by now and he stared at her making sure she wasn't tricking him. "It was an accident." He managed to force out.

"An accident?" Maddie repeated quizzically until it struck her. "My God Danny the portal did this to you!" She exclaimed. He simply nodded and Maddie clutched him to her breast tighter. "I'm so sorry Danny I'm so sorry." She cried, was her baby dead?

"Mom let go." Danny said.

"No no Danny I'll never let go I love you."

"No seriously mom you're hurting me let go." He cried out and squirmed. She immediately released her hold on him and put her hands on his shoulders instead.

Maddie looked over her son and saw the cuts, gashes, and bruises. She tried hard not to think of what had internally been damaged. She prayed it wasn't anything serious that would bring him to the hospital. She would hate herself if it did.

"Mom I'm ok. Ghost heal fast..." He reassured her as he caught her stare.

"Does that mean my baby is really-"

Danny put his hand up to stop her. "Not fully. I'm a halfa."

"Then that means that it sort of..."

"We don't know for sure what it did to me. But please can we talk about this later I really just want to go home."

Maddie snapped out of her thoughts and blinked. "Oh of course sweetie."

She watched as he struggled to his own two feet and she just had to help him. She put her protective arms around him to steady her boy as he stood upright. Then as they began to walk she put an arm around him and under his arm so that she could support most of his weight and keep it off his apparently injured leg. He walked with a limp and his right arm dangled about uselessly.

"Danny are you going to be ok?" Maddie asked as they walked slowly away from the park.

"I'll be fine mom I just need some sleep is all." He replied and coughed lightly and received a very skeptical stare from his mother. "I swear mom, this is just what heroes do."

"What did you say?" Maddie said in the hopes he'd repeat himself.

"I said this is just what I do." Danny answered.

Maddie sighed, they both knew what he said. After a short interval of silence Maddie spoke up again as the house appeared against the dark night sky. "Why do you do this to yourself."

Danny wasn't sure how to answer her so he said the only thing on his mind. "Because it's the right thing to do."

"The right thing..." Maddie mused so quietly that her half conscious son didn't catch her.

She quietly led him in past the family and tended to his wounds before tucking him in. He asked for Jazz and she promised to alert her right away. She kissed his forehead and left him. From his room she went to Jazz's and told her daughter that Danny wanted her and without another word Maddie headed for the basement.

She quickly disposed of all their samples on the "ghostboy" and destroyed all of their documents. Jack not only didn't need to know about Danny's little secret but she also didn't need to know what he was. In her eyes he was her son and a hero and she didn't need anything else telling her otherwise.

Of course Maddie knew as she headed to bed that her husband would be devastated at the loss of their research. But hey, those things just happen sometimes.

Wow guys I'm starting to doubt my own ablity to write anything worth reading. This could be the serious amount of writers block that has held me through all of my winter break talking or perhaps my own esteem fell off a cliff and hit the spikes below. either way I'm still suffering from writers block and this was all I could force out, this junk that you just read and suffered through. Life's been really hectic so I'm not very creative lately, ay, usually I can't get the plotbunnies to shut up but lately I've been seeing many a tumbleweed in my head.

And so to cheer myself up I'm posting a challenge to all to take any one of these oneshots and illustrate one. Just because I've always wanted to see my work drawn up and if you could then send me a link. It would make me swell with joy and possibly die but I would absolutely love to see such a thing if you so desire.