Chapter Seven

It'd been so long now since Danny had been unable to control his powers... Sam couldn't remember the last time he'd accidentally fallen through the floor or turned only a portion of himself invisible.

'Ok,' She sighed. 'That's a lie.'

She did remember that time only his head had gone invisible in the middle of Lancer's lecture on "The Headless Horseman". That had been ironic to say the least. Luckily, they always sat near the back of the class anyway and anyone who sat behind them had either been absent or sleeping. It had taken half the class period for Danny to figure out how to get his head back.

But, all in all, everything was getting back to normal-

"Ok...' Sam slapped her hand over her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose. 'That is also a lie...'

Nothing had been normal since that day.

Danny had slowly gained control of his powers and could not use all of them at will and make sure no accidents happened, but that had only been the least of their worries.

"Guys..." Danny sat on the park bench, the fading sunlight behind him, highlighting his form in a way that only his ghostly aura did. At that moment, Sam could not tell if it really was just the sun or if his aura was shimmering. "What if..." Danny ran a hand through his dark hair and looked at the ground a moment.

Tucker sat down next to Danny, obviously not taking the situation to heart as he took a large bite out of his Nasty Burger.

"What if these powers weren't an accident?"

Sam squinted at her friend, watching him skeptically. Danny sighed and carried on.

"What if I am supposed to do something with them? I mean... who else can fly, go through walls, shoot beams out of their hands, and do all this ridiculous stuff?"

"Superman!" Tucker shouted as if it'd been a question on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire".

Sam chose to ignore Tucker and shrugged.

"What do you mean, Danny? We are fourteen... I mean, these powers are cool... but the more you use them, the more attention you are gonna get and what are you going to use them for?"

Danny rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at Sam.

"I dunno... maybe to make Amity Park a better place..." He sat up a little straighter, looking at both Tucker and Sam. "I have the power to change things, to help people..." Danny help up his left hand and Sam watched as it disappeared right before her eyes.

No matter how many times he did that, Sam felt she would never get used to it...

"Who has that chance?"

Tucker swallowed the last bit of his burger and leaned forward, looking sidelong at his best friend.

"Danny..." Sam noted the look of worry in his eyes and couldn't help agreeing with it. "You are just a kid-"

"A kid with once in a lifetime powers!" Danny stood up, the wind ruffling his hair. He held up both hands now, letting a green glow emit from both and staring at both Sam and Tucker. "I could hide them away and use them for myself..." he sighed. "Or I could use them to change something!"

"No one expects us to change anything, Danny! We are teenagers. We eat, sleep, and loaf off... That's our job description!"Tucker leaned back, wrapping his arms over the park bench back lazily.

"Well then, maybe that's the first thing that needs changing." Danny looked at the ground coldly, eyes burning so hot that Sam swore they almost looked green.

Sam smiled, catching Danny's luminescent eyes.

"So, what do you need from us?"

Danny looked taken aback by this. After the words had sunk in, the boy took a small step away from both the goth and techno-geek, raising both hands in alarm.

"No..." Danny looked fearful, almost panicked. "No way. I am telling you guys this so that you can stay out of danger. I am already a danger to you, even when just my powers are concerned. I can't imagine you both being in the middle-"

"Well then you better start imagining," Sam crossed her arms, violet eyes cold with defiance. "because there is no way we are standing on the sidelines."She looked at Tucker, obviously hoping for some backup. Tucker just sat stiffly, obviously unsure of how to respond. She mentally sighed.

Tucker wasn't a bad friend and it wasn't that he didn't want to help, just sometimes, he wasn't sure how to proceed.

"Sam..." Danny began, attempting to gain just as much spirit as Sam had. It didn't last long before Sam cut him off.

"No, Danny." She stepped forward, grasping his shoulder. She almost stumbled back, realizing how cold it felt, but forced herself to hold on. "You listen to us." She caught Tucker's eye and he rose slowly, standing next to the other two. "We are your friends." Sam watched as Danny's chin sunk to his chest, defeat in his shoulders. "We are going to be beside you every step of the way."

Tucker, finally taking a hint, nodded and smiled at Danny.

The boy in question sighed deeply and looked at both his friends with a faint, sad smile.

"There's no dissuading you guys, is there?"

"Afraid not, buddy." Sam smiled back, looking to Tucker who also took a step closer to Danny and put a hand on his friend. Unfortunately, Tucker was not as subtle about the cold that was seeping from his friend.

Pulling away quickly, Tucker yelped and blew on his hand.

"Danny! Your skin's like ice, man!" Tucker shook the affected hand and looked it over before turning a calculating eye on Danny.

The other boy laughed coldly and shrugged.

"Yeah... It's one of those things I can't control, at least not yet." He smiled and his overall expression brightened at a thought. "Actually, I meant to show you guys! I have been practicing controlling my 'powers' and I think I am getting a hold of it! Watch this!"

Quickly, Danny stepped away from the two friends and, with a look around the park, he braced himself and Sam watched in amazement as immediately two glowing white rings formed out of seemingly nothing and spread up and down, revealing the negatively colored form of their best friend.

Sam shook her head, smiling at the memories.

It had been so long since then and now, Danny was a pro at his powers. There was hardly one that he could not control with a simple thought.

'Of course...' she rolled her eyes, trotting forward and watching as her ghostly friend sped towards an oncoming ghost, eyes intense, intimidating. ' He's still colder than dry ice, but I doubt he'll ever be able to control that...'

With a cry, Danny plowed into the enemy ghost, fists green with ectoplasmic energy. The ghost screamed and was pushed back, but it didn't take long before it had rerouted it's path. It was heading away from Danny and straight towards a young child whose ankle was caught in some sort of fencing.

Taking position, Sam pulled out the Fenton Bazooka, aiming for the ghost with a careful eye.

She fired, catching the ghost just enough that his wispy tail was singed. The spectral being cried out and, in a flash, Danny had sped toward him and landed a swift uppercut to the ghost's green, glowing jawline.

The spirit reeled and Danny turned, eyes catching Tucker. The ghost boy nodded to his best friend and in less than a second, Tucker had uncapped the Fenton Thermos and was sucking up the malicious ghost in a ray of blue light.

Sam stood, smiling as a sense of peace overwhelmed her. She watched as Danny landed firmly on the solid ground, allowing himself to become tangible once more.

Holding up his white gloved hands, he approached the scared, trapped child and Sam could just hear the soft words that he spoke, smiling at the tenderness the boy was using.

"It's ok," he said softly, reaching for the little boy's ankle. "I'm here to help."

The little boy had been crying, but it was obvious that he was trying to hide it as Danny worked to free his leg from the wire that had ensnared him.

"Are y-you a good guy?" the kid was young, so Sam decided not to regard it as a ridiculous question. Besides, it was not surprising that this little kid didn't trust Danny. Ever since his original appearance to Amity Park, the town had regarded the ghost boy with nothing short of fear and suspicion. She remembered watching in pain as Danny hid from the town he saved, his own concern and fear keeping his identity in the shadows, even after all he'd already done for Amity.

"Yeah." Danny said, bringing Sam back to the present and away from her annoyed thoughts. "I take care of people."

The little boy seemed to take this to heart and smiled, making sure his tears were gone. His pink face took on a look of curiosity and he poked Danny's arm, frowning.

"Are you real?"

Danny laughed and finished unwrapping the wire from the kid's ankle.

"What do you mean?" Danny sat back on his haunches, tilting his head and resting his hands on his thighs.

"Mom says your a ghost, but you look real... like me." The kid reached forward, placing a hand on Danny's knee. This was a mistake for the little boy. He cried out and shivered, holding his hand to his stomach and looking at it, obviously fearing it would freeze over on contact.

Danny chuckled and carefully ruffled the child's auburn hair, mindful not to touch any skin.

"I have that affect on people." he smiled and nodded to the boy. "You gonna be able to make it home ok?"

The boy nodded vigorously and hopped up happily, no worse for wear. He smiled at Danny and ran off in what seemed to be the direction of home, shouting: "Wait till I tell Mom that I met Inviso-Bill!"

"Hey, it's Danny Phantom!" Danny's smile had faded and he let his face fall into his palm, groaning. "Man, I need a publicist!"

The End