Had to get this out there before I forgot about it. It's full of angst and all the good drama that comes with a depressing character.
Chapter 1--
Phantom was busy cruising around Amity like he did every night. Many of the locals took their usual spots so that they could catch a glimpse of him as he patrolled their little town. Many were surprised that they could actually see him. He had been such a recluse in the past, always fleeing the scene of a ghost attack before the hunters could get their hands on him. He was still somewhat withdrawn but when nothing was going on, he would fly around nonchalantly as if he had nothing better to do. He would let the people see him, but only black and white blurs or he would wave to them from a distance so that they couldn't make out his face. Many of them could guess that he didn't want to be attacked randomly, and that he probably didn't fully trust humans, but he wouldn't hurt them.
Many hunters thought otherwise, stuck in their stubborn ways that a ghost was a ghost and nothing more. They were always seen around Amity, trying to catch a ghost, but many went straight after Phantom. The ghost boy somehow managed to out maneuver them, or avoid them completely. It amazed many hunters that this ghost was so inventive and careful, making them think that maybe he was more than just a ghost—which in their minds, made him more dangerous.
Paulina—the ever enthusiastic Phantom Fan—was busy trying to get her camera adjusted so that she could get a glimpse of Phantom as he flew by her friend's house. Star wasn't as wild about Phantom, but she was anxious to try and see him. He was a famous mystery throughout Amity and everyone was curious about him, fan or not.
"What time is it?" Paulina asked, looking through her binoculars to try and catch Phantom entering the block.
"Almost eleven," Star said looking at her watch. "He should be flying by soon."
Right on cue, Phantom whizzed by in the same black and white blur, only this time he was followed hotly by a blur of red.
"The Huntress," Paulina and Star gasped together.
"We have to go help Phantom," Paulina cried, getting ready to rush to the door.
"To late, they're gone," Star said looking worried at the sky. "I sure hope Phantom's alright."
"Get back here Spook!"
Valerie shouted and aimed again, only for her shot to go wide as Phantom smartly dodged it—again.
Phantom had gone through an upgrade in the last three months. His entire image had changed as well as his countenance. He still had his trademark colors, but his hazmat suit was sharper in detail and more stylized then before with just the plain makeup like the Fentons sported.
With the change came a mega power boost, but Phantom didn't use it often with her. He did on the other ghosts he fought, but she could tell he always held back when he fought her.
"Be a man, turn and fight me!" she yelled at him.
She saw him glance over his shoulder at her, just catching the glowing green of his eyes, before he dissipated from sight completely. Valerie cursed under her breath and stopped her board. She had the nagging feeling that he was still there, waiting to ambush her.
The beeping of her watch suddenly went off and she didn't have time to react as something pulled her board down towards earth. She abandoned her board when she was close enough to the ground to jump without harming herself. Rolling to soften her impact, she turned around to watch her board rest on the ground before winding down and slamming into the grass, powerless. Phantom appeared beside it, throwing something on the ground before looking up at her. He blinked once then turned and took off into the air again.
Valerie ran up to her board to see the thing Phantom had thrown. It was the computer's circuit memory, without that, it wouldn't be able to power up or remember any of its programming. Valerie made a mental note to put a ghost shield around it when she reattached it.
"Why didn't he just take it?" Valerie asked herself. "And how did he even know it was there?"
Was Phantom smarter then she originally thought? Did he have technical smarts as well as battle smarts? The thought sent shivers up her spine. Phantom was now more deadly than ever to the huntress.
Danny silently sunk back onto the couch and looked at his parents. Their faces were red from yelling at him, their faces grim with frustration and pent up anger, and he didn't really care. He never cared any more.
"What were you thinking Danny?" his mother asked of him, her voice harsh but calmer then it had been a moment before. "We told you to be here by ten, but you can't even manage that."
"You're grades are in the toilet and you're completely disregarding your responsibilities," his father interjected. "School is more important then . . . whatever it is that you do."
Danny glanced up at him with an expressionless face. He heard his mother sigh heavily. He knew he was being irrational, but he didn't know how else to act at the moment. He had nothing to say, nothing to feel, and nothing to really put as a priority in his life.
"Danny, we're signing you up for a counselor," Maddie said after a moment to collect herself. "We honestly don't know what else to do."
Danny didn't really register what she was saying. He heard the word 'counselor' and he completely shut down all his thoughts. It was a fail-safe device that his mind had unknowingly constructed. Anything that reminded him of them would instantly cut him off from the real world for a few moments, and sometimes even hours. He let his mother drone on about how good it would be for him and when his first session was, before he got up and went to his room. That was the only other place that he could go to in the house, he never went into Jazz's room, there were too many painful memories there.
His room had become bare of anything that had reminded him of his friends. After their deaths, he had gone into a rage, screaming and kicking at the walls as he tore up everything he could get his hands on. It was the only way he could release his frustration and sorrow without letting ecto blasts barrage the house and his parents finding out his secret. His parents had cleaned up the mess while he looked out the window, mindlessly and forgotten. He had never replaced anything that had gotten broken, never put up new posters on the walls or anything. It was a silent tomb that he rose from every now and again.
His ritual was simple: get up, go to school, come home, hide in the covers of his bed, go flying once a night on patrol, come back, hide in bed, repeat. He wouldn't have been late that night if Valerie hadn't had caught him floating around. He spent most of the night trying to lose her, than he came home to his parents, angry and disappointed once again.
This thought swam in his head as he kicked his shoes off and curled up under the covers. The pain and anger he felt towards himself bubbled in his stomach and created an ache in his chest, but he didn't try to get rid of it. He let it stay, just waiting for it to destroy him as if a gun was being pointed to his head and the tension was building for it to shoot off and end it all. Each day he waited, but it never came, so he waited for the next day, and the next, and the next . . . but it never came.
Dr. Harden's office was nice. It wasn't overly decorated, but it wasn't filled with open space either. He had comfortable chairs that didn't smell old and musty like most doctors' offices Danny had been to over the course of his life. The colors weren't bright, but neither were they dark. Neutral would be a better word for it he guessed. The windows were normal windows, not big or small. His sight was blocked off by the venation blinds though, but he managed to squeeze his eyesight through the folds.
Dr. Harden himself was a nice man, an average man. He was middle aged with a full head of hair still that was graying around the edges. He had a close-clipped beard and thin-framed glasses that rested on his pin of a nose. He didn't wear a suit and tie, but he did wear a nice collared shirt with decent jeans and black shoes that were obviously for the office and nowhere else.
Danny knew that the man wouldn't be able to help him.
"And how long has he been like this?" Dr. Harden asked his parents when they came back for him.
"Ever since the accident," Maddie said sadly. "It was almost a year ago. Jazz, our daughter, Danny and his two friends went out for the evening. I think they went to see a movie or something. Well, when they were coming back home . . . a drunk came out of nowhere and plowed them off the road. It was icy out and Jazz was always a safe driver, but she . . . couldn't stop the car. They all died in that horrible crash. Danny wasn't with them though; he hadn't been in the car. We still don't know where he had gone; he's barely said a word since then."
"And when he does speak, what does he say?"
"Nonsense," Jack said, "we can't make a word of it sometimes, and what we can it still doesn't make any sense."
"Give me an example Mr. Fenton," Dr. Harden asked.
"Well, sometimes he'll say he should have stayed with them, that he could have saved them. The thing is, he couldn't have done a thing to stop that car, he would have died with them, and the nightmares. He still screams at night, calling out to them like a broken child."
"Do you comfort him when he wakes up from these images?"
"We did at first, but eventually, we had to stop," Maddie said. "He wouldn't completely wake up when his dream was done and he would attack us. He gave Jack a pretty good black eye that first night. The thing is, he doesn't recall the dreams at all."
Dr. Harden nodded in understanding.
"He's repressing, and at the same time, he wants to remember. He wants to be there with them, but he knows he can't be. He's like a walking zombie, and he won't get out of it until he comes to terms with the fact that he can't change time."
"I've done it before," was the quiet statement from the corner.
The three adults turned towards the teen and waited for him to say more. When none came, Dr. Harden prompted a question.
"How Danny, you can't change time, it's impossible."
Danny shook his head and looked at the Doctor in the eyes.
"I've done it, twice," the boy stated.
"Now he's gone insane!" Jack said startled by his son's sure statement.
"Mr. Fenton, this negativity is very bad right now," Dr. Harden said, a bit irritated at the big man. "Try and talk with your son, he's willing to talk about this so maybe you should go along with it."
Jack frowned at the doctor, but he was right. This was the first time Danny had said anything for a long time. His voice had changed a little in the course of time he hadn't used it, and Jack finally saw that his son wasn't a little kid anymore, but he did need help and attention now more than anything else.
The big man bent down to where his son was curled up in the chair, his head resting on the armrest.
"How can you change time son?" Jack asked him kindly.
"With Clockwork's help," Danny said, blinking slowly.
"Who is Clockwork sweety?" Maddie asked.
"He's the master of all time," Danny said plainly. "I once changed the future, and then I changed the past, only that didn't turn out very good. I had to change it back."
"What do you mean you changed the future? It hasn't happened yet," Jack's logical brain wasn't comprehending this.
"You guys can't know," Danny shook his head, "you'll hate me."
"We would never hate you," Maddie reassured him.
"Yes you will," Danny argued. "You've always hated them so you'll hate me."
"Always hated what Danny?" Dr. Harden asked when the parents were too stunned to ask.
"Ghosts, they hate ghosts."