It was overcast and bitterly cold as he approached the old house, the weathered brick home that he dreaded as though it were the gateway to hell itself. Everything about it terrified him, and yet where else was he to go? He was out of places to run, he just needed a place to recuperate before making a last stand in the morning.

Time had turned a cheerfully charming residence into a war-weary stockade, battered by weather and the forces of the past few years into but a shadow of its former self. Heavy shutters on the lower floor windows and heavy curtains in the upper floor windows gave the house a hostile character, while unchecked ivy had overgrown the long since deactivated FENTON WORKS sign and obscured it behind winter barren vines that made the structure look as ancient as a medieval castle. Even the Spec Ops Center, once gleaming and modern, was rusting and tarnished from years of neglect.

This wasn't his home, it was a tomb. It was where his transformation into Danny Phantom had taken place, and was where the old Danny Fenton had died. Now perhaps, Danny Phantom would perish here too.

A flutter in one of the upper floor windows attracted his attention. Somebody had to be home. He ascended the worn steps up to the front door, and knocked on the paint peeling door.

Nothing was heard at first, but then a shuffling and banging on the interior that grew louder still, with a clatter, the door opened up and Danny narrowly dodged a massive plasma blast that torn apart the cracked asphalt of the street behind him.

Maddie fired a few shots to no avail, he had vanished. Breathing hard, she slowly backed up, gun smoking in her hands, tense eyes lined up down the iron sights. She listened closely, but only the wind faintly whistled through the door. Then, without waiting a second longer, she turned heel and ran through the house to the basement, slamming the heavy radiation door behind her as she bounded down the steps. At the bottom was a heavy gate that she had installed, sliding close with a dull thud as she slammed her palm into the activation button.

The lights flickered on as she stared about her warily. Across the old basement laboratory was the garage door. It was a scarce fifteen feet away, an hop and a skip to freedom. Armaments lined the walls just adjacent to it…should she run or stay?

The whirring of the ghost portal door gears flushed adrenaline into her veins, her heart throbbing ever faster in addition to her already scared disposition. Hadn't she deleted his ectoplasmic signature from the unlocking mechanism? Somehow he was coming in through the Ghost Zone itself like some sort of monster from the depths. It's disturbing to realize how quickly fear arises, turning a sane person into a desperate animal, seeking escape. She scarcely had seconds before she dashed to the munitions, grabbed the Fenton bazooka, whirled around and fired at the ghost portal.

Danny fell to one knee as the feeling of burning ectoplasm pressed through his hand and a thick wall of emerald energy spread into a wide half sphere about him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he braced himself, and winced as the heavy shot slammed into the barrier and reverberated, ectoplasmic energy rippling through the pulsing jade force field like the ripples of water after a rock has dropped into it.

"Mom…"

"Shut up!" Maddie shouted as she fired once, twice, three times. Each successive blast slammed into the force field and rebounded into increasing waves of green against green, the energy not dispersing but rather increasing the intensity of the force field till it audibly hummed and glowed so bright as too force Maddie to squint her eyes.

The bazooka clicked as she depleted its battery.

"Mom…this is a positive feedback shield, it will discharge if you continue to load it…explosively"

"Yeah I know, doesn't matter, it was worth a try. You know that they know you're here, I already activated the silent alarm."

"I know"

"Then why are you here?"

"I need shelter"

"Danny…"

She watched as he dropped his shield and stood, silhouetted against the glow of the ghost portal. Her heart was torn, broken between fear and a belated feeling of helplessness, of empathy for her son standing there, looking glum.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry" he spoke quietly.

"Too late for that Danny, you're a fugitive"

"I didn't mean I'm sorry about what I've done, I'm sorry to you"

"it means nothing" Maddie said, fighting back tears that were welling up without her bidding. "You had your chances, you knew better, but you just went off thinking that you were master of…" she faltered, her voice having risen to a near shriek. "I…I don't have anything to say. What do you want?"

He wanted to say something, but suddenly felt sick, seeing his Mom so alienated with him, so fearful and emotionally compromised.

"Things shouldn't be this way, this is ridiculous"

She said nothing in response for a moment but then spoke quietly. "Finally you understand what I've been feeling since you were fifteen. It's taken five years and then some for you to see some sense."

"I should have listened to you"

"Too late for that" she gave a forced laugh "This is insanity what our family has become. Danny, if you are going to stay, let me leave…" she toned down her harsh voice, turning to a plea "please…"

More silence.

"I would like to be alone" Danny said

"I'm not coming back" Maddie shot back

"Ever?"

"Ever. Dad and Jazz are out in Boston with an apartment already. My bags are upstairs"

"Alright, I can wait"

Maddie set down the Bazooka and slowly went back upstairs. A minute or two later she came back down, hauling a simple duffle bag and a backpack with her, never once taking her eyes off Danny, who watched her with a pained expression on his face as though he were watching a funeral procession marching past.

He licked his lips as he prepared to say goodbye, but didn't quite have the heart to say it, he felt too sick. Maddie didn't even go that far, merely turning away to hide the tears as she opened the door and left, closing it with a hard slam.

And then he was alone, in the lab where Danny Phantom had been born, five years ago. Perhaps he would die here.

For the first time in a long time, he collapsed to his knees and wept.

Danny slammed his fist down on the countertop with a sharp hiss, squeezing his eyes shut hard and clenching his teeth. The memory was so vivid and painful. He thought he had his emotions under control, but the horror and distress of the moment still flooded back as powerful as ever before. Months of meditation had failed to soften the pain even now.

Robin silently crept into the door of his small cabin, looking around for any damage. Danny had walked calmly enough out of the conference room before he had broken into a run, leaving Robin in his dust and in worry. Heavily armed security guards followed, watching warily as Robin caught up, dashing through the corridors of the Watchtower, knowing exactly where Danny would go.

"Damnit" Danny swore, voice strained.

"You aren't making a very good case for yourself" Robin said sternly

"I know" Danny drew himself back up and stared out the window, down towards earth, rotating slowly distantly below them, running a hand through his hair, which had turned almost completely white. "Its just…hard"

"Bad memory?"

"Yeah"

"We got to get back…"

"I know, just…just give me a minute" Danny straightened his back and took a deep breath. Robin scowled as he pressed his point.

"You can't do this again, their patience is wearing thin with you as it is. One more...uh…lapse of your composure and they might just leave you incarcerated"

"Maybe I would be better off"

"And then what, let yourself rot away?"

"Sure"

"No, come on Fenton!" Robin, growing frustrated, walked over and turned Phantom about, gripping his shoulder tightly as he looked him in the eye. Phantom glared, eyes turning a vibrant green as a flash of anger stormed across his face. Robin, not flinching, merely glared back, reminding himself that if there was anyone that Phantom trusted, it was him.

"Danny Fenton died"

"No, Danny Fenton is standing right here before me. You are capable of getting yourself together, and making this happen, don't just give up" Robin was yelling now, at point blank range. Phantom stared back, his tenseness diffusing slowly. White hair faded back to black and his eyes slowly dwindled back to their natural dark blue color.

They stared, and then with a sigh, Phantom hung his head and nodded slowly.

"Alright…I'm ready"

Just to clarify, the WatchTower is an earth-orbiting space station that serves as the Justice League headquarters, built clandestinely with funds from Wayne Enterprises's aerospace R & D division.

Thank you to krikanalo

Troper101

chicaalterego

Inviso-Al

for reviewing!