Just Another Meteor Freak

by jadedbluerose

Clark Kent has seen many strange things in his life; he's an extra terrestrial living in a town of meteor infected humans. But in the aftermath of the second meteor shower he discovers a cousin with his own strange past. What will the Kryptonian do when Danny Fenton arrives, bringing the ghosts of his own mysterious past along with him?

6. Frozen

Chapter 5

Frozen

Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville

With a final wave to his parents he sped off to the cave. He lay Danny on the alter-like key hole and plunged the key in. The two were surrounded by a bright light, transporting them into an icy wilderness. The portal closed and Clark found himself surrounded by snow with Danny frozen by his side.

Neither boy noticed the strange green root that curled out from the cave's roof.

Line Break

Clark looked around at the snowy landscape. It was cold, colder than he remembered it being at the fortress. It was actually cold enough that it started to bother Clark. Looking around he couldn't find anything that looked like the Fortress. The landscape was different than the arctic. There were caves of ice twisting above him, spires of white crystal. If it weren't for the pervading cold Clark would have thought it beautiful. There was one more problem; he had no idea where he was.

Clark picked Danny up, hoping that he could survive long enough to find anyone. Clark carried his cousin through the icy wilderness. He had been walking for about an hour, and was beginning to believe that he'd ended up lost where there was no way home. He wondered if Jor-El would suck him out of here once Danny was gone. At this rate he'd believe anything of him. It was getting to the point where he thought he'd been walking in circles when he heard it. There was a distant whirring, sort of like an engine, but different.

A strange craft came towards him, speeding from just beyond the horizon. It was metallic and hovered about a metre above the ground. Two beings sat in the craft as it approached them. They were big; they would probably stand taller than Clark. One of them wore a red one-shoulder cloak and the other a royal blue one with gold bands encircling his arm. The closest thing that Clark could describe them as was yeti. Their white fur shone against the landscape, only just noticeable against the bright snow glare was the faint aura that surrounded them. It was like Danny's! That meant these were ghosts. By the time he thought that through the two yeti-like ghosts were upon them. Clark stood protectively over Danny as they approached.

"Who goes there?" the red cloaked one demanded. The one in blue looked between Clark and Danny's frozen face. There was a moment of consideration in his blue eyes which then widened in recognition. "Icepick, worry not. It is a friend." The blur robed one called out to them, well Clark since Danny was frozen. "What brings you to the Realm of the Far Frozen, Guardian of the Great One?" Clark looked up at the yeti, unsure of what to make of this form of address. "Great One?" Clark questioned.

"The Great One, he who by himself did what no other ghost could and entrapped the Ghost King, at great personal risk. The Great One saved both worlds from destruction, how can we not call him Great?" The blue cloaked yeti responded. Clark was temporarily dumbfounded, but was able to snap himself out of it. "My cousin is frozen, and I don't know what to do. I was going to ask my Father for help, but we came here. Please, if you can, please help him." The two yeti ghosts looked between themselves and then down to Danny. The blue cloaked one smiled "We would be honoured to assist the Great One. Please, come with us."

In Clark's mind there were two options. One; he could keep wandering in this winter landscape until Danny was gone, or two; he could trust these ghosts and hope they would act in Danny's best interests. Clark knew that Danny didn't have many ghost friends, but he hoped these would be okay. Clark nodded at the yetis and they carefully lifted Danny onto the craft, indicating that Clark should jump on too. Clark noticed that the blue robed yeti's left arm was made of ice with a few bones visibly frozen inside.

The craft quietly flew through the ice fields, Clark would have gotten lost here. Everything was beautiful, but there were no real markers. At least the Fortress stood out in its landscape. Eventually they came to a city of ice. It seemed so natural, the homes carved with dense crystal, jutting against an icy mountain wall. There were a few icy caves that peeked out of the mountain. Clark had never seen anything so elegant. There were yeti ghosts that came out to look at them as they flew into the city. The craft flew towards the mountain wall.

Deep shadow embraced the craft as it entered an icy cave. They dismounted and the blue robed yeti gently picked Danny up, hastily moving through the icy passageways. The cave walls while icy seemed welcoming and bright. This frosty realm was obviously a home to the yetis. Clark followed closely behind the yetis as they entered a laboratory looking room. Clark flinched. His own fear of laboratories ran deep, but this was for Danny. Clark watched as the blue robed yeti ghost waved a silvery device over Danny before looking at a reading. He then placed Danny in what looked like a glass tube. It was only when the tube began filling with a turquoise coloured liquid that Clark began to get worried.

"What are you doing?" Clark asked a hint of fear in his voice. The blue robed yeti looked to Clark. "Fear not, Guardian of the Great One." He said with his warm voice "The Great One was frozen. This chamber will gradually serve to warm him such that he can function again." Clark calmed a bit. It sounded like a different version of the electric blanket for treating hypothermia. Reassured, Clark took the time to ask some of the questions that had plagued him since he arrived.

"Please excuse me, but who are you? Where am I? And how did I get here?" the yeti ghost looked at him and smiled. "Forgive me, Guardian of the Great one, I am Frostbite, Ruler of the Far Frozen. My people are an ancient one and we have some of the greatest medical knowledge in either world. You are in the Ice Realm, one of the most noble and ancient realms of the Ghost Zone. As to how you got here, that is a question only you can answer. May I ask your name, Guardian of the Great One?"

"My name is Clark Kent. I tried to open a... door to visit my Father. I thought he could help. But we wound up here." Frostbite looked at Clark puzzled for a moment "Forgive me, Clark, but that is not your name. I can tell that you come from Krypton. Why do you hide your identity?" Clark looked shocked. Then he remembered that Danny had known he was different from the beginning. It wasn't too great a leap for him to imagine that other ghosts may know he was Kryptonian from the beginning as well. "Most of my life I have been Clark Kent. I found out about my Kryptonian name only recently, and I don't like to identify myself by it."

Frostbite looked Clark over curiously as if he were a puzzle to be solved. There was a momentary look of recognition before Frostbite asked "Why do you not like to identify yourself by your Kryptonian name. It is part of your history, a part of who you are. Kryptonian's prided themselves by their house names; they believed that your house could explain much of who you could be. Please, Guardian of the Great One, tell me your birth name." Clark felt he was stuck. Frostbite would not let him get out of it. It was only reluctantly that he'd told Danny. "My Kryptonian name is Kal-El. Son of Jor-El."

Frostbite went wide-eyed and smiled. Then he kneeled on one knee, bowing with his right arm crossed against his chest. It was the same gesture that Danny had made over two weeks ago when he first explained his secret. "I humbly thank you for the service of your family and mourn your loss." The yeti ghost said respectfully. Once Frostbite had stood up again Clark couldn't help but ask "Why did you do that? Danny did the same thing when I gave him my Kryptonian name." Frostbite looked over at Danny; a strange look that Clark could not place crossed his face. "The Great One knows?" Frostbite murmured before turning back to Clark.

"The Ghost Zone has a very long history. It has survived much, but the house of El rendered a great service for the safety of the denizens of the entire Zone. Please do not ask, you will only know if Time deems you ready. That the Great One knows is significant, for no ghost who was not there is supposed to know." Frostbite looked once more at Danny's unconscious form, hiding his face from Clark. "You said you opened a door to lead you to your father. Please, tell me how that is possible as your father passed with the death of Krypton, and he did not join with the denizens of this world."

"Jor-El created a Fortress, an exact replica of Krypton's geography on Earth for me. He left behind an... well I don't fully understand what it is, but I can talk to him." Frostbite beamed. "I should have known that he would do something like this. Your father always was like that, planning everything in advance." Frostbite's smile dropped. "How did you plan to get there?"

"There is a key-slot in a cave near my home. I took Danny there, hoping to get Danny to the fortress and get Jor-El's help, but we came here instead. How does that work?" Frostbite looked baffled for a moment. "There are two reasons that I can imagine. The first is that the portal was simply confused by the Great One's cold temperature, and sent him to where it would be safest. The other is that there is a being... well, he has the Great One's best interests at heart." Figuring that he'd get no further answers for now, Clark elected to ask about his cousin.

"What happened to Danny?" Clark asked. Frostbite moved over to Danny's chamber, and pressed a few buttons on the panel. A smile crossed his sleeping face and Danny was engulfed by the blue-white rings that transformed him into Phantom. The light faded and a white haired Danny was left in his black and white noble's outfit. Frostbite pressed two more buttons and that too disappeared, leaving Danny only in a pair of boxers and his necklace. This was the first time Clark had seen the necklace in full. There were two charms hanging from it. One was a tiny silver DP symbol, and the other was a tiny sword. Clark looked again, his cousins chest had lean muscle, usually hidden by his t-shirt. What concerned him though was the patchwork of thin silvery lines that laced all over his chest and arms. He doubted a human would notice, but to Clark they were obvious. Clark wondered how Danny had gotten all these scars.

Frostbite pushed one further button and a ring of light passed through the whole chamber. There was a mechanical whirring behind Clark, and whole lot of readings came out on a screen behind him. Clark turned to look, the writing was in a language that he couldn't understand, but there was a shaded image of Danny with a blue orb near where his heart would be. Clark looked to Frostbite for an explanation. Seeing Clark's confused expression Frostbite murmured "Of course, Kryptonian, Kal-El, you cannot understand this language can you?" Clark shook his head, slightly annoyed at the ghost's insistence on using his Kryptonian name. Frostbite pressed another button and a second screen lit up, revealing a whole bunch of statistics in Kryptonian. "The original language is one native to the Ghost Zone. It cannot be learned by any who live. I believe the Great One can read it, but he is not truly alive. Then again he is not truly dead." Frostbite said with a smile.

Clark turned to examine the second screen. On one of the readings he read a number only ten degrees off absolute zero. "How'd he get so cold?" Clark asked the ghost. Frostbite looked over at Clark. "I'd prefer to explain that to both of you once the Great One is awake. That should be soon, once his temperature is raised to a more normal level." There was silence for a few minutes as Clark looked over the lab, it really was more like a high tech medical facility. Clark turned to look at the statistics on the screen when he heard Danny blearily ask "What happened? Where am I?"

Clark turned to look over at the chamber. He walked towards it, but Frostbite got there first. "Great One!" he exclaimed "You are awake." Danny looked at the Yeti confused as if he didn't know what to make of him. This was the first time that Clark had seen Danny have such a reaction to a person, and then he remembered that Danny relied on understanding the person's aura. Ghosts didn't have the same aura, so he probably couldn't tell how to react. Danny really wasn't kidding when he said he was complicated.

Danny stayed quiet for the time being. Clark noticed that Danny had given the room a quick look over, and having seen that Clark was safe and free seemed to have decided that the ghosts didn't mean any harm. Frostbite looked between Danny and the readings on his screen which had just shifted. Frostbite seemed to have decided that it was safe to allow Danny out of the chamber as the turquoise fluid began to drain. "Perhaps," Frostbite commented with an air of command "We should all take all take a seat, this will take some explanation." It took a moment, but eventually Danny was allowed out to sit on a silvery couch that Clark had not noticed before.

Frostbite handed Danny a snow white blanket as Danny was still only in his boxers. Clark went over to take a seat too and was given a red blanket. It was still pretty cold, so he was grateful for the warmth. "Great One" Frostbite began, but Danny interrupted

"Please, sire. Why do you call me Great One?" This held a level of respect that Clark was unfamiliar with, although he wasn't sure why Danny referred to Frostbite as sire. Frostbite smiled down at the white haired teenager.

"Great One, your name was earned in your deeds when you saved this world from the grips of Pariah Dark. Perhaps later we can take a tour of the grounds to visit our humble shrine to your honour." Danny looked aghast, but Clark smiled. He'd love to see that.

Danny paused for a moment and then said with deep respect "Sire Frostbite of the Far Frozen Realm, I thank you for your kindness. However, this level of formality hardly befits the situation. Sire Frostbite I ask to be viewed on equal standing that we may speak as friends." How did Danny know that before being introduced? And why was he being so formal? This level of formality went over Clark's head. He didn't know why Danny had started speaking like that, but it seemed as if Frostbite understood the request. "Great One, it would please me greatly if you considered me friend. You may call me Frostbite, but please indulge me the honour of calling you Great One."

Clark watched Danny sigh and then shrug it off. Now seemed like a good time to get some questions answered to Clark, but the problem which ones? He wanted to know why Danny was speaking like that, but he also wanted to know why Danny had frozen. Deciding that that was more important he asked Frostbite "Why did Danny become a human popsicle?" Frostbite looked to Clark and then back to Danny. "Great one, how much do you know of ghost biology? Do you know of ghost cores?"

Danny looked confused for a moment and then said "A ghost's core is where it draws its energy from. Each ability and power is emanated from the core. There are seven different core types which dictate the abilities a ghost will have. Norma; which are most low level ghosts, Magus; like Desiree, Electra; like Skulker and Technus, then there's the four elementals; Fire being the most common, followed by earth, then air with ice being the least common. Pretty much it's you of the Far Frozen and Klemper with ice cores."

Frostbite seemed to smile with what Danny knew. To Clark this proved once again that the kid was smart. He'd just never had the chance to prove it... although when did he have the time to study this when he was fighting ghosts all the time? Frostbite smiled at Danny and then frowned. "Do you know what your core is Great One?" Danny shrugged. "When I first found out about cores I figured I had to be Norma if anything, since I can't do anything particularly specialised. But then I figured that maybe I didn't have one, since I'm not a proper ghost. There has never been a true Halfa before, so there's no precedent."

Frostbite looked wistful at Danny's isolation. Clark hadn't known how alone he was, Clark knew there were others like him. But Danny was completely alone. "It is true; there has not been another Halfa before you. But Great One, you do have a core, like all true ghosts." Danny smiled relief at this. Clark wondered if there was something more than biology to the concept of a core. It sounded like a heart. If a human didn't have a heart it meant they were mean spirited or cruel. A core could have a metaphorical meaning too.

"Great One, when was the last time you fought a ghost, a proper fight?" Frostbite asked "Apart from a hands on fight without powers against Skulker?" Danny answered "Probably two months ago. Before..." Danny trailed off. Clark understood Danny's drop in mood. Here was a painful reminder of what he had lost. Clark was surprised that Danny hadn't been more depressed. If anything happened to his family (he refused to think when) he'd probably be lashing out at the world for months. Just how much was Danny internalising?

Frostbite nodded, but that turned to a frown. "How long ago did the cold feeling start Great One?" Danny looked at Frostbite and said "That day, after the fight with Skulker. Why?" Frostbite shook his head. "This should not have happened for another month. Tell me great one, Did Skulker have a new weapon, something to draw heat away perhaps?" Danny shook his head no. Frostbite looked pensive. But Clark remembered something else about that day. "Sean" he stated bluntly.

Frostbite looked questioningly at Clark, who decided to elaborate. "Sean Kelvin was meteor infected. See, after the meteor shower that brought me to Earth, some of the kryptonite started infecting the people in Smallville, giving them weird powers. Sean Kelvin sucked the body heat out of people to keep himself warm. He killed people by freezing them. He tried to do it to Danny, but I didn't think it worked. Are you saying that he was just taking longer to freeze?" Clark was really concerned for his cousin if Sean had affected him so badly.

"Thank you, Kal-El that does answer the question, but it was not this Sean who made the Great one freeze. He simply precipitated what was to come." The big yeti turned to face Daniel. "Great One, as I have already said you have a ghost core, it is one of the strongest I've ever seen, but I expected nothing less from the one who defeated Pariah Dark. You draw energy from your ghost core when you fight a ghost, which releases some of the pressure. However, you have not released the right energy."

"Young one, you have only released the energy in small doses, such as when another ghost is around." Danny looked at Frostbite wide eyed. "You mean my ghost sense?" Clark watched as the yeti ghost smiled proudly, but frowned as he watched Danny shiver once more. He still didn't understand the concept of a ghost core, but felt he was getting what was going on.

The yeti ghost spoke in a calm and measured tone. "Great One, you, like us, possess an ice core. With no way to release the growing energy in your core your body started freezing from the inside out. Had Kal-El not so fortuitously brought you here you would have frozen completely and been ended. You need to learn to release the cold energy from within your core so that this does not happen again."

Clark pondered this; Danny had frozen because he had not released the energy in his ghostly core? It seemed that ghost biology was far more confusing than he'd first thought. Then again, ghosts were based on a completely different compound to humans and Kryptonian's for that matter. This was just something more to add to the growing list of "complicated" things about his cousin.

Frostbite smiled at the white haired teen. "Fortunately, Great One, you are in one of the few places where you can safely learn to release the cold energy building in your core." Frostbite summoned a snowball that hovered above his icy left hand. Clark watched as the snowball shifted into an icy diamond. The yeti handed the diamond to Danny who looked longingly at its simple beauty. The yeti reached out his hand and a life size statue of Danny in his original Haz-Mat suit appeared. Frostbite summoned an icy blade and cut it clean in two. Clark paled at the sight, but Danny simply said "Teach me". Frostbite grinned at Danny and said "Great One, my people would be honoured to teach you."

Another yeti came over to them, bearing a pile of black and white cloth. Danny smiled at the yeti and said "thank you kind sir" slipping back into his "noble" voice as Clark was coming to think of it. Danny hastily put his clothes back on and Clark observed the moment of pure bliss as the white cloak settled over his shoulders. Danny once more shivered, Clark realised that his cousin had been shivering more and more frequently over the fortnight and he had not done anything about it. Frostbite seemed to notice the guilty expression on his face "Kal-El," he said "This was something that had to happen. The Great One needs to learn to use his core properly. I am grateful that you were able to guide him safely to us where he is among friends. You have done all of us a great service. Thank you Guardian of the Great One."

Once Danny was fully clothed Frostbite led them through the icy tunnels. He pointed out various aspects of his home which Danny seemed to understand far more than Clark did. Clark was still wrapped in his red blanket, but Danny had left his white one behind. They were about to leave the cave when Frostbite suddenly stopped. He looked over to Clark with a slight frown and then said something in a language that Clark did not understand. Another of the red-robed yeti's appeared from behind him, startling him slightly. For such big beings they were very light on their feet.

"Kal-El, for the first part of the Great One's training you should not be present. You may have the powers of the yellow sun Sol, but as you saw, The Great One's core temperature is only just above absolute zero. It would not do you good to be there when he releases it. However, may I suggest you visit our shrine, it would be very informative to you, and Glacies" He indicated to the other Yeti "Would be glad to guide you through the city." Frostbite quickly slipped into the other language, and Danny frowned. He said something in the same language that Clark believed to be an apology.

The four of them split up, Frostbite and Danny went outside and Clark followed Glacies down the icy tunnel. It was fairly quiet, there didn't seem to be many people moving around. In fact on reflection, Clark had only seen the three Far Frozen that he'd been introduced to. Glacies led Clark through the icy caverns, he was not as informative as Frostbite had been, but pointed out some things here and there. Eventually they came to a large cavern. In the centre was a large crystalline altar, carved with delicate writing in the language of the dead. It looked beautiful. Clark walked over to it and saw that the top bore the DP symbol, laced by the writing in an elegant script.

Clark looked up from the altar to observe the cavern walls. Each wall held an exquisite carving, visually detailing the story. On the border of each panel was writing to explain what was detailed. It was written in two languages. The outer border held the ghostly language, while the inner border was English. Glacies spoke "The border is written for all ghosts to understand, however the Great One is of Earth too. We respect this by showing the balance of living and ghost within him; balancing the two languages." Glacies then went on to explain the battle of Pariah Dark. Clark was given a brief description of how the first rule of the tyrant king was to live – or exist? – through, and also the defeat of Pariah Dark by the ancients.

Clark found himself astounded by the events that his cousin had survived. He was drawn into the tale of how the young boy had managed to get all the ghosts to come together to fight the common enemy. The boy had fought down the army, but when it came down for the final battle it was him alone. The boy had beaten the odds with the help of the ecto-skeleton, and he had once more sealed the tyrant in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Listening to the tale sounded like one of the exploits of an ancient legend. It was impossible for Clark to match the Legend from the story to the young boy who had come to live on his farm.

Clark had been entranced by the story and had not noticed that several hours had passed. Eventually Glacies guided him to a large arena area, but he was instructed that he must keep the blanket on. It must cover as much of him as possible. Clark couldn't figure out why it was so important, but since the blanket was the only thing keeping the cold from getting to him, Clark was only too happy to comply. He was taken to the front row of the arena, there were hundreds of the Yeti's all around. A few had bandages on, but most were staring excitedly at the two beings that stood in the arena's centre.

Clark watched as Frostbite summoned another sword made of ice. He then spoke to Danny, who concentrated and summoned his own. Danny's blade looked more elegant than that of the Far Frozen's leader. The yeti moved to an offensive stance, but Danny held out his hand and shook his head. Danny's ice blade vanished, and he held his hand to the necklace. Suddenly a sword appeared, but not an ice one. Danny's blade was elegant and beautiful. The silvery blade glittered in the light; the hilt was encrusted with a blend of silver and emerald stones. The sword looked like a silver and green version of Excalibur to Clark. It was a blade that would befit a king, but how did Danny come to own something like that?

The two took a step back and bowed to the other. Slowly they raised their swords which met in the middle resting for a moment. Frostbite drew his sword back and Clark winced, expecting a Danny shish-kebab. Danny parried the blow, and then swung his own. Frostbite despite his bulk was skilled with the blade. But as the fight wore on it was apparent that Danny's agility was to his advantage. The skill with which the fighters fought would have made a knight green with envy. The two moved with such fluidity that they seemed locked in an elegant dance.

A signal passed between the two and the fight shifted. The aura around the yeti brightened and a beam of ice shot out of his eyes, Danny dodged, curling his blade around for a strike. The two fighters incorporated their ghost powers into the dance and there was a swirl of green and blue energy as they fought. Danny looked briefly over at the stand at where Clark sat, meeting his eyes for a moment. A cheeky smile lit his green eyes as he turned his attention back to the fight. Suddenly Danny's blade took on a blue sheen, and as it met Frostbites the other blade disappeared, absorbed into Danny's. Danny's eyes closed and his sword disappeared as the two fighters bowed to each other.

"Well met" Frostbite proclaimed, loud enough for all to hear "Well met indeed" came Danny's reply. The two laughed, shaking each other's hands. Clark cheered along with the rest of the crowd. While Danny may feign clumsiness, the pure elegance of his moves awed Clark. In every fight he'd had he'd used his brute strength to overcome his enemies, but Danny had obviously trained hard to get to this skill level. The two ghosts drifted over to where Clark sat and smiled at his blanketed form. "Having fun there?" Danny asked with laughter in his green eyes.

"How... Where did you learn that?" Clark asked, still awed by the fight. Frostbite looked down at Danny, and then back to Clark with the glint of a parent about to embarrass their child. "Has the Great One not told you of his title Guardian?" Clark did note that Frostbite was calling him Guardian in the public, rather than Kal-El. But he looked puzzled at Danny who bore no signs of saying anything. In fact he looked distinctly uncomfortable. Clark shook his head and told Frostbite no, other than Great One which he's heard here.

Frostbite looked down at Danny, proud as punch and said to Clark, "Then please allow me the honour of presenting to you The Great One, Sir Danny Phantom of the Principality of Aragon." Clark sputtered, Danny was a knight! A Knight knight? As in proper swords and shields and quests Knight? Clark looked at Danny and demanded "How?" Danny looked down shyly and explained "I didn't mean for it to happen, Sam got kidnapped and to get her back I helped the ghost overthrow her tyrannical brother. Princess Dora became monarch, and gave me a knighthood for serving her."

Danny paused for a moment before saying "After a while she deemed it necessary for me to learn how to fight with a sword as "no knight of her realm would be bereft of a blade." So I learned. Last year I spent spring break in the Zone, Mom and Dad thought I went on camp, and Sam and Tuck thought I was with them. Dora had one of her fighters train me. Frostbite here wanted to test my skill. He is a masterful swordsman. Had we gone for much longer he probably would have won." Clark looked at his cousin. It seemed the half-ghost would never cease to surprise him.

That did at least explain why Danny spoke so deferentially to the Far Frozen. From what little he knew of knights they were the emissaries of their monarch. Any poor behaviour was a bad reflection upon their sovereign, and could start wars. Yet there was something he was missing. The Far Frozen seemed to hold Danny in equal deference; did that mean that this Princess Dora was sovereign over them too? No, Frostbite was the ruler of the Far Frozen, and Dora ruled Aragon. So what was the missing piece?

Eventually it came time to leave. Danny went over to thank the citizens for their hospitality when Frostbite pulled Clark aside. "Kal-El, your family has already done a great service to the Ghost Zone. However, I must ask more of you. Please look out for the Great One. He has a destiny similar to your own. Soon the time will come when he learns what it means to single-handedly defeat a King. Until that day he has much to learn. Please continue helping him, Guardian of the Great One." Frostbite finished just as Danny came back over. Danny summoned a portal and the two of them stepped through to Smallville.

Line Break – Several hours previous

Danny silently waved goodbye to Clark as Frostbite led him off to begin his training. He could hardly believe that he had an ice core. The only known ice cores were the denizens of the Ice Realms (Frostbite's People) and Klemper. He wasn't sure what to make of it. But he did know that he needed to train. He could feel the cold creeping up inside him again. It was much faster than it had been before, and Danny did not want to freeze over again. Eventually he found himself in the centre of a massive arena. Danny could have sworn that the entire populous of the Far Frozen had come to watch him.

On one hand this was really bad because he was sure to embarrass himself. On the other hand it was a good thing, fewer people to notice Clark. Clark, being living shouldn't even be in the Zone, but so long as he wore the blanket he'd be safe, it'd disguise the fact that he was alive by clouding him in ecto-energy. Danny listened to Frostbite as he instructed him on how to get rid of the cold.

"You must let the cold build inside you until it has no place to go but out" Danny nodded. He drew his concentration in on himself. This was just like learning any other power. Concentration was key. He focused and felt for the cold feeling. He imagined holding it in his hands. The feeling was similar, but stronger than what allowed him to pull himself into his ghost form. He imagined the cold getting smaller, denser. The cold feeling became colder still; he could feel his body freezing around him. Still, he intensified the coldness inside himself. Denser and denser, colder and colder. The coldness got to the point where it was so dense and so cold that he could no longer hold it. He released it in an enormous wave of icy blue light.

He no longer felt cold. It was a relief after three weeks of fighting it back, even without realising it. He looked happily over to Frostbite to see that he had accidentally frozen him. Danny cringed at his mistake, hopefully next time he could control it better. Half an hour later Frostbite was defrosted, dismissing it as a casual mistake that many made. Danny looked back to the centre of the arena to see that several targets had been set up. Frostbite proceeded to show Danny how to summon and guide shards of ice.

Hours passed, Frostbite demonstrating technique after technique. It was intense, and Frostbite was a kind, but demanding instructor. It felt like being in a history lesson with Clockwork. Clockwork would insist he visit the same thing over and over again until the message was perfectly clear. It was fun learning how to control the ice, although he did accidentally injure some of the spectators. Frostbite took it gracefully, but Danny felt terrible for hurting the people who had been so kind to him.

Eventually Frostbite came to the final technique, summoning an ice sword. Frostbite talked through the theory, it demanded focus and a crystal image of how it was to appear. The sword had to be ultra dense and sharp in order to be more than a pretty decoration. Danny concentrated, focusing on how he wanted the blade to look. He felt the tug of energy as the icy blade materialised in his hand. Frostbite deemed it acceptable. Then the leader got a curious look in his eye. "Care to match blades with me, Great One?"

Danny smiled, and Frostbite raised his sword. Danny paused for a moment and raised his hand. If this was to be a test of skill then it shouldn't matter if he used his own blade. He released the icy one and then touched his hand to his necklace, summoning the blade that Dora had given him. Danny and Frostbite took a step back and bowed, according to the traditional rules of combat. They touched blades, pausing and then Frostbite struck.

Danny parried the blow away. Frostbite's blow was firm, flowing from the strength of his muscular body. Danny did not have that advantage. He dodged out of the way of a second blow, allowing his battle honed reflexes to take control while he tried to get a measure of Frostbite's fighting style. He blocked a blow and spun to take his own, which Frostbite stopped with his own blade. Unlike with his fight with Lex, this required every bit of concentration to keep in the fight. The fight with Frostbite was an enjoyable test of skill. With Lex he'd just wanted to prove a point. Danny wove between the blows, finding himself blocking and dodging just as often as Frostbite had to. Neither of them was able to land a hit nor a decisive blow on the other. Neither of them could gain an advantage.

Frostbite looked at Danny and both understood the silent question between the two of them. They nodded to each other. Now it was a match of blades and powers. Frostbite sent a beam of ice towards Danny who twirled to dodge it. Danny returned the favour and melted some of the ice beneath Frostbite with an ecto-blast. They exchanged blows with the swords and then switched to using their powers. Danny sent an elaborate combination of ecto-blast, sword strike and then an ice-infused ecto-beam, but Frostbite threw it off, blocking the attack. Frostbite returned the favour with an intense ice beam. Danny blocked this.

It seemed even with powers the two were evenly matched. Danny thought to himself that the reputation of the Far Frozen's leader was well earned. Still they fought. Danny glanced into the stands and his gaze fell on Clark. Okay, when it was just the Far Frozen watching it would be okay to lose, but with Clark here he really wanted to win. An idea crossed his mind. Really it shouldn't work, it only worked if the ghost was stronger than the other, and Danny believed that Frostbite was the more powerful out of them. It would either work, or it wouldn't and they'd keep fighting until they got bored. Danny concentrated on his own blade, coating it in his own ice energy. The two blades struck and Danny concentrated, allowing the energy of his own ice to swallow that of Frostbite's blade.

Danny was shocked as the Frostbite's icy sword poured into his own blade, disappearing as if it had never been. Danny was more powerful than Frostbite? Where did that place him in the Zone? Frostbite was one of the most powerful Kings; to be above him was almost unheard of. Danny swallowed his concern and looked to Frostbite who was smiling proudly at him. According to the tradition of the Zone it was up to the defeated to start the conclusion. "Well met" Frostbite proclaimed, his voice carrying to the stands. According to tradition Danny issued the response "Well met indeed" Danny smiled at Frostbite and they laughed even as they shook each other's hands. The fight was over and they had concluded as friends.

Danny and Frostbite floated over to Clark. Danny wasn't sure he wanted to know what Clark made of the fight. It had been fun, and it was so long since Danny had had a proper sword fight... probably six months ago at Dora's tournament. He'd won that, so it was good to test his skill against such a renowned adversary as Frostbite. "Having fun there?" Danny asked allowing the mirth of his triumph to enter his eyes. Clark looked at him with a mixture of awe and confusion. "How... Where did you learn that?" Clark asked. Danny didn't particularly feel like responding.

"Has the Great One not told you of his title Guardian?" Danny squirmed uncomfortably. Knighthoods didn't happen much in this age, let alone in America. That he was an active knight would confuse so many people in the Real World. He never admitted it to humans, and it had only been Sam and Tuck who'd known. Jazz never found out about that bit of notoriety. Clark shook his head and Danny couldn't stop Frostbite from proclaiming "Then please allow me the honour of presenting to you The Great One, Sir Danny Phantom of the Principality of Aragon."

Danny watched as confusion crossed his cousin's face "How?" Danny looked to the ground. There was no way out of it now. "I didn't mean for it to happen," He explained "Sam got kidnapped and to get her back I helped the ghost overthrow her tyrannical brother. Princess Dora became monarch, and gave me a knighthood for serving her." Danny reflected on the months after that which were in relative peace. It was just after he had destroyed the Reality Gauntlet that Dora had proclaimed her first tournament as monarch. Danny had failed abysmally, and Dora had demanded he learn so as not to embarrass her.

Danny continued his explanation to Clark "After a while she deemed it necessary for me to learn how to fight with a sword as "no knight of her realm would be bereft of a blade." So I learned. Last year I spent spring break in the Zone, Mom and Dad thought I went on camp, and Sam and Tuck thought I was with them." That had been an interesting week. He had taken to it fairly quickly and surprised Garth who was training him. Dora couldn't stop time like Clockwork, so she couldn't have him come after school for lessons like Clockwork did. "Dora had one of her fighters train me. Frostbite here wanted to test my skill. He is a masterful swordsman. Had we gone for much longer he probably would have won." This was all too true. Had Danny not taken a chance on that last technique they could have kept fighting until midnight.

Eventually it was time to return to Smallville. He didn't know how long he'd been out, but Danny was sure that by now Uncle Martha and Uncle Jon would be getting worried about them. They'd at least spent overnight in the Zone, and it was time to go home. Having long since switched back to human form, Danny opened a portal that should go straight back to the storm cellar on the farm. He had to choose somewhere that people were unlikely to be, and he couldn't go to the cave since he hadn't been there while he was awake so he couldn't form the mental image. Clark and Danny stepped through, but the cellar was not how Danny remembered it.

Line Break

Clark and Danny emerged from the portal to see it covered in thick roots and vines. A small stream of icy breath flew out of Danny's parted lips. Carefully they edged over the vegetative mass and headed up the stairs. The farm had been transformed. Instead of the fields of grass and wheat that were growing there was an almost endless field of snapping Venus-fly-trap heads. Clark ran over to the house, but Danny looked to the skyline over Smallville. Sure enough there was the darkness that came with a Ghost attack. The sunny day faded into a dark green the closer to Smallville you looked.

Judging from the colour it was an earth core ghost, and a very powerful one at that. The question was what was it doing in Smallville? Clark raced back from the house, declaring it empty. Danny pointed towards the town, "They're probably in town. Clark, we need to stop whatever that ghost is." The two boys nodded to each other and sped towards town arriving barely a minute later. The town was in even worse condition than the farm. The vines were thicker here and the Venus-fly-traps were as big as a person. There was a cluster of giant pod like flowers clustered towards the centre of town.

Danny and Clark walked through the eerily empty town. They occasionally felt movement, but it was gone by the time they'd turn to look. They walked towards the centre of the town, looking for any sign of the ghost. They were coming up to the field of weird flowers when "I AM UNDERGROWTH" the ghost finally spoke. A large beak and glowing red eyes soared up from the vines beneath their feet. His entire being seemed to be made of thick vines as he soared up into the air.

"WHO DARES TO DISTURB THE GROWTH OF MY CHILDREN!" Two darker vines crossed his chest forming a green chest plate. Two large, thick and green mushrooms formed shoulder plates which held the leafy cloak behind his shoulders in place. Sharp thorns jutted out from his shoulders and ran in a spiky Mohawk up to the top of his head. Two beady red eyes sat beneath long vinelike eyebrows. His face was ensnared with his big green beak-like mouth. He stood twenty feet above them and his countenance radiated violent menace. Danny's response to the monolithic ghost was to send a powerful ecto-blast at him. Clark sent a heat blast at Undergrowth and the ghost found itself without its arms.

The two boys looked happily at each other it seemed this would be fairly easy. They looked to the ghost, vines sprouted from its missing arms, replacing them entirely. "YOU CANNOT DESTROY A BEING THAT CAN REGENERATE! MIND VINES ATTACH!" Suddenly two dark vines sprung from the green mass. They had evil probe looking things on the end and Danny knew he did not want that to get anywhere near him. One tried to bury itself into the back of his neck, but it seemed their energy was incompatible. Thank Hecate for small blessings. Clark though was in trouble. One had buried himself in the back of his neck. Danny watched as Clark fought it, his eyes flickering between blue and green. The blue was overwhelmed by solid green, consuming even the whites of his eyes. The veins in the side of Clark's neck were strained with an awful dark blackness. There was a momentary pause.

"What did you do to him?" Danny screeched at the plant ghost. "The mind vine" the ghost responded in a creepily evil voice "Allows me to control the body of the worthless humans. The humans are nothing more than a weed in the Earth's garden. Destroying all that is natural in search of progress. If it is not enough that they must destroy my children with their so called progress, they must throw stones to make it impossible to grow. No more. My children will grow, and the humans will give their nutrients to feed my children. Eventually my children will grow, and the human weeds will be eliminated from my garden. Now, FLESH-WALKER ATTACK!"

Danny was caught off guard as Clark's body threw a super-sonic punch at him. Danny felt one of his ribs shattered from the blow as he was sent flying across town. He landed blearily on the street just in time to see a little red car pull up. Danny pulled himself off the ground and looked over at the car. Whoever it was would be better off far away from the town until the ghost Undergrowth was gone. Danny was about to say as much when a feminine voice yelled out "Danny!" it was Chloe. Undergrowth hadn't gotten her. Thank goodness.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Danny looked at her and ignoring his rib nodded. "I'm all right, but the ghost's got Clark." Chloe visibly paled. Danny knew she was thinking that without Clark they were done for. Knowing her there was no way she'd just leave until Clark was back on their side. This was an emergency. With Undergrowth able to regenerate the way he could Danny had no idea how to weaken him enough to get him in the thermos. "What can we do?" Chloe asked. Danny thought for a moment. It wasn't the best plan, but...

"Can I see some of the weaponry in your trunk?" Chloe looked at him alarmed. Danny knew he wasn't supposed to know about it since it was only on a secret mission with Clark that Chloe had told Clark about it. "Now isn't the time. Yes, I know about the weaponry, I know you needed it when Clark's powers were gone." Chloe's eyes widened "You know?" Darn, Danny hadn't wanted to get stuck into this just now. "Yes, found out the day Sean attacked near the school. We can talk about that later. Yes, I know, no I won't tell anyone. For now Clark's in trouble and I need your help to get rid of the ghost." Chloe looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then nodded her head.

"Can I please have a look at the weapons in your car? I want to see if there's anything that could help." Chloe moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Whoa Danny had never seen so many human weapons all together. Danny looked to Chloe and then back at what was there. He could already see that there was nothing that would be really helpful. Out of everything, maybe he could tweak a few to give her an ecto-gun, but that would only be for defence in this situation. And he still didn't know how to get rid of the ghost.

Chloe looked at him questioningly and Danny turned to her with a slight frown. "Okay, the ghost is like a giant plant, I can't see anything that will get rid of it. You have any idea how to kill a plant?" Chloe sighed, Danny hoped she could come up with anything since he was at a loss. "What in here do you not mind me tinkering with?" Danny asked. He may as well do something helpful, and the attention of the ghost was elsewhere at the moment. Now was the time to come up with a plan. He had learned that just racing in with brute strength was not enough for ghosts like this. Chloe looked at him confused "If I have something to work with I may be able to make you a ghost weapon. It'll at least keep that thing at bay."

Chloe looked actually a bit excited at the prospect. She pulled out two hand guns, a couple of grenades and a tin of pepper spray. Okay, so the pepper spray was useless, but the guns and grenades he could work with. Nimbly he pulled apart the grenades, careful to remove the explosive first. He sat on the ground and laid out all the components. He did the same to one of the guns. He was just glad that he had a Swiss-Army knife on him. He usually didn't bother with human weaponry, but had brought it along when they went to retrieve AC. His human form still had it on him when Clark and he had gone to the Far Frozen.

Danny sat on the ground, slightly nervous under Chloe's interested gaze. He looked up at her and said. "Since we're here, may as well multitask. Any chance you can research how to kill a plant?" Chloe obligingly pulled out her laptop and started researching. Danny went through the familiar motions of constructing a basic ecto-ray. He didn't have any of the components to render it harmless to humans, nor did he have the lead crystal for the focusing system that his parents used. He'd pretend to use the Thermos as the energy source, so that would be okay.

Danny mused over how to make the focus. There was nothing in the bullets or the grenades that would do it. Then it hit him, he could make an ice crystal for the focus. He just had to hope that Chloe wouldn't take it apart later to look at it. Danny opened up the shell of the second gun and gutted it. All it would be was a case. The silver gun was quickly filled with the springs, and levers that would allow the energy to charge. When Chloe wasn't looking he summoned a crystal to focus the beam. Finally, he filled the small tube from one of the grenades with pure ecto-energy. It would last longer than his parents' without a recharge, and it would be much more powerful because most of the ghosts they had used were low class Norma ghosts.

Chloe's eyes lit up just as Danny sealed the gun's case. He carved the word ecto into the barrel just in case so that Chloe wouldn't mistake it for a regular gun. "Well," she said "Plants burn easily if they're dry, but looking around it seems that it would take a huge fire to wipe this one out."

Danny looked at her "About the same as the Great Fire of London which last I checked, killed most people in it. The whole town's in there."

Chloe looked at him grimly. "I know. Electricity denatures enzymes, but the charge would have the same problem. The only other thing is cold, like when the plants die off for the winter." Danny smiled, cold he could do. But how to manage it and protect his secret?

Danny shook his head. First things first. Keeping Chloe protected was the priority for now. Carefully he handed the gun to Chloe. "It's pretty slap-dash, but that will keep most small ghosts away. When this is over I'll have to reconfigure it. It'll hurt humans too, third degree burns. I'll fix it when this is all done. Otherwise treat it like a normal gun. Point, aim and shoot. It'll be bright and won't kick back the same way, but it's the best I could manage."

Chloe looked at him curiously. He'd just proven that he was smarter than he acted, and he needed the act to keep Fenton and Phantom separate. Oh well, more pressing concerns for now. "What about you?" Chloe asked concerned. Well, all of me is pretty much a weapon he thought, but pulled out the Thermos. "Thermos; it's a ghost capturing device. There wasn't enough for two guns so this'll have to do me. I'm a terrible aim anyway." With that Chloe and Danny proceeded into town, still no real plan on hand, well at least from Chloe's perspective.

Danny meanwhile duplicated himself, having a second invisible Danny behind them. He wasn't looking forward to the head rush, but it was safer this way. A Venus-fly-trap thing came towards them and Chloe shot at it. While she was distracted the Danny's switched places. The original transformed and flew ahead, ready to meet them further on. Phantom got a head start, icing some of the roots that were buried into the town. Just as Chloe and Danny ran up he came up from the ground, his white cloak billowing out around him.

"Phantom?" Chloe asked sounding stunned. Which was fair, he was a bit far from his usual "haunting ground", and most of the world thought he was a myth. Phantom turned to Chloe and said "It's not safe for you here, you should leave." He couldn't help it, the urge to protect her was stronger this close to the threat. "What are you doing here?" Chloe demanded. Well at least she hadn't run screaming. "I go where I'm needed. I got stuck in this world and decided to float around. I saw Undergrowth and came here to help." They had no more time as Undergrowth decided to pay attention to them.

"YOU AGAIN!" he said, bellowing at Danny "I THOUGHT YOU HAD BEEN ENSLAVED! YOU WILL SERVE AS NUTRIENTS FOR MY CHILDREN!" Before Danny knew what was happening he was swallowed by a big flower thing. He could feel the flower moving, he assumed towards the centre of town. Slimy mucus covered him and he could feel his human energy being drained away. Dazedly he felt the edges of unconscious grasping at him...

Phantom reabsorbed the duplicate, ignoring the head rush and the fear of losing consciousness inside a flower. That Danny had served his purpose; Chloe had seen both of them at the same time. Phantom turned his attention back to Undergrowth, "You two will make a fine meal for the children too." He said. Danny fired an ecto-beam, and heard Chloe firing her gun behind him. He flew to float beside her, and cactus-like things came towards them. "How'd you get that" Phantom asked, already knowing the answer. Both of them continued fighting back the things, firing green beams at them.

"Danny Fenton, the kid who came with me made it. Phantom, what do we do? That thing has got the whole town hostage, they'll die soon." Phantom looked to Chloe and said "I'll stop him." Phantom sent a blast of icy energy towards the cactuses, freezing them in place. Chloe fired at them and they shattered. "I advise you take cover, it's going to get a little chilly." Phantom advised Chloe, hoping she'd take the hint and run. She didn't.

Phantom dove under the ground and continued freezing Undergrowth's massive roots. "NOOO MY ROOOOTS!" came bellowing down towards him. Phantom took that as an indication to come up and attack the ghost head on. He threw an icy blast at the ghost. Undergrowth froze in place for a moment, but then he broke free. Danny tried again, and he could see that Undergrowth was weakening from each icy blast. Chloe ran up, and one of the energy streams mixed with Phantom's blast. The two together caused more damage and the ghost roared in pain.

This gave Phantom an idea. He summoned a ball of icy energy, infusing it with his ecto-energy and threw it towards the ghost. A ball of swirling blue and green struck at undergrowth's middle. The ball was encircled by the ghost's vine regeneration, but Phantom was still in control. He forced the ball of energy to expand outwards and Undergrowth was consumed by a wave of icy blue light. The plants withered and faded away, there was only minor damage caused by the masses of plants. The sky returned to blue as the last traces of Undergrowth vanished.

Phantom offered a hand to Chloe and flew her bridal style into the centre of town where everyone was waking up. Phantom sent a duplicate Danny to join the masses. As they landed, Phantom sensed a ghost. He looked down at the ground and there was a small shrub that cried "I am Regenerating!" to the sky. Chloe shot it and Phantom sucked it up with the thermos. "Thank you" Phantom said to Chloe. "Now let's find your friends." It took five minutes of wandering through the crowd of dizzy and confused people, but they eventually found Clark, Lana and the Kent's. A minute later Danny wandered up, tripping over a stray root on the way. Thirty seconds after that Lois stumbled across the group.

"Urgh, what happened?" Lana asked. Phantom stepped up, "This young lady here saved the day." as he indicated towards Chloe. Chloe blushed. "It was Phantom. He flew in and saved the town." Clark, Martha and Jon were looking confusedly between Danny and Phantom. Phantom just said "Didn't do much, just stopped a ghost. Thank you miss...?" he trailed off, hoping that Chloe would introduce himself. "Chloe" she said. Thank goodness. Phantom reached out his hand to take hers. He gently kissed the back of her hand and said "Then thank you Chloe. Without your assistance it would not have been so easy to capture this foe." Once more Chloe blushed. Okay, so Phantom was laying it on a bit thick, but it made it easier to keep himself separate.

Phantom turned to the rest of the group and courteously asked for their names. Clark laughed as he took his hand and said thanks. Lana stepped beside Clark and did the same. Then Phantom turned to Danny. "What are you doing all the way in Kansas Danny?" Phantom asked with a hint of concern. Danny replied sadly "Mom and Dad are gone. This is my aunt and uncle. They've kindly taken me in. I can't thank them enough for all they've done." Chloe interrupted "You two know each other?"

Phantom smiled warmly at Chloe. "Kid's parents were always shooting at me, most ghosts know the Fenton's. But Danny saw what I was doing, chucked the Thermos at me during a fight. That let me capture the ghost. Danny was always kinder to ghosts than his parents. He helped me figure out how to avoid some of the worst weapons." Phantom turned back to Danny. "I'm sorry to hear of your loss." Phantom hoped that this would be enough of a connection that Chloe wouldn't go digging for other connection between Fenton, Phantom and Amity.

Clark was the one who took the lead "So where are you off to now Phantom?" he asked. Phantom smiled at Clark and murmured thanks only he could here. More loudly he said "For the moment I'm just floating where the wind takes me. Don't really have access to the Zone, so I can't get back easy. Even if I did, I can't get out if you need help here. I might hang around for a while; could do with a bit of quiet." There, that covered if Phantom was seen again. It was unavoidable after today. He just hoped the GIW and the Red Huntress wouldn't come looking.

A news crew had appeared driving through the town towards them. Phantom really didn't want to talk to reporters, so faded into invisibility. He tailed Danny as the party split up. Chloe had come into town to go shopping with Lana, but after today they just decided to head to the Talon for coffee. Danny asked Chloe for the gun back, saying he wanted to make a few modifications. The two Kent elders looked at Clark and Danny who just said "When we get home."

Clark picked up his mum and super-sped her back home. Phantom grabbed Danny and Jon and flew the two back to the Kent farm. When they were there Phantom finally absorbed the duplicate and changed back to his human form. Martha made a cup of tea for all of them and they all sat in the lounge around the table. Danny had a headache from the duplicate, so allowed Clark to explain the adventure in the Far Frozen. He explained what had happened when they got back, and their trip into town. Then Clark said something that really concerned Danny.

"I'm so sorry for hitting you. I heard something crack. Are you okay?" Danny had not expected that. Usually people who had been controlled by ghosts forgot everything they'd done. But Clark remembered, Hecate; that must have been horrible. He was aware the whole time but couldn't control himself. Danny looked at Clark and told him he was fine. Clark didn't seem to believe him, and so gave him an X-ray. The rib that Clark had broken was already almost healed, and Clark not being a doctor overlooked the small line where it still had to recover. Satisfied, he allowed Danny to explain how he and Chloe had got rid of the ghost.

Jon asked about the fuss he'd made over Chloe back in town. "A bit of subtle flattery" Danny explained "can convince a person not to go digging. I hope that thinking of her experience with Phantom will leave her too distracted to see the similarities between the two of us. Really, she did deserve thanks, and Phantom was the only one who could give it to her. That performance kills two birds with one stone." Danny finished with a shrug and that answer seemed to appease Uncle Jon.

Martha then asked "Why did you want the gun back?" Danny gave her a goofy grin which faded into a stern frown. "Aunt Martha, my parents would never have let me be if that gun was used. That I let Chloe use it at all was wrong of me. I was desperate to give her something to protect herself, and I didn't care at the time. In retrospect I should have just sent her away, but I wasn't completely thinking straight. The gun hurt the ghost, yes. But it would seriously harm a civilian too. Mom and Dad always made sure their weapons couldn't hurt a human."

Danny sighed sadly. "At the time I didn't have much to work with. Clark told me that Chloe had... access to weaponry, and I was able to covert a couple of grenades and guns into something functional. But it was wrong." Clark surveyed the weapon on the table. He gave it a quick X-ray. And noted there were two parts that couldn't have come from the guns or grenades. "Where did you get the crystal thing and the green tubey-thing?" Danny shook his head at Clark exasperatedly and then opened the side of the gun so Aunt Martha and Uncle Jon could see.

"The "green tubey-thing" is the power source. It's another thing I probably shouldn't have done when I made the thing. It's pure ecto-energy; my pure ecto-energy. It can cause a lot more damage that any of the ghosts that mom and dad took it from." Danny got sidetracked at their curious glances. "In the Zone, ghosts work on a power system. The more powerful ghosts hold more authority than the weaker ghosts. It's instinct, we know it, and generally can tell when we're outclassed. Humans don't know, not in the same way we do. The most powerful ghost could stand next to the weakest and a human could never tell the difference."

Danny paused for a moment "Thirty years ago the hunters came up with a class system. It's just a scale from one to ten. Level one's are amorphous blobs, those are what Mom and Dad drew their ecto-power from. They aren't really sentient and can hardly be called ghosts, but they can be caught fairly easily. Level twos have only basic powers, they have a form, but aren't worth much thought. I've fought a level nine, Pariah, and was almost ended" Danny paused and shook his head. They were living, they wouldn't understand 'ended'. Danny clarified "almost died. There's two ghosts that I think are stronger, but nobody could ever got a read on them."

Clark was curious "What level are you?" he asked and Danny looked over at him with an inquiring glance. "Now? I don't know. Three months ago the GIW said I was a 7.2. But that was three months ago. When I started out I was about a level 4. No other ghost has grown so fast. I've only existed for two years, and I'm not sure how much my human half changes the ghost half. Still, I was 7.2 three months ago. That's the best answer that I can give."

Danny looked back to the open gun on the table. He smiled. "The crystal is far more innocent." Danny held out his hand and a small ice diamond appeared in his hand. He walked over to Aunt Martha and handed it to her. "Thank you, for giving me a home when mine was lost." Danny said, smiling at his aunt. Aunt Martha smiled and looked at the crystal.

"I'll have to fix the gun for Chloe, but maybe tomorrow. It's getting a bit late and to be honest, I'm exhausted." Danny excused himself to go off to bed. Clark yawned, but chose to elaborate on a few details that he had skimmed over when he explained their time with the Far Frozen.

"Mom, when I first met Lex" Clark said "I saw him practicing fencing. He fought well, but it was a fight. When Danny fought with Frostbite, they danced. That's the best way I can describe it. He may act clumsy, but that was beyond anything I've ever seen."

Clark still felt guilty for having hit his cousin, but Danny said it was fine. And he didn't have any broken bones. Eventually he too went up to bed. He'd had a long couple of days. Just before he lay down he retrieved the blanket from the storm cellar. He folded it up, wondering how he should go about getting it back to the Far Frozen. He was drifting off to sleep when he remembered something that Frostbite had told him. He'd have to ask Chloe what it meant to "single-handedly defeat a King". But that was a job for the morning.

The Smallville Ledger the following morning had one story on the front page. "Phantom Comes to Smallville"

---

AN: Danny finally has ice powers. Maybe I shouldn't have used Undergrowth without Sam around, but he is the only ghost that really needs ice to be beaten.

Chloe has an ecto-gun, and suspects Danny of being smarter than he lets on. Suspicions are forming...

'Till next time

Bluerose