Chapter 10
Desire
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
Danny silently packed up his notebook and pen. After the rally yesterday he felt recharged. He didn't want to believe it, but saving his Uncle's life had given him a serious energy boost. If there was anything to prove how much like a ghost he was it was that. Today was Monday, his first day sitting in the Senior classes. A number of students had given him strange looks, but he couldn't find it in him to care. The teachers actually smiled at him when they saw how well he was able to keep up. He actually surprised himself. He'd only had three classes so far, and it was nearing lunchtime, but he was actually somewhat enjoying the day.
So far he'd been able to catch all seven ghosts within two minutes, so hadn't had to abandon any classes. He smiled as he walked outside. Most students were loitering around in the cafeteria, the Christmas snow having melted slightly leaving icy puddles in the cold January air. But Danny was happier walking around outside. He absently paced through the grounds of Smallville High, reflecting on how much had changed in just six months.
It had been six months since he'd woken up in a private hospital with Vlad's doctors circling round him. An IV filled with pure ectoplasm draining into his system, and the air conditioner blowing constantly on him. Thankfully the doctors had asked no questions; after all they were only being paid by Vlad. There were very few benefits to knowing the froot-loop, but that small bit of protection was one.
But it had been six months since he'd found out that they were gone, that he'd never get to see his family or friends again. Danny sighed as he walked around the football stands. It was so hard without them here, nothing was the same. He didn't want to burden his family with his ghost problems, but it was lonely. He'd never realised just how much he relied on Sam, Tuck and Jazz, on Team Phantom for support. It wasn't just about the ghosts, it was about the camaraderie, about laughing together about the Box Ghost, about hanging after a tough fight and knowing that no matter what they would always be there for each other.
Danny felt his eyes sting, the emotions he'd fought so hard to keep back struggling towards the surface. He walked around, in front of the stands, ignoring all the people around him, altogether lost in his own private reflection. He sensed an object flying towards him, and out of reflex moved to catch it. Blinking himself back to the present he looked to his hand, instead of some dangerous ghost object it was a football. A plain, boring, brown and white, unimportant football.
"Whoa" Danny heard from behind and looked up to see the football team staring at him wide eyed, as if he'd done something really impressive. He lightly tossed the ball back, pulling his iPod out of his pocket as he walked.
Danny felt bad; he knew that he'd inherited a substantial amount of money from his parents, and that if he sold the patents to their inventions he'd never have to worry about money again. However, most of his inheritance was being held in trust which meant he couldn't give it to the Kents to help out. He only had access to enough to get by; clothes and some basic technology. Although he had modified the computer that he'd bought, Tucker's influence on him wouldn't let him rest until he'd upgraded it. And he'd added in his own antivirus program, designed to ward off Technus.
Danny kept walking, listening to the dark gothic rhythm he favoured as he moved away from the football field. He sighed as the bell rang; it was time to head to class. He was glad in a funny way that he'd been skipped ahead. Something told him Jazz would be proud of him, and graduating early also meant that next year he'd have more time to go out and help, to protect more people than just Smallville.
He took a seat in the metal shop class. He'd taken this as an elective mostly because it was a way to actually produce something worthwhile. He wasn't as innovative with inventions as his parents had been, but when it came to ghosts he didn't need to be. Before the winter holiday he'd just gone with a fairly typical project and made a motion detecting candelabra. It lit up only when someone was wandering around in the room. The teacher had been mildly impressed.
This semester the Senior class had to make their own unique project to be judged by the school-board. Danny didn't really know what he wanted to do. He absently fiddled with the electrical components in front of him, making small adjustments as he went. He didn't even really notice what he was doing until he was finished. What he was left with was the electrics for a Ghost-Gabber, the funnily named device that he'd loathed so fully and had dismantled too many times to count. He laughed at himself for his nostalgia.
The boy next to him was looking confusedly at Danny. Danny just smiled at him and continued as if nothing was wrong. Only a tiny spark of ectoplasm and it would work. He couldn't help himself, when he knew no one was looking he gave the odd device a tiny bit of energy and smiled. "There" he nodded to himself. "There, I am a ghost, Fear me." The little machine said back in its robotic feminine tone. Danny scowled and made a quick adjustment. Now it would just act as a translator. He encased it in a small plastic shell that he'd bought for his phone and smiled at the silly little device.
The teacher walked over to look at what they were up to. He frowned at the boy next to Danny who was still drawing a circuit while fiddling with a pair of blue and red wires. He then came over to look over at what Danny was working on. Seeing something like a finished product on the desk he asked.
"What's this Mr Fenton?"
Danny only took a moment to think of a reasonable response. "Something of a translator sir, I wasn't really thinking when I made it though." He paused as the little device echoed his words in its bland voice.
"What's the purpose of a translator that only copies what you say?" That's what I thought when Dad first made it Danny thought, however his experiences with Wulf before he'd taught himself Esperanto had shown its usefulness.
"And why didn't it copy what I just said?" the teacher added
"Estas agordita al mi. Ĝi povas traduki de iu lingvo La angla, provizis min diras ĝin." Danny said in Esperanto, smiling as the little machine repeated "It's configured to me. It can translate from any language to English, provided I say it." Okay, so he'd bent the truth a little, it was configured to translate ghosts, but Danny fell under that umbrella.
The teacher looked up at Danny surprised and disbelievingly shook his head. "You know, I haven't been this surprised by a student in a long time. Although, this doesn't exactly fit into the marking criteria, remember part of the marks come from functionality, not just originality." Danny nodded, he'd realised that in the first place, but he wasn't going to dismantle this. He wanted to keep it, in his Dad's name. When he got out of school he'd make a more appropriate case for it, but for now Danny settled back smiling at his memories of his ever absentminded Dad.
When the final bell for the day rang he walked outside and immediately teleported to the barn. It was weird; all his other powers he'd had to really train to use, but this one came easy as breathing, maybe more so. It was basic, more like instinct, like he was always supposed to jump between locations in a swirl of nothingness. He'd mastered it last night, only spending two hours practicing before he was confident in his abilities. He put his backpack on the desk and walked down the barn steps, listening to the sounds of the saw spinning down below.
"Hey Uncle Jon" Danny said as he came to a stop on the bottom step. He watched as his uncle finished off the piece of wood he was sawing and shut the saw off with a loud squeaking halt.
"Danny, I didn't see you there." Danny's uncle smiled as he set the plank of wood and took off his thick gloves, setting them aside on the work bench. "Is something wrong?" Danny just smiled, lightly shaking his head
"Nope, I just wondered if you could use a hand." Danny offered, enjoying the surge of warmth Jon subconsciously sent at him.
"Sure, I was going to start fixing the fence on the back lot, but I'd welcome an extra pair of hands. Just let me get the truck" Jon said with his wide straightforward smile.
"Which fence?" Danny asked.
"You know the one, it's near the forest line where the palings have rotten halfway through." Uncle Jon elaborated. Danny sent his uncle a cheeky grin before grabbing the whole pile of wooden palings from the table.
"Save the gas" Danny laughed even as he pictured that fence line. With a moment's concentration and a swirl of green he was there. He gently laid the wooden beams on the ground before refocusing on the barn. It really was too easy to teleport. He arrived back to a very bemused uncle.
"You teleported?" he asked, his earlier bemusement settling into curiosity.
"Yep." Danny replied, popping the P. "Want to try it out?" He asked, this would be his first opportunity to take someone with him, and really it was thanks to Uncle Jon that he had learned to teleport in the first place. It was only fair that his Uncle got to try it first. His Uncle stiffened slightly, but didn't say no. Danny laid one hand on his Uncle's shoulder and focused not only on where he wanted to be, but also who he wanted to take with him. Barely a breath later both of them were by the old fence line. Jon blinked at Danny.
"I didn't feel anything, like we didn't move at all." Jon went to lean against the fence, obviously still surprised. "You seem to have gotten the hang of that pretty quickly" he commented "I remember when Clark first got his heat vision I had to set him up in a cornfield with a dozen scarecrows and gave him a whole weekend. We lost the mailbox and I had to replace fifteen foot of fencing." Danny laughed at the anecdote, but remembered some of his own mishaps while training his own powers.
Shrugging he observed "I guess, but it's fairly easy, just imagine where you want to be, and go. It's kinda fun." Danny went over to the fence and phased one of the old beams off the post. There was no one else around and Danny wanted to stretch his abilities out. He hadn't really had a proper training session since Sam and Tuck were there. He handed it to his uncle to move out of the way before going to the next one.
They worked happily together, making steady progress on removing all the rotten wood, and enjoying the gentle strain of manual labour. As they worked Danny mused about his Uncle. There was no comparison between him and Danny's Dad, but they were similar in as much as they were genuinely good people. Uncle Jon was a good man. He was honest, and if you earned his trust he was loyal to the very end. Perhaps his prideful streak was a bit strong, but it was this that bore the foundations for his own unique inner strength.
Danny smiled. That is why he would be a great State Senator when he was elected. He could do things that neither Danny nor Clark could. He was able to bring out the very best in people, encouraging them to be the best they could be. He put the needs of others above himself, and was a true family man, looking out for his whole family. Danny felt honoured that Jon had welcomed him so wholeheartedly into their lives. He was a good man; Danny wished there were more people like his Uncle in the world.
It only took them an hour to fully replace the fence. Of course Danny and Clark could have done it a lot quicker, but that wasn't really the point. With Danny phasing the new posts down into the ground and Jon nailing the new planks in place the two of them made short work of the job. Danny teleported the rotting wood over to the woodpile for firewood, and then went back to his Uncle to accompany him as he walked back to the house.
"So, how was your first day as a Senior, son?" There was a hint of warm pride in his Uncle's voice. Danny was only slightly surprised, with how turbulent the weekend had been Danny would not have been surprised if Jon hadn't known of the school's plan to skip him ahead.
"It was interesting" Danny answered "I was surprised that I could even keep up... well, today there wasn't much to distract me, so that's a good thing." Danny chuckled as he recalled his Shop class. "There's a major project in Shop, something both innovative and useful. I wasn't really thinking and made this." Danny pulled his Ghost-Gabber out of his pocket. He'd managed to fashion a better case for it so it actually looked quite elegant, similar in shape to a stylised iPod.
"You made an mP3 player?" Uncle Jon asked with one eyebrow raised sceptically as he surveyed the silvery device. Danny laughed lightly as he brushed his fingers over the device.
"Not exactly" he explained "It was one of Dad's favourite inventions, I used to hate it. It took everything a ghost said and translated it into English. But most ghosts I know speak English anyway, so it just echoed what had just been said and threw in an "I am a ghost; Fear me" for fun." Danny smiled ruefully "I took Dad's one apart so many times, but he would always fix it. Always."
Danny stroked the buttons for a moment before switching it on. "Amuza afero estas tio, ke ĝi vere laboras. Paĉjo neniam atingis trovi ke for." Danny said in Esperanto, listening as the voice translated for him "Funny thing is that it really works. Dad never got to find that out." He switched the Gabber off, and in English said "I don't know what it means that I made this. Out of hundreds of inventions, I made the most annoying and useless one."
"Son, you said it yourself" Jon replied, his voice warm and encouraging. "This was your Dad's favourite. Making this says to me how much you cared for him" Danny smiled at that even as Uncle Jon gave him a one armed hug. Together they went into the house, Jon to escape the cold January air and Danny to get started on some homework.
Once he was in his room Danny gently laid the Ghost Gabber in the desk drawer along with his sketch book and photo album. He wanted to keep all his precious memories together. Aunt Martha had called from work, saying that she needed to stay late to work on the balances. Something in her attitude had changed since yesterday, and there was an almost guilty look in her eye when she'd looked at Uncle Jon this morning. Still, Danny would eventually figure it out, so for now he pulled out his sketchbook and gently stroked his pencil over the page.
Line Break
The ghost smiled as she watched a weaker ghost scurry through the open portal. It had been several months since she had visited the human world and she felt it was time to wreak her own brand of havoc. Rumour had it that Phantom's two bratty friends were out of the picture, and everyone knew that Phantom's portal hadn't been open in months. Natural portals could go anywhere, so it was unlikely that Phantom would be anywhere near her when she got out. The ghost smiled as she passed through the portal, the swirling blue and green closed around her as she floated invisibly into the human world once more.
Line Break
Clark sighed as he watched Lana leave. After everything that had happened on the weekend their relationship had taken a severe blow, and Clark didn't know what to do from here. The two of them had fought over her sudden interest in astronomy, and she was upset with him for holding himself back in their relationship. But she'd come up to the loft last night and they'd tried to talk it over. Then she'd revealed something. She'd been looking into the first meteor shower.
Lana had looked into the trajectories of all the meteors and had found one that didn't crash, but landed. She even suspected that there was another alien living among them. She knew he was there. When she'd said that he'd completely frozen, part of him had wanted to tell her, but the other half of him was screaming that she could never accept him for who or what he was. He was responsible for her parent's deaths. So he'd stayed silent, giving nothing away.
But now he was concerned that by saying nothing he'd lose her. Clark loved Lana with all his heart. He was sure that they were meant to be together. So why could he never tell her the truth? It would have been so easy, but he was too scared that she would reject him for being an alien freak. A monster.
So he watched as Lana left, desperately undecided with his thoughts a hundred miles away. He sat there in silence for half an hour as the night deepened around him. The chilled air creped through the barn, making even Clark uncomfortable in its wintry grasp. Still he sat, absently staring at the steps that he'd watched Lana go down. He heard a faint cough from behind him and he looked over his shoulder.
Floating just off the ground cross-legged was Danny. His blue eyes questioning and his head slightly cocked to the side. "Danny?" Clark asked "How long have you been there?" Danny had a habit of popping up unannounced, and that was before he'd learned to teleport. There was something unsettling about living with a ghost in the house, and even though Danny was often fun to be around, times like these Clark would have preferred to have a normal kid living with them.
"Long enough to feel lucky the stairs haven't burned down. You've been staring at the same spot for half an hour. What's wrong?" Danny asked, his blue eyes glowed with a strange intensity. Danny was still only wearing a long sleeved t-shirt despite the cold, but he never complained. Then again, his heart – core – temperature was close to absolute zero, so the chill of winter probably didn't bother him.
"Nothing" Clark replied, finally realising that Danny had asked a question. Danny raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Well, nothing you can help with." Danny silently walked over to the trunk and took a seat on it, opposite Clark.
"You know, one of the best things about Jazz was that even when I knew she could never understand everything she was always there to listen. If you need someone to talk to, I'm happy to listen Clark." There was a strange swirl of emotion in his eyes, and Clark supposed that many of the stresses that he was worried about Danny had had to deal with in some form.
"Lana" Clark began, noting the knowing glint that immediately leapt into his cousin's eyes. "knows that I'm here, or rather that there is an alien living on Earth. Part of me wants to tell her, I know we can never really be together until she knows everything about who and what I am. But the other half of me... I'm worried that she won't accept me, that she'll blame me for everything that's wrong in Smallville. That she'll think of me as a monster." Clark stopped talking and looked back to the barn steps.
"Clark" he heard Danny say, his voice soft and calm. "I know exactly what you're talking about. Let me tell you something, I was always scared of my parents' reaction; I was so terrified that I never told them. And now I'll never get the chance. But I do know that if I had told them they would have accepted me for everything that I am. I know that despite everything, despite the fact that I am little more than a ghost; the one thing they'd sworn to destroy, they would accept me as their son above anything else."
"How?" Clark asked. How could he know that? He'd said it with such certainty, but nothing in Clark's mind was certain.
"I saw it." Danny answered. "Summer after freshman year, it was going to be perfect. I was going on a cross-country trip with Sam and Tucker, and the best part was no ghosts. The summer started with an end of school concert by Dumpty Humpty, and it was just outside the school. But one of my enemies had other plans. Freakshow managed to escape his prison and had gained control of an ancient artefact called the Reality Gauntlet. With it he could manipulate all reality, but he didn't know how to activate it.
"I fought him, and Sam, Tucker and I were able to send the three gems that activated the Gauntlet away. In that blast I lost control of my form. I changed from Phantom to Fenton on national TV..." Danny trailed off, it was obvious that there was something that he was leaving out of the story. "Freakshow kidnapped all our parents and Jazz, and blackmailed me into retrieving the three gems. The three of us did get to go on the cross country tour. I did get to land a spaceship at Cape Canaveral, Tucker did get to go to his comic book convention in San Diego, and Sam got to go to Gothapalooza in the Nevada desert.
"We found the gems again, and went to where Freakshow had hidden our parents, and Jazz hidden. The fight was... not fun, but with Jazz's help I was able to trick him into becoming a ghost, he had a psychological condition Jazz deemed Ghost Envy. So I was able to trap him. But the whole world knew my secret – I wonder what you thought in that world? – anyway.
"Mom and Dad knew, and when I expected them to hate me they said the best thing. They said 'honey, of course we accept you, whether you're a ghost, or a boy, or something in between.' And with that I knew that me being me was more important than what I had become." Clark watched as the blue eyes glittered with unshed tears.
"So why didn't they know?" Danny looked away, out the barn window. When he answered his voice was distant.
"The world wasn't ready to know. My parents may have accepted me, but there were those who couldn't... I changed everything back so that only Sam, Tuck, Jazz and I remembered anything, and then I destroyed the Gauntlet." Danny shook his head and turned to look back at Clark.
"But that's not the point. I know my parents loved me unquestioningly. They loved me for me, and didn't care that I was a ghost. Somehow I think Lana cares more about you than you are giving her credit for. Something to think about." Danny disappeared in a swirl of green mist. Clark blinked at the familiarity of his disappearance.
Last year Clark had briefly dated a girl called Alicia Baker. She was able to teleport, in a similar way to how Danny now could. He had loved her, and he had believed that she was the only one who could love him both for who and what he was. But she had been killed by another psychotic meteor freak. Clark looked out at the starry sky, reflecting on Danny's story. Perhaps Lana would accept him for what he was. He sighed, leaning back into the sofa as he imagined the possibility that Lana could really love him for who he was.
Line Break
The ghost smiled from her hiding place as she observed the human students milling about over lunch. This school had much more spirit than Phantom's ever had, but there were more than enough petty jealousies to keep her satisfied. She watched as a blue eyed blonde haired boy passed by her. he ambled over to join a large group of other boys all dressed in the same red and yellow jacket and all of a similar bulky build. The boy grinned broadly as he passed a group of cheerleaders who were gossiping about Phantom.
That was the one problem with this town. By the sounds of it Phantom had been making regular appearances here. While the portals to Amity Park had mostly closed, they were far from the only portals that opened into the Real World. The ghost hoped she could gather some strength before she inevitably had to fend off the teenage halfa.
Idly she mused over her past experiences with the cocky young hybrid. The halfa had always managed to entrap her in that Thermos. It was almost as bad as... well she was free of that confinement now. It had been over two years since she'd first met the Halfa. Two years... she smiled as she realised something important. The Halfa had passed his second deathday, and all ghosts knew what happened during the third year of ghost-hood. She smiled, her next encounter with Phantom would certainly be fun.
"Oh my gosh, he's just so cute" the Ghost's attention was brought back to reality as she listened into the gossip of the cheerleaders.
"White hair, those amazing green eyes, and that cloak" a brunette sighed. The blonde she was talking with dreamily replied "I know, he's such a dream, can you believe that Kat girl actually got to meet him?"
"So unfair, she made the paper and she gets to talk to the ghost boy." A red head chipped in. The ghost immediately knew who they were talking about. She hadn't seen him recently, but with white hair and green eyes there was only one ghost they could be talking about.
"I just wish we could meet him." A foolish girl sighed. The ghost grinned; she could feel the power surging through her core already. She slid out of her hiding spot, startling the group of girls.
"So you have wished it, so shall it be!" she decreed, her eyes lustful as she intoned her spell. While she had to grant every wish she heard, that didn't mean she could not make it her own. Yes, she'd bring the ghost boy here, but not how they expected. Desiree clapped her green hands together and a swirl of purple and pink appeared in the centre of the cheerleaders. Desiree smiled as it cleared to reveal a blue eyed, black haired Danny Fenton.
She watched as Danny blinked for a moment, still looking as scrawny as the day she had first met him, but donning a far darker style. The girls squealed at Desiree's appearance, but Danny was far less easily startled. It was only a moment before he was pulling out the Thermos.
The girls were all still stunned that a ghost had appeared, this was just like the first time she'd met the brat, the humans didn't know to fear ghosts and run. Instead they were looking between Danny and Desiree. "Where's Phantom?" one of them asked and Desiree grinned her Cheshire cat's grin, those two words would activate the second part of her spell.
She watched as a blue ring appeared around Danny's waist, watched as he struggled against the power of her spell, the ring flickering in and out of existence. She grinned as the ring slowly parted, moving up and down to reveal the ghost form of Danny Phantom. Desiree thrilled as the surge of power washed over her, the fantastic feeling of energy as she granted her wishes. And she'd revealed Phantom for what he was to everyone, something so many had wanted to do just to bother the Halfa.
"I wish that I had been perceived as Phantom from the moment you brought me here until I say aloud that I no longer wish to be perceived as Phantom." And it all came crashing back down. Desiree frowned as she was forced to grant his wish, unable to think of any way to twist it to her own benefit. However, she was now strong enough to stay out of that infernal device for a while.
"I see you have become more careful with your wishes." Desiree said to the halfa. Phantom grinned in determination towards her. He leaped into the sky and fired a powerful ectoblast at her. Easily she dodged, but smiled at the crowd that was gathering below.
"Wishes? Did she say wishes" Desiree smiled as she heard this, it wouldn't be too long until they started screaming all their pathetic desires to the sky. She felt her power grow with every little wish she granted. She was creating quite the little mess for Phantom to clean up even as she gained strength.
Phantom was distracted from their fight as an enchanted blade flew towards the crowd of teens. He put up a huge green dome, and the blade shattered on contact. Still the fools in the crowd were making wishes; despite how obviously Phantom was fighting against the products of Desiree's magic.
One of the footballers, the blonde haired one from earlier was watching Phantom keenly; Desiree smiled at the look in his eye. That was the look of a buffoon about to make a really stupid wish that would be incredibly potent and fulfilling for Desiree. "I wish we could see Phantom fight a really bad, tough ghost like the one on Halloween."
Desiree had no idea which ghost that was, but she had no problem creating trouble for Phantom. "So you have wished it, so shall it be!" She intoned, clasping her hands together and watching as the swirl of her magic poured over them. She felt her power swell as this wish was granted, the mist gradually clearing to reveal the ghost she'd summoned. Of course it wasn't a true ghost, just a creature of malevolent ectoplasm. But it was dangerous and it would keep Phantom very busy.
It didn't matter that he'd already dealt with all of the other wishes; she'd already gotten her power surge. The crowd was silent, staring transfixed at the creature that was slowly emerging from her magical mist. The best part of this wish was that Phantom would have no choice but to deal with the creature first. He was locked in her spell, she laughed and decided to sit and watch. It wasn't often a ghost got to watch Phantom fighting, and it would be entertaining to watch a ghost in the middle of his third year fight. She flew over to the stands as the third part of the spell activated. The stands were filled with as many people as she could summon, all there to watch the battle, and none could escape until Phantom defeated the creature.
Line Break
Danny Phantom swore under his breath as he felt Desiree's magic fill the air. It wasn't enough that he'd been brought here by a wish, wasn't enough that he'd already had to fend off so many wishes gone wrong. No, now he had to be trapped in a wish. The only good thing was that he had been completely alone when he had been so rudely abducted. As soon as he'd heard Jay say his wish he'd known that this would be bad. He'd felt the energy swirl around him. He could probably escape the magic if he really wanted to, but that would leave him too dramatically weakened to battle Desiree into the Thermos.
He looked over to the stands where hundreds of Smallville students sat trapped by the spell, as well as people from the surrounding shops. Flames he cursed, why do people have to make such broad wishes? By saying the word "we" Jay had gotten them all trapped with a rapidly forming ghost creature, mindless enough to tear them all apart.
Danny watched the clearing pink and purple mist as the creature emerged. Danny could sense its power, its malicious intent, and above all its mindlessness. The creature was huge, nearly twelve feet high. It walked on four thick stumpy legs, making the ground tremble as it approached Phantom. It had thick brown skin, somewhere between reptilian scales and the thick hide of an elephant. It glistened with brown slime that seemed to ooze over its entire body.
But its head was the worst thing about it. A hideous combination of a toad like shape blended with the dark black eyes of a wolf and protruding tusks, each ending in a sharp tip. The beast roared, a stream of green energy escaping its enormous maw as it steadily gained on Phantom. Phantom sent a blast at it, but the energy just slid off it, doing no damage and zooming up into the sky. Phantom groaned as the beast swung an enormous claw at him. He only barely escaped the blow, rolling out of the way.
He hastily erected a shield to block the beast's next blow, flinching as the shield shuddered. He had no idea how to tackle this beast. He shot a more powerful blast at it, barely ducking in time as he was blasted back with a roar of energy from its mouth. He dodged around it trying to find any weak points, feeling very much like David against Goliath. He didn't notice its tail swinging towards him.
He gasped as the pointed spike that jutted off its tail sunk deep into his stomach. He phased out, laying a hand over the wound as it oozed green over his tunic. This was getting out of hand, and he knew that the beast would not be distracted by banter so that was out. He focused on his sword, feeling his familiar weight manifest in his hand as he tried to ignore the wound.
Phantom charged the blade with his own energy, coating it in a layer of ectoplasm and ice energy. He swung at the beast, relieved to find that the blade pierced the thick skin. The beast roared, a beam of green energy soaring towards the crowd. Danny gasped, teleporting to float just in front of them, hastily erecting a shield. People behind him screamed in terror as the blast beat against the shield. The scent of ozone washed over them as Danny sped towards the beast.
He slammed into it at nearly 200 miles an hour, sending it soaring back to slam into the ground, decimating the football field. The beast rolled over, growling at Phantom with its dark eyes. Phantom came to a rest ten feet in front of it, daring it to come forward. With a burst of speed the beast raced at Phantom, its claws digging deep into his arm, splotches of green spattering onto the grass beneath him.
Phantom leapt back, releasing a volley of ice blasts at the beast. Each one froze splotches of its brown slime, making it shriek in pain. The beast roared once more and surged forward. There was a crunch of bone as the beast bit down into Phantom's arm. Phantom gasped as he felt the bone shatter. His sword fell to the ground out of his now useless hand. This creature was too tough; it was time for Phantom to bring out his last weapon. He jumped back, doing a one handed backflip to put some distance between him and the beast.
He looked back to the crowd and ordered "Cover your ears" with such intensity that everyone complied. Once more he returned his attention to the advancing beast.
He took in a deep breath, and held it, letting the power swell in his core. He landed firmly on the ground, his feet spread slightly apart to brace himself. He set his jaw, opening his mouth wide and Wailed. The energy poured out of him in waves of visible sonic power. The beast was sent back unable to withstand the sonic barrage. Phantom focused, both narrowing and intensifying the power of the blast. The beast struggled against the energy of his Ghostly Wail, but couldn't withstand it.
The ghostly creature started peeling, thick layers of its skin falling off in the torrent of Phantom's Wail. The brown skin ripped away, the creature's roars of agony overpowered by Phantom's Wail. The beast was slowly torn apart in the sheer force of the Wail. It disappeared back into the ectoplasmic depths from which it had been created. Shaking, Phantom stepped forward before sinking to his knees, exhausted. The scratches on his arm still trickling ectoplasm and the wound in his stomach making itself known. Phantom looked at his other arm as it hung limply by his side as he forced himself to stand up.
He surveyed the damage as he walked over to his sword, picking it up with his good arm before dismissing it. The football field was badly damaged, the grass ripped up and the earth uneven from the beasts heavy feet and sharp tail. One of the football posts was destroyed, lying in white splinters on the ground. Phantom stumbled slightly as he turned his back on the damage, turning to face the crowd.
There was silence for a minute before a tumultuous roar of appreciation rose from the crowd in the stands. Phantom searched the crowd as it surged forth, a few footballers leaping out over the barrier to run towards him as they were freed from the stands. Phantom felt himself vanishing for a moment, it felt like he was dissolving into nothingness, but he forced himself back into reality.
"Desiree" he cried forcefully and the genie ghost came out from her hiding place, looking somewhat sheepish under Phantom's intense gaze. "Look what you've done, that wish could have killed all these people with that creature. You would have been ended in that blast." She studied him for a minute obviously surprised that he was able to hold himself steady after such a fight. Most of it was an act, but Phantom knew that if he needed to he could still battle her into the Thermos. He didn't want to if he didn't have to though.
"He wasn't specific..." Desiree began, but Phantom cut her off with a wave of his hand. He was battling with himself, he could feel the pain mounting, but he needed to set this right.
"I don't care if he wasn't specific. You couldn't have stopped that thing yourself if I wasn't here. What in Hecate's name were you thinking when you granted a wish for "a really bad, tough ghost like the one on Halloween!"" Phantom bellowed at her forcing the wishing ghost to back down.
"I didn't know who you faced on All Hallows, how was I supposed to know how tough it was?" she screeched back, regaining some of her hatred and her hands glowing green threateningly.
"It doesn't matter, you can manipulate the wish, and you always do. But you didn't have the foresight to think this one through. Do you know what, I wish, from now and forever for you to be unable to summon a creature that you cannot defeat with half of your own power." Phantom watched as the genie ghost was forced to grant the wish, the purple pink mist enveloping her for just a moment before disappearing.
"That will save you from your own foolishness, Desiree you have to learn to think, you've been at this longer than I have and even I could see the problems in granting that wish." Desiree had the decency to nod, albeit grudgingly. Phantom surveyed the damage and thought of the best wording in his head before he wished for the football field to be fully restored. He knew he was fuelling the ghosts own power, but at the moment he didn't really didn't care.
Finally he looked her firmly in the eye and commanded her "Now, you will return to the Ghost Zone, I will not fight you today, but let you off with a warning. You are to think your wishes through next time, however, I will not be happy if I see you again in the next two months, now go." With the last of his reserves he opened a portal, ignoring her sputtering about him having that power. There were so few ghosts powerful enough to actually open portals that it was almost unheard of. Some could find and widen weaknesses between the worlds, but Phantom could choose where he wanted to open the portal and where he wanted it to go to.
Desiree dejectedly floated back through the portal under Phantom's firm glare, her red eyes finding no comfort in his cold green ones. He closed the portal behind him and floated back down to the ground. For a moment the crowd surged around him until someone pointed out that there was a dark green stain growing on his white cloak. Phantom pressed his hand to his stomach, pulling it away as he felt cold green ectoplasm coat his fingers. He was physically exhausted after battling that creature.
In the back of his mind he recalled his own wish to Desiree when he'd arrived. He whispered "I no longer want to be perceived as Phantom" and felt the tingle as Desiree's magic trickled off him. He was still holding Phantom form, but only barely. Distantly he heard the crowd and saw the flash of cameras, but he was too exhausted to do anything. He was able to focus on the barn, losing his control of Phantom form and reverting to his human form as he arrived in the barn loft.
He had no idea what time it was, all he could feel was the human blood that oozed from the wound in his stomach and seeped from the deep scratches in one arm. The other had long since gone numb. He stumbled over to the sofa, weakly reaching under it for the first aid kit he'd hidden there. He thought he heard movement, but his consciousness was rapidly fading. He pulled the clean white bandages out; but it was too late, he felt himself sinking into comforting blackness.
Line Break – An Hour Previous
Chloe drove up to the Kent farm. Clark had asked her to come over, saying that he needed her advice. For the moment Chloe was happy to be out of Metropolis, while she was thrilled to be working at the Daily Planet it was a bit dull listing the Obituaries, and her journalistic inspiration had temporarily run out. There weren't many stories in Metropolis, or at least few that hadn't already been snapped up. So she'd come back out to Smallville for a break.
She pulled her car into the driveway and stepped out, shivering slightly against the cold January air. She proceeded over to the house, knocking on the kitchen door where Lois and Martha were talking about Jon's campaign. They were planning on running several new ads in the run up to Election Day. Martha had a strange look in her eye though, and Chloe suspected it had something to do with the funding for the campaign. But that wasn't why she was here. Chloe came in and happily accepted the warm cup of tea that Martha offered her. The three of them sat together contentedly. Jon was putting his suit on because he had a meeting with the teacher's union later that day in Metropolis and Lois was going with him as his campaign manager.
Chloe smiled at Jonathan as he came down the stairs, looking very professional in a nice fitting business suit. She wished him the best of luck as he headed off to his truck, a fussing Lois in tow. She raced back inside to grab a blue file that Jon had left on the kitchen bench and smiled at Mrs Kent's warm "Take care".
It turned out that Clark was currently working out in one of the fields and probably wouldn't be back for a while so Chloe sat in the kitchen chatting with Mrs Kent.
"So how's Danny?" Chloe asked, her curiosity overcoming her. She had convinced the Teachers to switch Danny's midyear exams for Senior ones and wanted to find out how that had gone.
"Pretty well" Martha said, her voice proud "He's actually been skipped ahead a grade so he can graduate at the end of this year." Chloe smiled, happy that she'd been right. Danny was smarter than your average kid.
"Wow, that's a pretty big achievement. Does he have any plans for college?" Chloe pursued, smiling proudly along with Martha. While Chloe knew that Danny was meteor infected that didn't mean he wasn't a good person. And she didn't even know what his ability was, just that he had one.
Martha's expression fell slightly "He hasn't spoken about College. He only found out about being skipped ahead on Friday, but he hasn't mentioned College at all. Sometimes I wonder if he even plans to go." Chloe was surprised at that, so few people didn't even consider College, and Danny was certainly smart enough to go. His sister had been accepted into the Ivy League schools; surely he has some ambition.
Chloe couldn't help herself; she had to ask "Do you know why not?"
Martha glanced at the kitchen clock, it was half past one, and so Danny would still be in school for a while. Unless he skipped out again to do whatever he does when he's not in class. Martha gave Chloe a half smile before answering "I think he's not ready to think about it. He has a lot on his mind, but he hasn't fully gotten over losing his family. There have been too many changes in such a short time I think he's still struggling to catch up."
Martha was right, it was so weird to think that he was still in mourning; he was usually so cheerful and positive to be around that it was easy to forget. She was going to reply, but Clark came in, his blue shirt smeared with a large black oil stain. He smiled at his Mom, and nodded to acknowledge Chloe. He raced upstairs and a minute later he was coming down in a clean shirt. He flicked the dirty one into the laundry closet under the stairs before inviting Chloe to go for a walk.
Chloe said her farewell to Martha and followed Clark out towards the barn. She drew her jacket closer around her as they walked, it was still particularly cold.
"So, what's up?" Chloe asked her Kryptonian friend as they got into the barn. It was closed up and still fairly warm, the hay bales stacked along the wall acting as insulation. Clark paused to look at her from the far side of the tractor.
"Lana's knows about the spaceship. My spaceship." Chloe blinked, that was not what she'd expected to hear.
"Wha... How?" she asked, unable to formulate a cohesive question.
"She's been looking into the first shower. She thinks it's possible that there's an alien living among us." Clark shook his head. Chloe's mind raced with possible ways to help her friend. The most important thing was that Clark was safe. She hated the thought, but if she had to Chloe would lie to Lana to protect Clark's secret.
"Chloe, why did you accept me, my powers?" Clark asked, his bright blue eyes searching hers desperately. Chloe was taken aback; she hadn't expected Clark to ask this of her.
"Because you're you. Whether you have powers or not you're still Clark Kent." Chloe said, and it was true. When she'd first found out about his powers she'd been awed, but Clark was such an innately good person that she had no need to doubt him. He was the kind farm boy that she'd met on her first day in Smallville and the same guy who had always been there for her. She had never needed to learn to accept him because he was the same person as always, he was just a bit more unique than she'd first imagined.
Clark smiled at her answer. It was obvious that there was still more on his mind, but he needed to figure it out for himself. He needed to tell Lana his secret on his own terms, not because Chloe or anyone had forced him into it. The two of them slowly walked up the loft steps; they were nearing the top when the lighting changed.
A green mist appeared in front of them. Chloe was immediately reminded of Alicia Baker the teleport, but she had died last year. A moment later... Chloe blinked. There standing in front of her was Danny Fenton, his hair rustling slightly in the wind that came through the open loft window. Chloe was about to call out to him when he swayed.
She and Clark were frozen as Danny staggered over to the sofa; he disappeared behind the trunk as he reached underneath it. They watched as he fumbled with something, pulling it out from underneath. He managed to put it on the trunk, his fingers fumbling as he struggled to open the small red case. It was blatantly obvious that he hadn't even noticed they were there. He managed to open it, and pull something out before he collapsed to the ground in a limp heap.
Clark and Chloe ran over to the boy, a small roll of bandaging in his hand. Chloe looked at Clark confused, but Clark was surveying his cousin. With the intensity of his gaze Chloe knew that Clark was X-raying him.
"His arm's broken." Clark exclaimed, a hint of panic in his voice. "Help me get him up onto the sofa."
Chloe went to grab him, but stopped at the gooey wetness that touched her fingers. She looked; they were coated in a layer of sticky redness. Clark's eyes widened. The two of them lifted Danny's unconscious form onto the sofa and they pulled the shirt off.
One arm was bruising, looking out of shape. Chloe assumed that that was the broken arm Clark had observed. The other arm had four deep gashes, looking like a vicious animal wound. But the worst thing was his stomach. It held a deep mess of torn flesh, still violently oozing crimson, and the wound viciously stood out against his pale skin. Chloe barely resisted the urge to gag at the sight of his wound. She'd seen some pretty ghastly sights, but this ranked up there.
"We need to get him to a hospital!" Chloe shouted, knowing that Danny could very well bleed to death with a wound like that.
"We can't" Clark replied, his voice panicked. He reached for the bandages and tried to start wrapping Danny's wound.
"Why not!" Chloe demanded. Danny needed help and this was way beyond either of them.
"It's not my secret to tell" Clark replied, still concentrating on the bandage. Chloe sighed at his stubbornness and pulled the bandage away.
"If you're talking about the fact that he teleported here then it shouldn't matter, he needs medical attention now." Clark looked up at her, his attention fully on her once more.
"Chloe, think about what he just said: he teleported in here. Imagine what would happen if the hospital found out about that. He'd end up in Belle Reve or worse." Chloe watched as Clark shook his head, making to grab the bandages again.
Chloe mentally kicked herself; Danny didn't deserve to be anywhere like that. Maybe Clark was right about avoiding the hospital. But he still needed more help than she could give. "Clark, get your Mom." Chloe demanded, and Clark nodded, disappearing in a blur and a blast of wind.
Chloe sighed and pulled the disinfectant out of the First Aid kit. She was surprised Danny had been sentient enough to pull it out given his condition. She couldn't do anything for the wound on his stomach, but she set to work on his arm. She gently dabbed the wounds with disinfectant soaked cotton before setting about wrapping the arm tightly with the cloth bandage.
Chloe looked up as she heard the loud thudding as someone ran up the barn steps.
"Danny!" Martha Kent exclaimed as she set her sights on the unconscious boy on the sofa. His prone form looking pale and weak against the sofa. The wound to his stomach was still bleeding as Martha ran over. "Do you know what happened?" She demanded. Clark and Chloe shook their heads.
"He teleported in here, grabbed out the first aid kit and then fell unconscious" Chloe quickly explained. There was a silent conversation between the two Kents, probably because Danny had revealed his secret to Chloe. "He needs help, I did what I could for the gashes on his arm, but the broken arm and the stomach wound..." Chloe trailed off.
Martha turned to Clark "We need to set the bone." Clark nodded and quickly raced to grab a piece of timber to act as a splint. Martha carefully bandaged the arm before turning her attention to the stomach wound. By now it had stopped oozing, leaving a sticky patch of deep crimson on Danny's pale stomach. Martha looked sadly at the boy before grabbing the bottle of disinfectant to wash the wound.
Beneath the blood it looked bad. To Chloe's mind it looked terrible, there was a three inch hole scored into the boy's flesh. He was lucky to even be alive after a wound like that. She brushed her hand against his forehead. It was cold, but that was understandable given his blood loss and on a cold day like today too. Martha's eyes filled with silent tears at the sight of her nephew's wound.
Martha pulled out another roll of bandaging before sending Clark over to the house to get an additional one. Clark came back with a second first aid kit, this one a green one. "It's the one from under his bed; I saw it once and figured it may help."
Martha nodded and opened the kit. There were a few bottles of weird medications in there. Nothing that Chloe could immediately identify. There were two rolls of bandaging; each had a slight glow when she looked out of the corner of her eye. Martha pulled out a big plaster, the gauze was an odd shade of green, but Martha placed it carefully over the wound before wrapping his entire torso tightly with the bandages.
Chloe went to look through the curious first aid kit. Many things looked how she'd expect them to, but held a slight glow. The little bottles were labelled only with symbols that Chloe couldn't recognise. Martha sighed as she finished wrapping the wound and pulled the green first aid kit closed.
"What...?" Chloe began, unsure of what to ask first. What was Danny doing that he needed a first aid kit in his room? What were all those bottles? Why was he even hurt in the first place?
"I don't know" Clark said, looking at his cousin as he rested on the sofa. Danny looked so pale, pale as the grave, but Chloe could see his soft breathing.
"He should have a blanket" Chloe recalled, she had seen this when she took a crash course in first aid two years ago. She looked at the Kents, surprised they had forgotten something so basic. Clark looked uncertain but ran over to the house to get one. It was red, but there was something weird about it. Chloe took it off Clark; it was light and soft and seemed to thrill with gentle static energy as she wrapped it tightly around Danny's unconscious form.
"Is that..." Martha began, only to trail off as Clark nodded
"His one, yes. I hope it helps." Clark replied. Chloe watched as Martha nodded. She had the distinct impression that she was missing something.
"Excuse me, but what's with the blanket, and the weird bandages? And why didn't you tell me that Danny was meteor infected?" Clark sighed. The three of them took a seat around the sofa, gathering the few chairs that were in the barn. They watched as Danny's unconscious slipped into the gentle breathing of sleep.
"The blanket was a gift from one of Danny's friends; I hope it will help him. The bandages, you'll have to ask him about. I think he made them himself." Clark paused to look over at his Mom.
Martha smiled sadly at Chloe "Danny didn't want anyone to know about his powers. There's a lot that he's still getting used to, and he didn't want anyone to think differently of him because of any powers that he has. We only found out because Clark caught him." Chloe blinked in confusion, Martha had said powers as in powers plural? She was going to ask about that when Danny moaned, his face contorting in pain.
All attention turned to the younger boy as he shrunk in on himself, the blanket contorting over him as he struggled to move.
"I think he should be woken up, it looks like he's having a nightmare." Martha said concernedly. Clark nodded.
"Danny, wake up." He said, gently pushing on his side. But Danny didn't stir, moaning louder in his discomfort. Clark sighed. "Danny, come on now" he said, pushing a little harder. But the boy still refused to be roused. "Danny, if you don't wake up I'll dump the trunk on Chloe's foot." He threatened.
Suddenly Chloe found herself on the other side of the barn loft, a pair of strong arms clasped around her shoulders. She blinked as she tried to make sense of what just happened.
"Don't you dare" Danny growled over at Clark before he seemed to wake up fully. Chloe felt the arms drop from around her as Danny stepped back. And Chloe turned to look at him. He still looked pale, but not as deathly so as he had before. It was only now she noticed the finely toned muscle on his chest. It was normally hidden beneath the dark t-shirts he always wore.
"Sorry" Danny said, and then looked down at himself puzzled. He lightly placed his hand on the bandage over his chest before looking up at them. "Thanks for that" he murmured, slowly walking over to the sofa and showing no signs of pain aside from a slight flinch as he sat down. He didn't seem to realise that his chest was practically bare in a cold barn loft in January.
Chloe walked over and put the blanket over his shoulders. He absently wrapped it closer around him before he looked at Chloe, fearful realisation pouring into his blue eyes. Chloe sat next to Danny and comfortingly wrapped an arm around him in a half hug. "I know about your meteor power" She said calmly, trying to be comforting and supportive. "I know you can teleport, you teleported in here before you fell unconscious. And then you teleported me to the other side of the room" she explained, keeping her tone purposefully light. Danny nodded at her, gratefulness in his eyes.
Chloe watched as Martha gazed over her young charge. Worry was evident in her kind eyes. "Danny" Martha pleaded; her voice hesitating and fearful "what happened?" Danny looked over at her, then to Clark and finally his eyes rested on Chloe.
"I don't really know. There was a ghost attack at the school, Phantom was there. In the confusion... well..." He broke off and looked down to the floor. A moment later he looked between the three of them saying "Thanks for patching me up. I could have managed on my own you know." Chloe watched the sixteen year old who had been unconscious and bleeding to death barely an hour before. There was no way he could have taken care of himself, he'd fallen unconscious in a barn. "Can I take the splint off now please?" Clark scowled and intensely gazed at the broken arm before nodding stiffly. Danny unwrapped the bandage and removed the stiff wood that had been used as a splint.
Chloe looked at him incredulously. His arm was broken according to what Clark had said earlier, and now Danny wanted to take it off? She stared down her Kryptonian friend for making such a bad decision "What, it was uncomfortable and unnecessary." Danny said slightly annoyed.
"You didn't need it, but couldn't you have left it on for a while longer? Surely a couple of days wouldn't have hurt." Clark asked. Danny looked over to Clark and muttered something under his breath but Clark's eyes widened in understanding. By now Chloe knew there was something bigger that she was missing. And her inquisitive streak was brought forth.
"Why would a splint be unnecessary? Your arm was broken when you got in." Chloe queried and watched ad Danny cocked his head to the side.
"I heal fast, by-product of my... power." He explained. "Thanks for all the help, really, but I would have been fine anyway. My arm will be better by the morning at this rate. I'm fine, honestly." There was a moment's silence before Martha excused herself to go back to the house. She said that if they wanted to come in later there'd be tea and hot chocolate waiting. Danny practically beamed at the mention of hot chocolate; come to think of it Chloe had never seen him drink any other hot drink.
There was a long silence in the barn and Chloe's mind raced. Here was a meteor freak – meteor infected individual – that had two powers. That was practically unheard of, but it probably had more to do with how he'd been infected than anything else. He'd survived being pummelled by a meteor rock, so that probably was why he could heal and the teleporting was probably how he'd escaped. To Chloe's mind that made the most sense, after all the powers seemed to develop somehow from how the person became infected. Chloe just hoped that Danny never went psychotic like so many others had.
"So you can teleport and you can heal fast? Why didn't you tell me in the first place? You could have helped Clark and Phantom out at Christmas, or helped Lois when she was drowning back in the summer." Chloe reprimanded. Danny looked beseechingly over at Clark who had the strangest smile on his face. His blue eyes lit with silent laughter. Chloe watched the interplay between the cousins curiously as they seemed to be communicating a lot between their bright blue eyes. Clark walked over and took a seat on the trunk opposite Danny. He smiled at his cousin and after a moment Danny nodded, turning his attention back to Chloe.
"I didn't want you to know. See, at home in Amity Park I was always that Fenton freak, kid of the weird ghost hunting parents. The town crazies before anyone believed in ghosts and the obsessive fanatics afterwards. I never wanted to be different, but now..." he trailed off
"Now you're living in a house with a Kryptonian in a town full of meteor infected people. I think weird was going to come up no matter what. But you can be glad Clark is a lot more private about it. You're not the weirdest person out there." Chloe said, smiling kindly at Danny. He half smiled at her and she took that to mean he believed her. "What was in that first aid kit of yours?"
Danny blinked before opening the green kit "I mixed my own understanding of first aid with some of my parents' theories. I made most of the stuff in here just in case things went wrong. The bandages are treated to help speed up healing. This green bottle is just disinfectant, but it can purify ectoplasm as well. The blue bottle is a wash, like saline solution. And the clear bottle is a painkiller, although I forget if it's for humans or ghosts... I never had to use it. I grew up with that stuff in the medicine kit, and it was easier to replicate it than relearn" Danny zipped the case back up again set it aside.
It was silent in the barn for a moment before Chloe broke it. She couldn't resist the opportunity to talk about powers with Danny and she wanted to tease Clark slightly too. So she playfully asked "So, when you're all better will you teleport me somewhere? Clark here refuses to super-speed me anywhere at all."
Danny smiled at the change of topic. He closed his eyes for a moment and Chloe watched as the colour came back into his pale cheeks. He smiled blissfully for a moment as he opened his eyes. Then he was gone in a puff of green mist. Not a minute later he was back, a dark t-shirt had been hastily pulled over his chest. "Well, Miss Sullivan." Danny said in a cheerfully cheesy voice "We'll have to fix that now shalln't we. How would you like to play a game of tag against Clark?"
Chloe smiled and nodded. Clark seemed interested. It wasn't often that Chloe got to see Clark using his gifts for recreational purposes – if she ever had at all. She smiled as she thought maybe Danny having a meteor power was actually a good thing for Clark. "Rules?" Danny asked Clark with a cheeky grin.
"Teleport only, no fancy martial arts stuff, and you have to stay within the Smallville county line. Say my name when you get there" Danny raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Okay, if you're sure." Danny held out his hand and Chloe took it. Next thing she knew she was standing on the roof of the Talon. She was slightly disoriented by the sudden change, but she hadn't felt anything at all. That was different to how it felt with Alicia, but every meteor power was as different as the people who had them.
"Clark" The both of them sang out, smiling. They waited a full minute before Clark got there, but before he could tag them though they were off again. Chloe laughed at the brotherly game. While Danny may be meteor infected, he was a good kid. Here he was playing tag through Smallville with her and Clark, despite having been badly hurt earlier in the day. He just bounced back and kept going.
Chloe smiled as she found herself in the Gazebo on the Luthor grounds. Danny was using his gift for perhaps the greatest purpose of all, helping Clark find the balance in his hectic life. Helping him through the ridiculous responsibilities shoved on him. Danny was helping Clark realise that he wasn't to blame for all the miseries in Smallville which he blamed himself for. And above all Danny was giving Clark something genuine to smile about.
AN: Now Danny knows Chloe believes him meteor infected. And he's letting her believe it (Although he never admits that he's meteor infected)
Thanks to all my reviewers, you make this worthwhile. And to everyone who has favourite/alerted you're awesome.
Till next time
Bluerose