GLE - welcome to chapter 2! This is one of the longest things I have written (especially coming from the fact that I typically write one-shots and poems, and my average number of words per entry is around 1100). This chapter, minus the author's notes, is over 4200 words! Anyways, there's much to come, so I won't delay you any further! Enjoy!

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Do Superheroes Exist?

Aftermath

Groaning as he stirred from the daylight forcing its way into his dreams, Danny awoke. He pushed up against the hard mattress beneath him and assumed a sitting position. Where was he? His eyes snapped to attention, leaving behind all blurriness from sleep, as they locked onto the source of the sound he just heard. His eyes met blue and he relaxed. Oh. Right. He knew where he was and he reluctantly began to remember (again) what had happened.

'Gotta get him into the Fenton Thermos,' thought Danny as he grappled with the ghoul. But said thermos had been knocked away and had rolled underneath the nearby bush.

A sea of faces stared at him from below as he fired another blast at his opponent. A glint of light briefly caught his eye, but he was too preoccupied to pay it any mind.

He was lying in his bed in his room and could hear the crowd outside his window. They didn't sound very happy. His mom brought him some food and water and wore a concerned look. Danny couldn't meet her eyes. He pretended he was still injured, though most of the wounds had healed in the mere two hours that had passed.

Danny's ghost sense went off and he bolted upright.
"Sh! Danny, it's ok. It's just me. I'm gonna get you out of here..."

"You want some breakfast?"

"No. I'm not hungry," Danny answered quietly.

His hostess shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said as she picked a donut out from the box she was carrying. "They're pretty good, though, if you do get hungry."

"Thanks," Danny said as he smiled weakly. His gaze wandered to take in his surroundings. Last night it had been too dark to do so, but now he could see that he was in a small room. Actually, it was a small house, a shack really. It had a bed, a chair and table, and a cabinet (which he had been told at some point before he fell asleep the previous night, contained dry foods on one shelf, and clothes and other essentials on another). There was a tiny bathroom in one corner that finished the two room home. Not many people were aware that this place existed, since it was on the outskirts of a Wisconsin town, and most of those who did know about it were too afraid to come near for the rumors and sightings of paranormal activity.

"What can I say, Danny?" said Danielle Phantom as the two ghost kids flew. "I guess there's just something about Wisconsin that's calling me. And besides, having Dad nearby is a way of life for me," she laughed.

So, this is where she's been. Danny had been caught up on a lot of the key points to Dani's world of the past couple months as she helped him make his escape the previous day. She seemed to be doing quite well for a solo twelve year old with ghost powers.

"I mostly steal food from Dad, but he doesn't know it's me, since he has a cook making all his meals for him, and they wouldn't want to upset Vlad with such news. There was a close call when I ran into the Dairy King Ghost, but he smiled and waved cheerily, happy to let me get on with it, and never said a word to my father. I don't think they get along, those two."

Danny smirked, picturing the Dairy King, and reminiscing to a time when the ghost had helped him out at Vlad's.

"I don't go to school. I know kids our age are supposed to. I know I probably should. And after goofing off for a couple of weeks, I decided to try and learn stuff. But people would ask too many questions if I didn't give them my parents' contact info, or home address. So, I go to the public library instead. Sometimes I float in on one of my friends' classes to see what they're being taught. Oh ya, I have a couple of friends. I met them in the park after school one day and we played together. They think I'm home-schooled. We hang out in the park or arcade in town and stuff," Danielle started to giggle. "We've gone to see movies a few times too, and I pay with Dad's money. Really, he won't notice a twenty missing from his billions."

As they traveled to their destination, they took frequent breaks. Dani's condition required such measures every time she came close to over-exerting herself. Disintigrating into a pile of goo was not on her "what I want to do with my life" list.

"I was headed to Dad's kitchen to snitch some food again when I heard. He doesn't have ghost sense, so he didn't know I was there. Skulker told him about the news in Amity Park and they left the room."

"How did Vlad react to it?" Danny interrupted.

"I dunno. I didn't notice because of my surprise. I knew you needed help, and I decided to come and give it to you. I snuck past Dad and Skulker in the library to use the portal in the lab. When I was going through the Ghost Zone, I guessed that you might not be safe at your place, and that's when I thought we could go to mine! I waited until after midnight to come and get you, figuring the coast would be clear. I didn't think that going back through the Ghost Zone would be a good idea because we wouldn't know what to expect on the other end. That's why we're going the long way."

Danny nodded to show his understanding, and smiled gratefully to show his appreciation. When he had been woken up, all Dani had replied to his question was "My place". They had flown out of his home and into the clear night air. Danny hesitated a glance backwards, catching sight of Jazz's window, dark and silent like the rest of the house. Dani was right, he couldn't stay there, as much as he wanted to. "They" would be coming tomorrow. The press, the government, random concerned Amity Park citizens, you name it. The two ghost kids flew a little distance out of the city, then took their first break, finding a nice tree to sleep under until dawn, and then taking to the sky again to make the longer journey to Wisconsin. The trip took the majority of the following day, with some pitstops for food, water, and rest. They arrived in the evening and Danny, tired from the trip and exhausted from the emotional stress, collapsed on the bed.

"You know," said Danny as he stood up and stretched. "I think I will have some breakfast. Pass me a donut, would you?"

In the kitchen of the Fenton's home, the tension was already up to red alert, even though the day was just beginning. The invasion of reporters from the previous day left lingering headaches in each of the family members, and no one wanted to know what was next to come. They hadn't been given the time to reflect on everything, with questions being asked left, right, and center, each member being shunted around from camera to camera, microphone to microphone. It was only in the deepest folds of velvet night that they could take refuge within themselves, lying in the comfort of a warm bed. But even this did not bring them peace of mind. Neither Jack nor Maddie could get any rest as a movie reel played over and over again in their heads, drowning out all other thoughts. Superimposed images of son upon ghost upon son upon ghost... repeated relentlessly till all of it was an indistinguishable meld of form and colour. As if in a desperate struggle, one final thought became clear before the inevitable restless sleep overtook them; they wanted their boy home safe and sound, in a place where no one could hurt them, and they could share their love for him.

The doorbell rang, nearly snapping the overstretched nerves of Jack. He glanced in its direction and opted to remain where he was. It rang again with urgency and Jazz stood up. Her father gave her an expression of one who'd just been betrayed, but Jazz reassured him that she'd take care of whatever it was. She just didn't find the sound of doorbells to have much musical appeal this early in the morning.

"Quick! Let me in!" Sam begged when Jazz opened the door.

"Sam?" asked Jazz as if she couldn't believe who she was seeing. She hadn't talked to the girl since before the incident.

"NOW!" yelled Sam pushing past Jazz with Tucker hot on her heals. They closed the door in a hurry, then slumped against the wall, finally relieved.

"O-kay... what's this about?" Jazz asked once Danny's two best friends had caught their breaths.

"Had to get away, even if it's only for a little bit and I'll be in trouble later," said Sam in a rush.

Jazz donned a confused look and Tucker translated, "Her parents have been on her case since they learned that their daughter's best friend is the ghost kid. She's sorta been put under house arrest."

"Or at least I will be when I return. They're making me take time off of school so 'I won't get caught up with the boy'. Honestly I think it's just so they can keep an eye on me and force me into those ridiculous dresses!"

"My parents are also letting me take time off of school," continued Tucker before Sam could resume her rant. "They say they're disappointed in me for hanging around with Danny when it could be dangerous. I don't think they trust your family much anymore."

"They've been interrogating me like I'm some criminal for being friends with your brother!" Sam griped once again. "But anyways, that's not the point," she stated waving it aside and calming down from her outburst of pent-up frustration. "We wanted to know if you knew how Danny was doing."

Sam looked Jazz in the eye with concern and worry. The older girl tried to meet the gaze, but settled on a slow head shake and frown.

"No, I have no idea where he is. Mom put him to bed the night before last, and he was gone by morning. We spent the entire day yesterday being flooded by news crews, so I'm glad in a way that he wasn't around. I know he's strong enough to take care of himself, but I'm really worried about him too. I hope he's ok, wherever he is." Jazz offered what little comfort she could to the other two, then added as an afterthought, "I don't think we'll be seeing him for a while. He must know that those closest to him will be under the highest scrutiny. It is aggravating to not know if he's alright or whether he's coping."

"Sam? Tucker? Headed to school?" Maddie had wandered from the kitchen to the front hall to inform her daughter that breakfast was ready and to find out what was taking her so long.

"No, Mrs. Fenton," answered Tucker. "We were just wondering about Danny. But you guys are wondering, too, so I guess we came for nothing."

"Nonesense," said Maddie in a gentle, though somewhat strained voice. "Why don't you two stay for breakfast? I made plenty of pancakes. We wanted to try to start the day on a positive note..."

Sam and Tucker thanked her and followed her back to the kitchen along with Jazz. Jack was already sitting at the table, a plate piled with pancakes in front of him, untouched. Jazz quickly set the table for two more people and took her seat. Maddie served breakfast to the three teens, then to herself before joining everyone. A silent moment was passed between the three Fentons and the two guests. They connected in understanding that all were present for Danny. If Danny could hear their thoughts, they wanted him to know they were with him. Tucker dug into his meal as Jazz picked up her utensils. Then Jack hit the table somewhat loudly and spoke his first words of the day; "It's all my fault!"

The large man pushed his chair back and covered his face with his hands. He was shaking his head and muttering, "my fault, my fault", his voice coming dangerously close to cracking.

"Now, Jack, don't go blaming yourself," reassurred his wife. "We all had a part to play in it. Danny could have told us sooner. We could have been less harsh towards ghosts and not scared him away... opened our mind to the possibility that half-ghosts exist..."

"We could have been there, Tucker and me," Sam agreed. "Maybe we could have prevented it from happening."

"Don't be silly. You two had detention with Lancer," argued Jazz. "But I could have been there instead of doing the rough draft for my term paper. I didn't even notice you guys leave," she said, indicating her parents. "And my essay's not even due for another two weeks!"

Maddie held up a hand to call for quiet. She stood and walked over to her husband to squeeze his shoulder. "Blaming ourselves isn't getting us anywhere. What we really should be concerned with is whether the rest of the world will accept him or not."

She let the others contemplate the matter as she herself fell into deep thought. Right after she had tucked Danny in for the night the last time she saw him, Jazz had confided in her and Jack the truth of Danny's powers - how it had happened, how long she'd known, Danny's determination to save the city from the constant ghost attacks, and his struggle to keep his identity a secret from everyone for fear of being misjudged and ostracized. "Oh Danny, if only I could tell you that your ghost powers don't change the fact that I love you..."

No one spoke again as they ate. Jack had sullenly lifted his head at his wife's touch and allowed himself his meal. Halfway through the pancakes, however, the Fenton household was interrupted once more by the doorbell. This time Maddie went to answer it as Sam and Tucker shifted fearful gazes at one another.

Maddie opened the door to greet two gentlemen in suits. "Yes?"

"Good day, Ma'am. I'm Agent Miller and this is Agent Collins, of the FBI," one of the men stated promptly. "May we come in?" and without waiting they entered the house.

The rest of the party poured into the front hall, and upon spotting the two agents, Sam and Tucker hurried to make their exit.

"Thanks for the pancakes, Mrs. Fenton," said Tucker.

"See you later sometime, Jazz," said Sam, and she and Danny's other best friend quickly fled.

"What is this about?" asked Maddie after the two kids had left.

"I think you know what it's about," declared Collins, but he received a look of warning from his partner.

"We're here to investigate the disappearance of your son," clarified Miller in a condescending voice. "As you know, the state that he's in could put him in danger of getting hurt, either from others or from himself."

Maddie kept her face neutral as she led the men to the couch. Jack and Jazz followed silently, feeling the headaches begin to return, and finding that each step they took closer to sitting down seemed to be adding extra weight to their feet.

Full from the donuts, Danny and Dani sat slouched on the bed, staring at the table. Danielle was hesitant to say anything, knowing that her "cousin" needed time to think. She couldn't imagine what he was going through. If it was her to have had her powers revealed, that was one thing - she didn't have nearly the same amount of connections to people that Danny did (she was, in a way, non-existent to most of the world). She supposed, though, that if it were further revealed that she was a clone, and female at that, then perhaps something similar to what Danny was going through would happen to her. And Danny's situation was even more complicated because he was famous (at least in Amity Park) as Phantom, the ghost kid that fought ghosts and the ghost kid that some thought untrustworthy. Dani didn't use her ghosts powers to save people (with a few exceptions, of course). For one, ghosts preferred to attack in Amity Park because it was convenient; it was the first place they arrived in the real world when they came out of the Fenton Portal. Vlad's Portal was less known, and less used by other ghosts (no one's really jumping at the chance to get on Vlad's bad side). And two, Dani had a bit of a handicap with her powers, never being able to exert them for long periods of time or with great amounts of energy. So the superhero thing wasn't exactly something she had to work with.

Danny was zoned out. His eyes remained unfocused as thoughts rushed around inside his head. There was a slight level of heightened panic lurking ever near, but as he was in a safe spot, sure not to be discovered for the moment, it was under control. What would he do? What could he do? Going back to face the hostility that awaited him in Amity Park was not an option he wanted to even consider. But this also meant that he couldn't turn to his family or friends. He did have Dani to rely on, and for that, he was grateful. Danny sighed and closed his eyes. This had to be the worst experience of his life. It was more painful than fighting Pariah Dark and more emotionally draining than the glimpse he had of a devastating future that he prevented (taking into account that he didn't completely experience the future himself). And from where he sat, it looked like it would only get worse.

"Hey," Dani whispered eventually. Then in a louder and more encouraging voice, "You know what I think you need?"

Danny's startled blue eyes opened to see a smirk playing about her lips.

"Yes," Jazz replied tensely. "I've known for months."

After bombarding her parents with questions, the FBI agents were now grilling her on what she knew about her brother. She'd already downplayed a couple of things, such as how powerful Danny was, how intimately he knew the ghosts and the Ghost Zone, and that he wasn't the only halfa. She was able to answer honestly that she had no idea of where he'd gone. She wasn't planning on mentioning that if he were around and he was invisible, her parents had several inventions that could detect his presence (especially since most of their inventions had an affinity with his ectosignature). She tried to keep her answers short and minimal in information. At the same time, she aimed to appear cooperative and informative. She had to tell them about the accident (it seemed they were almost intent on blaming her parents for creating him as some sort of weapon or for some experimental purpose... how wrong a misconception, Jazz reflected, that was Vlad, not Jack and Maddie Fenton). She left out the fact that Sam and Tucker had been there, opting to say that Danny had been interested in seeing the portal on his own.

"And why didn't you tell anyone?" Miller continued with his interrogation. "At the very least, your parents?"

"It was his secret, not mine," said Jazz defensively.

"Ok," said Miller. "Well I guess that about wraps it up."

"We have just one more request," announced Collins. "It is unfortunately necessary for us to collect any ghost-related items you have in this house. This includes all your ghost hunting equipment and inventions. And the, uh, Ghost Zone Portal is to be taped off limits, effective immediately. We have warrants for these claims, of course, right here if you must see them."

"So, if you'd be so kind to provide us with these items, we'd grately appreciate it," remarked Miller. "Oh, excuse me," he appologized when his cell rang. He exited the room to answer.

Collins stood, anticipating the concurrence of the Fenton family with his demands. The three of them left the room with vague expressions, and returned frequently, carrying mostly weapons of various shapes and sizes. Once they'd completed the task, Collins let out a low whistle to the arsenal of Fenton products piled in the middle of the floor. Well, it would certainly be keeping the Guys in White busy, he thought.

"There's been a slight change in plans," declared Miller upon re-entering the room. "Due to a number of citizens expressing their concerns, young Miss Fenton will have to be relocated temporarily. The matter of unease is in regards to neglectful parenting and the FBI agrees that it is in the child's best interest to move her to a safe and devoted family."

"I'm not a child! I can take care of myself!" Jazz burst in outrage. And the nerve of them implying that her parents weren't devoted!

"Jazz!" her mother warned.

"According to the law, Miss, you are still considered a child," stated Miller. "A social worker will be arriving shortly to help you move."

"Da na na na na na! Da da dee daa!"

The two halfa teens were floating near the ceiling of Dani's place, singing along to the guitar solo of a Dumpty Humpty song. This was part of Dani's plan for a "Day of Fun". They'd been belting out their favourites at the top of their lungs while imitating the band - Danny on "guitar" and Danielle on "drums". The music was being issued from Dani's cd player, which sat on the "essentials" shelf of her cabinet. The girl had thought that goofing around would be a good way to help Danny take his mind off of things and to take a break from his life. Thus far, it seemed to be working.

When the track ended, Dani dropped down to turn her cd player off. Another idea of what they could do next popped into her head and she decided to act upon it.

"Race you into town!" she challenged then flew through the wall, transforming into ghost mode as she did so. "Bet you can't beat me to the park!"

"Bet you I can!" shouted Danny after her as he picked up the chase. The wind blowing through his hair, the exhilaration of flying and of the race, all of it was helping him to forget his troubles and to just enjoy himself for the moment. He caught up to Dani and overtook her, just making it to the park before she did. They landed beside a bench to catch their breaths. Not completely forgetting himself, Danny turned invisible, but asked in good spirit, "So, what's next?"

"Wanna know what I do for fun when there's no one around to play with?"

Next thing Danny knew, he and Danielle were "possessing" the arcade. Like the time Danny had fought Technus within the online game, Doomed, he and Dani were now playing the arcade games from the inside, with their ghost powers as cheat codes. Dani laughed as she told Danny about the manager of the place. She had all the high scores (under name: GhostGal), yet he had never seen her play, and didn't understand how all the games appeared to have the same glitch. Danny smiled at that as he passed her in a car racing game. In the end, Dani had the most wins due to her higher level of experience.

They left the arcade and wandered over to the mall, moving along invisibly. They decided to take in a movie at the mall's cinema, and let themselves become human and visible again once in the sanctuary of darkness of the room. After this, Dani bought them an ice cream cone each, and they flew lazily above the street enjoying the treat as Phantoms. But something caught Danny's eye and he descended, touching down on the ground outside an electronics shop, and letting go of his powers to become Fenton again. Inside the window, a tv on display was broadcasting a news report. His face now covered the screen, and was followed by the image of an angry looking crowd of people (with caption "Amity Park citizens"). Danielle hovered above the boy, unsure of what to do or say. He dropped his ice cream cone and gained a far-off look mingled with deep sadness and confusion. Was that what they really thought of him? After all he'd done for them? Was everyone ready to jump the gun and condemn him now? Danny couldn't shake these thoughts and was so wrapped up in them he didn't notice when a guy walking past him suddenly reached out to grab his arm.

"Hey! Aren't you that kid? The ghost boy?" the guy asked.

Danny phased through his grip on instinct and backed away.

"What the...?" the guy uttered, but Danny turned invisible just as their eyes met. The guy lunged at him to catch him once more, but all he caught was thin air.

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GLE - I don't usually add author's notes to the end of a chapter, but I think it's necessary that I do today. I am thrilled by the response to this fic so far and I love you guys! But I need to warn you now that my life is becoming busier as we speak and the likeliness of the next chapter coming up before June 9th is slim. That said, I have an outline for this story and I will try to stick to it no matter what occurs in the next new episode. You will be finding out exactly how Danny's powers were revealed (the way I see it) in a later chapter. Oh, I also want to post the second chapter to my fic, Living a Nightmare, which requires me to spend time writing it, and I want to post the first chapter to Phantomonium as well, which also requires writing time. So, ya. That's it for now! Please tell me what you think, thanks!