Dani's Debut Part 2
It took a while for him to realize it.
And she'd kinda been hoping he wouldn't.
"Dani, wait! You aren't supposed to be released to the press yet!" Dani gave him an innocent look and he smacked himself in the forehead.
"You knew that…didn't you." It was more a statement than question.
"Come on Danny! You know I'm ready! I can so beat ghostly butt, even the intangible kind!"
"But can you beat the reporters?"
"That's what Sam taught me the art of pressure points for! Duh!" Danny sighed.
"If you do that, you'll get viewed as an enemy! You have to be careful around paparazzi!" He saide, waving his arms around as if to mphasize his point.
"Says the guy who landed himself on the Public Enemy Chart as Big Ol' Number One!" Dani said with raised eyebrows. She knew that one was a sore spot.
Sure enough, Danny grimaced.
They stopped and Danny took Dani by the shoulders, flying her behind a billboard where they wouldn't be seen.
"I'm ready." Was the first thing out of Dani's mouth. Danny opened his mouth, then closed it. He sighed.
"…I know." He admitted.
"Then why are you being so stupid about this?!" Dani exploded. Danny didn't look her in the eyes.
"I don't want to plunge you headfirst into this."
"How else am I supposed to plunge?!" Danny winced again. Dani was getting impatient.
"Aragon is out here. And he only comes when he's got something big to do. And I don't want to see you get hurt by him." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I know why." Dani, leaning against the billboard in a cool fashion. Danny looked at her quizzically.
"You have a sister complex."
"A what? Have you been talking to Jazz again?" Danny asked, sensing this was some psycho-mumbo-jumbo.
"Yes. I have. And a sister complex. It means when you're overprotective and care overbearingly about a sibling." Danny stared at her.
"As in, you're a nag!" Dani screamed at him. Danny sighed.
"Maybe you're ri-"
"BAM!" Dani gasped as Danny went crashing through the billboard, a purple dragon pinning him down by the claws.
Dani hesitated one moment. She thought about Danny's concerns. She wasn't scared in the least. This is what she had been created for, after all. But didn't she owe something to her brother…?
Danny slammed into the ground, and she saw the trickle of green coming from his arm from high up above. Her vision went red, and all inhibitions disappeared. She had made her choice.
"Yo! Lizard boy!" The dragon growled, head turning.
"Wham!" Dani's fist met his face solidly, and the dragon blinked, stunned.
"Just in case we're counting, that's the second time I've hit something with my fist today! Wanna try for three?" Dani shouted, smirking.
Danny took the moment to his advantage, wiggling out of its loose claws. He yelled something at Dani, but the dragon roared at her, so she couldn't hear.
Of course, a dragon crashing into the street was, though not bewildering in the least, was frightening. After all, it wasn't always a dragon! Sometimes it could be a fat guy in overalls!
So the residents, did the natural thing. Running. One thing for sure, they weren't a lot of overweight people in Amity Park!
But, with the screaming and running of town citizens, one thing could be promised. News trucks and people unconcerned for their lives' safety would soon appear. And they would notice the New Phantom. They would surely notice.
This didn't register in any of the Phantoms' minds though. They were too busy battling the demonic dragon out to kill them or destroy them within an inch of their afterlife. A very distracting thing indeed.
The dragon swung its tail at Dani, whom phased. However, the tail still caught her, sending her into a brick wall.
"What the?!" She asked, confused. Her back stung.
"Dani! You can't phase through him like that!" Danny shouted, blasting the dragon back from his sister. He had no time to ask her whether she was alright.
"Thanks for the update, in all its late glory!" She shouted, shooting at the dragon as well. It aimed its mouth at her and spewed fire. She yelped and ducked, flying out of the way.
"Dragon. Fire. Right. Got it!" She panted. Danny quickly shot forward, using his sister as the distraction. His hands boldly clamped over the dragon's mouth, and before it could swing its head, froze it with his ice powers.
The dragon paused for a moment, and Danny fastly released it and backed away. A moment passed and then the layers of ice exploded from its mouth.
"A lot of good that did!" Dani shouted. Danny flashed something akin to a grin at her. She raised an eyebrow.
"RAWWWWWWRRRR!" The dragon aimed its mouth at the both of them, and they flinched, both drawing shields up.
…
A lazy curl of smoke drifted out of the beast's throat. Dani looked at Danny, stunned, and he grinned again. Slowly, a smile drifted onto Dani's face, and she grinned back. Then they both smirked at the dragon simultaneously.
The dragon gulped down more smoke, and then gave them a look that clearly said "Uh-oh".
Both Phantoms charged ecto-blasts with opposite hands, then, smacked other hands together in a high-five. In one solid move, they shot forth both beams.
And for the first time together as Danny Phantom and Dani Phantom, the two Ghostly Super Heroes of Amity Park (or DP+DPt2GSHoAP for short), they beat a ghost. And the filmers caught every minute of it.
Later, Danny swooped down to the dazed dragon and beckoned Dani forward. Once she did so, he swiped off the large amulet on the dragon's neck. It shrunk down slowly and became the mangled form of Prince Aragon.
"Oh. So that's how it works." Dani nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Danny with puppy eyes.
"Can I have it?!"
"No." Danny answered flatly, ignoring his sister's pout. He carefully pocketed the amulet, and then took out his Fenton Thermos. He sucked in Aragon, then tossed the thermos to Dani, who caught it.
"Make sure that gets to…ahem…The Fentons." Dani looked at him strangely, then looked down, eyes wide, noticing the spectators, who were now cheering and staring at her in awe.
"OUTTA THE WAY!" A familiar vehicle banged through the other side of the road, parallel parking in a way that almost tipped it over. It landed with a bang, and Jack and Maddie wasted no time in jumping out, guns on their back.
Danny floated down, knowing the crowd wouldn't draw near with the ecto-weapons close.
Maddie gave the area an once-over, then turned to Danny. The crowd watched antsily.
"You took care of it?" She asked calmly, seeing the thermos in Dani's hand. She gestured, and Dani threw it to her. She caught it equally as calmly, and passed it to Jack, who fumbled before getting a grip.
The crowd gawked. One guy started foaming at the mouth and fainted.
"Next time you should really call us." Maddie said, putting a hand on Danny's shoulder. Dani almost laughed at the crowd's expression. Their eyes couldn't get any wider….
"Sorry Maddie, didn't have time." Would you look at that! She was wrong. This time Dani did laugh, and Danny turned to her quizzically, completely missing the stunned look on his mother's face. She wasn't used to the first name basis yet, that was for sure.
"Sorry, they're just, HAHA so, HA, oh god…" She gasped out, laughing so hard she put her head at her knees. Danny rolled his eyes and turned back to Maddie.
"It was Aragon. I'm not sure what he wanted though, he simply came after me and attacked." Maddie cocked her head.
"A fight for dominance?"
"Possibly."
"Want to discuss it at my house?" Dani let loose a hoot as the reporters mouths opened and closed like a fish, and they both turned to her, both shooting her None-of-this-being-ridiculous-and-laughing-while-we're-talking-seriously looks.
"Sure. See you in ten." Danny said, grabbing his sister as he floated upwards. Dani noticed he was going slowly deliberately, and raised an eyebrow. He nodded subtly to his left and Dani noticed.
The cavalry had arrived. With a vicious grin on her face, too.
The crowd gasped when the Red Huntress zoomed over, and they waited for the semi-lethal sparks to start flying between her and Danny.
What actually happened was a totally cheesy smile (Later Sam, Valerie and Dani would all agree, much to Danny's despair) blossomed on Danny's face.
"Hey Red!" He said. The crowd waited for the Mighty Huntress's response.
"Hey Dan. Hey Dani." Dani smiled largely, at both the audience and Valerie, and zoomed over to her.
"You totally should've seen it Red! Aragon was all down and menacing on Danny, and I went Wham! Right in the sucker!" Valerie laughed.
No wait, let that be repeated, just for emphasis.
Valerie, as the Red Huntress, known solely as the Red Huntress, with the largest vendetta possibly on the planet, hunting Danny Phantom only a little while after his known existence, laughed.
With said guy's younger sister.
The guy with the foaming mouth went into cardiac arrest (Later he was okay. He kept claiming about being from some non-existant island named Kyoshi, so they sent him to an insane asylum).
Dani swooped down and sat down on the edge of Valerie's board, swinging her legs happily. She hadn't asked to, but Valerie didn't seem to mind anyway.
"So Aragon was here?" Danny noted the extreme distaste in her voice. Sam had told her about the sexist guy, and since Valerie was an extreme feminist like Sam…
Well, you get the point.
"Hey! Wait a sec!" Dani said, squirming out of his grip. She silently floated over to the reporters, and immediately a million bulbs flashed in her face, everyone asking questions and thrusting microphones at her. She blinked, then grinned at Danny.
"If I don't become blind, I think I'll come to like these people." Danny and Valerie laughed. Together.
"I don't know, I still haven't." Valerie said amusingly. Danny looked at her in mock-shock.
"Red," He said in horror.
"Please, this is my sister we're talking about. Who else could possibly adapt to rumor-sucking gossip hounds?" Red paused, then conceded.
"True."
"Hey! Listen up!" Dani shouted. The crowd quieted.
"My name is Dani Phantom! That's D-A-N-I!!! And that, over there," She pointed to Danny who smiled slightly at the reference to himself. She waited as the cameras turned to him.
"Is my big brother, D-A-N-N-Y Phantom!" She flew over, and threw an arm around him, winking at the camera.
"And before you ask! I am NOT pretending and actually his child, and I am not explaining where I've been all this time!" She stuck out her tongue at the cameras. The reporters ate it all up, but they wanted more. Danny smiled, then clamped a hand over Dani's mouth, who looked at him in surprise, then tried to wiggle free.
"One more thing!" Danny added. Cameras turned to him.
"We are officially working together with the Fentons, and are currently friends with them. That goes for Red too. Of course, I never actually didn't get along with her, but someone was holding a grudge they just couldn't see past, and-Ouch!" Danny yelped, trying to refrain from rubbing his sore posterior. He turned and settled an accusatory glare on Valerie, who smiled innocently, holding a smoking ecto-gun.
Both girls giggled as Danny swung back to the audience, face dark as he grumbled about women and their issues.
"Moving on, this information does not give you permission to invade their privacy or the Fenton's children's personal lives! That does not give you permission to trespass on their property, or Casper High's or Casper Middle's!"
Later they would wonder why he had included that school.
"And just to be on the safe side!" Danny said thoughtfully, his hand clamping over Dani's mouth once more as she opened it to say something. She glared at him balefully, and he shrugged in response.
"Any idiots who decide to hit on my sister will get horribly beaten up then incinerated within an inch of their life, suffering from third degree burns that will painfully scar their bodies for the rest of their miserable lives." Danny delivered that line with a cheerful face, green eyes flashing suddenly with malice at the end, and microphones fell from limp hands.
After all, Danny Phantom had never made threats before. He obviously cared about this girl. It both excited them…and slightly scared them.
Dani was glaring at him now and he shrugged at her.
"Now that that's been said, good day to you, people of Amity Park." Dani rolled her eyes as he reenacted his ol' "Hero" tone. Acting like he had never said anything, he swooped away, Dani pushing his hand at the last second.
"You stupid Phantom! What the heck was that for?! Don't run away, I'm still yelling at you!" Her voice got fainter as she angrily took after him. Danny's laugh also reached their ears faintly.
That was another new sound. Women swooned, some seethed jealously, others just smiled (that was mostly the mothers and young children, along with big brothers sympathetic to Danny's plight).
Danny Phantom was a hero. It was nice to see him acting…human. And he had a sister! Reporters turned to their cameras, most reporting live, and then realized where the Phantoms would next appear, rather soon in fact.
The Fenton House.
Valerie smiled, mostly forgotten as the reporters packed up. She opened a little communication device on her arm, whispering,
"Complete success. They're on their way. Be there in a few." And then she too, zoomed away, only a few people realizing that she was heading in the same exact direction as the one the Phantom's had taken previously…
--
Both Phantoms were laughing hard when they landed in the Fenton home. As soon as they landed, they were greeted with more laughter, coming from Sam, Tucker, Jazz, Jack, and Maddie.
"Nicely done you two." Jazz said, grinning.
"Yeah. You pulled off the overbearing brother perfectly Danny. And the bratty but rockin' little sis was extremely well acted." Dani curtsied lopsidedly with a grin at Sam. Danny also grinned.
"Well, that was only Part 1 of Operation: Introduce Dani to Paparazzi. (ID2P for short) And thanks Sam for that evil line at the end, I think I got the message across." Dani then whirled around to glare at him.
"Yeah, how come that line was never in rehearsal?! Or the slapping your hand on my mouth part?!" Dani scowled. Danny winced. Jazz smiled and waltzed over, putting her arm around her little sister.
"I told you Dani. All in the sister complex he's got going on."
"I do not!" Danny denied, Tucker laughing hysterically.
"Uh Man, you totally do. You should've seen yourself. In fact, I'll show you." He rewound the news that had been playing on the television, and replayed Danny's threat over and over again.
"It even gives me the chills!" Valerie landed, looking at that scene as she detransformed. She gave Danny a bemused look, and he shrugged.
Maddie smiled, then something caught her eyes. A slight green tinge…that was gradually getting bigger.
"Danny!" Danny grimaced at her mother's shriek. Everyone turned to her and she immediately turned to Jack.
"Honey, get the first aid kit." He nodded, and the rest of the group turned to Danny, trying to figure out what was wrong. Their eyes soon caught his sleeve, where ectoplasm was seeping through, along with his shoulder.
Sam sighed, and Tucker rolled his eyes. Jazz scowled and Dani put her hands on her hips. Valerie's mouth twisted.
"Daaaaanny…." They all dragged out in unison, sharing the exasperation. Danny shrugged innocently, laughing nervously.
"Ah yeah… I guess I forgot?" 5 Groans were elicited.
"Oh come on guys, it's not-"
"That bad. We know." Sam and Tucker chorused. Jack tossed the kit to Maddie who immediately commanded Danny to take off his shirt.
"Seriously, you think he could get run over by a truck, completely tangible, and he'd wonder whether the driver was alright!" Valerie said, throwing her arms heavenward. She'd only been part of the team for a week or so, and she already was getting a whiff of his hero complex.
He did so, albeit reluctantly, and she slowly applied pressure, trying to get the ectoplasm to stop flowing before she bandaged. His eyes narrowed as he bit back pain.
Dani sighed.
"Does he always-?"
"Yep." Came the answer. Everyone suddenly felt tired and concerned.
As Maddie bandaged, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker nudged each others. Glancing at the clock, they started to move around the room, tugging down window blinds and locking doors.
"Hey, what are you-?" Dani realized, looking at the clock. Maddie bit her lip, also realizing their press for time.
"They should be here any minute now. Danny,"
"I know," Danny got up, but Maddie pushed him back down, starting to bandage. He protested, but she silenced him with a sharp glare.
Dani started to help pull down the blinds.
A few minutes later there was banging on the door. Through the blinds, light flashed repeatedly and voices started up, some loud, others soft. Insults were made against the Fentons, some vivid curses (which made all 4 women clap their hands over Dani's ears, much to her annoyance), other screams, and yelling for the Phantoms to come out.
There were also the Phans, who gradually greatly outweighed the haters in noise. They too chorused for the Phantoms to show themselves.
Danny stood up, making sure not to stretch his limbs out as Maddie finished the last bit of gauze. He smiled reassuringly at her, then quickly reassessed the situation with everyone, making sure they all had their part down.
Also rather quickly, he cloned himself, placing the human Danny on the couch.
"Everyone in position?" He asked. They nodded and he took a deep breath, making way for the door.
His hand grasped the knob, and Sam's eyes widened, gasping,
"Wait Danny! You don't have on your-!"
"FLASH!" "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Danny slammed the door suddenly, leaning against it, a very red color on his face and down his neck, and even flushing across his broad chest, which was currently bare and shirtless. In his haste, he had forgotten to put it on, something he had realized when 1/3 of the crowd fainted.
"Hehe, oops?" He said softly. Sam glared at him.
"Way to go dude. You just displayed something that was supposed to be for Sam's eyes only." Tucker said. Dani high-fived him, giggling and he grinned. Finally someone appreciated his lovebird comments!
Sam grew scarlet, eyes angry and ran upstairs. His suit was currently covered in ectoplasm. When she came back down, a sweater was in her hands, which she quickly threw at him.
"No seriously. Way to go." Dani whispered to him, the boy peeking out from under the wool on his head.
Pandemonium was happening now, as many viewers wondered if the Phantom had turned stripper and would soon appear naked on the doorstep.
Okay, they dreamed of it. Only the authoress could make them admit it though.
Thankfully, the more rational reporters took note and also reminded their viewers of the bandages on his shoulder and arm. The question was, had one of the Fenton's patched him up?
When the door opened again, they held their breath.
Girls fainted again.
Danny wore one of those comfy black sweaters, but not the overly thick kind. It was one that clung to his lean chest, and it made him seem, well…snuggly.
Okay, now the authoress is drooling.
Only slightly though! Only slightly!
Viewers made a mental note to get a boyfriend, and then buy him that sweater.
Danny laughed nervously, rubbing his neck, then mentally slapped himself. Heroic, Phantom, Heroic.
He straightened out and subtlely pushed out his chest.
"Ahem," He went into hero voice.
"We're currently discussing a current problem with ghost infiltration in the city, so if all of you wouldn't mind vacating the premises…"
"Phantom! Why did you come out shirtless before?!" Uncharacteristically, he went red. The press loved it.
"Uh…that was a mistake." He said dumbly.
"Oh for the love of-" Someone pushed him out of the way, and he slammed into the door post with his bad shoulder, groaning and slipping downwards. The people watching from inside the house and outside winced simultaneously. Jazz Fenton stood with her hands on the hips and eyed the crowd, who was currently gasping at her boldness.
"Guys, we have work to do. It's pretty hard to protect the whole town you know!"
"And what is your active role in this meeting?" A reporter shouted. Jazz swung to face him.
"I provide the mental support. And since I've grown up around ghosts and happen to be a very good friend of the Phantoms, I also have very important inputs. Tell 'em Danny!" She grabbed the dazed boy by the collar, who once again blinked, then said dumbly,
"Uh, yeah, she does."
"Yes I do! And it's hard to concentrate when someone's pounding on your door constantly! May I remind you you're passing on private property and we can sick the police on you?!"
"Maybe the police should be called on you sickos!" Someone shouted.
Jazz glared, then composed herself. Calmly, but with fists clenched, she spat out,
"We are certainly not doing anything illegal in here, I assure you. And maybe you should reconsider how you are speaking to the guy who has kept you safe for a very long time, and only saved the entire world about 2 months ago!" Danny blinked, as she grabbed his collar and yanked him again. He stood up then, trying to regain composure. He coughed, blushing slightly, going into teenager voice this time.
"Look guys," Suddenly he seemed to be on a more personal level with the press. His eyes were weary and tired.
"All we're trying to do is talk about how to protect the town. We're all unofficial pros at ghost hunting, but look at me!" Oh, they were looking at him alright (A/N: Author slams head on desk Stupid line, stupid line…).
"I'm only a teenager! I can't do it alone. I'm trying to help, and I'm trying to keep the peace. And it would help a lot, if you would just stay away." He looked at them seriously. He met eyes with a lot of people, and it was just like that. In some weird way, by some strange force, they understood. Not all, but many.
"And hey, look! Jazz and Danny are really fun to hang out with! Makes me feel like I'm still alive." He threw his arm over Jazz's shoulder and grinned goofily. She grinned back and noogied him.
"Hey!"
"You had it coming." She said, shrugging. Then human Danny came over, Tucker and Sam quickly fitting through. Tucker swung his arms over everyone.
"That's us! The-uh-5 Amigos! Pals! Buddies! Friends For-Ev-Ah!"
"They get it Tuck." Everyone stated firmly, then laughed, arms still around each others shoulders awkwardly.
"Hey! Where do Red and I come in?" Val, now in hunter garb, and Dani appeared. Dani pouted.
Both Danny's grinned. Then Dani got a mischevious light in her eyes and she raised her eyebrows. She crouched, then ran at them,
"Geronimo!"
"DANI NO!" Too late. Everyone was knocked over, back into the living room. Valerie, whistling, strode after them.
The crowd stared, gaping, gawking, stunned, AND dumbfounded. Wow. Just…wow.
Maddie appeared, Jack behind her, effectively muffling her giggles with her hand. She looked at the crowd with a straight face, then a small smile cracked it.
"Well, what can I say? I'm a mom, and if you're a parent, you know the age-old phrase. Kids will be kids." She smiled gently.
"We were wrong about him." She said, voice full of compassion and understanding. She was admitting it.
"We were wrong about the kind of person he is. He's a boy, he's a child, and he's a hero. I hope you all can see that. And I hope that's enough for you to give him a break. Good-bye." And with that, she calmly shut the door.
"Well that didn't go entirely according to plan." Dani said, helping her moaning brother up. It seemed he had landed on his shoulder. Dani wasn't JUST talking about knocking them down though, she was talking about the whole thing. Jazz looked a little shame-faced.
"Jasmine! You've never been one to lose your temper!" Maddie scolded. Jazz scowled.
"Sometimes they make me so angry!" She said acidly. Maddie sighed.
As soon as Danny was set against the couch (who wouldn't stop moaning about being abused by the females), Dani took note of the lessened noise. It seemed they had successfully gotten rid of the reporters.
"What now?" She asked, gazing at her brother curiously. He shrugged, then winced, noting not to do that again for a while.
"Sooner or later someone's going to leak out you're in the middle school. But press can't cross onto the school grounds without getting immediately hounded by the police. Still, I don't want you wandering out of the school grounds at any time. Don't leave without an escort. The Guys in White can't touch me or anyone I'm associated with as part of our agreement, but if someone captures you when I'm not looking, well-"
Danny trailed off. No one wanted him to finish his sentence, and he didn't either. Dani frowned slightly, but took a deep breath and calmed herself.
"So I go to school, you go to school, and we act like nothing ever happened?" Danny shook his head.
"We all know it happened Dani, we just have to act like it doesn't affect us that much. Like we don't care." Everyone nodded thoughfully, Valerie powering down again.
"Well, that's that then. What was it about Aragon again?"
"Oh yeah, well you see-"
"Oh, I've got some cookies-yes you two, they were storebought, you can stop looking at me-let me go get them!"
"I'm making hot cocoa! Anybody want fudge?"
"Come and sit down over here. Hey Dani, over here!"
Both Phantoms shared a glance as everyone got comfy. This strange family, this strange team. It was theirs. And moments like these, where everyone was together, even if it was to discuss mutant human-dragon ghosts, these were special.
And they loved them.
Whoo! That was looo-ooong! And it took forever. I have no doubt that some of this was OOC, but I can't really bring myself to care! Poor Danny, I abuse him so much. It must be the sadistic female in me.
I read over the chapter. GOD I LOVE CUTE DANNY!!!! SNUGGLES!!!!! Okay, I'm done now. I can't help it though. I REALLY liked those parts. Man, DP was shirtless. Now I know you're probably thinking I did that for the sake of doing it. Little Artgirl4 is naughty!!! I'll have you know that was only PARTIALLY true!!! They saw his wound, you see, his wound!!! They knew he got hurt, so, so…ah, who'm I kidding? Danny shirtless = SQUEEE!!!!
I'm high on fanfiction. Don't bring me down.
Artgirl4!!