Sticky Spandex Part 2

Jazz grumbled, rubbing her head. Danny had been eager to get out of there, and in his haste he had quickly dumped his sister on his bed then flown. She cursed the lack of key to the apartment, then made her way off the bed. She looked around cautiously¸ then called out.

"Dani?" No answer.

"Dani, come on, I know you're in here!" She felt a wave of déjà vu as she put her hands on her hips. This was exhaustingly familiar…

"No you don't. You're just saying that to get me to come out." Came a matter-of-fact voice. Jazz remembered faintly all the times she had barged into her brother's room when he was having a temper tantrum.

"Well now I do! And I'm not going to leave-"

"-Until I come out, right? Invisibility, duh!" Jazz sighed, sitting on Danny's bed. Of course, those fights with Danny had mostly been before ghost powers all together. More recent ones had been when he thought she didn't know so he couldn't use them.

"Fine. But can't I at least help my little sister do her make-up?" There was a long silence, and Jazz worried Dani had flown away.

"You'd help me?" Jazz sighed in relief softly.

"What kind of older sister would I be if I didn't teach my younger one how to properly use mascara?" Dani appeared then, sitting next to her, and she prided herself in not jumping. Jazz grinned as Dani handed over the bag, and started,

"Well the first thing you want to do is make sure your face is washed and moisturized…"

--

He walked through the streets, ignorant to all the stares. He could walk. No longer did he blend in with the streets, merely a mimic of the action. He walked, he strutted, he ran. His new body fit him, and an occasional female would ask him his name and number, giggling in some sort of short-circuited kind of way.

A number was obviously some sort of identification. Johnny had talked about it often, saying it was a way to 'pick up girls'. He simply had to ask them for it, and obviously it worked vice versa. But he didn't have a name nor number, and he didn't want to carry a woman anywhere. He was too busy relishing in the feel of his new body. He politely declined and walked away. His voice hurt from when he had screeched from the shock of his transformation, so he didn't want to use it often.

He was walking down a road, trying to look low enough to glance at his shirt. His chin bumped against his chest, which annoyed him. Usually his body was one large mass, but now he wanted to see it. However, he found it rather hard to maneuver.

He seemed to be wearing a black shirt, but the explosion with the thermos had splattered green streaks across it, which soaked into the fabric like a dye. Black pants, leather ones like Johnny occasionally wore, adorned him also, but they had numerous pockets with numerous chains. What use, he wondered, did he have for so many pockets? Let alone the chains, which were obviously too small to hold anything back.

He had stopped at a nearby store to examine his face—chiseled features, hair that looked as if swept to the side, and frozen in time, halfway down his neck with spikes going out and down, and red eyes and a stubbly chin—when he saw a familiar sight. A boy balanced a precarious ice cream cone in one hand, trying to wrap his other arm around an elusive Latina. He seemed to be half-arguing with her, half-balancing the ice cream. It was a delicious situation, and the man felt the pull towards it. He did not see his eyes flash full red in the mirror. He walked down towards the two.

"Dash I am not going to go out with you! I have to remain single for the day Phantom arrives to take me into his arms!"

"Come on Paulina, he hangs out with geeks! You shouldn't have to wait for him, he's not worth it!"

"Oiy! You say that but he's still your hero, right chico? It doesn't matter who he hangs out with, he'll always be mine!"

"Paul-" "Splat!" The blonde boy growled, looking at his fallen ice cream. He glared at the arm of the man who'd knocked it over.

"Dude, you're gonna pay for that." He scowled at the guy then faltered as he caught sight of him. The Latina, Paulina, gasped at his side.

"Hot…" She whispered, gawking at him. The man blinked and looked down at the ice cream. She was hot, so the ice cream must've been to resolve that. In fact, a red flush was definitely settling along her cheeks. What had he been thinking?

"Sorry." He murmured, and her eyelashes fluttered at him. He walked past them a little bit to the ice cream cart, now unoccupied, and held his hand out of their view. Black tendrils arose from it and pulled at the cone on the rack, more of them gathering up ice cream into perfect round scoops and placing it inside. The tendrils then deposited the concoction within his hand. He walked back briskly and handed it to her. She eyed the ice cream and slowly took it, hand shaking. And then he walked on, figuring he had made up for his misdeed.

"Ohmygod! Who was that?!" He heard a shriek behind him, but he didn't come back to tell her his name. The first few women had glanced at him strangely when he had told them. He would just have to find something more suitable. He supposed his real name was too much of a reminder of the past anyway. He was going to be better from now on.

--

"Kitty! Kitty! Geez, babe, where are you?!" Johnny shook his head, kicking his foot against a stone. First his motorcycle, now this! He cursed.

"Babe, come on, I said I was sorry didn't I? It was a mistake!"

"Go away Johnny! You obviously don't want to be around me, and I don't want to be around you, so go!" The pouty voice of his girlfriend reached him. He glanced around at the rocky landscape, but was unable to spot her.

"It was an accident, I promise! Why would I make my motorcycle disappear while I was on it?! I hit the dirt too!" He yelled, shaking earth from his baggy trousers as if to emphasize it. There was a pause on Kitty's end.

"But your motorcycle never disappears like that. It's a part of you, ain't it?" Kitty said, sniffling. Johnny spat on the ground.

"I don't know why. But I can't call it back, so we're just going to see if we can take Shadow." Kitty made a gagging noise.

"Shadow Travel? Oh, gross, you know that makes me feel all icky afterwards!" Johnny grit his teeth. Sometimes it took a bit of effort to remember he loved her.

"Well that's how we hafta get home now, so I guess you're gonna have to deal with it Kitty! Now come on or I'm leaving withoutcha!" He snapped. There was a scrambling noise, and Kitty appeared, walking towards him with as much dignity as possible, still getting dirt of off her arms.

She crossed her arms as she reached him and grunted, showing she was not pleased. He rolled his eyes and put an arm around her waist, whistling for Shadow. She shut her eyes tight and grimaced.

…

Johnny stomped the ground without looking down and whistled.

…

Kitty cracked open her eyes.

"Johnny," She started to whine.

"Not now Babe." Johnny said impatiently, stomping the ground harder.

"Shadow! Go!" He called out. Nothing happened.

"But, Johnny," Kitty began.

"I said not now Kitty." Johnny said, fists clenched. He concentrated, then barked out for Shadow.

"Johnny, will you listen to me?!"

"What?!" Johnny asked, head turning to her. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"It took you long enough." She pointed downwards.

"Shadow isn't even here." Johnny looked down. Indeed, no black form stretched along the ground.

"What the…?" Johnny yelled out for Shadow. But, he realized, he couldn't sense his companion anywhere.

Shadow was gone.

--

Danny arrived at the apartment with a package of Dani's favorite cookies, a Dumpty Humpty CD, and a bundle of nerves growing inside his stomach. Despite his sister's reassurances, he was scared as to what he might find inside. He opened the door to Dani's room wearily, and walked inside, offerings held out in front of him as a shield.

"Danny, what are you going here?"

"AHH DON'T BLAST ME!" Danny yelled, cookies and CD covering his head as he crouched. He heard Jazz laugh.

"Don't worry Danny, it's okay. Dani, why don't you show your brother your new look?" Danny gulped, and slowly unwound. He looked up….and stared at his sister.

Dani wore a black miniskirt and a white t-shirt tucked in. She wore flat black shoes with bows on them, and Jazz had even put a silver heart shaped hair pin in her hair. Dani looked a little uncomfortable in it, but she smiled cautiously.

"What do you think?" Danny tried to find the words and failed. Dani slowly started to frown. Jazz, seeing this, hastened to say,

"He's speechless." Dani shook her head.

"No, I want to hear it from you. Danny, what do you think?" Danny closed his mouth. He sighed. Dani got angry.

"Danielle, it's just not-"

"Me. I get it. Because the only me is the one you think is me." She started to rant.

"Because the only me is the one you want to see, because-"

"Dani! Come on, I don't want to start a fight." Danny held out the stuff.

"Look I brought your favorites," It had the opposite effect. He watched as she took one look at the cookies and music and bit her lip, eyes shining angrily.

"My favorites?! Or yours?!" He blinked. Well, yeah. They both liked the same stuff, but-

BAM! Dani slammed the door shut, stranding Danny outside their room. Jazz shook her head, walking up to him and patted him on the shoulder.

"I thought she looked alright. Obviously she wants a change Danny, and I think you're gonna have to let her go for it. Lucky for you I already talked her out of hair dye." Jazz said, smiling slightly. Danny offered her a small, weak one in return. She patted him on the shoulder again and then left using the door. Danny walked over to the small sofa and fell on it, sighing forlornly. He nibbled on a cookie and promptly fell asleep.

--

Someone poured water on his face. He woke up gasping and someone giggled. He blinked at Dani's own face, smiling sweetly from above him.

"Time to get up Dan-Dan." She said, and then she moved away. Danny got up groggily and noticed he was still on the couch. However, a blanket was tucked around him. He smiled at Dani gratefully, who smiled secretively back.

"Did you know you change into ghost form really easily when you sleep? All I had to do was say, "'Danny, there's a ghost, go ghost mode!'" And you transformed!" Danny looked at her, confused, and she smirked, continuing.

"Well, actually, it was really the mention of a certain goth's name that got you going." She winked at him, and he blushed, then glanced down. He was indeed in ghost form, while she was in her pajamas. When he looked up again, she was gone, into the bathroom. Danny walked into their room, yawning, and laid out his clothes. Dani got out of the bathroom, and he grinned, hopeful. She was wearing a Sam-made t-shirt and jeans.

This day it said "Careful, I know Jujitsu." on the front. On the back it read. "Oops, I lied." Danny smiled at her and went into the bathroom, taking a short shower, washing his hair and soothing his aching I-slept-on-a-couch-all-night muscles. He wrapped a towel around his hair and waist, brushed his teeth, put on some deodorant, and walked out to a ready Dani. She seemed perfectly fine, and he wondered if she had dropped this sudden phase she had been going through. He was too much of a coward to bring it up.

She gave him an extra big grin, as if to reassure him, and left to give him some privacy. He slipped on his clothes, still feeling slightly weird wearing those kinds of things in ghost mode. He left the towels on a chair to dry a little. They left for school together, phasing out and appearing in a nearby alley. They walked out onto the street.

As they walked, Danny realized they were getting more glances than usual. Some mother shook her head at him, another covered her son's eyes. Danny wondered in growing panic if he was glowing or something, anything to reveal his identity.

"Dani, am I-"

"Nope." Dani cut him off. She seemed deliriously happy, he noted, but that shouldn't mean she was able to read minds. Unless—!

"Dani, can you-?!"

"Nope." Dani answered again, cheerily. Danny glanced at her, bemused.

Suddenly a tall lean guy walked over. He had a spiky Mohawk that was dyed a bright red, and several piercings in his nose, along with dark clothing. Danny gulped. Dani waved.

He came right up next to Danny and stared into his sunglass-covered eyes. Danny shut his tight. A pale hand landed on his shoulder. Then it landed repeatedly. Danny opened his eyes in shock. Was this guy…patting him?!

"Way to go dude." The guy nodded at him and his sister, who raised a hand in a high five. Danny watched in shock as he returned it. He turned back to him and grinned creepily.

"Fight the man!" He then turned, went somber again, and walked away. Danny stared after him.

"Dani-what" He sputtered, but Dani was already walking down the street. Danny jogged to catch up with her.

They walked on in silence, Danny deciding to just forget about it. They soon arrived at the school, which still had the occasional reporter milling about. Danny saw some reporters eying him strangely, and he gulped.

"C-Come on Sis, you're gonna be late! Geez, I need to get to school! I can't believe Mom didn't wake us up!" He whined to Dani, and he saw the reporter shake his head in his direction and turn away. He sighed in relief. They made it into the building safely.

--

"Alright everyone, settle down. Time for the countdown." Everyone rushed into their desks, staring intently at the clock. Ms. Sanderson checked her own watch, and then began.

"!0…9…8…"

Everyone joined in, staring at the door. Of course, the Phantoms weren't always perfectly punctual, but it was quite funny to still count down to them arriving. A few times they had got it spot on.

"5…4….3…."

"Ouch! Dani, again with the pushing?!" Someone stumbled in, and everyone looked at the guy in shock. Dani walked in casually, already pulling off her cap, sunglasses in hand.

"Good morning!" Even Ms. Sanderson was speechless. Some people murmured a half-hearted good morning, but they mostly just gawked at Danny, who was pulling off his own cap that had done nothing to hide the little tufts of hair peeking out.

The blue and red and green tufts.

Danny glared at his sister, and then turned to the class, blinking at their expressions. They blinked back, parallel to the 'first day of school' situation all that while ago.

Danny moved his hand slowly up towards his forehead, fingering the few bandages that were still there from that big battle with the Fake Dan. Why would they be staring now…?

"Erm, Danny, I don't suppose you…" Ms. Sanderson started making gestures with her hands, stuttering through her words and ultimately trailing off.

Danny cocked his head at her, and she groaned suddenly, facepalming.

"What in the world?" She asked in a completely different tone. Danny looked at the only other person he thought could help him understand. Lily.

Lily met his puppy eyes and almost groaned herself. What was going on?! Danny obviously didn't know what was going on, which would have to mean…

"Dani!" She yelled out suddenly, narrowing her eyes on her best friend. Dani waved and she glared harder. Danny whipped towards Dani, confused.

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Was echoed by the class, and even Ms. Sanderson, all looking at Lily for guidance.

"Daniiiii," Lily growled. Dani smiled innocently at her.

"Did you do that?" She pointed at her best friend's older brother's hair. He touched the bandages again and she shook her head.

"Try farther up." She suggested and he did. He grabbed at his hair, but felt nothing on it, then automatically pulled it to eye level. Eyes widened, and Lily, the teacher, Dani, and several other smart ones put their hands over their ears.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

--

The man stared at the school. This was where the boy was? This was in fact a school for younger humans, correct? He stared at the building some more until he noticed somebody trying to get his attention. Somebody snapped their fingers in front of his face and he turned to them, startled.

"Finally! Geez man, what's wrong with you?" A man with a camera on his shoulders asked. The man didn't know how to reply, so he shrugged. The cameraman rolled his eyes.

"Must not be one of them smart types." He said, as if the man couldn't hear him.

"Listen, buddy, I need you to hold this for me for a bit. Can you do that?" He said every word slowly, and gestured to his camera. The man blinked at him. Why was he to hold this human's camera? He had no need for it.

The cameraman repeated the question even slower, until the man finally nodded. He handed the camera over to him.

"Now, be careful how you hold it…" The man's eyes flashed red, and his smiled turned cruel. The camera slipped through his hands.

Crash!

Splinters of glass lay all over the sidewalk. The camera guy gasped and yelled. The man blinked and apologized. How could he have done something like that? The camera was obviously important to this man.

"Buddy, you got a lot of nerve! Do you know how much that cost?!" Suddenly he realized he didn't care. No, this human was the one with a lot of nerve. And now, he was going to cut that nerve down.

--

"Danielle." Danny said brokenly, almost as if he were a kicked puppy. Dani rolled her eyes, watching the boy pull up bits of his hair and gaze in a mirror, expression distressed.

"Really Dani, what pushed you to do this?" Ms. Sanderson asked, not scolding, but more curiously. She held up the mirror as Danny gazed into it, occasionally letting out a small whimper.

It looked like he was a clown. His hair had been dyed a dark red, green, and blue, random bits like a child's finger painting. A few pieces of hair remained white, but the rest was a messy catastrophe.

More so than usual.

Danny let loose a moan of despair. Then he whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at his sister.

"You! This is all your fault!"

Dani actually smiled. "Well duh." Danny blinked, then his eyes narrowed.

"Haven't you ever heard not to disrespect your elders?!" He scolded. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Oh, sorry Dad. Though I guess it's fine for me to call you that, considering we share the same genes and everything." Her tone was close to growling. Danny blinked.

"Dani, what are you-" He stopped mid-sentence as puff of blue smoke exited his mouth. He hesitated, seeing Dani glaring at him.

"We..We'll talk about this later." He shook his head and flew out of the building invisibly and intangibly. Dani scowled, her eyes saying what her mouth had not.

Coward.