Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Paramount global.
Growing Pains
Chapter 3: Boys grow up so fast these days
Danny and his friends soon arrived to Fenton Works. The ghost boy was still a little out of it, but his friends helped support him as they kept walking.
"Easy there, big guy. Almost there..."Sam said as they made it to his stoop.
"Just catch some Z's and leave the rest to us. From what you told us, she doesn't seem to have anything dangerous to worry about outside of some laser..."Tucker said as Sam opened the door.
"Al-*Yawn* Alright, maybe a little nap...couldn't hurt..."A peaked looking Danny said, sounding and feeling tired.
They soon walked inside, and saw that the house was empty. They knew that Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were out of time for the day, but they didn't see Jazz yet.
"Hello? Jazz?..."Sam called out as Tucker helped Danny onto the couch.
"One second..."Jazz said as she walked downstairs and saw them. "Hey guys, what's up?..."She asked.
"Oh, the usual. Dealing with petty, vengeful ghosts and the unfairness of society..."Sam snarked as Danny was gently placed on the couch.
Jazz saw the state that her younger brother was in and quickly became concerned.
"Danny? Are you okay?..." Jazz asked as she went into worried sister mode.
"I'm fine...just...tired for some reason...and dizzy..."Danny said as his sister examined him like a doctor would.
She checked his forehead and hummed in an analytical tone. She shook her head upon getting her answer.
"Hmm...you don't have a fever..."She said before checking his pulse. "And your pulse is no different than usual. At least in your human form, your ghost form's pulse is a whole other story. I gotta look into how different it'd be when I can..."She said as she made a mental note to talk more about that later.
Right now, she kept fussing over him, wanting to make sure that he is okay.
"How long has he been like this?..."She asked.
"Since he thought that crazy Helena lady..."Tucker said.
"Who?..."Jazz asked, not familiar with that name.
"You're never gonna believe this one..."Sam said, laughing slightly at what kind of ghost she is.
Jazz frowned, having doubts that she would have trouble believing anything now.
"Guys, we live in a haunted town, my little brother is a superhero and I've been raised by insane parents who make weapons to hunt ghosts and have been studying the supernatural since before I was born. I doubt that there is anything you guys can say that I will find hard to believe..."The red haired girl said, looking less than pleased.
She listened as the goth girl gave a rough explanation of what her little brother had recently gone through.
A few minutes later
"And that's what happened..."Sam explained, finishing explaining everything that happened about 20 minutes ago.
Jazz was silent as she processed everything she just heard.
"I don't believe it..."She commented, since it was all she could respond with.
She shook her head, still trying to make sure that she wasn't just hearing this.
"There is actually a ghost who is dresses up in a wedding dress and is trying to find some guy to marry... and actually thinks that attacking them and acting like a bridezilla preview is the way to go about it..."Jazz asked incredulously. "And to top it all off, she also has EXTREMELY high, unrealistic standards for men and goes berserk if they don't meet them?..."She asked, wanting to be sure that she had everything.
"Looks like it..."Tucker shrugged, while Jazz simply sighed.
"Unbelievable..."She muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I know that some people are obsessed with getting married in order to feel like they found the perfect someone, while some people do it just to fit in with other married couples and to feel accepted...and a few others are just gold diggers who want someone else to take care of them... but this Helena sounds like the most extreme case I ever heard..."She said, as she pulled out her notepad.
The other's gave her a look, but knew that this was just part of her nature. Danny, more used to it, just continued to explain the situation.
"That's putting it mildly, she's really nuts and went on a rampage just because she didn't find a guy who meets her INSANELY high standards. She's a total-..."Danny was cut off with a yawn and tried hard to keep his eyes from closing
His friends and sister saw this, and felt worried about it.
"Maybe you should rest. You've been doing these late night patrols for a while now, and that can't be good for you..."Jazz said, worried about him.
"And you did say that you felt kinda dizzy earlier..."Tucker added.
"I'll get some aspirin and some water..."Sam offered.
"Guys, it's not that serious. I'm sure a quick nap is all I need to...recharge my batteries..."Danny said, while his body still felt exhausted.
"And then I'll...be ready to...deal with Miss Wanna-Be Bridezilla..."He said, but his friends wouldn't let him exert himself too much.
"Come on, Danny. Just look at yourself, you're barely able to stay awake right now. You need to lie down and rest..."Sam said, not budging.
"She's right, little brother. You should rest up and then you can go after that obsessive, needy, possibly gold digging ghost woman who seriously needs to reevaluate her past choices and get a major attitude adjustment...or get a cat..."Jazz said, in her usual, brainy way.
Seeing that they won't let him out of this, Danny conceded.
His friends and sister soon helped lugged him up to his bedroom and soon the ghost boy was in his bed.
"Just relax, little brother. We'll be downstairs if you need us. Just try and rest as much as you need. We'll deal with that psycho when you wake up..."His sister said in a nurturing tone, as she handed him a glass of water.
"Fine..."Danny said, not having the energy to fight anymore.
After some aspirin and the glass of water, he felt his drowsiness take effect. He was soon out like a light, snoring all the while.
Once he had fallen asleep, Tucker, Sam and Jazz soon left his room to go about their own business and come up with their own plans to deal with Helena.
As the young ghost boy slept, he was unaware of the changes that were happening within him.
Changes that he won't become aware of until he awakens in the morning.
The Next Day
To Jazz, Sam and Tucker's surprise, Danny had slept for the rest of the day and didn't wake up. Seeing as he was still in a deep sleep and it was getting late, the goth girl and techno geek had to leave for home, but they did agree with Jazz to stop by in the morning to check on Danny.
As well as make a game plan to deal with their latest foe.
That was yesterday.
It was now early in the morning and the sun is shining bright. The eldest Fenton child had just gotten up, yawning and stretching her arms as she did so.
"Mmm...Another day, another ghost to take down later..."Jazz said, as she yawned after waking up.
As Jazz got ready for her day, her thoughts went to her brother and how he was still snoozing away.
"I hope that Danny is feeling better by now. We really need to deal with that new ghost and stop her, before she ends up giving some poor guy a serious case of gynophobia..."She thought, making a mental note to check up on him once she is done getting dressed.
They need to make sure that he is well, and to work together to track down this new ghost before she causes any more trouble.
The sooner Danny was up and about, the better for all of them. If there was anybody who stood a chance at getting rid of Helena the wanna-be ghost bride, it was Danny Phantom.
As the red haired girl brushed her hair, she was unaware that her brother was finally stirring awake at that very moment...but was about to wake up to a surprise that he would've never seen coming.
Ever!
With Danny
"Mmrr..."Danny let out, as he slowly stirred awake.
His eyes fluttered opened as he returned from the land of slumber.
As he did, he let out an audible yawn and stretched his arms, feeling recharged and content right now.
He was no longer tired, dizzy or anything negative right now. If anything, he felt strangely refreshed right now.
"Man, that was the best sleep I've had in a long time..."He said, sounding relieved.
"What time is it?..."He said as he glanced over to his alarm clock.
To his shock, he saw that it was early in the morning, about 6:30 AM.
The ghost boy was stunned and almost upset to learn that he's been asleep for almost 14 HOURS!
"I can't believe it! I actually slept through an entire rare, homework free evening! Typical!..."Danny muttered, but soon noticed something off.
It was funny, but his voice sounded... strange.
"Huh?..." Danny said and he heard the voice coming out of his mouth once again.
It sounded much deeper and had a smoother tone for some reason, almost like he inhaled helium but had the opposite effect.
It was bizarre to say the least.
"What?..."He let out as he got out of bed and also noticed something else.
His clothes felt tighter for some reason and he also felt like something was out of place as he tried to shift and stretch his body within his clothes, only to cause very noticeable rips and tears around the arm pits and back, much to his shock and dismay.
"What? What happened to my favorite pajamas?..."He wondered, but still felt even more strange things about himself.
He also felt heavier for some reason, but not the heaviness that comes from fat or stuff like that. Danny also noticed that the ceiling in his bedroom was a little closer, but he knew that he wasn't currently flying or in his ghost from.
The ghost kid felt more confused bu this.
"What's the heck is going on?..."He wondered, rubbing the back of his head in confusion, only to feel something else that was strange.
"My hair...is it...longer? I just had my hair cut the other week..."He asked out loud, feeling it longer than usual.
Before he could figure anything out on what was going on here, he heard a knock on his door.
"Danny, it's Jazz. I know that you're probably still resting, but we still have school and-..."Jazz had opened the door but stopped talking the moment she saw him.
"Oh, morning Jazz..."Danny said in a normal way.
To his surprise, his sister was silent for a moment, before she finally responded in a rather unexpected way.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!..."Jazz screamed, shocking her brother.
"What is it?..."He asked, as he about to ask her what is wrong, but his sister ran out of the room.
As she ran back, she was carrying the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick.
"Jazz, what are you-..."Danny was cut off as his sister started swinging the bat at him.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU CREEP!..."She shouted as she kept trying to hit him.
Danny managed to dodge and avoid her swings, but she kept violently swinging away with all her strength, much to his shock.
"What's come over you?! And why are you even using that bat with the name Fenton on it on me?!..."He said, but she managed to hit him on the back and get him to take a step back.
She wasn't done yet, as kept yelling and trying to attack him.
"Who are you and what have you done with my brother, you creep!? Talk or else you'll be in a whole world of pain!..."She shouted as she kept swinging and trying to hit him.
The ghost boy has had enough and quickly disarmed the redhead by catching the bat mid-swing and knocking it out of Jazz's hands.
"IT'S ME! DANNY!..."Danny yelled very loudly, hoping that she'd finally listen.
That made Jazz stop and took a moment to really get a good look at who she thought was an intruder.
Danny wondered what was going through her mind and if she actually lost it, when she suddenly gasped and pointed at him in disbelief.
"Wait? Danny?!..."Jazz exclaimed, while the ghost boy frowned at her.
"No, it's Buddy Moon from Dumpty Humpty!..."He said sarcastically. "Of course, it's me!..."He shouted, as he gestured to himself.
"Why did you go crazy and act like I was some burglar trying to rob our house?..."He asked, but soon noticed that his sister's jaw was dropping.
Her eyes stared at him in both bewilderment and suspicion, and it was honestly creeping the ghost kid out.
"Why are you looking at me like that?..."He asked, confused.
"P-Prove it!..."She said.
"Excuse me?..."Danny asked.
"Prove to me that you are my little brother. Tell me something that only Danny would know!..."Jazz insisted.
"Jazz, what's up? Have you finally snapped from the pressure of acting older than you really are?..."He asked, but the red haired girl looked at him in almost desperation.
"JUST PROVE IT!..."Jazz shouted, looking unhinged now.
Freaked out and not wanting to be hit with the bat again, the ghost boy thought fast and recalled one that would confirm his identity to his sister.
"When you were 6 and I was four...our grandparents took us to the circus. We got to see lots of clowns, acrobatics, trappies artists, lion taming, and elephants too. However, you had a lot of juice that day and got really scared when one of the elephants tried to grab your Bearbert Einstein. You were so scared that you ended up peeing on the bleachers on the spot..."He said, making the red haired girl gasp and blush in embarrassment.
"I had a bladder infection that day and that elephant would have ripped Bearbert apart! I just know it!..."Jazz shouted in defense to cover her mortified feelings.
However, it then sunk to her that he knew all those details. Only three people in the whole world knew about that secret of hers and Jazz's grandparents were currently living in Florida right now.
That means that...
"Wait...aside from my grandparents...the only one who'd know that is...Danny?!..."Jazz asked, with a high pitch tone out of pure shock.
"In the flesh. Now answer me this, why did you go all crazy and act like I was some intruder?..."He demanded, before he noticed something off.
"And...did you get shorter or something?..."He asked, as he finally noticed that he was looking DOWN at Jazz, instead of looking up as usual.
Jazz kept looking at him in shock, but pointed behind him.
"Look in the mirror..."Was all she said.
Danny raised a brow, but did as he was told. However, as he got to the mirror. He didn't see his reflection.
He didn't see himself at all.
No, he just saw what looked to be a very tall man, who looked to be around 6"2'. He is also a very muscular man with black hair, blue eyes and a some facial hair and some 5 o'clock shadow on his strong and perfectly looking jawline.
Danny blinked in confusion, still a little out of it and wondering what is going on here.
"Why is there a poster on my mirror?..."He said as he went to pull it out.
To his surprise, the "poster" imitated his movements and matched his the words that were currently coming out of his mouth.
It soon dawned on him that this was not a poster at all, but in fact, his reflection. He was stunned and became pale as his new reality was slowly settling in, as if he was suddenly hit by a ton of bricks.
"No...no way..." He said using a voice that was not his own as he just kept staring at his reflection in a panicked manner.
"You're not hallucinating and this isn't a gag. I see it too..."Jazz said, confirming that it is in fact real.
The dark haired boy...no... MAN...was stunned and could barely comprehend what was happening to him right now.
He really couldn't, but the shock slowly began to wear off and realization began to finally sink in...that this was in fact happening right now
"Oh my-..." Danny was silent for a moment, touching his face and chest to finally confirm the reality of the situation.
Once it did, he lead out a loud scream that echoed through the house and could be heard by some parts of the city as well.
"AHHHHH! THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE MIRROR!..."Danny yelled.
"My baby brother! It really IS you?!..."Jazz exclaimed in shock, while her brother kept screaming.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!..."He screamed loudly for a few minutes, scaring flocks of birds and disturbing passerbys nearby, as well as some of the neighbors.
"What was that?..."A neighbor asked, before his wife frowned in the direction.
"Oh, it's the Fentons. Probably one of their crazy experiments again..."The lady said, annoyed.
Her husband frowned.
"It's too early in the morning to deal with them..."He grumbled, and his wife agreed before they went back to their morning routine.
A few moments later
The Fenton siblings were still in Danny's room, and they were still freaking out over this recent discovery.
That Danny Fenton had gone to bed as a 14 year old boy last night, and this morning, he awoke to see that he was suddenly woke up as a brand new man.
Literally!
"This can't be happening! This has to be a dream! It has to be!..."Danny said as he pinched himself.
He let out a yelp and looked around his surroundings, seeing as it didn't work. It meant that this is not a dream.
"Not a dream!..."He muttered, disappointed and trying hard not to have a panic attack here.
All the while, his sister also looked like she was having trouble dealing with this sudden...development.
"Little brother is now...BIG brother..."Jazz whispered, still trying to wrap her head around this.
Danny was still freaking out, looking like he was trying hard not to get a migraine from all of this.
"I can't believe this..."He said, feeling totally flabbergasted.
"How did this happen?..."Jazz asked.
"I don't know!..."Danny said as he stomped his foot, his deeper voice coming all loud and a bit nerve wrecking as he tried to make sense of this situation.
"I just woke up like this and you trying to beat me up. This is so weird, I can't think of anything to have caused this. I mean...the only major thing that happened yesterday was-..."He said as Danny immediately cut himself off as he remembered something important.
He recalled a certain ghoul he just faced off with for the very first ever yesterday. The same one who tried to use a strange attack on him and miraculously missed him...or so he thought.
Danny felt the pieces come together, until it hit him.
"HELENA?!..."He exclaimed, realizing that she was the true culprit.
"You think she did this?..."Jazz asked.
"It has to be the case. She tried to hit me with some weird attack, claiming that I would know what it's like to be old..."He said, figuring out the now obvious subtext of what Helena had told him the day before.
"Old? You look like you're around 24 here at the most..."Jazz pointed out.
"I didn't get hit with the blast, but I got hit with the aftershock of it. My body must have absorbed it and caused all of this..."He said.
"Is that even possible?..."Jazz asked, having trouble processing this.
"How else do you explain me suddenly becoming 10 years older in one night?!..."He asked, as he looked at himself in the mirror again and saw an older looking face staring back at him.
"Settle down, Danny..."Jazz tried.
"I can't. I just lost maybe 10 of my life and I have no clue if I'll be able to get them back!..."He said, looking on the verge of losing it.
His older sister did her best to calm him down and act optimistic here.
"Okay, don't freak out. Sam and Tucker are on their way early today. They can help fix whatever happened to you. We'll find a way to turn you back to normal in no time..."Jazz said, trying to calm down her anxious brother, all the while, she seemed uncertain about this herself.
"I hope..."She thought, feeling unsure as she tried to console her now OLDER brother.
A little later
Sam and Tucker had arrived at Fenton Works early in the morning. They wanted to check on Danny and see if he was okay.
"I hope that Danny is feeling better..."Sam said, worried about it.
"He'll be fine...Danny's a tough guy and I'm sure that after all that sleep, he's feeling recharged and ready to take that bridezilla ghost on like man..."Tucker said.
"I hope you're right..."Sam said as they made it to his door.
She rang the doorbell.
After a moment, a nervous and flustered looking Jazz appeared.
"Sam? Tucker?..."She said, looking left and right for anyone else who might be watching.
Thankfully no one seemed to be in the mood of leaving they own homes at this hour, which works in her favor right now.
"Morning Jazz, is Danny up yet?..."Sam asked, raising a brow at her strange behavior.
"Uh...yeah...he's...he's up..."Jazz said, sounding unsure.
"That's good to hear. We need to hurry and make a game plam if we wanna catch Helena before something crazy happens..."Tucker said.
"Uh...yeah...about that..."Jazz paused, getting looks from the other teenagers.
"Jazz? What's up? Did something happened to Danny?..."Sam asked.
"You could...say that..."Jazz said, trying her best to find the right words to break it down to them.
"What happened?..."Tucker asked, while Sam looked a little bit suspicious about Jazz's weird behavior.
"It's...kinda hard to explain. You guys best come inside and I'll show you..."Jazz said, as she lead them into her home.
Inside
Jazz lead Tucker and Sam to her living room and gestured for them to sit on the couch. She also asked them to wait a moment, looking looking nervous right now.
"Just...don't freak out..."She said, as she went to get something from the kitchen.
Tucker and Sam were confused by this behavior.
"What's going on here?..."Tucker asked, while Sam frowned.
"It better be something worthwhile for all the worrying she's putting me through..."Sam muttered, hoping that this wasn't another one of Jazz's attempts to convince them change their team name to "Ghost Getters" again.
To her surprise, Jazz brought with her what looked to be a man in his early to mid-20's. He was a tall, muscular and form fitting man, wearing a shirt and pair of pants that seemed to be a few sizes too big for him, along with a belt. She also noticed what looked to be cuts from a shaving accident on his otherwise handsome face.
To say that Tucker and Sam were caught off guard by this was certainly an understatement, to say the least.
The teens were taken back as the man approached them and greeted them in a strange way.
"Sam! Tucker!..." Danny went.
"Uh... who are you and how do you now our names?..." Sam asked, wondering who this handsome stranger is.
"It's me... Danny. Actual Danny..." The man insisted, as he gestures to himself with a wave of his hands
Sam and Tucker were both silent, taking a moment to finally register.
"WHAT?!..."They both yelled.
"It's true. Look..."Danny said, as he quickly summoned a familiar pair of rings.
Soon, the dark haired man was soon replaced with a WHITE haired man who looked eerily familiar as well.
"Danny?!..."His friends both exclaimed as they got up from the couch and went to him.
"In the flesh, in a manner of speaking..."He said, while his friends looked at him in disbelief.
That the local ghost boy...has now become a ghost MAN.
Oh man.
-To be continued-
Next time on Growing Pains
A Whole New Danny
A/N: Special thanks to NeoMark and Jay The Average Fanboy for helping with this chapter. You guys rock :)
A/N(2): Which 10 years later version of Danny would you prefer that I use in this fic? Hartman's design or Silver's design? Please let me know in the reviews.
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
RonaldM40196867:
1) Yes.
2) Most definitely.
3) I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.
4) Maybe, first he has to deal with his sudden "growth spurt".
5) Yeah.
6) They probably see her as worse than Paulina.
7) I am trying to decide if he should wear Butch's suit or Silver's Suit. Which do you prefer?
Pokemon fan 1991: Thank you :)
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
Danifan3000:
1) Actually, I say that she's even more shallow and picky than Colette is.
2) :)
3) Yeah.
Boris Yeltsin: How is this so far?
NiteOwl18: :)
Invader Johnny: I didn't notice that until now, but yeah. I see your point.
Leonardo: Yes, in the future.
Luiz4200: I'd say the only girls who'd might give him a chance were Vicky and Cree at first. Cree might like him for his looks, but soon grow annoyed due to his stupidity. Vicky might like him for his looks and bullying nature, but Dash would be the one who'd want to get away from her after seeing how nasty she can be.
CZS4: Thank you :)
Pzombie: Thank you :)
Guest: I hope that this chapter answers those questions.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)