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 9: A Phantom's Brand New Limits
Danny, Jazz, Sam and Tucker soon arrived to the nearby area of the park that was mostly deserted around this time.
They came here to test out Danny's new physical limits.
"We'll start with your human form first, and then test out your ghost half afterwards. Got it?..."Jazz said.
"Roger..."Danny said, getting ready.
Jazz took out a notepad, ready to take notes for any new information.
"You said that you are really fast, and even more so as a ghost?..."Jazz asked.
Her brother nodded.
"Okay. Lets test your new speed in this adult form, and then we'll test your strength..."Jazz said, as she pulled out a stop watch.
She made a makeshift starting line on one side of a tree towards another as it was much older and thinner, then to one which went about 100 yards away distance, before turning around and getting herself ready to track her brother's newest speed record.
"Okay. Try and run as fast as you can when I say go and get here..."Jazz called out, while her brother nodded.
"Okay..."Danny said as he got into a starting position.
"Okay...3...2...1...Go!..."Jazz said as she turned on the stop watch.
Danny started running and before he even realized it, he was all ready on the other side. His joy was evident on his face as he continued. He soon arrived to drawn in finish line, while almost frightening everyone with the results of his new physical prowess.
Jazz was stunned, before she checked the time of his new speed record.
"9.9 seconds?!..."She let out, stunned.
"Is that good?..."Danny asked, knowing that he only had a C in Algebra.
Tucker and Sam were shocked to hear this.
"Danny, you just ran 100 yards in less than 10 seconds! That's that's gotta be like 20.6 mph!..."Sam said, astounded.
Tucker checked his PDA and was doubly shocked. He had to adjust his glasses to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"I looked it up and it says here that the record for the fastest anyone has run ever is 27 mph and that's because he trained for it!..."Tuck said, looking up the current fastest human running speed record.
"So...it is good..."Danny said, wondering about his other limits.
"I don't know what you'd have eaten at this point... but it was working..." Tucker said.
"Lets keep testing...what else did you noticed?..."Sam asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"I'm a lot stronger and my reflexes are sharper too. Though I'm heavy and still feel a little off-balance whenever I lose focus sometimes. It's like wearing very heavy clothes I can't take off!..."Danny exclaimed.
"Lets see if we can find a general measure of your new strength and agility. Hang tight..."Jazz said, preparing the next exercise to test her brother's new limits.
Danny wiped the bit of sweat off his face, not seeing the lustful look on Sam's face.
Tucker smirked as he discreetly took a photo.
"That's her new profile when I call her..." He thought.
"Ready!..." Jazz called out.
She was gesturing for her to come over where she's standing and panting, since rolling it took a lot of effort out of her and any further would've taken hours.
"Alright..."Danny said, preparing as he approached a large tire.
"Where'd this come from?..." Tucker asked, confused.
"I think there was a project to make a big tire swing... then the guy got sick and moved... or something. Anyway, it's still here and it's almost 10 feet tall, and weights more than almost half a ton, so may as well use it. Lift it and see if you can use it as a weight..." Jazz said.
"Okay..." He said as he lifted it up, only using one of his arms to do so.
This shocked his friends and especially his sister, since she was still catching her breath from just rolling the heavy tire.
"Wow...Now I'm wondering if it' just your ghost fighting or maybe some special diet that's gonna lead to all of this..."Tucker wondered out-loud.
"Maybe that or maybe it's compensation for going through puberty..."Danny joked, as he started to have some fun and lift the heavy tire multiple times in a show-boat manner.
However, he got a little cocky and nearly slipped. At first, he lost his footing due to clumsiness, but managed to save himself and hold the tire over his head.
"Wow..."The ghost man said, a bit surprised by his own new strength.
Despite the initial shakiness, he's able to easily lift this big tire single handed despite it weighing a literal half-a-ton.
He grinned.
"Okay. Let's see what else I can do like this..."Danny said, as he even went as far as to flip the large tire in his hand with each arm lift, switching arms after every two tire flips.
"Okay, now you're just showing off..."Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"True, but who wouldn't at this point?..."Danny said, as he continued to do so.
However, as he was getting use to juggling the large tire, he unintentionally flipped it a little too high in the air, as it soared well over the tree line.
"And Murphy's law has just arrived..."Sam thought, as the others noticed this.
Before Jazz, Sam and Tucker could warn Danny about the now falling tire, said huge tire landed perfectly around the Ghost Man and left him unharmed. Almost like a game of human ring toss.
Danny blinked in confusion, now realizing what had happened.
"Uh...I...uh...meant to do that?..."He said in an awkward way, but it was clear that it was an accident.
He then grabbed the heavy tire again, lift it up and tossed it aside, making it land about 15 feet away, like he was throwing away a discarded candy wrapper.
His friends and sister looked surprised and impressed by what he just did.
"Wow..."Tucker said.
"Guess we know he'll take after Mom in the fitness department..."Jazz said.
"I'll say..."Sam said, grinning with interest.
Danny set the tire down and relaxed.
"That was... kinda cool..."The ghost man said, sitting on the tire after he laid it on its side.
Once Danny was done, he heard clapping and cheering, a slight minor phenomenon that he only hears during his heroic duties as Danny Phantom, but one he is NOT used to in his human form.
"What the?!..."Danny exclaimed, looking up and saw something completely unexpected.
It turns out, the area wasn't very deserted and more people saw his impressive exercises. And a certain amount were impressed by something else.
Before he knew it, he was surrounded by 10 or so women who all looked at him with lustful expressions. All of them clearly wanted his attention.
"Wow. That was amazing!..."A blonde woman said, clearly starstruck.
"Are you a pro athlete training? Are you training for the Olympics? Need someone to get you a towel?..."A red haired woman said, hearts in her eyes.
"You're so hot!~..."A brunette said, drooling as more people surrounded Danny.
Danny gulped and felt self conscious.
"I haven't had this many people stare at me, while I exercise since the presidential fitness test..."He thought, nervous as they all kept invading his personal space.
One woman suddenly grabbed his arm and started feeling his bicep.
"Wow, you sure are strong..."She said, smiling at him.
"Hey, hands off!..."Danny said as he pulled away and feeling weirded out.
The ladies all giggled at that and assumed he was playing hard to get with them.
"Aww, so shy~..."One said, finding it cute.
Sam witness this and felt a spike of jealousy, like it usually does whenever she see her half ghost best friend talk to any other girls who were into him. However, this time, Danny was physically an adult and the girls hitting on him seemed to be old enough to pay taxes now.
It didn't make the goth girl any less enraged right now.
"I'll tear their hairs out..."She grumbled as she grabbed a nearby rock and crushed it in her hands as she kept glaring at the older ladies, who were all surrounding a very uncomfortable looking Danny.
"So, Muscles? Wanna go out for a bite?..."A lady asked, making bedroom eyes at him.
Danny sweated uncomfortably and stepped back.
"Uh...I just ate..."He said, gulping.
"How about a movie?..." Another went
"Desperate old hags!..."Sam muttered under her breath as she and the others nodded at an idea.
"Look! Is that Buddy Moon from Dumpty Humpty?!..." Tucker went, pointing away.
All the girls looked away, clearly fan-girls and wanting to see the famous musician in person.
"WHERE?!..." They went, excited by the supposed-presence of the hot celebrity but didn't see anything.
Danny took that as a hint to make a break for it.
The Ghost Man made sure that no eyes were on him for a moment to use his ghost powers to turn himself invisible, as he whispered to his sister and friends to make a run for it.
"Run..."He whispered, before vanishing.
The others did the same and ran as far as they could from the area, before the ladies noticed they were gone and get mad at the fact that they got tricked.
And get more upset at the fact that the "hot guy" was now gone.
Later
"That was nuts..."Danny said, having managed to escape the extra attention he was getting.
"You okay, little..."Jazz paused, before remembering his current state. "Uh...big?...you know what...forget this...you okay, Danny?..."Jazz asked.
"I'm fine, just tired. This is like the tenth time I've had a bunch of people I don't know swarm me today. I haven't had some many people gather around me and gave me no privacy, since Amorpho impersonated me..."Danny said.
"Don't remind me..."Jazz said, recalling that time.
"At least try to look like you're enjoying this. You're living the dream right now..."Tucker said, wishing that he could trade places with his best friend right now.
Danny sent him an irritated look.
"No way, I don't wanna risk encouraging them..."He said, since this attention was NOT as enjoyable as Tucker thought it was.
As they kept walking, they kept an eye out for any women who would take interest.
"We gotta find that Helena lady and fast..."Danny said, looking impatient.
"Yeah, but where could she be? Where would a man hungry maniac go to?..."Sam asked.
"Maybe she's haunting at a single's bar or one of those cruises middle aged people go on in hopes of meeting someone?..."Tucker suggested.
Danny considered it and realized he hadn't considered such a location.
"She IS desperate enough to try something like that. The question is where to start looking..."He asked out loud, as if expecting an answer.
"Leave that to me..."Sam said, as she pulled out her phone.
She quickly dialed a number and waited, as if expecting something or someone to show up any minute now.
"What is she doing...?" Jazz asked, unaware of what's about to happen.
"Wait for it..." Sam said as she held a hand up.
Suddenly, Tracey appeared on her scooter and stopped in front of them.
"Here you are, Sam..."She said, as she handed a folder to the goth girl.
"Thanks, Tracey..."Sam said, opening it.
"If you don't mind my asking...why is a high schooler asking for this anyway?..."Tracey asked, raising a brow in confusion.
"It's for a friend..."Sam said vaguely, not looking at her.
Tracey seemed confused, but something else caught her attention.
Her eyes landed on older Danny and was struck.
"Wow..."She let out, smiling at him.
She then turned her head away, face turning red.
"I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend..."Tracey mentally reminded herself over and over again, reminding herself that she is off the market right now.
"Uh, Tracey? Don't I have to sign for any of this?..."Sam reminded, seeing her looking away.
Tracey snapped out of it and blushed.
"Oh, sure..."She said, as she pulled out the voucher and handed it to the goth girl.
After Sam signed it, Tracey left, looking flushed. Once she was gone, Team Phantom went down to business.
"Okay, you told me that Helena is REALLY desperate to get married, but also REALLY picky too right?..."Sam said.
"Yep, she liked the idea of getting married to a rich mayor like Vlad, but she refused to settle for him since he had in her words "grandpa hair" and was creepy looking. Though, to be fair, I can't really blame her for the last one..."Danny said, shrugging.
"A very rare moment when a person's shallowness actually STOPS them from choosing somebody that's arguably worse than them..."Sam muttered, reading what the folder has.
"What's it say?..." Tucker asked.
"Okay, there aren't any single cruises, but there are plenty of dating agencies and singles bars in town. And according to this, at least there are 2 places where single people gather in hopes of meeting someone..."She explained.
"Sounds like a place that Helena wouldn't be able to resist. Let's go..."Danny said, gesturing to the car.
"I'M driving..."Jazz said, keeping the keys close to her.
Later
After a few hours of searching the areas shown to them by Tracy, Team Phantom was returning home empty handed.
There were only two places that the ghost lady could possibly be at, and they were unfortunately unlucky enough to not find her at either places, much to the ghost man's frustration.
"Unbelievable. How could we just miss her?!..."Danny shouted, frustrated.
They had all gone to the exact locations that were on Sam's list, such as Keynote Singles Bar and Singles to Doubles Dating Agency, as well as a couple of a few other spots that were popular choices for adults to hang out in hopes to mingle too.
They had gone there and Danny had remained invisible, since he didn't want to be mistaken as a customer.
They tried to check but the places had already been closed down due to a ghost haunting the place and scaring off the men. Luckily, no one was hurt but the places were not exactly busy now after dealing with a very frightened or angry clients, and Helena was already gone.
"Funny...you're probably the ONLY guy who's actually LOOKING for her and not scared of her either...but not for the reasons she would want..."Tucker joked.
"So not the time, Tucker..."Sam said, irritated.
Danny sighed, losing patience. He was in his human form and thirsty right now, his adult body needing a bit more to eat and drink than his teenage body.
He wanted to give that Bridezilla ghost a piece of his mind, followed by a knuckle sandwich or two, but right now, he needed a few moments to recharge.
"This is taking too long and getting us nowhere fast. I need a soda..."He said, getting thirsty.
Danny entered a nearby convenience store to buy a soda and get on with the day, with his sister and friends following him. However, the second he stepped inside, he felt more eyes on him, at least more than usual today and that was saying something...much to his displeasure.
"So wish that there was a vending machine nearby..."He thought. He wanted to get that soda and get out of here.
He grabbed a diet cola and then went to the counter, where thankfully, it was a teenage guy who was working the register.
"That'll be 99 cents, sir..."The guy said, as he typed the item into the register.
Danny paid and began to drink his beverage. He was about to leave, but he suddenly heard music and people cheering.
"What the?!..."Danny let out, while his friends and sister also seemed shocked as the owner of the shop appeared and smiled.
"Congratulations. You're our 10,000th customer!..."He said, shaking Danny's hand.
"Uh...really?..."He asked, unaware that convenience stores even celebrated their 100th customer, least alone their 10,000th.
"Yep, smile..."The guy said, as someone took his picture and gave it to the owner.
Danny blinked at the sudden flash, and before he knew it, his picture was placed on some frame on the wall, before the guy turned to him with a grin.
"Here's you prize. A $100 gift card for this store, as well as two free tickets to the new movie "The Stockholm Affair" and a gift certificate for 5 at Casa Di Alta Classe. Not to mention that your face will be showed and mentioned throughout the news tonight..."The guy explained, as he handed the prizes to the ghost man.
Danny frowned at the mention of the movie tickets, since that was the boring movie he watched earlier and he didn't wanna see it again, even if it is free.
"So not happening again..."He thought, but he didn't want to be rude.
"Wow...thanks..."he said, until he remembered the third thing the owner just told him.
"Wait, what?!..."He exclaimed, but it was too late.
Soon camera's appeared to take his video and interview him, while his sister and friends watched from the sidelines.
"Is it just me, or is he getting an unnatural amount of attention lately...and not just from women?..."Jazz asked with an eye roll, as her brother was once again the center of attention.
Meanwhile
Harriet Chin was in a bad mood.
"I once covered the guerrilla uprising in Rumackistan and got an exclusive with the rebel leader about their political standings. Now I'm reduced to interviewing some stupid winner at a lousy convenience store and I'm sure that there's a good chance that I'll just be overlooked by whatever other GHOST related news that happens in this town. This s all Jack Fenton's fault!..."Harriet thought, still blaming him for her current lot in life.
"Shelly Makamoto is covering a breakthrough a t Axiom Labs and Tiffany Snow is covering some puppy sanctuary. Why did I get stuck with this lame scoop?..."She muttered in irritation.
The bitter reporter sighed and decided to just get this over with.
"Just grin and bear it until those jerks from the Milwaukee Journal realize their mistake and beg me to come back...or I get from a job offer at a better media outlet..."She thought, as she decided to interview the winner.
"Hello, how does it feel being the 10,000th customer here?..."Harriet asked in a professional way, barely hiding her contempt.
Soon, the guy turned to face her and flinched.
"Oh man, Harriet Chin. Okay, just act cool Danny..."The ghost man thought.
"It was...really unexpected. I really don't know what to say to all of this..."Danny said, feeling anxious by the camera near his face.
The female news reporter didn't seem to notice for some reason. In fact, Harriet was stunned as she looked at the guy she had to interview. She felt butterflies in her tummy and her face flushing for a moment.
"Oh my...Harri like!~..."She thought with interest.
Harriet snapped out of it, since she recalled that she had to interview this guy and that the camera is rolling.
"I see..."She said, as she continued to ask him things...albeit a little more enthusiastically now.
All the while, Danny just wanted to be invisible right now as the interview continued.
A few moments later
Once the interview ended, Danny sighed.
"Glad that's over..."Danny thought, as he went to join his friends and sister.
"You okay, Danny?..."Jazz asked, and her brother sent him a flat look.
"I was on TV twice today. Now I'm really hoping that this doesn't come back to haunt me later..."He said, not liking having so much attention.
"At least you won some sweet prizes..."Tucker pointed out.
"Ones I may not even end up using. Plus, I already saw this movie and it was a total snore fest..."Danny muttered, planning on getting rid of those tickets soon.
"Maybe, but still..."Tucker said, trying to be optimistic.
Danny sighed, just wanting things to go back to normal already. However, he felt hungry all of a sudden and sighed.
"Stupid grown up metabolism. Oh well, may as well buy some grub here while I can..."He said, planning on using that store gift card now while he can.
"You guys want anything? It's on me..."He said, as he showed the gift card.
"Count me in..."Tucker said.
Sam and Jazz sent him an annoyed look, but a slight rumble in their tummy's made them stop.
"I can eat..."Jazz admitted.
"If you find any tofu chips or soy based snacks, I'd appreciate it..."Sam admitted.
"Okay..."Danny said, decided to do so.
He spent the next few minutes grabbing some snacks and stuff for him and his friends, even going for the expensive stuff in the store.
"Hey, it's not every day I win a 100 dollar gift card. May as well make the most of it..."He thought, as he bought some pricey snacks and drinks and then went to check out again.
However, the drama wasn't over yet, as yet another woman wanted to get his attention again. This time it was someone the boy technically already knew.
It was Harriet Chin, who had made some excuse to the news crew and managed to convince them to wait in the news van for her. While she used the excuse to buy everybody some junk food.
However, she was actually here for one reason only.
"Hey there..."She waved, after Danny finished using the gift card at check out.
Danny blinked, surprised to see her again but didn't want to be rude.
"Uh...yes, Mrs. Chin?..."Danny asked, while the female reporter sent him a flirty look.
"It's Miss Chin..."Harriet corrected, before sending him a look.
"Why is she looking at me like this?..."He thought, weirded out before she spoke up.
"So...what did you say your name was again?..."Harriet asked, sending him flirty eyes.
"Dante Fenalton..."Danny answered, and Harriet sent him that strange look again.
She took a step closer, getting into his personal space, which he noticed and did NOT enjoy.
"Well, Dante... don't you look gorgeous." Harriet said. "I get off in about 2 hours...wanna get a drink together? And maybe we can see that movie you won tickets to see?..."She asked, thinking she was being flirtatious.
Danny felt his skin crawl, as he realized what she is implying.
"SHE'S into me too now?! Gross!..."Danny thought, creeped out that a woman the same age as his mother was interested in him too.
He tried to turn her down gently though.
"Uh... aren't you a little too old for me?..." He asked, since regardless if he is a teen or a man in his twenties, there is a notable age gap between them.
Harriet seemed annoyed to hear that response, but didn't want to be denied. She kept it up.
"Don't worry... you're of legal age, aren't you? Besides, I'm quite experience in dating. Plus...you seem to be my type and I have been told that I look young for my age. So, what do you say, good-looking?..." She asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Danny fought off the urge to vomit or use his invisibility to escape yet another older woman falling for him.
"Tiffany Snow was already bad enough, but Harriet is as old as my mom! This just got super awkward!..."He thought, creeped out.
"That sounds great, but I've still got to escort my niece and her friends back home. So, can't. Sorry, bye!..."Danny said, as he quickly grabbed his sister and friends and made their way out of the convenient store, carrying his items along the way.
Harriet saw him leave and pouted.
"Darn. He seems like such a keeper too. And didn't one of those kids with him seem familiar?..."Harriet wondered, not liking being turned out like this.
She would have gone after him, but she was still on the clock right now. Plus, Harriet remembered that she promised the news crew that she'd them all some junk food.
She didn't want to, but she'd knew they would whine if she didn't.
"First, I'll the get junk food for the crew. Then, find out more about the gorgeous hunk. News or dating, Harriet Chin always gets her man!..."She thought, as she stared longingly at the direction where Danny left.
Unaware that her attention is NOT something he wanted at all.
With Danny
"This is just getting more and more creepy by the minute!..."He said, as he waves a hand across his hair.
"Did Harriet actually hit on you too? Isn't she the same age as Mom and Dad?..."Jazz asked, also disturbed.
"I know, and she did...and it was even creepier than you think it is..."Danny said, looking uncomfortable.
"Women in their twenties to early 30's is complicated enough, but now a 40-something year old hit on me. This is getting more unnerving!..."He said, not liking this at all.
"At least you won a free dinner at that restaurant for 5 guests..."Tucker pointed out, while his older-looking friend sent him an annoyed look.
"It's not like I'm gonna be able to use it, since I am gonna make Helena change me back A.S.A.P.!..."Danny said, putting that free dinner for 5 people aside for now.
"Speaking of which...we still haven't checked your limits in your ghost form yet..."Jazz pointed out.
"Oh yeah...let's just forgot about that for now..."Danny said, recalling that they were testing them out but got interrupted by those crowds.
"It's probably best to at least see what your limits are before picking a fight with that would-be bridezilla..."Sam said.
"Yeah, we didn't get a chance to see your limits in your ghost form yet. It's probably a wise idea to do that before you accidentally fly into space again or discover a new power that almost destroys us the hard way..."Jazz pointed ut.
"Noted..."Danny nodded, figuring that he didn't have much loss in checking out his other limits.
He just hoped that he can still maintain something of a low profile and NOT get any more attention, especially from older women who didn't want to leave him alone.
-To be continued-
Next time on Growing Pains
A Phantom's Brand New Limits II
A/N: Special thanks to NeoMark and Jay The Average Fanboy for helping with this chapter. You guys rock :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
Boris Yeltsin: Yeah.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
Pokemon fan 1991:
1) Maybe they would meet and team up against a common enemy.
2) Do you mean creeped out?
3) I am tied between Danny and Gwen, and Ben and Ami.
Invader Johnny: Yeah.
RonaldM40196867:
1) Thankfully, he's not but he's not all that great either.
2) Thanks for the suggestion, I will consider it.
3) I haven't decided yet.
Danifan3000:
1) Sorry, no spoilers. We will have to wait and see what happens.
2) I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
Pzombie: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
NiteOwl18: No ghost form yet, but his human form still kinda of impressed her too.
Jay The Average Fanboy: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I would say that I think he'd be more or less equal if Pariah Dark didn't have either his crown or ring. If he did, he'd still might need to use the suit or something.
2) I'd say Dark Danny.
3) Obviously, something related to technology. Maybe an engineer or a roboticist
4) I haven't decided yet.
5) I'd say he'd have an easier time defeating him.
6) The Box Ghost.
7) No comment.
8) Looking forward to it.
9) I'd say he'd have an easier time defeating him.
10) Danny Phantom, Fairy Odd Parents, Avatar and Hey Arnold.
11) She might have become a pro-athlete or something.
12) Looking forward to it.
13) Hard to say, to be honest. I'd think they are more or less equals in terms of raw power.
14) No comment.
15) The sibling would probably act the way their parents would want them too, and Sam and her sibling probably wouldn't get along too well.
16) Hard to say.
17) I'd say he'd crush them.
18) I'd think she'd at least make it to the final 5.
19) I'd think they'd more or less get along, aside from a few sibling rivalry moments.
20) I still think that young or old, no one can truly defeat the master of all time.
JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)
Here are my responses to your questions:
1) I love how he defeated his evil future self, and how he saved Danielle.
2) Sorry, can't remember the name right now.
3) I think she lived as a princess in the Dark Ages, and probably died due to old age or the plague.
4) I dunno, I don't think Skulker is good boyfriend material and I think that the female ghosts know that.
5) No comment.
CZS4: Yeah.
Jc-montanorock: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
Jacob Cook: :)
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)