I do not own Danny Phantom.
The Presentation and Arousing Suspicion
"Presentation day," muttered Sam, closing her locker and joining her friends as they walked to their English room. "We ready for this?"
"Sure," said Tucker. "We have our report. We just have to summarize the contents into a presentation. Easy."
"Who's going to go first?" asked Danny.
"Sam," nominated Tucker.
The Goth rolled her eyes. "I'll do the introduction. How about that? Then Danny can do, since Clockwork is the first ghost we wrote about in the report."
"Sounds fair," agreed Danny.
They entered their classroom and took their seats. Once the bell rang, Lancer wasted no time in getting them to start their presentations. They were the last to go, but that was fine with them. They were amused by the many presentations on Phantom, and Danny was a bit unsettled by how close to accurate the information they collected was. But it was nothing that but his secret in jeopardy, so he wasn't worried.
"...and that's why Phantom is the greatest ghost in history!"
The class clapped as Dash and his group finished their presentation, leaving the trio to go next.
Danny was spooked. "I still don't understand how they got my right boot! I've been looking for that thing for months!" He glared at Dash's back as the jock passed by to get to his seat. "I am so filling his locker with dead fish. After I get my boot back. How'd he get my boot?"
Sam groaned in exasperation. "Remember when you were chasing Kitty and your foot got caught in a puddle of slime? Well, you got out, but your boot didn't. You asked me to get it after the chase was over but when I got there it was gone. By the time I met you and Tucker you were already in human form with two sneakers and you didn't mention your boot. So I forgot about it too until now."
Danny pursed his lips. "I need to keep track of my clothing. I can't have people picking them up off of the street like that. It's creepy."
"Fenton, are you and your friends ready or should I not even bother?" Lancer asked. He was used to the trio never having anything done on time, so he was surprised when the three shuffled to the front of the class, report in hand and plastic bag being dragged behind them.
"Most of you know Phantom as the number one ghost," she glared down the cheers that sounded at the name of Amity's most popular ghost, "but there are many other ghosts besides Phantom in existence."
Tucker began his part of the presentation. "We each chose three ghosts. I chose Clockwork, the Ghost of Time. He lives in a cathedral filled with clocks, located in the deep depths of the Ghost Zone. Clockwork's appearance phases between old age, young adult age and young age. He carries a time staff that allows him to control time itself. He is unpredictable and mysterious, but he is one of Phantom's greatest allies.
"Clockwork helped destroy Phantom's greatest enemy, although Phantom didn't know it at the time. Although he sounds powerful, he has to follow orders from a group of ghosts called the Observants."
Tucker reached into the bag and pulled out the leather-bound book, with Time Journal written out on the cover in gold script. "Be careful. This thing is irreplaceable," he warned before handing it to Valerie, who seemed completely absorbed by what they were saying.
Danny took over. "My ghost is Youngblood. He's a bit of a brat, but he's mostly harmless. Only kids can see him. His companion is a talking skeletal ghost parrot named Bones. Youngblood likes to pretend to be a pirate, like any young boy, so he often plays on his ghost ship."
Valerie raised her hand. "Is that the ghost who mind-controlled our parents?"
Lancer noted that Danny paled slightly at the question. "Yes, I believe he was."
"That hardly sounds harmless."
"Uh…well, he had help with that one. But he normally doesn't cause too much trouble…he is the ghost we see the least roaming around Amity Park."
Sam cleared her throat and Danny quickly took the cue and removed a glowing green sword from the plastic bag. "Do not swing this around. It will chop off someone's head and make a mess that I don't feel like cleaning up."
Each student nervously fingered the glowing object, transfixed.
Sam gleefully removed Ember's guitar. "My ghost is Ember McClain."
Lancer and the class gasped. "You mean-that young lady was a ghost?"
Sam smiled. "Yep. She mind-controlled the youths of Amity Park with this baby right here. She gains power when you chant her name, so don't chant her name. This thing is her weapon. She can hypnotise you, or blast you to smithereens. Ember's got a boyfriend and his name is Skulker."
Lancer's mind was still reeling with the fact one of his students' idol was a ghost who had hypnotized them. But he still caught the slight gag the Goth gave when she mentioned Ember's boyfriend, as if she knew there was a reason that warranted her disgusted reaction.
Danny snickered and Tucker grinned. "We'd like to give an honourable mention to Frostbite, the leader of ghosts in the Far Frozen and Dora, the princess of her own kingdom in the Ghost Zone. I guess there's also Plasmius, who is also known as the Fruitloop."
There was a brief silence then thunderous applause. Lancer frowned as the threesome made their way to their seats, collecting the showpieces with great care.
He had dozens of questions he wanted to ask them. How did they get such information? Where'd they get the evidence? Were they as close to the Phantom as Foley had indicated a week ago?
Lancer did not get his answers, as the bell clanged, signalling the end of the day. The students rushed out and Lancer followed, locking his classroom door behind him. He turned and watched as the trio walked down the hall, speaking animatedly with each other.
He would get his answers tomorrow, whether the trio wanted to give them or not.