*I really didn't like the first version of this chapter, so I've got a revised version up here. The old version is at the end :D*
The whole crowd was staring at him, eager to see his reaction. He mouthed silently for a second, unable to form a coherent thought.
"Well, it looks like my work here is done" smirked Ember, shooting away before he could catch her. But he had bigger problems to deal with.
Tucker and Sam were staring up at him, worry etched into their faces. He shot them a panicked glance as he hovered over the pitch. He had no idea what to do!
"Fenton... is... Phantom?" Dash asked nobody in particular, struggling to grasp the concept. The puny punching bag he had been wailing on since third grade was also his hero? That made no sense at all! And yet...
It should have been obvious. They even had the same name! Phantom used the Fenton adults' equipment all the time, and they both looked alike. It would explain why Fenton always skipped classes, just before a ghost would attack, and how Phantom could disappear for days at a time. How could they have missed it?
Meanwhile, Mr Lancer was staring at the ghost boy with new eyes. He was stunned. After a few seconds, the thought suddenly occurred to him that it was surprising Danny Fenton turned up to classes at all, let alone late. As for homework, he had naturally assumed that the boy was too busy playing the latest video game, rather than protecting the town. He regretted being so hard on him. Then, the scientific part of his brain kicked in, and he began to wonder how it was physically possible for a ghost to be human.
Someone else was wondering the exact same thing. She was dressed in a hi-tech crimson suit, having changed into it immediately after Phantom's appearance. She had been about to join the fray when Paulina's words had frozen her in her tracks. Sweet, innocent Danny Fenton? It wasn't possible for her ex boyfriend to be the same person as the arrogant, evil Danny Phantom! There was no way! Unless...
She scowled as she realised the only rational explanation. Phantom was controlling one of her only friends. She didn't know how he was doing it, but she did know she had to stop him. No matter what.
"What did you do to Danny?" she demanded, shooting towards him on her jet glider.
"What?" he spluttered, dodging her board. "I didn't do anything! I... uh... I don't know who you're talking about!"
"Liar!" she snarled, pivoting gracefully in the air to face him once more.
"Really!" he cried, holding up his hands in surrender.
"Yeah right, ghost kid!" she spat, lifting a gun and levelling it at his head. He flinched. "Now" she said calmly "tell me what you did to Danny or I pull the trigger!"
"I didn't do anything!" he insisted.
"Wrong answer" she hissed, and fired.
He screwed up his eyes, but the shot never hit him. He opened them again to see that he was encased in a glowing green shield, like a bubble. His face lit up with excitement.
"Wow! I didn't know I could do that!" he exclaimed gleefully.
As she watched his reaction to the new power, the hand holding the gun began to waver. He was just so much like her Danny, in that moment. Her lovable, good-natured Danny Fenton. She almost believed him. Almost. Her eyes narrowed and she steadied the gun with her other hand, waiting. He would have to let that shield down sooner or later...
Her focus was interrupted by a blast hitting one side of her board. She wobbled, but kept her balance, staring around for the culprit.
Sam Manson was standing on her seat, wrist ray held high. She looked utterly livid. Valerie met her gaze, and was shocked at the hostility in the goth's eyes. If looks could kill, she would have been incinerated right there. Tucker, too, was on his feet, and though he looked angry, it was nothing compared to Sam. Despite all her superior fighting skills and weaponry, the Red Huntress was suddenly very glad she was out of the other girl's reach.
"Sam!" cried Danny, but she was too busy glaring daggers at Valerie to reply.
"Got them under your control, have you Phantom?" sneered the Huntress. She wasn't entirely sure where all of this venom was coming from, but she embraced it. The Ghost Boy had ruined her life, he deserved her hatred. He had no right to act like her Danny. He was a ghost. He should have been attacking, or making snide remarks that made her blood boil. He shouldn't have been staring at her sadly. It made it so much harder to destroy him! So she got angry, provoked him, did whatever she could to force him to be the enemy again.
"I'm not controlling anybody" he said through gritted teeth. She scowled and shot at him again. It bounced harmlessly off of his shield.
"Fight back!" she snarled, shooting again. And again.
"I won't fight you" he said softly.
"I will!" growled Sam from below. Valerie ignored her.
"You ruined my life!" She screamed at him. And then he said the last thing she wanted to hear.
"I'm sorry."
"No!" she snapped. "You're a ghost! You're never sorry!"
"I am" he said sincerely. "I'm sorry every time I have to walk out of a class with some lame excuse. I'm sorry whenever I accidentally damage stuff. I'm sorry I can't save everyone. I'm sorry that I have to keep pretending to be somebody I'm not." He sighed, then his eyes flashed and he straightened up. "But I'm not sorry that this happened to me. It's made my life ten times more difficult, but it's let me help so many people. And whether I'm being attacked by fans or whether I'm public enemy number one, that is one thing I will never regret." He looked her straight in the eye as his shield faded out of existence. She was staring at him. He could tell she had not forgiven him, she perhaps never would, but she was closer to understanding, now. She lowered her weapon slowly, before spinning away and speeding away from the pitch.
"One down" he muttered to himself, looking around at the crowd. "one hundred and ninety seven to go."
He let himself drift over to the pitch, landing softly on the grass. A second later, Sam and Tucker appeared, flanking him. He glanced at Sam. She still looked angry, but she seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
"Fenton?" stuttered Dash.
He smiled wryly.
"In the flesh, so to speak."
"You're... dead?" he asked hesitantly.
"No, I don't think so. I mean, I hope not, 'cause that would suck." he said with a grin, trying to break the tension. Dash just stared.
Slowly, he closed his eyes, and let the bright white rings wash over him. There was a gasp as the few sceptics left in the crowd were forced to see the truth. As the bright light of the rings obscured him, Danny Phantom transformed into Danny Fenton. "The truth is, I'm a halfa. Half human, half ghost."
He looked around anxiously at the expressions of his peers. They ranged between fear (Kwan), excitement (Paulina), and downright confusion (Dash).
"But... how?" asked the top quarterback uneasily.
"Very good question, very long story. The short version is that it was a lab accident. A very painful lab accident." He and his friends all flinched at the memory. "I guess you could say I'm half dead" he shrugged.
There was a pause. Then;
"Well that explains a lot."
Danny scanned the crowd for the owner of the voice. Mr Lancer. He gave a sheepish grin, and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
"Yeah..." he muttered.
"So do you wanna date me now?" asked an unmistakable voice. Sam's eyes narrowed again. Paulina was gazing at Danny with a winning smile on her face. He looked at her impassively.
"Look, thanks for the offer, Paulina, but..." he trailed off, his meaning obvious.
"But... I'm adorable!" she protested. There was an embarrassed silence for a second.
"Oh!" gasped Kwan unexpectedly. "I get it! Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom! That's funny!" All of the eyes in the stadium turned to look at him disbelievingly. He flushed. "What?"
The awe of the moment was quickly wearing off, leaving awkwardness in its wake.
"Well" said the halfa uncomfortably. "I guess I'd better go tell my Mom and Dad... before they find out somewhere else..."
"Good idea" said Tucker quickly. "Let's go"
Sam nodded her assent, and together they left the stadium. It was made even more awkward by the fact that they had to walk, rather than fly, as Danny couldn't carry two people at once.
As soon as they had exited, they heard the crowd erupt into conversation. Danny leaned back against the outer wall.
"That was... surreal" he muttered.
"Dude, that was painful" Tucker retorted.
"No, painful will be going to tell my ghost-obsessed, Phantom hating parents that I'm half ghost."
He dropped his head into his hands. He looked up again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Sam.
"We've got your back" she told him with a small smile.
"I noticed" he grinned wryly. They stared at each other for a moment.
Tucker coughed loudly, and they both spun around. Danny cleared his throat.
"Uh, right. Gotta go get disowned." He said.
His friends smiled sympathetically, and together they set off towards Fenton Works.
*Yeah... I'm actually really enjoying doing this so... it's going to be a threeshot! Hooray! The next chapter will be Danny telling his parents, reluctantly, and the chapter after that will be the original version of this one. And if that didn't confuse you, you deserve a cookie.*
*DISCLAIMER: I have no cookies. Sorry.*