Edit: 5/21/18: Next wave of grammar fixes and wording tweaks or some scenes altered to avoid cliches. Took out AN question and answer sections.
And here we go.
Sorry for the cliffy last chapter.
zzz- normal separation
ooo- dream or vision separation
Mental thoughts or distant speaking
"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes." ~ Walter M. Schirra, Sr.
zzz
Unfortunately for Vlad, Danny's luck seemed to like him only when it mattered the absolute most, other times it was often absent entirely.
Sam had a smile on her face as she walked down the road. She had decided on quite a whim to have dinner at Danny's. Though that wasn't in a of itself a bizarre thing, it was somewhat new to go with just him and his parents there and no one else. It was a relaxing way to 'meet the parents' even if Mr. and Mrs. Fenton practically knew her and Tucker like their long-lost children. Her parents had even consented with minimal fuss. Little did she know, it would be the best coincidence ever.
She got to Fenton Works after her walk, only to see that the front door was open and crashing and rough movement was coming from the inside. She ran up the stairs to the door to looked inside and saw Maddie and Jack were looking all over the place for something.
"Are you sure it's in the couch cushions, Jack!?"
"I remember having it on my lap when I was eating cheese puffs!"
"I really need you to try and remember better darling!"
"I know-I know, Danny-boy needs us! Wait. Fudge."
"Fudge? Jack Fenton! We can't think of something so silly at a time like this!"
"No, I mean the hidden Fudge compartment in the freezer! That's where the Fenton Ghost locato-maxium-portable device prototype is!" He charged, as Jack Fenton does, into the kitchen.
"We have a hidden fudge compartment there?"
Sam finally moved forward and spoke, "Mrs. Fenton? What's going on?"
Maddie looked over at Sam and frowned deeply. "That despicable Wisconsin Ghost! We saw him carry off Danny!"
Sam tried to not to gasp but instead an angry scowl came to her face.
"It was the strangest thing though. The Wisconsin ghost kept manipulating his and Danny's appearances. One moment it was like Vlad Masters was holding the Ghost Boy and then suddenly the Wisconsin Ghost was holding Danny! I've never seen form manipulation that used white black or any colored rings of light before."
Sam paled a bit and gulped. "Really?"
"Hopefully Jack can find the F.G.L.M.P device quickly. It's much more effective than the Boo-merang and will help us find the Wisconsin Ghost since we have a tiny sample of his ectoplasmic electrical signature from when Jack beat him with the Ghost Gauntlets. I have to fix a few bugs, first though. I just hope Danny can hold on until a few hours from now."
"Found it!" Jack's voice boomed from the kitchen.
"That's great dear!"
Sam darted off once Maddie wasn't looking and ran down the street as fast as possible. She had to find Tucker and Valerie. They had to find Danny before Vlad did who knows what.
What was that Fruit-loop thinking? Letting Danny's parents see them both transform? Did he even know or care? She pushed herself even harder than before.
She had always worried about Danny from the start, but now that they were something a little more than friends, an even deeper sense of dread filled her gut. She just hoped she and the others could get there in time; Tucker's house now loomed in the distance.
zzz
Danny slowly opened his eyes and was slightly confused when he saw nothing but darkness. He could hear nothing and see nothing wherever he was. He tried to use his ghost powers to maximize his nocturnal vision abilities, but he couldn't even make his eyes glow.
He started to remember bits and pieces of what had happened, most importantly that Vlad was the reason he was wherever he was. After a few more minutes, he was beginning to become unnerved by the darkness and silence. Finally, the lights came on, too quickly, ironically. They blinded him for a moment and he turned his head and squinted against the light.
"Ah good, you're awake."
Danny growled and glared at Vlad as he approached. His eyes finally adjusted to the light. Vlad frowned and then spoke again.
"I've come to a conclusion, Daniel. I can't clone you. Because as they say, you can't copy perfection and if I want a perfect son, I can't copy you. See the logic there?"
"Your idea of logic and my idea of logic are two different things, Fruit-loop."
-SLAP!-
Danny faltered for a moment. Vlad had punched him, kicked him, burned him, electrocuted him, and more, but this was the first time he could remember Vlad slapping him. For some strange reason, it hurt worse.
"You will not speak to your future father that way, Daniel."
Danny turned his head back forward to face Vlad. With a dangerous glare, Danny spoke, "You- are not- my father."
"After some time here, I think you'll change your mind." A cruel smile came to Vlad's face as he pulled out some strange device. It looked a lot like the Plasmius Maximus but had red barbs instead of green. He plunged the device into Danny's gut and pushed the button. Red pulses of energy flooded Danny's system and he started to scream in pain. He felt his temperature rising, forcing him into his hot core and then beyond. He didn't even get the chance to react before somehow, he was forced into his ghost form as well. Though he was now in his ghost form, he felt strangely powerless; maybe it had something to do with the odd green glowing shackles that were holding him in place. Vlad finally pulled the device away and Danny gave one last cry of pain as he stopped. Danny was panting and beginning to sweat when Vlad spoke.
"You see, this device forces a hybrid to switch into their ghost form. It's pretty much the opposite of the Plasmius Maximus. The unfortunate kink I've been unable to fix is that it messes with their powers. In your case it seems to be over exciting your hot core. I wonder if… you refuse to obey me, if irony will play a cruel trick and cause you to meet your demise the way your vile clone should've, hm?" He turned with a flick of his cape and walked out.
"I'll be back, Daniel. I'll come back with the other things I require and hopefully you won't need any more persuasion. It does hurt me to hurt you, after all." The metal door slammed closed again and Danny was alone once more. He could feel the sweat rolling down his body and making his HAZMAT suit feel even more stuck to his body than normal. If he could move his arms he would've been tempted to pull at the collar of his suit; the heat was almost unbearable, suffocating. He could only wonder how he'd get out of this one.
zzz
"Vlad's got Danny!?" Valerie shouted.
"This isn't new, Val. Vlad has done this several times. We'll zoom in save Danny's butt and zoom out. Piece of cake!" Tucker explained.
Sam shook her head. "It's different this time, Tuck. Danny's parents saw him get taken this time and not only that but they saw the Ghost Boy turn into Danny and Vlad Masters turn into Plasmius."
"Wait…" Valerie paused.
"They weren't quite sure what they saw though… Point is, we need to save Danny before they do figure anything out."
"Snap. Missing school tomorrow?" Tucker asked.
"Probably." Sam sighed.
"Well I'm going to get grounded," Tucker grumbled. "Danny owes me big time."
"Tucker," Sam hissed.
"Alright alright! Can't you take a joke?" Tucker laughed nervously.
The three friends left the meeting place between Tucker's and Valerie's houses they'd found, after Sam had called them, and ran towards Fenton Works. They'd need equipment and somehow, they'd have to get it without being seen. They did the most logical thing and went up into Danny's room, tip-toeing by the lab stairs. Once in their friend's room, they were able to find most of what they needed. Along with Valerie's suit, it would have to do. Sam took notice of Danny's backpack up against his bed and the discarded clothes about. He must've been completely taken off guard or even thought it was just the Box Ghost.
"Let's go. I've been waiting for the chance to get back at Vlad," Valerie growled.
Sam nodded and Tucker followed loyally as they exited the Fenton home.
"The real question is which mansion of Vlad's would he have taken Danny to?" Sam asked.
Tucker pulled out his PDA and started searching for something. "I think he'd almost have to use the one just outside of town. He has a meeting or two as mayor in the next two days." Tucker turned his PDA around to show Sam and Valerie the schedule that was on his screen.
"Then let's go. Get on." Valerie transformed into her suit and Sam and Tucker sat on the back together. All three then zoomed off.
zzz
He really could use a drink of water about now. He let out another shuttering breath. For all he knew, not a single person knew where he was. A tiny part of him feared that this time he wouldn't get away, but he kept trying to tell himself not to give up. He had to wonder though how much of this he could take.
"Wondering how much of this you can take, Daniel?"
He wanted to but he wouldn't dare groan out loud. He glanced up as Vlad Plasmius walked down into the lab. He shrugged and walked over to a keyboard nearby.
"Well this is it." Vlad spoke and slipped a few computer chips into the control panel that was beside the vertical slab Danny was strapped to. "This machine will contain your free-will into a more manageable form. You see I found this mineral, which is helping to power the machine. It's called the stones of Akili. You know the rumor about how salt is supposed to help keep ghosts away? Well turns out that's a myth, but there's always a kernel of truth in myths as people say. Witch-doctors used to use this mineral and throw it on ghosts as a powder, bringing them under their control. However, to control the ghost you have to know just how much to use. Too much and the ghost would be weakened greatly, too little and they fled. Good thing I figured out the formula behind this process. At least… I do know how much is too much… I just need to figure out how much is just enough and you're going to help me with that Daniel."
Immediately after Vlad finished talking, he pulled a lever and orange electricity covered Danny's body. At first it felt like Danny was going to go to sleep from the energy going through him. With a jerk of realization however, Danny realized that's just what the mineral was trying to do; it was lowering his inhibitions. When he tried to fight the mineral's effects though, pain flooded his veins. The young man screamed at the top of his lungs. Vlad looked over at a monitor and could see something of a graph. There was a horizontal line at the top which indicated the limit Vlad couldn't pass; there was a line below as well increasing like a graph line towards the top but dipping a lot too. As he'd guessed, Daniel was fighting it. Vlad was grinning, as after several minutes of Daniel's shouts of pain and wails of torment, the graph started to slowly climb at a more stable rate. The heat of the young hybrid's core and the machine with the stones of Akili were simply too much for Daniel.
*Ding* "Sweet-ums… intruders are approaching."
Vlad roared in anger and looked down at his watch. A tiny Maddie hologram appeared and informed him further. He hissed and turned the machine off. This process was one he couldn't just leave and come back to; Vlad had to be present and not keep his eyes off the machine's data and Daniel's progress. He'd have to deal with the intruders and then come back.
Danny's body fell limply against the shackles on his wrists and ankles and he let out a gasp of air which threatened to turn into a whine.
"Screaming for anyone is futile, Daniel. So, save your breath."
Vlad disappeared upstairs and shut the thick iron door behind him. Danny wasn't one to ever listen to Vlad so he screamed, desperately hoping someone safe would hear.
zzz
They touched down softly, a distance from the mansion and surveyed the area.
"Vlad probably knows we're here." Sam mused and looked around.
"Then do we just go?" Tucker asked.
"I don't think we have much choice," Sam nodded.
Valerie grinned in spite of herself, "Let's go."
The three friends ran towards the mansion and went inside. Valerie didn't pick anything up on her ghost detector, but she had been told by Sam and Tucker that hybrids often didn't activate those types of devices if they were in human form and using little bits of power, like enough for invisibility. It was dead quiet in the mansion. No one was there.
"Where is anyone?" Tucker whispered.
"Maybe… they aren't here?" Valerie asked.
"But logistically speaking that doesn't make sense," Tucker spoke.
Sam crossed her arms and looked around. She glanced at Tucker and Valerie and they nodded.
"DANNY! DANNNNY! ARE YOU THERE!?"
All three of them split up, either they'd flush Vlad out or Danny would be able to call out to them… so they thought.
zzz
He could see his friends and hear them on the monitor that Vlad had turned on after leaving. He screamed louder and louder hoping they hear, but they never seemed to make a movement or paused as if anything had changed. Vlad appeared in front of him smiling. "I told you to save your breath."
He walked over and turned on the machine. Danny started shrieking as soon as he started to refuse the influence of the stones once more. The orange electricity sparked and flickered across his form as Vlad watched the line on the graph move and bounce higher and higher. "They can't hear you…" Vlad spoke in a sing-song voice. "They'll give up… soon enough."
Danny's cries of torment echoed in the metal lab and were halted by its thick walls and door.
zzz
"They just aren't here. I even checked the way to the lab. It's not there anymore. He must've… I don't know, moved it? I didn't hear anything either, not a peep." Valerie shrugged and transformed out of her suit.
Tucker scratched his head. "It just doesn't make sense though… It's not… Vlad-esque? To be late for a meeting or something. He needs to keep up his mask as much as Danny does."
Sam shook her head and looked around worriedly one last time. Valerie placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll find him, Sam."
"I know."
The three friends then started their walk out of the mansion. They were out of the front door and going down the dirt road when Sam froze and stood stock still.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Valerie and Tucker asked at the same time.
Sam looked at them closely but then they saw her flinch again. She glanced back up at the mansion and growled. "Come on! Danny's in there! I don't know how I know, but I know!"
The three friends turned to dart back towards the mansion, when they heard some other voices.
"Kids, what are you doing here!?"
zzz
Vlad was laughing like crazy as Danny's friends walked out of the mansion front doors. Danny could only writhe in pain from the machine and continue to scream. His eyes, blurry from heat and agony, focused on Sam's ebony hair and shirt out of the three forms. He screamed again but for some reason nothing came out of his sore throat that time. At least, nothing verbal.
Guys! Please! No! Don't GO! SAM!
Vlad frowned when he saw the Goth girl pause. Danny was a bit confused, but both hybrids were wondering a similar thing.
Did she hear that?
Did she hear something?
Danny suddenly was overjoyed when they all three turned and came back towards the mansion. He didn't see his parents join the three or anything else after that, since he simply slipped into unconsciousness.
Vlad cursed. "Snicker-doodles!" Daniel had just slipped unconscious but Vlad had had to turn off the machine almost immediately. So very close to seeing if his plan had worked and yet he had to go see to his intruders now. Maddie and Jack had appeared and the goth girl friend of Daniels' seemed to have figured out, somehow, that Daniel was indeed here.
Vlad glanced down at the graph and saw just how close to the limit he'd had to go to even try and get Daniel under his control. The line was a few inches from going over the horizontal line on the graph. Perhaps the stones of Aliki weren't the right route after all. The risk of weakening Daniel too much was a bit too great. If he ever actually destroyed Daniel…
Vlad grumbled and shook his head. Before slipping through the ceiling with intangibility as Masters. He had to go great his guests.
zzz
"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, uh… what are you doing here?" Tucker asked. Sam and Valerie both face palmed.
"Oddly enough, that spook seems to be hiding in Vlad's home. Maybe that's why it prefers to use his appearance," Maddie spoke.
"That ghastly ghoul! Taking on Vladdie's appearance like that!" Jack growled.
Sam and the others looked at each other before nodding. They needed to give the Fentons some kind of warning about Vlad even if it was as simple as saying that Plasmius could at any time look like Masters.
"Look it's not quite that simple, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Sam began.
"What's not so simple Mrs. Manson?"
Everyone turned around and saw Vlad Masters standing at the door.
Tucker grumbled under his breath to were only Sam and Valerie could hear. "Told you."
Jack jumped forward, "Vladdie, or is that really you, Vladdie!?" Jack started happily and then his face turned into a scowl.
Vlad seemed to be surprised at first but then frowned. "Jack, stop being so ridiculous." He looked over at Maddie. "Surely you can see it's me, Maddie?" Vlad was suddenly by her and holding her hands.
Maddie pulled her hands from his and grumbled. "It would explain some things."
Vlad rose a brow.
Sam kept feeling something tick at the back of her mind. She turned and looked at the doors before she looked at her friends. They nodded in understanding and were prepared to stay while she got a head start. She slipped through the front doors quietly and got inside the house.
"He has to be in the lab, wherever the lab is now."
She ran for the place Valerie had talked about and looked around for any sign that the other ghost hunter may have missed. She finally found a football behind a stack of books and pulled it. The door went up. "Even when you're trying to be sneaky you can't be." She then ran into the lab and skidded to a halt.
There he was.
He was hanging limply against the restraints on him and taking deep trembling breaths. Even though he was in his ghost form, for some reason he seemed unable to heal the few burns that were leaking from the tears on his suit. She spied the glowing green shackles and imagined those were keeping him from healing or using his powers more. She ran forward and started looking for a way to release him.
"Sa- Sam?"
His voice was broken and shaky; Sam realized he must've been screaming. She could also feel an aura of warmth around him and knew his hot core was somehow active; he had to be burning up.
"Don't worry, Danny. I'm getting you out of here."
"My… hot… core…"
"Don't worry, I've got you."
They both suddenly heard other voices.
"It's the Ghost Boy!"
Tucker and Valerie came running over and Maddie and Jack bounded over as well. Maddie's face adopted a confused look at the sight of the ghost, obviously restrained. She growled and turned to look at Vlad.
"Who are you. How could Vlad Masters not know the Ghost Boy was down here!?" She aimed an ecto gun at him.
"Show yourself! Where's Vlad!?" Jack added.
Vlad glared at Danny and his friends before he transformed into Plasmius.
"It is I, the Wisconsin Ghost… Fear Me." Vlad spoke without much emotion, acting poorly on purpose. He was obviously irritated but had no other better out at the moment. "I do not stand a chance against such capable…" He paused when he saw Jack trying to untangle the Fenton Ghost Fisher. Vlad ground his teeth and continued. "-Such capable hunters. I'll shall now flee this Place known as Amity!" Vlad then shot through the roof of the mansion. He was no doubt going to claim, like he had with Valerie, that Vlad Masters had been locked up at City Hall or something and Plasmius had simply taken on his appearance.
Once he was gone, everyone's attention turned to Danny or well, Phantom. Sam finally found the way to release her boyfriend and he almost crashed onto the floor. Sam was able to grab him in a hug to prevent him from falling all the way. The one thing however they weren't expecting was for Danny Phantom to suddenly transform in Danny Fenton.
There was silence.
Oh no… He must have been beyond exhausted. What did Vlad do to him? Sam took one glance at the machine next to where he'd been hanging. A scowl crossed her face and she growled mentally. Vlad… He was the least of their worries right now though.
"Sam, drop the ghost and step away slowly dear. We'll find out where Danny is, why he's taking on his form and then study him."
"Aw but Mads, what about molecule by molecule?"
Sam didn't listen of course and held Danny close to her; she felt him stir and could see some of his burns start to heal. He was still kind of out of it when he leaned forward and rested his head in the crook of Sam's shoulder and neck.
"Thanks, Sam…"
"Don't talk to her like that, spook!"
Sam felt Danny tense immediately. Even in the state he was in, he knew his parents' voices. He was putting things together some. She knew he was going to panic. If his parents didn't believe him or didn't love him anymore… Sam, Tucker, Valerie, may go to jail or something for helping a specter, but Danny? He'd be a lab rat and he knew that. She could feel his heart rate increase and a few tremors of nerves run through him. Sam placed her hands softly on his back to try and calm him the best she could. He dared to glance up and into the angry and judgmental eyes of his parents.
Why?
He flinched hard at the memory with Hakan and learning to control his rage.
The two greatest ghost hunters in the world and you can't even figure out that your own son is half-ghost!
Dark Phantom's deep, rage fueled voice echoed through his mind. He swallowed and made a decision that he'd needed to for almost three years now. He stood up slowly and backed away from Sam a bit.
"Mom? Dad?" He asked cautiously.
Everyone saw them falter. I mean, if he had been a manipulative ghost it was a good trick.
"Stop playing with our emotions, Ghost Boy!" Jack growled.
"Where's our son? Where's our boy!?" Maddie returned.
They started to march towards him with their weapons glowing and whirring with unleashed energy. Danny instinctually backed up with each step they took.
Danny gulped. "It's me. Danny Fenton, is Danny Phantom. It's just a name, Mom. It's like Spider-man or Batman… just a disguise."
"That's impossible. That would mean Danny's dead. Our son, isn't dead!" Maddie shouted.
Danny flinched. "Half dead, technically speaking."
They kept approaching and Danny kept moving back, until his back hit the cold wall of the lab. He could see his friends tense up worriedly from where they were standing and act as though they were going to try and stop his parents. Danny looked right into the goggles of his mother's jumpsuit that covered her eyes and then into his father's blue eyes that looked hard at him. Their guns were pointed at his chest and his heartbeat was in his ears, so Danny closed his eyes and waited.
This is it. They don't understand. They're going to waste me. My own parents are going to waste me…
Not a ghost, not a boy. Who could love a thing like you?
At the same time, the Fentons were thinking their own thoughts.
Maddie was conflicted. She couldn't remember a time when she didn't want to shoot at a ghost. Her hesitancy had to be from how the ghost was trying to look like her son. The idea of not listening to your eyes and pulling the trigger, even on something that only looked like someone you loved was not easy. But it was something else too, something more. Mothers always seemed to know when something bad has happened to their child and while Maddie didn't usually believe in things that hadn't been scientifically proven, she couldn't deny what she was feeling right now. Her son, wherever he was, was hurt and scared. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. Maddie reminded herself that this ghost might know where her son was and that's what she fueled herself with as she prepared to fire at the blob of post-human subconsciousness. One final memory echoed through her mind though. If he could mature, then did that mean he could feel emotions too? Could she harm something that could maybe feel to find out where her son was?
Jack Fenton was clumsy and sometimes a bit of a wishful thinker, but it was that wishful thinking that allowed him to think outside the box and be an inventor in the first place. He'd come up with all kinds of things; his beautiful wife would look over what he constructed and together they'd edit his work until it was complete. Not to say Maddie didn't invent her own things. Jack was having similar thoughts to Maddie's regarding having to pull the trigger on something that even resembled his son. It was… unsettling. He had to find his son though; Jack Fenton wasn't perfect, but he'd lock himself in the Fenton Stockades forever if he didn't protect his family and friends.
Maddie and Jack were about to pull the triggers on their guns…
When Sam pushed in between them and shielded as much of Danny's body as she could with her own.
"Don't shoot!" She exclaimed and gripped Danny tightly. Danny's eyes snapped open and he gasped lightly, not expecting something to touch him before he was blasted.
"Sweetie, you need to get out of the way. We need to find Danny!" Maddie exclaimed.
Sam remained as she was, wrapped around Danny like she was protecting a large Oak from being torn down by bulldozers.
"He already told you! Phantom is Fenton! It's always only been Danny!"
Jack frowned, seemingly more open to the idea of something so bizarre, but Maddie was still in denial.
"Sam, honey… The Ghost Boy must have some sort of hold on you."
Sam gritted her teeth, trying to think of something to say to convince them that they were about to shoot their own son, when…
"Just move away, Sam… I don't want you to get hurt in the cross-fire," Danny whispered.
Sam shivered a bit against her will since he'd practically whispered in her ear, but she could also feel him trembling slightly.
"No, your stupid big heart won't win this argument," She practically snapped back in a whisper and then a light dawned in her eyes. "Your heart…" She glanced up into Danny's dulled blue eyes and then slowly turned to face the Fentons. "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton… Will you do one thing? I want you to understand that this is Danny and I can prove it."
Jack perked up and glanced at his wife. After a few minutes, Maddie nodded. Jack frowned and slowly put down his weapon. He gave Maddie another look and she stayed where she was, weapon ready. Sam moved out of the way slightly but was still at Danny's side. Jack walked over slowly and watched Sam tense as if ready to attack him if he should hurt the Danny look-a-like. He kneeled slightly and looked Danny in the eyes.
"Danny-boy, is that really you?" Jack asked.
Danny nodded slowly. Sam reached out and carefully grabbed his Jack's hand. Jack flinched once as she started to pull his large hand towards Danny but remained still as his hand came to Danny's chest.
-Thump- thump- Thump-thump- Thump-thump-
Jack could feel it. Something that no ghost could fake, a human heart. He glanced at Sam who glanced at Danny and nodded. Jack gasped when the white lights of the rings went over Danny and turned him into Phantom. The light felt warm when it passed over his hand and then he realized… it was still there.
-Thump- thump- Thump-thump- Thump-thump-
"My heart rate and body temperature are lower than most people, but I'm still okay… just different," Danny spoke up nervously.
"Jack?" Maddie asked from a distance. Jack looked up at Sam, Tucker, and Valerie to see them nodding, confirming that this was really Danny.
Jack looked over at Maddie as he felt a few tears start to already form. "Mads… It's him. Danno's really Phantom."
Maddie faltered slightly and just stared at Jack. Finally, after a moment of staring at Jack's unfaltering gaze, she dropped her weapon and walked swiftly to where they were. Jack smiled and placed his wife's hand on their son's chest to hear that same heartbeat.
"Sweetie?" Maddie asked as tears started to form and fall from her own eyes. Before he could reply, she lunged at him and grabbed him into a hug. "Oh baby, why didn't you tell us? How'd this happen? I don't understand. Don't worry we'll fix things." She was surprised when Danny suddenly jerked back from her hug.
"I'll answer all your questions, but do not DO NOT try a fix me. I don't need fixing. Besides… trying to fix me… it doesn't turn out well. Trust me."
His parents looked at each other and Danny was surprised when they smiled calmly. "Honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything like that…" Danny frowned in worry when his mother started to cry harder. "Oh, my baby, we… we…"
Danny was shocked to even see a bit of a misty look in his father's eyes, before the man pulled him close into a hug. Maddie scooted over and the three Fentons shared a long hug while the others waited patiently. Eventually Danny's parents had calmed down enough and Maddie spoke.
"Danny is that why you got as white as a ghos- oops."
"Don't worry Mrs. F, those sorts of puns are hard to avoid," Tucker grinned, joining in the conversation.
"Oh, shut it, Tuck," Danny barked but gave a smirk too.
"He's wanted…. dead or alive! Waaaanted, dead or aliiiiiiveeee!" Tucker wailed out, trying to release his previous tension, and everyone clasped their hands over their ears. Valerie smacked him in the back of his head for good measure.
"Tucker! What did we agree to after the Ember incident!?" Sam growled.
"No more of Tucker's singing?" Tucker asked in third person.
"Right," Sam replied.
Danny smiled and looked back at his parents. "Let's go home… and I'll tell you everything."
zzz
So, the group of six picked themselves up and headed to Fenton Works. It would take almost all the rest of the day and night to explain everything, so Sam, Tucker, and Valerie decided to spend the night at Danny's place. Sam and Valerie would get Jazz's room since she was gone and Tucker would sleep in Danny's room. Their parents all were okay with that except Sam had to have a shouting match with her mother and father explaining that she wouldn't leave Jazz's room after lights out and Danny wouldn't leave his either after lights out. Danny had been blushing the whole time and Tucker had been messing with him about it until Valerie had pushed hard on Tucker's head and strained the boy's neck. Danny had taken the hidden Cryodisc from his room and put it on himself to help cool down from Vlad's manipulation to his hot core. He explained briefly what it was to his parents and promised to explain fully soon.
After a somewhat awkward, but peaceful meal, everyone sat in the living room for the four teens to tell their fantastical tale. Danny began with well, the beginning of course.
"Mom, Dad? Do you remember when you thought the portal wasn't going to work?"
Both nodded.
"Me, Danny, and Tucker went to check it out. We were being stupid and I egged Danny into going into the portal and looking around." Sam explained.
"Being the klutz I am, I tripped a bit and put my hand on the wall to stabilize myself. I clicked a button of some kind and everything went white."
"We could just hear him screaming…" Sam murmured and looked away. "It was terrible."
"Yeah I thought my best friend was well, gone." Tucker added.
Maddie gasped and a hand came to her mouth. "Oh God… It… It…"
Danny frowned and looked down. "Yeah, it turned on with me in it. I remember feeling a lot of pain, but more specifically I remember… not wanting to die. It's a strange kind of feeling, different from what you'd expect. I felt everything slipping away, my sight, my touch, my smell, my taste, but right before my hearing went… I heard them."
Sam and Tucker perked up, not having heard Danny explain so much detail about his time in the portal, while Valerie listened closely, picking up any new info she'd not been told yet.
"Sam and Tuck's voices. They were screaming my name. I wanted to go to them, stay with them. I couldn't leave them, so I fought. It felt like something ignited in my chest and then I was free. I stumbled out of the portal. Sam tried to grab me but I fell through her. They were both looking at me weird and so I moved over to a mirror and I saw… My hair was white as snow, the hazmat suit's colors were inverted and my eyes were radioactive green. I heard you both storming down into the lab to see who screamed and that was when my rings formed and changed me back into Fenton."
"After that, we were simply trying to get Danny under the radar for a few weeks while we decided what to do. He was walking through things, things were falling through him, his pants were coming off when he was nervous." Tucker finished with an evil grin.
"Gee thanks Tuck."
"No problem, dude."
"So that's why you got banned from Chemistry lab at school!" Maddie exclaimed.
Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… I couldn't hold a test tube without it slipping through my hand. It was like trying harder and harder to hold butter."
Sam smiled and looked at both parents. "Eventually he got better though, and at some point-"
"It was after the Lunch Lady… I knew."
Sam smiled again. "Danny wanted to protect Amity from all the ghosts that were coming through the portal. Me and Tucker started to help."
So, it went on like this for a while, the four friends explained everything, including how Valerie eventually had found out and started helping too as the Red Huntress and how Jazz had found out and helped them before that. The last few things they kept out were Vlad, Dani, and Dan… At the moment Danny was talking about all the ghosts in the ghost zone and how his ghostly abilities had grown.
"Frostbite was a great teacher, especially on such short notice. He's been hinting at wanting to teach me how to make ectoplasm constructs and then incase them in ice. It's supposed to make them stronger. Hakan is a bit… strict but I guess you need that for learning about fire. Clockwork's really kind, you know, being Father Time and all. I can show you all our files. Please do listen to me about which ghosts are good and bad though."
It had taken a bit to convince his parents that some full ghosts were good, but after giving them the info that good ghosts liked the Zone, Clockwork ruled over time, mentioning all the times ghosts had actually helped him and that ghosts all had humanity still inside them, since Clockwork had just taught them that, they started to listen to the idea. The Fenton parents were glowing really, watching their son talk on and on about what his life had been like for so long. Their Danny was back, the Danny that was warm and honest, the Danny that truly loved his parents and trusted them, not that they thought he didn't love them anymore before, but the difference was obvious. They were so proud too.
Danny eventually got around to explain all the misunderstandings like he had with Valerie, Freakshow, Walker and the Mayor, blasting them, and everything else. They asked him over and over to forgive them and he only said that he had a long time ago and their willingness to still love him was more than enough.
After almost everything had been discussed, Vlad finally came up.
"Okay I know you're wondering about Vlad…" Danny started.
"He really is that ghost then, like you?" Maddie asked.
Danny nodded slowly. "His Ecto-Ache in College is what caused it. He blamed dad for it and still does. His hate helped form his obsession, but his obsession is hard to pin down. He wants to kill dad, marry mom, and have me as his perfect half-ghost son. I don't really know what he plans to do with Jazz."
"Vladdie? Why…" Jack spoke out and looked into Danny's sorrowful eyes to find an answer that couldn't be given. Danny felt really bad for his dad. It would kill Danny for Tucker to become like Vlad is to Jack.
"I knew something was fishy about him as of late," Maddie grumbled.
Tucker deadpanned. "An experience?"
"You don't even know." Danny and Maddie spoke at the same time and smiled at each other. Maddie gasped.
"Oh Danny! I put the Spector Deflector on you! I could've hurt you terribly!"
"It's okay mom, really."
Suddenly a darker look came over Maddie's face and she looked at Danny. She placed a hand on Danny cheek and rubbed it. "Vlad… He… He was hurting you down there…"
Jack flinched at the thought when he realized his wife was right. When they'd come down into the lab area, Phantom… or well… Danny, had been looking pretty rough.
Danny glanced away. "Just... you know… Fruit-loopiness. He, like I said wants me as his son, just like he wants you as his wife. He's not subtle with you, but he's gentle, me? He gets mad at me for not obeying good ol' dad."
Jack's frown turned into a scowl after hearing that.
"But I'm fine now… if a little hot. He messed with my hot core. That what this disc is here. Clockwork gave it to me if I should get too hot."
Jack finally spoke up, wanting to change the subject from his college frien- ex-friend's actions, "Can you ever forgive us for hunting you, Danny-boy?" Jack asked and put a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"Like I said, already had." He paused for a moment, considering mentioning Dani and Dan… but decided against it for now. They needed time. They saw him with an open mouth so he switched to something else. "Don't let Vlad know you know about me or him. At least do the best you can. Try to act normal around him at all costs. As soon as he finds out you two know and mom doesn't approve, he'll majorly flip out."
"Man, I can already picture that," Tucker winced. "That won't be pretty."
"He'll probably beat up on me a bunch for it. Blame me for it, even though he kidnapped me in front of them in the first place!" Danny spoke and threw his hands up.
"Not on my watch!" Jack suddenly bellowed and took on an oddly dangerous look. "He might have been my friend, but no ex-friend of mine will hurt anyone in my family!"
"Thanks dad, but you both have to lay low. When his illusion of power and control is threatened he loses touch sometimes."
"You've been listening to Jazz again, haven't you?" Sam asked.
Danny sighed, "Not like I have much choice."
Maddie smiled and brought Danny in for another tight hug. "We're so proud of you, Danny."
Danny let a smile come to his face and he hugged her back. "Thanks Mom."
"Hey Son! How about after school you can show me and your mother your abilities." Jack bounced excitedly on the couch making Tucker and Valerie bounce against their wills.
Danny nodded nervously. "Yeah, sure."
Maddie stood up and took a deep relaxing breath. "Okay then, how about you all go upstairs and get ready for bed? It's been a long day and it's getting late."
"The day might not be over if a ghost pops up," Danny grumbled.
Jack perked up.
Maddie frowned, "Is that why you've been so tired all the time?"
Danny laughed a bit. "Yeah pretty much."
Maddie nodded sadly. "Try your best to get some sleep though, sweetie, and tell us if a ghost comes around."
"You'll probably have to explain yourself at times if you guys are wanting to help me or something."
"You could be my sidekick, Danno!" Jack shouted.
Tucker stood up. "Oh no. No, no, no. I will not be the sidekick of the sidekick!"
Danny turned to Tucker. "Aw Tuck, no one's a sidekick here. Team Phantom, remember?"
Maddie laughed a bit and shooed the kids to their rooms. She turned and looked at Jack after the teens had tromped up the stairs.
"I can't believe it."
"Neither can I." Jack leaned back against the soft cushions and swiped a piece of fudge from the coffee table.
Maddie rubbed her arms. "How could we not have seen this. I mean looking back everything makes sense now. His behavior, his grades, the machines going off around him…"
"The Ghost Gabber!" Jack shouted and face palmed. "Of course!"
Maddie smiled and shook her head before setting against Jack on the couch and leaning into him. "Well it's not every day that you find out your son's a hero and your college friend is a manipulative creep or well an evil manipulative creep."
Jack frowned. "Yeah… I just had no idea Vladdie was so mad. Mads… was his accident my fault? Did I cause all this? Without me making that mini-portal work in college before, Vlad and Danny might have been fine and ghosts wouldn't have been coming through."
Maddie laced her hand into Jack's much larger one. "No dear. If it is your fault then it's mine as much as yours, but we'll get through this together as one big family."
Jack nodded and placed his other hand on top of his wife's hand
zzz
The four friends were now sitting in the hallway together between Danny and Jazz's rooms in their night clothes. Danny was near the middle with Sam on his left and Tucker on his right and Valerie was on the other side of Tucker.
"Well that went pretty well," Valerie spoke up.
"Well considering I'm not strapped to a lab table being torn apart molecule by molecule or dissected… yeah I think it went well." Danny shrugged and gave a relaxed sigh.
Sam nodded calmly. "I knew they would understand. I mean… After the Reality Gauntlet I was sure."
"Reality Gauntlet?" Valerie questioned. Tucker smiled at her as a sign he'd tell her later.
"Though this time was a bit different and they took a bit more convincing." Danny added.
After a moment of quiet, Danny spoke again, asking a question of his own. "Hey Sam? How'd you know to come back to Vlad's?"
Sam, Tucker and Valerie looked up at him.
"Dude, you could see us?" Tucker asked.
Danny frowned angrily. "Oh yeah I could. Vlad was having a grand time of it, since no matter how loud I yelled it wouldn't get through the walls of that lab."
"That creep," Valerie hissed and clenched her fists. She still had a bone or two to pick with the billionaire and learning about his meetings with Danny, past and present, only fueled her more.
"Well I… I heard you?" Sam replied like a question more than an answer.
"Uh what do you mean?" Tucker asked and leaned forward.
"I don't know… I just heard him, like in my mind or something. He was yelling for us."
Danny was looking at her closely before he spoke. "You know… I felt the last words I yelled were different, like they were mental rather than verbal."
Tucker whipped out his PDA and started to look for something relevant no doubt.
"You think you used telepathy on me?" Sam asked.
Danny shrugged.
"The supposed communication of thoughts or ideas by means other than the known senses." Tucker suddenly interrupted. He continued. "In this case, it would be thought transference." He looked up from his device and spoke again, "I would say there's fairly good chance of Danny having used something like that when in trouble. I mean other ghosts use things similar to psychic power, like Technus, etcetera. You know? Maybe you can use it with Sam since you two always seem to know what the other is going to say. I wonder if I'm included with that… I mean I suppose so long as Danny knows the other person enough… and vice versa the connection should work." He crawled across the floor on his hands and knees and ended up in front of Danny. "Here, let's try it now. Speak to me."
Danny gulped slightly and then closed his eyes.
Tucker? You there?
Danny? Is that you?
Sam?
Whoa, dudes… this is weird.
So, we're all welcome? I think we need to help Danny figure out how to be more specific. Sam replied to both Danny and Tucker.
Gu- -ello? -Ou -ere?
I think Valerie's trying to answer, but…
We're still getting used to each other. Tucker replied.
Danny then halted the connection.
"Did you guys hear me?" Valerie asked.
Tucker smiled at her. "A bit, it was a little broken. So, we need to work on connecting with you and having Danny make messages sent to only one person at a time instead of everyone around him that knows him well enough."
"When I was in Vlad's lab. I focused on Sam because she was easiest to see on his cameras… Maybe I just need to focus harder." Danny offered.
"Could be," Sam replied and placed a hand on Danny's.
"This could mean you could even develop this power further, like who knows how else your psychic inclination will progress? Maybe you could even start to control things with you mind or-"
"Tucker, Danny's technically a superhero, but I think you're diving into powers more suited for comic books," Valerie spoke.
"Hey! You don't know what could happen," Tucker argued slightly if only to defend his idea.
Everyone pretty much shrugged at that and grew quiet.
"Well I think I'm going to hit the hay," Valerie spoke up and stood after a moment.
"Yeah sounds good to me, let's go dude," Tucker added.
Danny and Sam nodded and got up as well. The four friends split up and went to their two rooms for the night.
One thought on Danny's mind though as he walked behind Tucker to enter his room, was the idea that he was developing some familiar powers… and it scared him. Who else did he know that could use fire and some form of psychic power?
I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me.
Everything inside him told him to ignore that haunting quote and yet he knew he couldn't quite silence that small doubt.
zzz
A week later. Before School.
Danny and Sam were walking towards Casper High together, hand in hand. Tucker had opted to wait for Valerie since she'd woken up a bit late. So, it was only the young couple early that morning. Sam was wearing the necklace Danny had made for her. Since a week prior, when Danny's parents had learned of his secret, they were learning more and more about their son's world and for a change, Danny was happy to teach them everything he'd learned about ghosts and the Zone. They'd even helped once or twice with a ghost so far and when Jessica, the Ghost Boy's reporter, had asked them about it, they'd explained that they were starting to see that the Ghost Boy was defending the city at the time being but they would be ready should be fall out of line. Jack had winked at his son later when the family had seen that part of the news on TV.
Sam moved closer to Danny after shifting her black coat. It was getting even colder now that November was getting closer to being over. She smiled up at her boyfriend and he gave her a broad smile in return. She could see the relaxation in his eyes now. Even just having his parents know about everything was a giant weight off his shoulders. She glanced at her necklace.
"This is really beautiful, Danny. Have you ever thought about making sculptures, you know with your ecto-ice?"
Danny cocked his head to the side in thought. "I don't know. I suppose. Hey! Maybe it would be a good way to practice making weapons. If I can make detailed forms like a sculpture then I can make weapons, right?"
Sam nodded. "I think that's a great idea."
The two continued their walk to school. The day went on without much incident until Lunch when Technus raided the computer lab.
Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie were sitting in their spot in the cafeteria when everyone eating heard a scream from somewhere in the building. Danny sighed and got up. "I bet it's Technus."
Sure, enough next they heard, "It is I Technus, Master of all-"
Danny chuckled and darted out of the cafeteria. Valerie, Tucker, and Sam got up afterwards and left as well. When they got to the computer lab, a bunch of students were already watching behind doors and corners as Danny fought with Technus. The students grimaced when he was slung into a large desk by the electrical cords Technus had commandeered. Danny got up and smiled.
"Well I've got to say, you're doing a much better with avoiding the long-winded speech. You didn't announce your plan in excruciating detail this time."
Technus paused and his eyebrows shot up. He smiled back excitedly. "Really!?"
Phantom chuckled. "Now if you can just avoid introducing yourself, you'll be golden."
Technus grinned in what many would consider a malicious way. "I am adapting! My mainframe is becoming even more complex!"
Phantom smirked. "You're doing it again…"
Technus sucked in his bottom lip and aimed a hand at Phantom, firing electricity from the computer behind him, towards the teen hero. Phantom threw up a shield that was concave in shape. The electricity was redirected back at the ghost and he yelped as he was electrocuted. Phantom pulled out his thermos and sucked Technus up while the specter was distracted.
The students cheered and Phantom was about to fly off when a voice rose above the others.
"Invisobil! Invisobil!"
Danny sighed and looked over his shoulder to see Paulina pushing through the crowd and even knocking over Mikey in the process. Star held back a bit and was watching with a tiny frown.
Danny floated down close to ground. "What is it, Pauli-" He was halted dead in his tracks when the Hispanic girl leapt up slightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down a bit from his hovering, and slammed her lips onto his. A cacophony of cat calls and wolf whistles rose from the crowd, just as Danny turned invisible and intangible. He reappeared to the left of the girl with a frown on his face.
"Please don't do that."
Everyone paused and Paulina's mouth fell open. "What do you mean?"
"I mean don't do that, please. Did you ever consider that I had someone when I was alive? Whenever I find peace, I want to see her again." Danny had to make it sound like he was Phantom after all, not still living.
Paulina looked confused. "You mean, there's someone else? All this time?"
Danny nodded his head solemnly. "Sorry Paulina, but yes. I have someone else. Someone I've waited a long time for. Sometimes you need to think about other people's feelings before making assumptions. Paulina, you'll never find satisfaction or true happiness this way. Try to make friendships that matter and have meaning."
Her eyes widened slightly at the familiar words, though no connection other than Fenton had been right about what Phantom would feel, registered in her thoughts.
Danny turned and pulled Mikey up from the ground between two jocks who hadn't bothered to move away for the boy to raise himself from the ground in the crowd. The teen gaped since the town hero was aiding him.
"You alright? You took a hard fall there."
"Ye-yeah, just fuh-fine." Mikey glanced down and saw a tear in Phantom's suit that was stained a bit green. "Are you okay?"
Danny glanced down at the tear and looked back up with a smile. "I'll be fine in a little bit. I heal fast." He let go and floated a bit higher. "Stay in school everyone and remember to not crowd a ghost. These fights aren't always so basic." Danny then waved at everyone and flew through the ceiling.
The rest of the day passed calmly after Sam had her chance to gripe about Paulina's kiss she gave 'Phantom'. She was hopeful that Paulina would get it through her thick head that Fenton and Phantom were both off limits, even if she didn't know they were one and the same.
Around seven thirty, Team Phantom plus the Fentons patrolled Amity for ghosts and only found the Box Ghost messing around in an abandoned cardboard box factory. Seeing as he wasn't doing any harm, they left him alone and went to their respective homes for some good sleep.
Well how'd you think about my reveal to his parents?
I wanted it to be a bit more tension filled than their talk with him at the end of Reality Trip, for two reasons. First because I think they'd question what they were seeing a bit more than they did then, though in Reality Trip they did have a few days (I'd guess) to think about Fenton being Phantom, with Jazz in Freakshow's cage with them. Second, there needed to be something to justify Danny's fear a bit more. After all, like he said earlier in the story, all it could take is for his parents to find out in the wrong way.
Thanks for all your support everyone! Your reviews were wonderful.
~NoSignal
Edit: 5/21/18: Next wave of grammar fixes and wording tweaks or some scenes altered to avoid cliches. Took out AN question and answer sections.