Chapter Seventy-Four: Not a kid!

Unfortunately, with Valerie coming it meant that Danny had to be James aside from when Valerie was, well, busy with Dan. Not that Dan had any problems distracting her for him.

"Valerie!" He smiled as she came in. "Oh, hi, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz."

"Yeah, we get the picture." Tucker grinned. "We'll leave you two alone, Romeo." He winked and led the way further in.

While Valerie was distracted at the door with romance, the other three slipped up to the den and knocked twice. "Danny?" Sam whispered. They heard the door unlock and then it was opened for them.

They entered the room and looked around. "Danny?" Jazz asked this time.

"Dude, where are you?" Tucker frowned.

The door closed and locked behind them, making them whirl around to face the door. Black hair, blue eyes, white shirt and blue pants…it was Danny. The Danny they knew, though his shirt was different, his sneakers were only white and he had bandages on his arms. "Hi." He gave a two-fingered salute.

"Danny!" Sam cried, running over and throwing her arms around him. "Danny! It's really you, Danny!"

"Whoa, shh! You want Valerie to hear?" Danny whispered.

"Oops, sorry." Sam whispered, and then kissed him. "I missed you, Danny. It just wasn't the same with you as a shadow ghost or in your false human form."

He smiled, stroking her hair. "I missed you too, Sam."

"Hey, what about us?" Tucker grinned, walking over and hugging Danny from the side, Jazz joining on the other side.

"I'm so glad you have your real form back, little brother." Jazz said happily. "But, why the bandages?" She looked at the bandages on his arms.

"…They're from when I was in captivity. I can't get rid of 'em." He released Sam and stepped back, unwrapping the bandages and letting them drop to the floor. "See? No wounds."

Jazz nodded, frowning. "So, it's part of you? Like the hazmat suit is for Phantom?"

Danny nodded. "You got it, Jazz." He grinned, pointing at her playfully.

"That's convenient." She nodded. "That means that if you need bandages, you can get some easily."

Danny nodded. "And they'd be clean, too." He picked up the fallen bandages and held it out. "See?"

"So, what have we missed?" Sam asked.

"Well, aside from my lessons we picked up Dani, and I had a big scare when I looked at the news recently." He looked at Jazz. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I just…they were so quiet, we didn't think they'd actually DO anything to us…" Jazz sighed. "Anyways, we don't have the RV, so dad put up a ghost shield around the house. He seems to think our biggest threat is a ghost and not the Guys in White, but he won't say what ghost!"

"Scary." Danny nodded.

"Yeah, you wanna know scary? We kept getting a calls a few months back. Dad kept saying it was a prank call, but his expression said it was more. Something said on the phone made him really freaked out, and he started jumping every time the phone rang!" Jazz shook her head. "I never heard anything scary when I answered the phone, but it was always terrifying for him when I handed it to him!"

"Yikes. That incident, and then the RV blowing up? Do you think it was the Guys in White calling?" Danny asked.

"I dunno. I DO know that I came over here to spend time with you and not discuss the Guys in White!" She smiled. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Well, we do have video games." Danny suggested. "Wanna go to the game room?"

"Alright, but no singing this time!" Jazz said, looking at Tucker.

"But there's no Plasmius of the Opera to outmatch me this time!" Tucker protested.

"Pfft. 'Plasmius of the Opera'?" Danny shook his head. "Who am I, then?"

"Still figuring that out. Maybe you're the girl." Tucker shrugged.

"Can't I be the girl's friend? You know; the one who doesn't get seduced by him?" Danny asked.

"Oh, fine. Phantom's Christine, then." Tucker grinned.

"This is just silly." Sam rolled her eyes. "Let's just go play games, guys." She took Danny's hand and smiled shyly.

"Alright." Danny unlocked the den and looked out before nodding and leading them to the game room.

They were well into a game when they heard Valerie's voice. Danny quickly fastened on his bracelet and changed into James, picking up where they left off just as Valerie and Dan entered.

"Oh, here you guys are!" Valerie smiled. "You've been with James!"

"How're things going?" Dan asked, looking around the room. "Having you just been playing games this whole time?"

"Mmhm." Danny nodded, his eyes still on the screen.

"James, you need to pause the game when you're being talked to." Valerie walked over and paused the game.

"Hey!" Danny and Tucker said in unison.

"Tucker, what kind of example are you setting for James?" Valerie asked.

Danny frowned. "Valerie, I know that you may think I'm a kid…but I'm the same age as Dan. Sixteen?"

Valerie blinked. "Really? You don't look it."

Danny set down his controller. "I'm going to get something to drink." He walked out of the room, passing by Dan as he did.

Dan sighed and followed him out. "Danny." He said quietly, once they were far away from the room and he made sure no one was following.

"What is it about me? The slumped shoulders? The baby-blue eyes?" Danny took off his bracelet and flew up. Dan did the same, following after him to the roof. "Why do I always get bullied, picked on, and treated like a kid? What makes you look so much more dependable and mature?"

Dan ran his hand through his white hair, then rubbed Danny's black hair. "I really don't have the answers. But, I am confident. That's something that you don't seem to really have until you're in the heat of the battle. I mean, in the arena you were incredible."

Danny pulled his legs up closer to his chest. "My James form isn't younger or anything, so why would she treat me like a kid?"

Dan bit his lip thoughtfully. "You know, she did meet you after you had been supposedly newly-orphaned and previously abused." He said helpfully. "Maybe her maternal instincts are just kicking in and she's being protective of you because you were hurt by your parent."

"I don't need Valerie to play 'mother' for me!" Danny stood up. "I want to be treated like an adult! I'm sixteen! If I were still alive, I'd be learning to drive! I'd be moving up through school, hopefully; unless my grades are in the crapper still!"

"Then start by not standing like a moody teenager." Dan stood up and tugged on his shoulders. "C'mon, raise your shoulders. Stand tall, strong. You're not a kid, you're a dependable fighter." Dan smiled and then flicked his forehead. "Don't let this get you down, storming off and throwing a baby-fit just proves her right."

Danny fumed at him.

"Dan?" They heard Valerie call.

"That's her. Let's get to the garden and put on our bracelets." Dan took Danny's hand, went invisible, and flew down into the garden. A bit later, they were coming out with their bracelets on.

"There you are! Dude, what happened?" Tucker asked.

"I just needed a bit of time to think." Danny said.

"Well, are you feeling better?" Sam asked.

Danny nodded. "Much better, thanks."

"Then let's go in. Valerie's worried she offended you." Tucker grinned.

"Nah, I'm not offended by her. I'm offended by everyone." Danny shrugged.

"She's not the first one to treat him like a little kid." Dan smirked. "You should've heard some of the stuff Jazz used to say when he was 14!"

"Er, let's not bring that up." Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"No, I wanna hear this!" Sam grinned.

"No, you really don't." Dan shook his head. "It was…ridiculous. You'll laugh at her and then she'll be mad I told you!"

"But you didn't. I did." Dan started to tell them. "She would say things like—oof!" He groaned in pain, doubling over as Danny pulling his hand back. "Okay, okay!"

"I'm going back inside!" Danny said firmly, walking past them. Sam followed him in while Tucker took the chance to take a picture of Dan doubled over in pain. From the scuffle Sam and Danny heard, Dan didn't appreciate it and was wrestling him for his phone.

"Ah, payback." Sam smiled.

Danny blinked. "Payback?"

"Oh, I guess you didn't really see it. He pulled a mean prank on Tucker the day after your funeral and I guess Tucker's trying to get back at him for it." Sam took his hand. "when did you start seeing what he did, anyway?"

"A month after I died." Danny said softly.

"Wow. I'm sorry." She hugged him. "You must've been so lonely…"

"Well, a little. But, I was mostly coming to terms with the fact that I was dead and it was d—the Guys in White who killed me." Danny looked over as Valerie came downstairs. "Dan's outside."

"Thanks. What's he doing out there?" She walked to the door to look out. "Tucker! What are you doing?!"

"He took my phone!" Tucker cried, clawing at a tree Dan was sitting in.

"Where did you even get these pictures from and how? I bet so many girls would beat you up if they saw it." Dan grinned down at Tucker, who was still trying to climb up into the tree to get at him.

"Please don't! I swear; I'll delete the wounded picture! I'll never do it again!" Tucker pleaded.

"Maybe I'll just put these online under your name…"

'That's enough, Phantom.' Dan heard in his head and sighed, tossing the phone back down. "Nah, I won't. Here you go."

Tucker grabbed it and ran inside quickly.

Valerie raised an eyebrow as Dan landed on the ground. "How do you always turn his pranks on him?"

"I'm karma." Dan shrugged, walking over and kissing her. Valerie wrapped her arms around his shoulders, returning the kiss.

Sam watched out the door with Danny. "Wow, wonder why he stopped so soon? I thought he would've dragged it on longer."

"Wanna go to your room?" Danny asked, looking at her.

She blinked and blushed a bit, nodding. "Sure." She took his hand and walked up the stairs with him.