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 15: Different Times, Same Problems

Danny woke up the next morning. He got up, yawned, and went to check his reflection in the mirror.

He saw an older face with some face stubble staring back at him. He sighed, realizing that he was still an adult.

"So...I guess sleeping it off didn't work. Darn it!..."He muttered.

"Danny?..."Jazz's voice was heard, along with a knock.

"It's open..."Danny said, his voice just as deep as yesterday.

Jazz opened the door, and saw that her younger brother was still an adult. She shook her head in disapproval.

"I see that you're still old enough to vote..."She said.

"I so miss being shorter than you..."Danny said before groaning.

"What time did Mom and Dad say that they'll be coming back? I don't think that I'm ready to show them this..."He said, worried about how he'll explain this if they return home.

Before Jazz could say anything, they suddenly heard a ringing sound. They saw that it was from Jazz's cell phone.

"Oh man. It's Dad..."Jazz said, and Danny flinched.

"If they ask, I'm still sleeping..."Danny said, not daring to talk to either of them on the phone.

Jazz cringed, as she answered the phone.

"Uh...Hi Dad..."Jazz said, putting him on speaker phone.

"Hi Jazzerincess. How's everything back home? See any ghosts? Any sign of us getting sued for property damage again?..."Jack asked, on his end of the phone.

"Hi Dad. Everything is fine. Uh...no ghost attacks today..."Jazz said, somewhat not lying on that part.

"And any mail?..."Her father asked, sounding nervous.

"No sign of a lawsuit if that's what you're asking..."She continued.

"Good to hear. How's your brother?..."Jack asked.

"Uh...Danny is still sleeping. You know how he's like on the weekend mornings..."Jazz lied, while her brother rolled his eyes.

"I see. He likes to sleep in like his old man..."Jack said. "Anyway, bad news...your mom and I ran into a little trouble here..."He said, sounding a bit sheepish.

"Define trouble..."Jazz asked, already suspecting whose fault it was.

"Look, it wasn't our fault. Some moron braked too hard and his back bumper was damaged...but either way, your mom and I will have to stay here until tomorrow to resolve everything and get both cars fixed up, so it seems that you'll have to be in charge a little longer..."Jack said, unaware of the relief his children felt now.

"You mean that you and Mom won't be coming home tonight?!..."Jazz asked in excitement, only to realize her tone and change it. "I...I mean...how sad. And that poor guy's car..."She said quickly.

"He's a punk. Anyway, stay safe and call us if you see a ghost..."Jack said before hanging up.

The Fenton siblings soon looked to each other and sighed, realizing that they suddenly had more time to fix this situation that they were in.

"What luck...at least we've got a little more time..."Jazz said, sounding relieved.

"Yeah, I got at least until tomorrow to find Helena and make her change me back, otherwise...I might have to move out of the house and get married to some lady way sooner than expected..."Danny snarked.

"You'll find her, Danny. Helena, not the lady you're marrying in case you were gonna ask..."Jazz said quickly to clarify.

Soon, they heard a rumbling sound and noticed where it came from.

"First things first, I need some breakfast..."He said as he yawned a bit and even stretched a little.

Jazz was taken back and covered her nose as soon as she got a whiff of a foul odor.

"Ugh!P.U! Before that, brush your teeth and take a shower! Your B.O is way stronger now than usual!..."She said, still covering her nose.

Danny blinked and sniffed his own pit, cringing as he made a face of disgust.

"Ugh! You're right..."He said, equally grossed out.

He decided to go to the bathroom and deal with one of the "side effects" of being a fully grown man, hoping that today will be more successful than yesterday.


Later

After taking a quick shower, borrowing his father's brand of strong deodorant, undergoing the "delightful" process of shaving and having breakfast, Danny left his house with Jazz.

The two siblings got in her car and soon met up with Sam and Tucker by the swap meet.

"Hey guys..."Danny said, still speaking in his deep, manly voice.

"Hey dude. I see that you're still old enough to get into R rated movies by yourself..."Tucker said.

"You okay, Danny?..."Sam asked, concerned and once again secretly ogling him.

"No, but good news. My mom and dad won't be home until tomorrow, so I got more time to change all of this. Which means I need to find her fast but hopefully I'll have better luck today than yesterday..."Danny said as two nearby women got distracted by him and ended up bumping into each other.

Another nearby woman was so fixated on him, that she ended up walking head first into a nearby fountain. There were a few more accidental bumps as more women got distracted by Danny's adult good looks and couldn't focus on anything else...such as where they were going.

Danny saw this and cringed as he noticed more female eyes on him and smiled to go with them.

"Uh...let's go talk someplace else...before I unintentionally end up sending someone to the hospital..."He said, feeling awkward as more women noticed him and send him flirty looks.

"Yeah, I don't think this works. Still, I'm driving..."Jazz said, as she headed to her car.

The others followed her and soon found a spot to hide and talk. Jazz drove to the mall, hopefully it's less crowded by single women than outside.


Meanwhile

Unknown to Danny, a certain ghost had stepped out of the portal and looked around.

"No ones here..."The figure said as they phased out of the basement and soon made their way outside.

The ghost then stepped onto the concrete, and soon took to the skies to search for something. It was Ember, who for once, wasn't here to try to enslave mankind with her music.

No, today, she is here for another reason.

Mostly out of curiosity and to see for herself if certain rumors she heard were true.

"Now, where is that dipstick? It's the weekend so I know he's not at school. Maybe taking advantage of this new body by going to an R rated movie. That, or he's on his usual patrols? Since I can't see him anywhere in sight, I guess I've got no choice but to look for him myself..."She wondered as she kept looking.

However, she didn't spot the ghost kid and decided to continue her "investigation" on foot.

She decides to haunt a store into getting abandoned for a quick refreshment. However, all the female employees seem to be distracted by something and didn't even notice her phase in. They were all gushing about some hot guy that was here yesterday, acting like it was something so amazing.

Ember was confused, but decided to just grab her drinks and not worry about it.

Anyway, Ember grabbed the drink from the counter before the real customer could get it. She downed the drink in on go, still in denial about the real reason that she was in town right now.

"Why am I still here? I mean, it's not like the dipstick is as hot as Kitty says he is…I'm not excited…I just wanna confirms some facts..."Ember thought to herself, as she walked out of the store.

However, as she floated around, she noticed that most of the females of Amity Park were acting VERY strangely right now.

Everywhere she went, all the girls and women talked about the ruggedly handsome man that had been in the mall earlier. Female employees sighed dreamily as they recalled the man, describing how gorgeous they thought he was.

"What a hunk! I can't wait to see him again. I can't tell who's more easier on the eyes, the new gorgeous ghost man or the stunning dark haired hunk we just saw walk by us!..."One of them said, sighing dreamily.

"I'll say. That thick black hair and all those muscles. He's almost as good looking as that dreamy white haired ghost man I saw on the news..."One of them females said.

"Oh yeah. I wouldn't mind being haunted by a ghost like him..."Another woman said, almost passing out from delight.

"Same here. What a hottie!~..."Her friend said, as she was fanning herself to cool off from her heated thoughts.

"Dark haired hunk and white haired hunky ghost man...I wonder..."Ember thought, as those descriptions sounded very familiar to her.

The ghostly diva started to put them together. Seeing them continue to dawn over Danny made her roll her eyes.

"Whatever…"Ember seethed, flying faster now.

"It's not like he wasn't cute before…I mean, he's not cute and he definitely won't be as handsome as everyone says he is!..."She thought, being stubborn and in denial.

However, she noticed just how many were still gossiping on who is clearly the same person.

"I'd spend my whole life with him..."One woman said.

"Me too..."Another said, clearly still talking about the same hunk that had all these women under his spell.

The ghost rocker then decided her curiosity was peeked, as she began to unknowingly pick-up her pace.

"I'm just gonna see for myself if Kitty was right and mock him for losing a decade of his human life right into his possibly good-looking face. After that, then I'll decide whether or not he lives up the hype...Maybe even smack that dipstick around for fun too if he doesn't and if all those rumors turns out to be nothing more than exaggerations..."She thought, having a naughty smirk on her face.

She continued to smirk, not yet realizing that she already started flying around as she continued to search for Danny.

With a crack of her knuckles, she flew off to find Danny.


Elsewhere

Danny, in his ghost form, was still looking for Helena, but got sidetracked by some ghosts who showed up to cause trouble again.

"I so don't have time for this! Just get in the thermos and leave me be already!..."Danny said as he sucked up some wild ectopi into the thermos.

Once done, clasped it shut tight, but made sure not to break it while he did so due to his new almost-Herculean strength. The ghost man then took a long, deep breath out of the relief that it was over.

"At least they aren't hitting on me for a date..."He muttered.

"Danny, how are things on your end? I'm guessing that wasn't Helena..."Sam said over the Fenton Phones.

"Unless she split apart into a few ghosts out for revenge at a sushi bar..."Danny said as he continued to fly and search for that crazy, ghost bridezilla.

"So, you're still looking for her on your end?..."She asked.

"Yep, still on the search, but it's not as productive as I'd hoped so far..."He said bitterly.

"Don't worry. We'll find her. We're still searching on our end too. She has to be around here someplace..."Sam said, trying to be encouraging.

"She'd better. Either way, keep your eyes peeled and call me the moment either of you catch wind of her..."Danny said as he continued his search by air, determined to find that ghostly maniac and get his teen years back.


Meanwhile

Unknown to Danny, some people had arrived to Amity Park and take a second shot at Danny Phantom.

There were quite a few faces that he recognizes and hadn't seen in a while, for various reasons, the same people that he had been curious about from time to time. One of the groups that came arrived in a vehicle.

A colorful, 60's style van appeared and soon two adults and a large white tiger stepped out, he didn't look all too happy or excited to be back here of all places, while his owners ignored him.

They were the Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat, who failed to apprehend him months ago.

"Like, we're back Fran..."Andy said.

"Like, I already know that, Andy..."Fran said, looking around their surroundings.

"It's good to be back in Amity Park..."The blonde hippie said, grinning.

"It has been a while since we tried to chase that ghost kid for that million dollar bounty. But you're right..."The red haired female said, before accidentally stepping on a twig.

That spooked Scaredy Cat a lot and he leapt up and clung to Fran, his claws digging into her.

"AHHHH! Like, not again! My internal organs barely survived the last time! I'm, like, not made to experience this kind of acupuncture!..."She screamed as she tried to pry their team's mascot off of her.

"Like, calm down Scaredy Cat! Our insurance barely covered it before!..."Andy said, trying to assist and wondering if he should pull out the Kitty Crunch again to calm him down

However, something else got Scaredy Cat's attention, making him retract his claws and let go out of shock.

Soon, the sounds of engines increased in volume.

Two young adult on high tech black and green dirt bikes appeared, all while doing "extreme" stunts by jumping over couple of trucks, while one of them did a trick in mid-air as they did so.

It was the extreme ghost breakers, who grinned at their entrance.

"Righteous 360 spin, Dude!..."Sullivan said with a grin.

"For the millionth time, I'm a girl, moron!..."Brenner said, annoyed.

"I'm totally not sexist when I say that, which is awesome!..." Sullivan responded.

Andy and Fran saw them and frowned.

"Them again?..." Fran asked, crossing her arms.

"Like, what are you two doing here?..."Andy said, annoyed by the competition.

"We got some news that some new ghost appeared in Amity Park and we came by to do some confirmation for ourselves and take him out...to the extreme!..."Sullivan said in his radical way.

"Like, not if we get him first!..." Fran went.

"Pfft... in that junkheap? Not a shot..." Brenner said, pointing at the colorful van.

"What does anyone even know about this new ghost anyhow?..." Sullivan asked, sounding clueless.

"That ghost man looks a lot like that lousy Danny Phantom. He might be his brother, a cousin or even his father. Or they might not be related at all, but none of us can rule that out just yet. All we know is they look kinda of alike..."Andy said.

"Like, don't tell them!..." Fran went, sounding annoyed.

"They asked..." Andy said with a shrug.

"What exactly does he look like? I never did got a good look..." Fran asked, having not seen him yet.

"Like..." Andy then looked up and saw their target. "That!..."He yelled as he pointed upward.

The amateur ghost hunters soon saw the ghost man flying by and gasped.

Andy quickly took a picture of him, and they got a closer look at the image. Once they did, this was their reactions.

"Like...wow!~..."Fran said with awe.

"Yeah...like wow!~..."Brenner said as she even removed her goggles to reveal a pair of blue eyes that were now looking dreamily at the ghost man's image.

Her partner grinned, looking excited to pick a fight.

"We found 'em. Come on, let's take him out. We can even make this another competition and race around town to see who's gonna find him first.."Sullivan said, revving up his machine as he waited for the others to respond, but was surprised to not hear any other engine running but his own.

He noticed that his partner and even their rivals weren't moving and kept staring up at the image of the new ghost man in Amity Park.

"That's him?!..." Brenner asked, looking like she was in some kind of trance.

"Dudes, what are you waiting for? Let's get him!..."Sullivan said, sounding impatient.

"Oh I'm definitely gonna get him, maybe even take him home with me..."Brenner said in a dreamy way.

"What a hunk!~..."Fran said in a similar tone, looking lost in a day dream.

Sullivan raised a brow, confused.

"What?..."He asked as he noticed that Brenner was smiling up at their target, biting her lower lip as she eyed the ghost man's figure on the image.

"I wonder if there's a Mrs. Phantom?..." She asked out loud.

The male of the Extreme Ghostbreakers soon realized what was happening, frowning at the idea of what's going on. Already feeling his adrenaline start to fade as they just stood here not doing anything.

"Dudes, he's still a ghost! And he might be our link to Phantom!..."Sullivan said, sounding mad that his own partner was acting like this.

"I...know...but...well...ghost or not...he's so hot..."Brenner said, biting her lower lip with desire.

"Yeah...he is..."Fran sighed dreamily before doing the same thing.

"Like, you two aren't wrong about that..."Andy said as he bit his lower lip as well.

Sullivan saw this and raised a brow.

"Dude...aren't you a dude?..."He asked, as he was starting to question the other guy's sexuality.

"Yes, why?..."Andy asked.

"But...that Phantom dude is a dude too and...wait, are you gay?..."Sullivan asked.

"Technically, I'm bi..."Andy said casually.

"For real?..."Sullivan asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes...you seem surprised?..."Andy said, with a raised brow.

"I dunno, I just...didn't expect you to be into dudes or even interested in playing for both teams..."Sullivan said.

Andy frowned at that.

"What do you mean by that exactly?..."He asked, sounding offended.

"No, I didn't mean it like that! I just assumed that you and that chick over there were a thing, is all..."Sullivan explained.

"Who, Fran? No way, I mean...don't get me wrong, Fran is a groovy chick, but she's not my type..."Andy said, before he realized that his redheaded best friend is still standing within earshot

"Like, no offense..."He said quickly.

"Like, no worries. You're, like, not my type either, Andy..."Fran said, before she went back to ogling the ghostly man's picture with Brenner.

"Oh, I see. I mean...That's cool, Dude. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one to question a person's life choices or anything but...then what's Fran then? Don't you two travel together and live in your van?..."Sullivan asked.

"We're just friends, but that's it. What? You think that just because we work and travel together, that automatically means that we're a thing? What? We can't just be platonic friends, without having any romantic interests in each other first?..."Andy asked, arms crossed.

"No...No...I mean it, I'm just curious how you two work together. I'm not a homophobe but I just assumed...I dunno...that's why you were with her..."Sullivan said, digging himself deeper.

"Sullivan, stop talking before you make an even bigger idiot out of yourself than usual..."Brenner said, annoyed while not taking her eyes away from the picture of a handsome and older looking Danny Phantom for a second.

Sullivan then made a hand gesture that meant that he'd zip his lip, and hid his head between his shoulders before one of the amateur ghost hunters noticed that they were were suppose to be doing something else.

Something important.

"Hey, weren't we suppose to be doing something?..."Andy asked, feeling like they forgot something.

"The totally hunky ghost man!..."Fran, Brenner and even Andy all exclaimed as they recalled why they they all came back to Amity Park in the first place.

They soon saw that he was gone and without a trace.

"Where did he go?!..."Andy asked, sounding upset as they frantically searched for him.

"Dude, he's gone...he probably flew off or turned invisible to get away! This reeks...to the extreme!..."Sullivan said, disappointed that he didn't get to do anything extreme against the ghost, while the girls seemed to be the most upset right now.

"Aw...we didn't even get to fight him...or ask if he was free to have dinner with me later tonight..."Fran said, disappointment.

Brenner sent her a competitive look as soon as she heard that.

"You mean with me, wannabe Velma! Maybe he's not interested in bookworm girls like you. Plus, I've clearly got the better figure!..."Brenner said in a jealous way.

Fran glared at her, feeling insulted by what she had just said.

"Don't mock me for something that's genetic!..."She shouted in an offended tone.

"And maybe he's not interested in daredevil chicks like you! Besides, I saw him first!..."She said, crossing her arms and glaring at the blonde that's still riding her dirt bike

"No, I did! Your glasses need to be replaced! So, back off Red!..."Brenner said, getting into her face.

"Cool your jets, ladies. None of us are sure yet if this ghost guy is straight or not...but I plan on finding that out myself!..."Andy said, similarly competitive.

"Back off, he's mine!..."Brenner yelled.

"No, mine!..."Fran yelled, and soon the three of them began fighting over the very handsome ghost who is no longer here.

Sullivan saw this and was dumbfounded.

"I thought we came here to fight ghosts...not fight over one..."He said as he was the only one that checked the built-in ghost radar in his team's dirt bike and waited to get a signal, while the other's the fighting continued.


Meanwhile

With Danny

Danny soon landed in a nearby alley, changing back to his human form.

"Any luck?..."Sam asked as she expected him not to answer as she expected, while also hoping for some good news for a change.

"No...I'm starting to think that she's either skipped town or that she's actively avoiding me..."Danny said as another woman walked by and approached him.

"Well hello, Good looking. Nice muscles..."She said as she winked at him before she kept walking.

Danny gulped at that.

"Still not used to that..."He said as Sam's hands shook with jealousy.

"And hopefully you won't. Just hold it for now..."She muttered.

"Now what do we do? Time isn't exactly on our side here..."Jazz pointed out.

"Don't remind me. If only we had a clue to where Helena might strike next..."Danny said, frustrated.

"Not like an answer to our problem comes directly into your face..." Tucker said as a joke.

Soon, a flyer flew into Danny's face and blocked his vision.

"Darn it. I hate it when-..."He paused, before seeing the flyer's contents.

"Guys, check this out!..."Danny said, before showing it to them.

It was a flyer advertising singles night at Cafe Alta Classe, and it was being held tonight.

"Single's night at that snooty restaurant? What of it?..."Sam asked.

"Don't you get it? SINGLES night! That's just the kind of place a desperate love starved freak like Helena would go to find new victims..."He said.

"But she already attacked that place the other day and tried to wreck it just because no guy there is crazy enough to date her..."Jazz said.

"Yeah...but it wasn't singles night then. This one is and it just might be the thing to lure her out in the open since she's totally obsessed with single men. I know this is a long shot, but it's the only lead we got..."Danny said.

"You might be right about it..."Sam admitted, while Jazz continued to ponder about it.

"That can work...And at least YOU'RE old enough to get in. She'd have to show interest in going..."Jazz said.

"And get to see what an adult single's party is like. Let's go for it..."Tucker said, seeing a good sign.

"At least that gift certificate I won won't go to waste..."Danny said, looking at the flyer again and finding at least one silver lining about this.

"Yeah, what could possibly go wrong in this snooty sounding restaurant anyway?..."Tucker said before Sam hit him on the back of his head for saying that out loud.

"Not helping!..."She said, worried that he might have jinxed it.

"Ouch! What was that for?!..."Tucker whined as he rubbed the back of his head while glaring at her.

Danny ignored this as he, his sister, and friends all made their plans and headed for their next move, readying themselves for the likely event of a struggle.

"Looks like things are looking up. I can't wait to give that crazy man hunter a piece of my mind..."He thought, feeling like his chance to regain his teen years has just increased.

All the while, he was unaware that someone was searching for him...and NOT for the same reasons that he was searching for Helena.

One that hopes to strike a deal with the ghost man.


Elsewhere

On the other side of town, a certain business woman was in the middle of an online meeting, as part of her job.

It was Miss Romano, who was in the middle of negotiations and keeping track of her business before she was ready for meeting with the mayor at 1 o'clock to discuss business and scout out a new base of operations to bunch in this town.

As well as to find who she wants as her spokesperson. All the while, she was in the middle of her own business, she sent one of her employee to another task for her.

Such as finding a certain man.

"Any luck yet?..."The business woman asked over the phone, sounding impatient.

She crossed her arms as her employee searched for the handsome hunk she saw on he mayor's computer screen yesterday.

"No ma'am. All I find is women, and some men, who saw him and won't stop talking about him..."Her assistant, Charles, said over the phone.

Miss Romano was not pleased and started yelling at him over the phone.

"I'm paying you to find him, not his harem. Keep looking!..."She yelled into the phone, her loud voice intimidating the meek man.

"Y-yes ma'am..."A trembling voice was heard, clearly frightened by angering his boss.

All the while, Romano huffed and crossed her arms impatiently, as she waited for some good news.

"These women are too small time for a man like that anyway. He would need someone just as good looking and with plenty of money to spare to give him the comfy life he would want… someone like me…"Miss Romano said as she smiled fondly as she quickly checked herself in her hand mirror.

"Like you, ma'am?..."Her assistant said, making it clear that he heard that over the phone.

Romano gasped in embarrassment, realizing that she was talking out loud.

"You were listening in?!..."The mortified woman asked, blushing.

"The phone is still on speaker…"He pointed out.

Romano turned bright red, not from the blush, and pounded her fist into the table.

"Just do your job and tell no one of what you just heard, or you're fired!..."She yelled into the phone before hanging up.

Miss Romano sat in the back of her limo while her driver said nothing to avoid invoking her wrath.

The business woman huffed as she swiped on her cellphone to the photo that she took yesterday. She stared at the image of the handsome dark haired man whom she been looking for...and had taken a great liking towards since yesterday.

"Just where are you, you handsome stranger? And what kind outfit shall I get you to pose for me first?..."She said as she looked out the window, as she thought about the handsome man whom she wanted to hire for her business.

However, it was clear she didn't just want to hire this man.

But sadly for her, modeling was the furthest thing on the ghost man's mind right now, since he had much bigger and more important matters to concern himself with.

Such as regaining his lost youth before his parents get home.

Oh boy.

-To be continued-

Next time on Growing Pains

More Surprises in the Horizon


A/N: Special thanks to NeoMark, Jay The Average Fanboy and BeConfuzzled Writer for helping with this chapter. You guys rock :)


REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:

Boris Yeltsin and NiteOwl18: Thank you :)

Pokemon fan 1991 and Jebest4781: Yeah.

Luiz4200: Not really, though her appearance is based on Dr. Fancyfree from Fairly Odd Parents.

Invader Johnny: I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

RonaldM40196867:

1) She is a business woman who Vlad is trying to make a deal with.

2) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Jet Engine: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

Pzombie: You're welcome :)

Jacob Cook: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.

JDF Legacier Morphicon: Thank you :)

Here are my responses to your questions:

1) I like how he attacked and ate Vlad at the end of his debut episode.

2) It might have been interesting.

3) I think that they would be supportive of the idea, especially if that child was Danielle.

4) Maybe Ember since she was a fan of her music at one point.

5) I think Danny dressing up like a knight would be cool.

Guest(1): I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Guest(2):

1) I'd say Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

2) I think that we would have gotten our answers for those questions.


:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)