Hello everyone, I'm sorry it's been so long! I've been extremely busy with college and haven't had much extra time to write ;-; But I loved writing the first chapter of this story, and I've been very eager to get back to writing the next chapter. So, here is chapter 2!
Disclamier: I do not own Danny Phantom.
Danny sat at the kitchen table, quietly munching on his cereal. His gaze was directed downwards into the bowl, wanting to avoid the topic of conversation his parents were currently engaged in.
"Jack, I love you, but that's a terrible idea," Maddie argued with her husband.
"Aww, Mads, you want to capture the ghost boy, don't you? Then we should follow through with this plan," Jack whined, a hint of excitement laced through his voice. "The ghost boy won't see it comin',"
I will if I'm sitting right in front of you, Danny thought annoyed.
"I think we need to put my ideas and your ideas together and come to a much more logical compromise, how does that sound?" Maddie suggested.
"Okay, fine, but it still should be 95% my idea," Jack was silent for a minute, and then, "What do you think, Danny-boy?"
Danny dropped his spoon into his bowl of cereal, milk splattering all over the table. "Uh, what do I think about what?" He glanced over at Jazz, who had momentarily put her book down to give him a worried yet unsurprised, sympathetic look.
"Jack, now, we don't need the kids involved in the matter. Now let's go to the lab to create some new inventions to use on Phantom, shall we?" With that, Jack and Maddie walked down the stairs into the laboratory, leaving Jazz to resume to her book, and Danny to sit in his chair, barely shaking, annoyance and a hint of fear radiating off of him.
He went to get up from his chair, bringing his bowl to the sink, when Jazz stopped him. "Danny, I don't know how you put up with mom and dad, sometimes. They get on my case a lot, too, but at least they aren't trying to dissect me,"
"I know, Jazz. It's just that...I mean, I'm not afraid of what they would do if they found out, because after the Freakshow incident, I know they'd accept me. I guess that when they start to talk about how they would capture and experiment on Phantom, I just panic a little," Danny took a deep breath. "They could follow through with almost an entire scientifical, painful procedure without knowing it was me," Danny set his bowl down on the table, feeling his hands shaking.
Jazz took the opportunity to get up from her chair and walk over to her him, enveloping her small, delicate hands into his larger, calloused ones. "Danny, I know. You have a good support system to help you through that, though. There's me, and Sam, and Tucker. That's not going to happen, okay? It's going to be okay," she noticed Danny start to calm down. "Why don't you go finish getting ready and I'll drive you to school, okay?"
Danny nodded, and slowly proceeded to head upstairs.
Before sunset, Danny was flying over the streets of Amity Park, wanting faster transportation from school, and a chance to clear his mind from the day's events. He spotted his house about a mile away, and landed in a nearby alley to change. Before he could, he spotted a green glow emanating from around the corner.
"That's weird...my ghost sense didn't go off," Danny began to cautiously walk towards the green glow, trying to locate its source. He figured it was best to inspect it invisibly, just in case the source was something not-so-friendly and harmless. He turned the corner only to find a small box sitting in the middle of the cement, the glow radiating from it. Scanning his surroundings, making sure no threat was nearby, he turned visible again. He bent down and reached for the cube. Next thing he knew, he was being zapped by ropes that seemed to be engulfing him into some kind of net. Through his fading vision, he managed to make out two figures, almost completely engulfed by the shadows of the alley. Two of Amity Park's most famous ghost hunters, Jack and Maddie Fenton.
Danny woke up on a cold, hard table. He tried to sit up, only painfully realizing that his body was strapped to the table. He was tied at the wrists, ankles, and there were three straps going across his chest, torso, and shins. Where am I? Danny looked around the room, taking only a few seconds to realize that he was in the laboratory of his own house. "Well, this can't be right."
"Oh, sure it can, ghost boy," Maddie Fenton slowly walked over to the table, boots clacking against the hard tiles.
"In your face, ghost!" Jack Fenton yelled from opposite Maddie.
"Jack, honey, not now," Madde cleared her throat. "We don't want to hurt you, ghost boy. We just want some answers to our questions. And a few samples. If you don't cooperate, well, then we'll have no other choice but to inflict some pain on you."
"Oh, awesome. There's no other way I'd want to spend a Friday night," Danny sighed, a look of annoyance spread across his face, hiding the fairly large amount of fear he felt.
"Now, what is your name, ghost?" Maddie leaned in towards him, examining every inch of him.
Danny flinched away slightly. "Well it's not ghost boy, I can tell you that," Danny paused, "It's Phantom. Danny Phantom."
"Hmm, clever, I suppose," Maddie yawned. "Okay, second question. How old were you when you died?"
Danny inhaled sharply. "Fourteen."
Maddie gasped. "That's so young...not much younger than my son," a trace of sympathy ran through her tone.
"How did you die?" Jack spoke up, stepping closer to Danny.
"Uh, electrocution," Danny winced, remembering the painful memory too well.
Both Jack and Maddie flinched slightly at this. "I can't imagine the pain you were in...but that doesn't make up for trying to terrorize the town," Maddie retorted.
"I'm not trying to terrorize the town. I'm trying to protect it from the evil ghosts."
"How do we know that? Can you prove it to us?" Maddie snipped.
"I can't, but I can tell you some things that might make you believe me," Danny decided. It was time to tell his parents the truth. He was never getting out of this situation otherwise. Besides, they might do some really awful things to him if he didn't tell them…
"So, um," Danny swallowed thickly. "Do you know of the existence of halfas? Half ghost, half human?"
This peaked Jack and Maddie's interest. "No...but how could there be such a thing?" Jack asked disbelievingly.
"It happens when a force of ectoplasm is strong enough to infuse with the DNA of the person, essentially giving them ghost powers, and a ghost form," Danny slightly hesitated.
"So, you're saying that's what happened to you? A force of ectoplasm so strong zapped you and therefore became infused with your DNA as a human?" Maddie asked.
Danny nodded.
"So, you're half human, then…?" Jack questioned.
"Yeah, I am."
"And, this is your ghost form?" Maddie asked, making sure she understood.
Danny hesitated again, before nodding slowly.
"Then, can we see your human form?" Jack said.
Danny inhaled sharply, obviously expecting this. He didn't know if he was ready, but he already dug himself deeply into this hole, and he had to bury it. "Yes, but please untie me first."
"O-okay," Maddie began to work at untying his feet and shins, while Jack did his wrists, chest, and torso.
Danny quickly got off the table, and went to stand in the middle of the lab, facing his parents. "Okay, so, here it goes," the white rings appeared. "Please don't hate me for this," he whispered.
As the rings began to travel further up and down Danny's body, both Jack and Maddie spotted Danny, their son, wearing his white t-shirt and blue jeans. As the rings completed their transformation, revealing Danny Fenton's black hair, blue eyes, and fair complexion, Maddie took his appearance in, eyes wide, mouth open, capable of whispering one word, "Danny."