Chapter 5

Danny closed his eyes, gripping his hands around his knees as he sat on the small square of concrete in Amanda's backyard. The high fences gave him some sense of privacy as he sat cross legged as Phantom, trying to come to terms with the electrical current running through his body. It was hurting less now, the more he got used to it, but he hoped to not be stuck like this. Ectoplasm was easier to control than lightning, he thought. Looking back to how Technus' new form handled the electricity, he forced his fingers to release his knees and took a breath in. He realized what the local girl said was true, that he could be considered powerful because he managed to copy powers he saw other ghosts use. He hoped that logic worked in this world but the fact he was still here despite what Technus had said proved he could use the electromagnetic fields ghosts here lived off of. If he was in this world long enough, he wanted to fly around and see if he could find any local ghosts. He knew his history well enough to know there would be enough reason for there to be ghosts in Virginia.

Holding his hands a few inches apart, curling his fingers in to create a ball of space between both palms, he created a spark of energy. His mind still expected ectoplasm, shocking the palm of his left hand as it exploded from his control. He shook the injured hand, more from reflex than pain, and looked at the glove as it healed the burn mark.

Trying again, a green spark the same color as his ectoplasm created itself in his hand. He quickly bounced it back and forth in his hands before adding more power to it, creating a longer bolt of energy.

The door behind him slid open, startling him into shooting the electricity out in front of him. He watched it make contact with the concrete slab he sat on, thankful it didn't set any of the dry leaves or grass ablaze.

He turned and looked over his shoulder as Amanda closed the door behind her, her eyes wide. She stood there a moment with her hands behind her back still on the door, eyeing the spot the spark had hit, before looking down at Danny. "Sorry," she tried. "I thought you'd still be in bed."

"Figured I could practice out here," Danny said, looking forward as Amanda left the doorway. He didn't want to admit that he couldn't get to sleep on the futon, though Jazz seemed to be able to sleep on anything. She stopped to stand beside him as he asked, "Why don't you have any chairs out here?"

"Never got around to getting any," Amanda admitted with a shrug. She looked up at the tree and added, "Am gonna miss the tree though."

"Are they gonna cut it down?"

"I hope not," Amanda said with a laugh. She lowered herself to sit on the ground beside him and looked up at the tree. "No, I'm moving at the end of June. Andrew and I're getting married in October so we need our own place."

Danny stole a glance at Amanda's hands and smiled, "I don't see a ring."

Amanda grabbed at a neckless that half hid behind the graphic tee she wore. She turned to him, holding the purple stone by the chain and smiled back. "Engagement neckless." She dropped it back against her chest and looked back at the tree as she said, "Blame Sam. I've never liked things that were popular and started looking into why we do rings and diamonds in the first place. Once I found out it was a marketing ploy and that slave labor was still used to mine them, I refused." She looked back at him and added, "Plus the price is inflated, I'm too cheap for that."

"You do sound a bit like her," Danny said with a laugh.

"I grew up with you guys in my life," Amanda admitted, turning to look down at the grass growing in the cracks. She started picking at it as she said, "TV raised me better than my parents did, so it's no surprise I ended up as a closet goth that loves working with computers and learning about space. I used to live out in the country and spent so much time just looking up at the stars – whole family likes doing that."
"I wish my family liked stargazing like that," Danny said, thinking back to the last time Sam and Tucker had joined him. He startled as he noticed her sad gaze and quickly added, "It's not like I don't get to with Sam and Tucker at least."

"Oh, I know," Amanda said, forcing a smile. "I was just realizing it'd been a while. My family's a two hour drive from here so I don't see them as much as I used to." She let out a sigh as she pushed herself up to her feet. "Growing up, I guess. I'm gonna go ahead and get started on breakfast. Waffles and pancakes good?"

"Sure," Danny said with a smile as she stepped behind him. He stayed turned to look over his shoulder until she had shut the door before returning to his practice.

Thinking back two years ago, he gripped his hands on his knees and recalled what Sam had thought would best help him learn how to float. She had seen some monks float while in deep meditation and got him to try. It had helped only after they kicked Tucker out of the room, so he hoped it would help him gain some control over his powers in this world. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on trying to float above the concrete slab.

Sam had been trying to get him to meditate with her for years now, and he never figured out how she could sit still for so long. His mind was always running, especially when he didn't want it to.

"Danny, come back inside," Jazz said as she pulled back the sliding door.

Realizing he had been floating only when he was falling, Danny landed hard on his tail bone, letting out a sound of surprise. He heard snickering coming from his sister as he rolled onto his knees, rubbing the injured side of him, as he looked up at her.

"Sorry, you don't usually jump like that," Jazz tried with a shrug, standing in the open doorway as she watched Danny get up to his feet. "But Amanda found something you should see."

Danny looked back at his sister, seeing worry on her face a moment before she turned away. He let the lights change him back to Fenton as he walked back inside, closing the door behind himself. His eyes adjusted to the dark living room quickly, noticing Jazz removing things from the small table and sitting them aside while Amanda moved behind the window separating the two rooms. He walked down the short hallway and poked his head into the kitchen to see her pulling waffles out of a toaster before putting a pair of pancakes in. "Jazz said there was something I should see?"

Amanda looked over her shoulder, twisting fully around as she pulled the phone he had seen her use yesterday from her short's pocket. "Yeah, apparently there were cameras," Amanda said, poking the screen a moment before turning it to hand to him. He took the phone by the blue case and looked at a forum labeled as RVA news.

The title read Ghost Boy in Bon Air.

"A couple of people in is someone's video of the security cameras," Amanda pointed out, turning around to reach up into the cabinets for the syrup.

Danny gave her a look before poking the screen with a finger and dragging it up like he would with using his mother's stylus tablet. He found the video she was talking about and hit the play button in the center.

"Dude, no, it's Danny Phantom," a male voice said as the camera was pointed at a paused security feed of the Food Lion from last night. The video was frozen on him right before he fell flat on his face, Amanda and Jazz standing beside him and Technus 3.0 fully formed in the register area. "Watch," the voice said with a laugh as the camera shifted. In the reflection Danny could make out an older man and a teenager both in a blue polo shirt, the teen holding a phone similar to the one in his hands, as the teen reached forward to hit a button. As the events replayed without sound from a camera in the ceiling the teen said, "That's totally Danny Phantom and I think Technus," the teen said.

He scrolled past the video, skimming through comments saying this was a media stunt while others fears it was the beginning of the end and they had seen the destroyed store front with their own eyes. "Someone says it's on national news," Danny read aloud.

"I just hope no one recognizes me," Amanda said, passing him with a plate of both of the flat breakfast disks. "Figured you'd wanna know you're famous again here."

"Just gives me more of a reason to want to get home," Danny mumbled, stepping out of the kitchen with the phone still in his hand. He gave a worried look at the thermos sitting on the floor by the converted sofa, hoping it would hold long enough.