Chapter 20: Asteroid!

When Danny and his friends stopped Vlad from mining an ecto-ranium asteroid, they not only removed it from its natural orbit but also unknowingly removed every hesitation the fruitloop had about doing something he's thinking of doing some time ago.

The next day, Danny and Natasha went to the movie theater. After the movie ended, Danny and Natasha were surprised at seeing the former's friends with worried expressions. "What happened?" Danny asked.

"This happened!" Tucker answered as he showed a video in his PDA. The video showed Vlad introducing a team of ghost hunters known as the Masters' Blasters.

"Danny, if not for what I know about Vlad, I'd be happy for the free time the Blasters are giving you." Natasha commented.

"Are you nuts?" Sam asked Natasha. "Even without Vlad's intention to humiliate Danny, he must show who the best ghost hunter is."

"I disagree." Natasha replied. "Why did Danny Fenton become Danny Phantom in the first place?"

"Because Sam dared him to enter the Fenton Ghost Portal." Tucker answered, earning a glare from Sam. "What?"

"I meant why he chose to use his powers as a hero." Natasha explained.

"Because Sam provoked the Lunch Lady Ghost and the resulting battle inspired Danny." Tucker answered.

"Tucker!" Sam threatened the techno-geek.

"The point is, does Danny Phantom does what he does because it's the right thing to do or because he needs to be the one to save the day?" Natasha asked. "Not to mention trying to one-up the Masters' Blasters every time might drive you exhausted, which might be what Vlad Masters wants."

Even Sam begrudgingly understood it was a valid concern but Natasha wasn't done. "And there's another issue." The Crown Princess of Zoravia stated. "Now that Amity Park is officially protected by Government-sanctioned ghost hunters, getting in their way is something Masters can use as an excuse to get around the need for consent before using that power-removing machine."

"Yeah, it sounds like something the fruitloop would do." Danny agreed.

"I'm glad you see things my way, Danny." Natasha replied. "I'd stay and talk more but my parents want me back home. Bye."

After Natasha left, Team Phantom returned to Fentonworks. "Too bad your parents are doing maintenance on the ghost portal or we could ask Clockwork to see what Plasmius' plan would lead to." Sam commented.

"If Clockwork considered it necessary to interfere, he would do something similar to what he did during the C.A.T. incident, Sam." Danny replied.

"I still find it hard to believe there's a ghost who can travel through time and knows all consequences of every choice he can make before making them." Jazz commented.

"Anyway, up to Nasty Burger?" Danny asked. At the Nasty Burger, their meal was interrupted by Skulker. A few minutes of fight later, the Masters' Blasters showed up. "Masters' Blasters stop disasters!" They shouted as they captured Skulker.

"Thank you." Danny said but then one of the Blasters shocked him with a device that turned him back into Danny Fenton. "You interfered with official Masters' Blasters business and we had to remove your powers for it." The Blaster said.

"I knew Natasha could be right but it still surprised me." Sam muttered.

"I was just defending myself and everyone else and it shouldn't be called interference since you guys hadn't arrived yet!" Danny argued.

"That's right!" A patron agreed. "You just wanted an excuse to get rid of the competition."

"We're tired of being forced to fork up our money every time you catch ghosts." Another patron added.

"Why couldn't Mayor Masters just use tax money to pay for your services like it's done with other public needs like cops, firefighters, or public hospitals?" Valerie asked.

"Did she have to mention hospitals?" Tucker asked in horror.

After the Masters' Blasters were shooed from the Nasty Burger, Danny and his friends returned to Fentonworks and he boofer phoned Natasha. "Are you saying they demand people to pay for being rescued at the very moment of the rescue?" Natasha asked in horror. "I thought they were just paid with tax money like regular police officers."

"Valerie said something like that." Tucker brought up.

"What can we do?" Danny asked.

"As a foreign royal, I cannot do much without the risk of it being seen as meddling in other nation's affairs but, if a citizen of Amity Park leads other citizens of Amity Park in a protest demanding a more practical way to pay for the Masters' Blasters' services…" Natasha suggested with a malicious smile.

"Now you're talking, Princess." Sam replied with approval.

"And, with the negative publicity the Blasters brought to themselves for depowering Danny, the fruitloop is more likely to give in to the people's demands." Natasha added. "Speaking of depowering, do you remember what my parents said about me returning to Amity Park for dates with you?"

"That they rely on me to keep you safe during those occasions." Danny sadly answered.

"Don't they know about…" Sam asked Natasha but the Crown Princess interrupted her.

"They don't want to take chances, Sam." Natasha explained.

"So, does that mean you're no longer coming to Amity Park?" Sam asked with a hint of hope.

"Danny still can visit me in the Kingdom of Zoravia and we can still meet in other parts of the United States." Natasha answered. "What do you think of Hawaii, Danny?"

Sam made gag noises.

Later on, Team Phantom returned to Casper High. "Good news, Danny!" Paulina exclaimed upon seeing them.

"Did Dash call in sick?" Danny asked.

"Cheerleading was banned from school?" Sam asked.

"Bite your tongue!" Both Paulina and Tucker shouted.

"Your turn, Foley." Paulina told the techno geek. "Do you have a guess?"

"Was Mr. Lancer fired?" Tucker asked, oblivious to the fact Mr. Lancer was walking right behind him.

"I heard that, Mr. Foley." Mr. Lancer said with a frown.

"No." Paulina said. "In spite of you no longer being a ghost, I still love you so, if your Princess doesn't feel the same way…"

"Nice try but Natasha and I are still together." Danny said.

"I can buy a better dress than hers!" Paulina said.

"Can anyone be more immature?" Sam grumbled.

"Can you buy a bigger palace than Natasha's?" Tucker eagerly asked.

"That answers my question." Sam commented.

"Fenturd!" They heard Dash Baxter call. "I've got good news for you! Even if you no longer have your powers, all of your heroics as Danny Phantom still make you popular enough to rejoin the A-List!"

"At least there's no shallow reason for them to want him this time." Sam whispered to Tucker.

"Not to mention you're still dating that hot chick Princess." Kwan commented.

"I stand corrected." Sam muttered.

"Thanks but no thanks, Dash." Danny declined and everyone was surprised by his decision.

"Why?" Dash asked, not understanding why someone would turn down that offer.

"Being popular isn't all that." Danny answered.

"Whatever." Dash said.

"Phew." Kwan added, glad he wouldn't be forced to leave the A-List again.

Two days later, Danny, Tucker and Sam were approached by Paulina. "Danny, have you noticed something weird with the ghost attacks?" The cheerleader asked.

"Define "weird", Paulina." Danny asked in return.

"When the Masters' Blasters first arrived, ghost attacks increased a lot but returned to normal after Mayor Masters had them stop charging people every time to deal with the PR nightmare from depowering you." Paulina explained without acknowledging the presence of Danny's friends.

"Sounds like something the fruitloop would do." Sam said.

"Nobody's talking to you, Manson." Paulina haughtily replied.

"I am but thanks for the hint, Paulina." Danny stated and the shallow cheerleader took the hint to leave. "Tucker, I need graphics."

"On it, Danny!" Tucker exclaimed. "Done! And Paulina was right."

"And to think that shallow girl figured out before we did." Sam grumbled and then noticed Danny's and Tucker's reactions. "And Vlad's more of a slimeball than we already knew." She inconvincibly added. "Way… way more."

"Attention, students!" Everyone heard Mr. Lancer say through speaker phone. "Go to the assembly room right now!"

After every student complied, Principal Ishiyama made an announcement. "Students, a huge asteroid that the media dubbed as Disasteroid has been spotted coming towards Earth!" She said and practically everyone screamed in terror. "Granting requests from concerned parents, every student must wait as the parents show up to pick them up. All remaining classes for today are cancelled."

"Yay!" Kwan happily exclaimed. "No class!"

"Kwan!" Dash scolded as he and the other A-Listers glared at Kwan.

"No wonder he's the one to leave the A-List when another student enters." Sam commented and her friends nodded.

Unsurprisingly, the Fentons were the first parents to arrive. "Don't worry, kids." Maddie Fenton told Danny and Jazz. "Your father and I are already devising a plan to save us from the Disasteroid."

"It's the Fenton Rocket!" Jack screamed but then calmed down. "Or at least it'll be once it's ready. I don't know if it'll still be necessary once the design is finished but I hope that, unless it isn't, I hope the Government finances it."

"If not, we could ask for King Carl's help." Jazz suggested.

The more uncomfortable the idea of borrowing money from his girlfriend's father made him feel, Danny knew it was an emergency and still would rather grovel for help from him than asking for Plasmius'. "I have no problem with that."

"Son, Zoravia's technology isn't developed enough in the air and space department." Jack explained. "The situation requires someone who already has the necessary rocket technology even if that means Plasmius."

"Just as I feared." Danny commented.

As time passed, the Government's efforts to stop the Disasteroid failed and Jack and Vlad eventually set their differences aside to work on the Fenton Rocket. Unfortunately, even that plan fails as someone "accidentally" set the wrong coordinates. "What's your problem, Masters?" Jack asked with a frown. "Did you hate me to the point you'd rather see the world destroyed than see me praised as a hero?"

"Don't blame me, old friend." Vlad replied, knowing Jack no longer liked being called 'old friend' by Vlad.

One day later, Vlad Masters revealed himself as Vlad Plasmius and made a proposition: in exchange for making the Disasteroid intangible so it'd phase through Earth without causing any harm, the world leaders would give him 500 billion dollars and make him ruler of the world. Right after Vlad said that, Danny's cell phone rang and it was a known number. "Natasha?"

"Danny, are you still powerless?" The Crown Princess of Zoravia asked.

"Unfortunately." Danny answered.

"What about that cousin of yours?" Natasha asked. "Could she be the one to save us from the Disasteroid?"

"I'll go talk to her, Natasha." Danny replied.

The next day, Vlad was waiting for a response from the world leaders, some Guys in White showed up and arrested him. "What's the meaning of this?" Vlad asked in outrage.

"Vlad Masters, you're under arrest." Operative O said. "With the reveal that you're a half-ghost, we're now investigating the possibility Danny Phantom was telling the truth about the crimes he accused you of."

"What if he was?" Vlad arrogantly asked. "With him no longer having powers, I'm this world's only hope."

"I'm terribly sorry, Masters." Operative K sarcastically replied. "Danny Phantom also told me how successful you were with your cloning experiments. While Daniel Phantom is unavailable, the same cannot be said about Danielle Phantom."

"Aw, fudge buckets." Vlad exclaimed and tried to fight off the Guys in White until one of them subdued him with a device similar to the ones used by the Masters' Blasters.

Later on, Jack and Dani were inside the Fenton Rocket flying towards the Disasteroid. "Are you ready?" Jack asked Dani.

"Yes, Uncle Jack!" Dani eagerly replied and gave a thumbs-up. She then phased her way outside the rocket and tried to turn the Disasteroid intangible, only to be electrocuted. "What happened?" She asked.

"Scan the asteroid!" Jack ordered. "Quick!"

Using a device on her wrist, Dani did as Jack asked and scanned the Disasteroid. "Readings suggest the asteroid is 100% made of Ectoranium." A computerized voice said.

"Ectoranium?" Jack screamed in horror. "That means no ghost can touch it! Let's get back to Earth!"

After they returned to Earth, they were approached by Maddie, Jazz and Danny. "What happened, Jack?" Maddie asked her husband.

"Maddie, the Disasteroid is made of Ectoranium." Jack sadly answered. "No ghost can even touch it, much less make it intangible."

Some of the world leaders were also there to witness that moment. King Carl included. "What about Earth?" The King of Zoravia asked. "Can it be made intangible?"

"A ghost alone isn't that powerful but, if enough ghosts agree to put their intangibility into it and there's special machinery to help them channel their power, it can be done, Your Majesty." Jack answered.

"I'll help with financing the device." King Carl stated and, one by one, the other world leaders followed suit. "But are there enough good ghosts to save us?"

"King Carl, Earth and the Ghost Zone are so linked that, if one is destroyed, the other is destroyed as well." Maddie stated. "Evil ghosts, even if motivated by nothing but self-preservation, will help us as well."

"We just need somebody to go to the Ghost Zone and ask for their help." Jack added.

"I'll do it!" Both Danny and Dani said at the same time. "No!" The both of them replied.

"You don't have powers anymore!" Dani argued.

"And you don't know your way around the Ghost Zone." Danny argued back.

Reluctantly, the both of them took the Specter Speeder and entered the Ghost Zone. Meanwhile, Jack, Maddie and the world leaders started working on special towers to help the ghosts spread their intangibility through the world. To their surprise, when Danny and Dani returned with several ghosts, Danny was Phantom again. "H-h-how?" Maddie struggled to ask.

"Explanations can wait, Mom." Danny replied. "We've got a world to save."

Fortunately, the devices worked and the Disasteroid phased through Earth without causing any kind of harm.

One week later, at Casper High, Danny approached his friends. "Good news!" He announced.

"Did the A-Listers move to New Zealand?" Sam asked.

"No." Danny answered.

"Are you supporting your good-looking best friend's bid for Mayor?" Tucker asked with a smile.

"Sam, I didn't know you wanted to be the Mayor." Danny commented, making Tucker frown. "Jokes aside, a teenager becoming Mayor sounds like a rushed ending for a cartoon series from that writer… Elmer Apeman or something like that."

"True that." Both Tucker and Sam replied.

"And besides, since I told everyone how Plasmius cheated his way into office, there'd be a recall election regardless of that." Danny explained.

"Do you think Ernesto Montez will be reelected?" Sam asked.

"I have no doubt." Danny answered.

End chapter