Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, Supergirl or any of the characters. Danny Phantom is the sole property of Butch Hartman, Nickelodeon and Viacom International. The Justice League Animated Series is the property of the DCAU.
The Ghost Boy and The Super Girl
Chapter 26: Fate's Paths
Danny and the others soon arrived to sit down in the conference room of the seven founding members of the Justice League.
Danny observed the room in awe, before he sat down in the nearest empty seat. The ghost boy cleared his throat once he saw that Dr. Fate gave him the "go ahead" to start telling his story.
Danny knew that the wizard most likely already knew how he had came on their Earth, but he probably wanted to hear the story from him to possibly find a fresh perspective on how to get him back home. This didn't bother the ghost boy, since having him explain his situation to the sorcerer with the golden helmet could help him better relax and calm his nerves around the magic man.
"Well, it started out like this..."Danny began.
Within 10 minutes, he had finished getting to the aspects that were necessary.
"So...that's how it is..."Danny said, finishing his tale.
The heroic magic user stared at ghost boy with a look the young man couldn't identify. However, his tone of voice seemed intrigued for some reason.
"Amazing...in all my years...I never quite came across someone like you. I have seen ghosts, mutants, meta humans, aliens, inter-dimensional beings...even the undead such as Solomon Grundy, but never a half-ghost half-human hybrid such as yourself..." He said, fascinated by what he saw.
"Well...from what you're saying and what I've seen in this dimension so far, you guys have come across just about everything...no matter how weird or extraordinary it may be..." Danny commented.
"So...I guess in retrospect, it was only a matter of time till you guys came across someone like me..."He added.
"I suppose that's true..." Dr. Fate acknowledged with a nod. "In this line of work that I serve, I suppose one should expect the unexpected..."He said.
Still, he knew that Danny is quite a unique being and he knew many others who'd be interesting in something like him...and not usually for ethical reasons.
However, now isn't the time to talk about that. The ghost boy came to him for a request, which he is asking right now.
"So uh, Dr. Fate...Not to be rude or anything, but my question here remains... do you think that you can get me home?..." Danny asked, unsure of what answer to expect but keeping his fingers crossed.
"I can..." Dr. Fate replied curtly.
The ghost boy smiled in relief.
"Oh, thank goodness! Just the answer I was hoping to hear!..." He said, already thinking of ways to explain to his parents of his absence.
Dr. Fate got up and Danny soon followed suit.
"Is there anything that I should know?..."He asked.
"Know?..." Dr. Fate asked.
"Yeah, I mean... like...is this going to require me standing still, giving energy? That sort of stuff?..." Danny asked.
"Ah..." Dr. Fate said in understanding. "Don't worry about that, young Phantom. Leave this to me..."He said.
"However, I ask that you remain indoors for the time being. In the meantime, I will briefly return to my domain and retrieve all the magical items and mystical equipment that are necessary to return you home to your Earth..." Dr. Fate explained as he opens a shining portal.
The hero with the golden helmet flies through it, before the ghost boy could respond.
"Uhh...okay. I'll just stick around here and...he can't hear me anymore, can he?..." Danny asked to no one in particular.
"He tends to do that from time to time. At the very least, he doesn't vanished the moment you look away, like a certain friend of mine does on a regular basis..." Superman said in a joking manner.
Which Danny could guess that the man of steel was mentioning either the Flash or the Batman and the ghost boy was willing to bet that it was the Dark Knight. He didn't know why, but he felt as though Batman would have appeared in an instant to send Superman a disapproving scowl.
"I heard that..."The Dark Knight said, appearing in the room.
Danny flinched, surprised to see him.
"Uh...how...uh...was he here the whole time?..."The ghost boy asked, surprised.
"No, he just showed up. He's just really light on his feet..."The Flash said, as he ran inside with his super speed.
Soon, the other league members had arrived, nearly filling the whole room. Stargirl was also present with her stepfather, yet her expression was a difficult to read.
"What...what are all of you doing here?..."Danny asked, surprised to see the large crowd.
"What's it look like? We're here to send you off..."The Flash said, smiling greatly.
"You didn't think you were gonna leave without saying goodbye, did ya?..."Green Lantern questioned with his arms crossed.
"Besides, it's not everyday that we get the chance to sent off a new friend from another Earth back to their own home dimension. Granted, the opposite happened with us once..."The Flash commented, getting a slight ribbing from Shayera.
"We all also wanted to show you how much we appreciated all the help you did for us for the short time that you've stayed with us..."Wonder Woman said.
"Exactly..."Superman said.
He walked to Danny and stared at him at eye level.
"Is he gonna give me a scolding something?..."Danny thought, feeling rather nervous.
He and the man of steel had some kind of tension when they first met, but he did go out of his way to help him and get him home. Thankfully, the muscular hero sent him a slight smile and showed that there were no hard feelings.
"Best of luck on your world, Danny. Even if you are young, you've shown that you more than earned the right to call yourself a hero. I think that I speak for all of the Justice League when I say that your Earth is lucky to have someone like you..."Superman said, speaking to the ghost boy with both respect and gratitude for the young hero.
Danny smiled slightly that.
"Thanks. That means a lot coming from someone like you, sir..."He said, feeling relieved.
The other league members, each said their respective farewells to the ghost boy. All of them encouraging.
"See ya in the funny papers, ghost kid. Things may not always work as you may think, but there's always hope for things to end for the better. Also...next time, try picking a better name..."The Flash said.
"Keep up your hero work, kid. Try to avoid this scenario again..."Shayera said, wishing him luck.
"May Hera bless you with good fortune on your journey..."Wonder Woman said.
"Protect your home and those you care for once you return home, young hero of another Earth..." Martian Manhunter said.
"Make sure to always keep your wits about you, don't get cocky, and try to avoid a situation where you can't think your way out of..."Batman said in his usual way.
"That's his way of saying goodbye and good luck..."Green Lantern said with a slight smile.
Hearing all of the Justice League founders say their goodbyes and words of encouragement to Danny made him feel like he was finally recognized as a real superhero.
"Thank you, everyone. I'll never forget any of this..."He said, feeling relieved right now as the other heroes wished him luck.
As the league members made their goodbyes, gave words of encouragements and wishing him luck.
Someone was quiet.
It was Stargirl, who was unusually silent right now.
"So Danny's really going back to his own dimension already? I was kinda hoping that he might stick around a little longer...I mean...not because I like him! Totally not! It's...just...you know...having a half ghost around may be a unique experience...and I could beat him in a fight...if I really wanted to..."She thought, unintentionally staring at him.
As Danny was walking by and shaking hands and saying his goodbyes to all the other Justice League members, not just the founding members, but also members like The Shining Knight, Vigilante, The Question, the Red Avenger and Speedy. The ghost boy noticed that she was staring at him and hasn't said anything yet.
"He looks different somehow..." She thought, feeling strange right now. "As if he...grew?..."She wondered, still staring at him.
As he passed by her, the Ghost Boy couldn't help but notice Stargirl was looking at him with an unusual look on her face that he couldn't exactly identify. Nevertheless he decided to try and end this on a good note between him and the masked blonde.
Stargirl looked away once she realized she had been discovered.
"Shouldn't have made it all to obvious..." She thought, kicking herself mentally.
"So..."Danny said to the blonde star spangled heroine.
"So..."Stargirl said, blushing a little bit and a tiny bit tongue tied before saying bit harshly. "Uh...well...good bye!..."She said, a little too quickly.
Danny however didn't take offense to her attitude and instead smiled slightly.
"Yeah...goodbye. And take care..." He said, chuckling in good nature.
Hearing that made her face turned even redder from blushing, but she tried to hide it.
"Say something!..."She thought, locking eyes with the half ghost hero, who stared right back at her.
"Well...have a safe trip...I guess..." She said, avoiding eye contact with him and nervously brushing her blonde hair aside.
"Thanks, I'll try..."Danny said. "I mean...this would be my second time traveling across Earths, Maybe this time the travel will go smoothly than it did the first this time around..."He said.
"Maybe..." Stargirl reluctantly agreed.
"So, I gue-..."
What surprised Danny the most was that Stargirl quickly gave him a quick hug.
"Thank You..." She whispered quietly in his ear before letting him go and left the ghost boy with a confused expression on his face.
"Uh...you're welcome?..."He said, wondering what that was all about.
Supergirl saw this and frowned slightly.
"What's with her?..."She thought, feeling a rather unpleasant emotion right now that she tried to ignore.
The Flash, Batman and some of the other heroes saw this and shook their heads, having an idea on what is probably going on right now.
"Teenagers, am I right?..."The Flash asked.
"You would know them best, given your maturity..."Shayera snarked.
"Even in other dimensions, they're just as difficult to understand..."Green Lantern said, almost amused right now.
As Stargirl went back to where her stepfather was, she ignore the looks she was getting and her stepdad's questioning her recent actions.
"Guess that's that. What a bust..."She thought as Danny continued to say his goodbyes to rest of the Justice League and all the heroes he got to know over the last few days.
She couldn't understand why she felt upset to see him go, not wanting to think about it out of displeasure of confirming her mother's theory that she has feelings for him.
Danny and Supergirl were the last ones to say goodbye, both teenagers awkwardly coughed, not exactly sure what to say to the other. However, neither of them really wanted to say goodbye to each other, but also knew that they couldn't prolong things any further.
However, they stepped away from the main group for a moment to have a few private words with each other.
"I'm gonna miss you, Kara..."Danny said, sounding crestfallen. "Meeting you was the highlight of this whole accidentally traveling to a new Earth mess..."He said.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Danny. And don't think of this as a mess, think of it as an unexpected misadventure..." Supergirl said, feeling sad.
"Okay, I'll do that..." Danny said "And as far as misadventures go, this one is definitely on my top five..."He said, hoping a joke could ease his uneasiness right now.
"Oh? I got competition for best misadventure?..."She asked, with an ironic giggle.
Danny blushed.
"Uh...I didn't mean it in a bad way it's just that...I been to different places, time and space, met some pretty cool ghosts and some not so cool, but you're definitely the coolest alien I ever met..."He explained.
"That would be more impressive if I didn't know that all the aliens you just met were all from my dimension, which I introduced most of them to you..." Kara teased.
"Uh..." Danny was at a lost for words, thankfully Supergirl saved him from any further awkwardness.
"I'm just messing with you, relax..."She said.
"Uh...right..."Danny said, chuckling in an awkward way.
Supergirl smiled at him.
She also didn't want the ghost boy to leave her dimension empty-handed.
"I brought something for you. Its not much but its something to remember me by..."Supergirl said.
"Really? What is it?..."Danny asked with curiosity.
Supergirl then pulled something out from behind, hoping that the ghost boy would appreciate the gesture. She presented her gift in a small box with blue, red, yellow wrapping paper and a white bow on top.
"Take a look. It's not much, but I hope you like it..."She said.
Danny opened it and saw what it was.
It was a blue men's bracelet with her S symbol on it, which surprises the ghost boy and several other leaguers who were eavesdropping on them.
"Like I said, it's just a little something to remember me by..." Supergirl muttered as she handed it to him.
"This is the symbol Kal and I use. It's become a symbol of hope for the people of this Earth and I'm hoping that this little trinket will help you in one of your darkest moments. As well as remind you that you're not the only hero our there..."She said. "And that you're not alone when it comes to keeping people safe..."She said with a small smile.
Danny looked at it in awe and was of course impressed.
"Thank you, I love it. I'll treasure it forever. And yes, I'm aware of how corny that sounded..."He said as he placed it on his right arm.
Supergirl chuckled.
"You have a way with words Phantom. Anyway, I'm glad you like it..."She said, sounding like she forgotten how sad she was.
Kara was just super glad that she managed to borrow some metal from her cousin's not-so secret fortress of solitude to quickly make that gift for Danny before he left. She knew she had to give him something special, and a piece of alien metal seemed to excite the young astronaut-to-be.
She then, in a moment of bravery, gave Danny a kiss on the cheek.
"Something else from me..."She said as Danny touched his cheek.
"Now I wish that I had something to gift you before I head back to my own dimension..."He said, blushing a storm.
"Just promise you'll never forget me..."Supergirl said with a bittersweet smile as she slowly walked away.
The other leaguers then tried to move back and pretend that they weren't eavesdropping on them. Also, Stargirl saw the moment between the two heroic teens and felt a sensation of jealousy within her.
"What does she have that I don't? And does she really have to always one up me at everything, including this?..." She muttered, feeling turmoil right now.
Had Courtney known ahead of time that her rival was planning something like this, then she would've had a goodbye gift to remember her for him too.
Until she realized where her train of thought is going.
"Wait? why do I care so much? I mean...Mom can't be right...right?..."She thought, looking confused now.
However, she didn't have much time to dwell on her issues as she realized it was just about time for Danny to go back home.
Dr. Fate returned with all his necessary magic items and mystical equipment and then started creating the portal that hopefully would send Danny back to his Earth.
"Just a little more..." He thought, as he continued with the incantation.
Soon, a portal appeared and shined so bright that even some leaguers had to cover their respective eyes from the sight.
Danny was both grateful and impressed by what he witnessed. Sure, he has seen ghosts create portals before, but that was between the Ghost Zone and the Earth, never between parallel Earths.
"It's time..." Dr. Fate said, as he gesture to the portal for the ghost boy to travel through.
He gave Danny a look of encouragement, sensing the young half-ghost was skeptical to enter the portal. He soon was proven right as he noticed Danny was staring at the portal with concern and uncertainty written on his face.
"Are you sure that this is the right portal?..."He asked, and the sorcerer nodded.
"I am. The vibration frequencies within you match the frequency and wavelength from this dimension..." Dr. Fate said. "Also in the worst case scenario, I also made a spell to bring you back here in the event that you enter the wrong Earth...but that scenario is unlikely..."He added.
Danny was silent, as continued to stare at the portal that might or might not send him home.
The ghost boy took a deep breath as he worked up the courage to take his first step into the magical portal that'll take him back home.
"Well...as they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained..."He mumbled.
Danny soon stepped into the portal, but before he took his first step forward and let the rest of his body enter the magic portal that'll take him back to his home dimension, he turned around and met the Justice League one final time.
He looked back at everyone he had met when he first came into this amazing world that's filled with super heroes. All things considered, he was grateful to have met all these different heroes, but especially one blonde alien heroine.
"Goodbye everyone. Thanks for everything..."Danny said, a part of him wishing that he could stay, but knew that he couldn't, since he knows that he's needed back home.
He took a deep breath, jumping straight into the portal.
"Goodbye, Danny..." Kara said sadly as everyone else waved to him.
The portal soon closed and Danny was soon sent back to his own dimension.
The ghost boy yelled as he found himself crossing dimensions. His eyes flashed with visions of himself and others from multiple different and similar universes. Some familiar, some foreign.
He wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but as he traveled, it was almost as he saw another version of himself with Supergirl. One where an alternate version of him dated almost 30 beautiful girls in some sort dating service program and somehow ended up in a committed relationship Kara/Supergirl.
"My eyes must be seeing things..." Danny thought, trying to not feel down in the dumps as his body kept crossing dimensions until he made it home.
Once the portal closed, all that was left behind were the burn marks that the portal made. Everyone silently watched where the portal once stood.
"It seems Danny Phantom made it back to his world. Now balance between our worlds has been restored..." Dr. Fate said, being optimistic that his work was done.
"Thank you, Dr. Fate..."Superman said, glad that they were able to send their young friend back to where he belongs.
However, he noticed a sad look on his cousin's face and made his way towards her. He noticed that her eyes were a little watery, but she tried hard not to show it. She continued staring at the spot where Danny had last stepped foot on before he left, not moving or saying anything yet.
"Kara..."Superman said as he tried to cheer her up, but she stopped whatever the man of steel was about to say.
"This is meant to be...I mean...I knew this would happen eventually. What matters is that Danny is where he belongs...just like me in a way..." She said, but it was clear that she was sad that her friend was gone.
She wasn't the only one upset as Stargirl sighed sadly, doing her best to fight her own tears falling off her face.
"She may be right..." She grumbled. "Danny's back home...Doesn't mean I have to like it..."She said, sounding bitter.
She then realized what she said out loud and she felt more frustration and annoyed with herself.
"Darn it. Why the the heck am I crying over that Phantom Punk being gone?..." She thought, feeling miserable and bitter right now.
"Courtney?..."Her stepdad asked, sounding concerned about her.
She didn't want Patrick to see her face and get the wrong idea about everything.
"Nothing Pat, I going to the training room and work on my boxing. Don't bother me..."She said as she walked away in hurried manner as she left the area.
Once she thought she was out of sight, she wiped some tears from her face.
"What's wrong with me?! It's not like we were even friends...so why does it matter to me?! Why does it hurt?!..."She thought, gripping her rod tightly.
Her stepfather saw her hasty departure and groaned.
"I wonder if her mother will have better luck at talking her through her emotions than me?..." Patrick Dugan/S.T.R.I.P.E. asked himself.
"Best of luck..."Superman said.
"I wouldn't count on it right away though..."He thought as he noticed a similar sad look on his young protege's face.
"This is the way things are...suppose to be..."Supergirl said, trying to convince herself that this was the right thing.
And trying hard not to cry right now.
However, the Girl of Steel couldn't help letting out a single tear slowly fall from her face as she felt her heart break slightly.
Meanwhile
A portal appeared and Danny stepped out of it...just as it closed.
"Glad that's over..."He said, since the transition wasn't exactly an easy journey.
He then looked around with nervousness and uncertainty. Danny saw back in his home dimension. However, he wasn't completely sure if this Earth was really his Earth.
"Did it work?..."He asked, worried.
He looked around, then quickly ran into an empty alleyway and morphed into his ghost form and then took to the air and flew around so that he could get a bird's eye view of his surroundings.
To his relief, he saw a familiar build-board and the ironically named fast-food burger restaurant that he had a soft spot for. He also saw a very familiar building with a UFO looking station built on top of it and that convinced him.
"It worked! I'm home!..."He cheered, overjoyed.
The ghost boy quickly flew into another empty alley to morph back to his human form and then races towards his house.
"They did it, I'm actually home! YAHOO!..."He said, looking ready to cry tears of joy right now.
After so long and so much worrying and uncertainties, he was finally home!
-To be continued-
Next time on The Ghost Boy and The Super Girl
Home Again
A/N(1): Special thanks to Invader Johnny, Jay the Average Fanboy and NeoMark for helping with this chapter. You guys rock. :)
A/N(2): I would like to dedicate this chapter to my loved ones :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
RonaldM40196867:
1) Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
2) I hope that this chapter can explain a little more of their relationship at this point.
3) I think that he could have appeared in more episodes.
Invader Johnny: Yeah.
Jebest4781: Thank you :)
Colacheunion: finds him fascinating, but also knows that he needs to go back home.
Gilgamesh50: Thank you :)
Major Simi: How's this?
Pokemon fan 1991: Thank you :)
Luiz4200: Yeah.
Guest: How's this?
Dragonrule: Yeah.
Darkness of enigma: Thank you. He is home now, but this story isn't over yet.
Khy Dragon: Thank you :)
Leonardo: Sorry, no spoilers. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens.
:) I hope you enjoyed this! Remember to read and review :)
