Chapter 3
"Daughter?!" Sam, Danny, and Danielle all looked at the other in disbelief. This changed everything. Or did it? Did anything actually have to change just because in a technical sense Danielle was their daughter? After all, she wasn't born to them. She was created in a test tube.
Tucker looked at all of them awkwardly as they tried to process their thoughts. "I'm just… gonna go wait in the speeder," he said and took off.
Danny's thoughts were running wild. Him? A dad? Sure he'd thought about it before, but he always figured it would be after college. He and Sam had never really discussed it either. Sure she got really into the baby care assignment last year, but that didn't mean she would actually want kids.
Sam was the first one to break the spell that had fallen over them. "Look, this is a lot to take in, and we're clearly gonna have to sit down and talk about this later, but this isn't the place to do it." She turned back to Clockwork who had just shifted to an old man. "Thank you for your help, Clockwork. We'll get out of your hair." She grabbed Danny and Danielle, who were still staring at each other in disbelief, by the wrist and dragged them back to the entrance. Once outside, she shoved Danielle into the speeder and took her seat.
Eye contact broken, Danielle's mind finally started functioning again. "You know what," she started. "I'm really grateful for everything you guys have done for me, but I think I'll just take off when we get back and-"
"You aren't going anywhere!" Sam and Danny shouted at the same time. They glanced at each other through the windshield before turning their gazes back to Danielle.
"Daughter or not, you're still family," Danny said. "And I think you've been on your own long enough. You need a place to call home, and I think that's with us."
"What happened to not telling your parents about her?" Tucker asked with a smug smile. Sam elbowed him hard in the arm. "Ow!"
"Shut up, Tucker," Sam growled. She turned back to Danielle. "You can sleep at my place tonight. But in the morning, all of us need to have a serious conversation about this."
"Sam's right," Danny said. "But first thing's first, we gotta get out of here and back home. I actually do have homework I have to get done." He floated ahead of the speeder to guide everyone back to the portal.
Danielle let her gaze drift outside to the endless expanse of the Ghost Zone. Where the sight before had held an endless wonder for her, now she was looking for something to latch onto to so she could ignore the heavy silence. While the trip to Clockwork's had been tense, the return trip was awkward. No one knew what to say, so they said nothing. The events and emotional turmoil she'd experienced today were starting to catch up to her, and the gentle hum of the Specter Speeder slowly lulled her to sleep.
Sam started when she felt someone leaning into her side, and turned to find Danielle, peacefully asleep and slumped against her. She smiled softly at the girl and turned her eyes back to Danny, who was still guiding them.
Tucker looked up from his PDA, where he was still digging through Vlad's research notes, and caught the smile on Sam's face. He couldn't help himself. "You're bonding aren't you?" The harsh elbow he received in return was all the answer he needed. "Ow!"
The house was eerily quiet as the speeder passed through the ghost portal. Danny changed back to human as he landed back in the lab. "You guys wait here. I'll go make sure the coast is clear," he said.
"Danny, wait," Sam's voice came through the Fenton Phones. "With everything that's happened, don't you think we ought to at least tell your parents? About everything?" She stepped out of the speeder, holding a still sleeping Danielle in her arms. "I mean, they've already proven twice that they care more about you than catching Danny Phantom."
Danny's first instinct was to argue. "Sam I can't just- actually that's a really good point." His eyes fell to the ground and he sighed. "Ok, I'll tell them tomorrow," he said, looking back to her. "I'm gonna go check on Valerie." He turned and made his way up the staircase, stopping at the last step to see if anyone was around. When he thought the coast was clear, he entered the kitchen and headed for the staircase leading to the second floor.
"Hold it, buster!" Danny flinched. "Just where have you been for the last hour," Jack asked from his spot on the couch in the living room.
Danny turned to see both his parents waiting for him, expectant looks on their faces. Thinking on the spot, Danny said "I was cleaning the lab?"
Jack and Maddie glanced at each other. "That's strange, we didn't see you," Maddie said. "And the Specter Speeder was gone too."
Panicking, Danny said "Oh really? That's strange. I guess when I was cleaning inside the speeder I hit the power button and didn't notice." He smiled awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm gonna go finish my homework now, bye!" He ran up the stairs before his parents could say anything else.
He had to check on Valerie and make sure she was alright. Maybe taking off her Time Medallion would erase her memories of the original timeline.
Reaching the top of the stairs, he made his way to Jazz's room and knocked. "Jazz," he whispered. "It's me, Danny." The door opened and Jazz let him in. "How is she," he asked.
"Still asleep," Jazz replied. "I got her some Nasty Burger for when she wakes up."
Danny took a seat next to the bed and stared down at Valerie, deep in thought. His hand moved to hover over the medallion around her neck. "I don't exactly know how these Time Medallions work. So I don't know if taking it off of her will change anything." He grabbed it and turned it intangible, pulling it through her body. "But it's worth a shot." He stood, Time Medallion in hand, and turned back to Jazz. "I gotta take Sam and Tucker home so mom and dad don't see them. If she's not awake by the time I get back, I'll just take her home."
"Did something happen at Clockwork's?" Jazz asked.
Danny hesitated but nodded. "Yeah. We'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Right now everyone needs their sleep." Changing to his ghost form, he phased through the house and back to the basement.
Tucker stood against the wall, staring at his PDA and Sam sat in a chair in the corner with Danielle still sleeping in her lap. Danny made himself visible again so they could see him. "Valerie's still asleep, but hopefully without this," he said as he held up the Time Medallion, "she won't remember my secret identity." He set the medallion on the table Valerie had crashed into. "Come on," he said and held out his hand. "I'll take you guys home. We can talk more tomorrow."
Sam stood and walked over to him. "And will that talk include your parents?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.
Danny sighed. "Yeah, it will," he promised.
"Don't worry dude," Tucker reassured him. "We'll be with you every step of the way. Even if your parents disown you and hunt you down like a common criminal." He smiled.
"Tucker!" Sam chastised him. "What are you trying to do, give him a heart attack?" She looked over to Danny and saw he'd frozen in place. She gave him a kiss on the cheek that broke him out of it. "Don't worry, Danny. Your parents are a lot more understanding than mine. You'll be fine."
Danny smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. He held out his free hand to Tucker who grabbed it. "Thanks, guys. I couldn't ask for better friends," he said. He turned them all intangible and flew them out of the house.
The first stop was Tucker's house. He thanked Danny for the ride and opened the door. "Tucker!" His parents had clearly noticed he snuck out of the house. "Where have you been," they shouted together.
"Aw man," he said as he entered.
Back at Fenton Works, Maddie descended the stairs to the lab. One look at the place told her that it definitely hadn't been cleaned today. Or for the last week for that matter. "Really, Danny. I understand you're tired from school, but that's no excuse to ignore your chores. I mean this table is a mess," she said, pointing out the table on the far side from the portal. "There's equipment everywhere, and," she noticed a strange, gear shaped pendant sitting on the table. "Sam's been leaving her jewelry here."
She picked it up, intending to leave it in a secure place so she could return it later when suddenly her mind was filled with visions of Danny Phantom saving the world from the Disasteroid. Then visions of Vlad Masters revealing himself to be the Wisconsin ghost, Vlad Plasmius. And finally a vision of Danny Phantom transforming before her very eyes into her boy, Danny Fenton.
She gasped as the sudden onslaught of information finally ceased, and looked back down to the pendant in her hand. It was then she finally took in the finer details of it, including the CW insignia engraved in the middle.
One of her new memories came to the forefront of her mind of Danny telling her and Jack about a ghost named Clockwork. Maddie looked over to the computer on the other table. Determined to get answers, she marched over to it and used her admin privileges to log into Danny's account. She moved the mouse over to a file labeled 'Ghost Info' and opened it. "Clockwork, Clockwork," she mumbled as she scrolled through the list. "Aha!" She found it. A file on Clockwork, with an image of a ghost in a purple robe with what looked to be a grandfather clock built into his chest. "Now let's see what Danny has on you."
She read through the entire file meticulously, and the more she read, the more questions popped up. It wasn't until the got to the last couple paragraphs, which detailed how the time stream had been altered, that things finally started to click into place.
"Altered time stream… Time Medallion… I have to tell Jack!"Maddie stood and ran up the stairs to the kitchen, where she found Jack rummaging around in the fridge. "Jack!" She called. "You have to see this!"
Jack stopped rummaging and pulled out a ham. "Maddie! Ready for a midnight snack?"
Maddie lifted her hand up and slapped the ham out of his hands and onto the floor, ignoring the incredibly disappointed look on his face. "Forget the ham, Jack, and hold this!" She shoved the medallion into his hand. Immediately his posture stiffened as his mind was flooded with the same memories she had seen.
Though it only took a second, it felt like a lifetime as his mind warped around his new understanding. When he came to, he only had one thing to say. "Get away from my fudge, Danny! I'll-" he stopped and blinked. "Funny, I could have sworn I just saw Danny stick his arm through the refrigerator. But that would be impossible unless…" You could almost hear the gears working in his head. "Danny's the ghost boy!"
Maddie nodded. "I remember Danny told us about a ghost named Clockwork who could alter time," she explained. "In his file, it says that he had to reset the time stream, and make it so no one knows Danny is the ghost boy anymore. Jack, our son saved the world!" She said enthusiastically.
Sam yawned as she, Danny, and Danielle phased through her bedroom wall. It had been a very eventful day and it was taking it's toll on her.
Danny, having taken Danielle from Sam earlier, laid her on Sam's bed and, without really thinking, placed a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead. He turned to see Sam smiling at him. "This is… gonna take some getting used to. Isn't it?" She nodded and gave him a hug. "I'm gonna get back home. I still have to take Valerie home. I'm sure her dad is worried sick." He pulled away from her and started floating to her window. "Good night, Sam," he said.
"Night, Danny," she replied. With that, he left. Leaving her alone with Danielle. As much as she hated to disturb the girl's clearly peaceful slumber, she had to get her ready for bed. Shaking her shoulder gently, Sam started calling her name. "Danieeeelle," she said slowly. The girl groaned in protest. "Danieeeelle," she called again.
Danielle's eyes cracked open slowly, taking in her surroundings. "Where am I? Did I fall asleep," she asked as she sat up.
Sam nodded. "You're in my room. Come on. You need to brush your teeth and we need to find you some PJs to wear." She guided the still groggy girl slowly to her bathroom. She was suddenly relieved her parents were filthy rich and she had her own bathroom attached to her bedroom. She was not looking forward to explaining who Danielle was to her parents if she had to take her out in the hall.
Sam handed Danielle her spare toothbrush. "Two minutes," she said. She left the girl to brush her teeth while she looked around for something small enough for her to wear to bed. Eventually she found an old pair of black silk pajamas from when she was younger. They might still be a little big, but it was going to have to do for now.
She went back to the bathroom, pleased to see that Danielle was still brushing, and set the pajamas on the toiled seat. "Sorry if they're a little big," she said. "We can go shopping for new clothes for you tomorrow." She went back to her room to give the girl time to change while she changed into her own pajamas.
A few minutes later, Danielle came out of the bathroom dressed in the pajamas Sam gave her. They were definitely a little baggy on her but not as bad as Sam was afraid of. "Thanks for the PJs," Danielle said. "So where do I sleep?"
Sam held her hand out to her. "Think you can keep us both invisible on our way to the guest room?" Danielle nodded and took her hand, turning herself and Sam invisible. Sam guided the girl to the guest room where she would be sleeping. "No one ever comes in here," she whispered as they stepped inside. She kneeled down to Danielle's eye level as she dropped the invisibility. "Ok, just a couple ground rules to keep us both out of trouble. First, keep quiet. We don't need anyone finding out you're here. Second, if you have to use the restroom or leave this room for any reason, you need to stay invisible. Third-"
"Ok, ok, I got it," Danielle said slightly annoyed. "I'll be as quiet as a mouse. No one will know I'm here." Sam nodded and stood, about to turn and leave when Danielle said something else. "And, Sam?" She stepped forward and hugged the older girl. "Thanks for letting me stay here tonight."
Sam smiled and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Don't mention it."
"Ok, Tucker's home, Sam's home, Danielle's asleep," Danny said to himself as he flew home. "Now there's just one more thing to take care of." He flew through Jazz's window. A look at the bed told him Valerie still hadn't woken up. "I need to get you home," he said. "Man, I should run a taxi service," he said to himself. He scooped Valerie up bridal style and flew back out of the house.
Danny transformed as he touched down outside of the Gray house and used his foot to knock on the door.
After a minute with no answer he knocked again. This time a tired voice answered him. "I'm coming! I'm coming. Who could be at the door at this hour-" Damon stopped short as he opened the door and saw Danny on his front step holding his daughter. "Valerie!" He quickly grabbed her from Danny's arms and turned to walk back inside, motioning for Danny to follow.
Danny waited at the base of the stairs as Damon took Valerie up to her room. He came back down a few moments later, a relieved smile on his face. "Danny, I can't thank you enough for bringing my daughter home. Where did you find her," he asked.
Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He hadn't really come up with a good lie to tell him so it looked like he'd have to tell the truth. "Actually, sir," he started. "I found her in my parents lab in her ghost hunting gear. It looked like she came through our ghost portal."
Damon put his hand on Danny's shoulder and smiled at him. "I'm just glad to have my daughter back. If you ever need anything, just let me know."
Danny smiled back. "Thank you, sir," he said. "I should probably go now. Tell Valerie I'll see her at school on Monday."
"Oh, don't worry about that. She won't be seeing anyone any time soon because she's gonna be grounded for the next five months!" There was a short pause before both of them started laughing. As Damon settled down his face turned serious and he said, "No, but seriously. She's in a lot of trouble."
Jazz descended down the stairs to the living room, intending to keep her parents busy while Danny was gone, but the sight that greeted her at the bottom of the steps stopped her in her tracks. Her dad was holding onto Clockwork's Time Medallion. Panic surged through her. How did they find that? Where did Danny leave it after he took it from Valerie? Did they know it was a ghost object?
"Jack, our son saved the world!" Jazz stiffened when she heard those words out of her mother's mouth. They shouldn't know that. Did the medallion somehow return their memories? If Valerie remembered Danny's secret, it must have something to do with the medallion.
"We should go wake him up and congratulate him!" Jack shouted. He charged for the stairs, Maddie close behind.
"Wait!" Jazz jumped out from around the corner, holding her arms out to her sides. "You can't go up there!"
Maddie and Jack glanced at each other then back to Jazz. "Why not," Maddie asked.
"Because, um," Jazz started. "Danny needs to… focus on his homework! You know how hard it is for him to stay focused." She chuckled nervously, hoping they would buy it.
Maddie looked over to Jack. "It can probably wait until tomorrow, hun," she said. "We don't want to disturb him while he's doing his 'homework' now do we?"
Jack looked down in disappointment. "Awww, alright," he said in defeat.
"You win, Jazz," Maddie said. "We'll leave Danny alone. We'll just be going to bed."
Slowly, Jazz lowered her arms and allowed her parents upstairs. After they were out of sight she let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "Phew, that was close," she said to herself. "Get home quick and get your sleep, little brother. Something tells me you're gonna have a busy day tomorrow."
Danny phased through his bedroom wall, finally ready to call it a day. By the lack of sound in the house he guessed everyone else was already asleep. He barely had the energy to kick off his shoes after changing back to human before jumping in bed. Though his body was tired, his mind was still running like crazy. "A dad, huh," he said to himself. "That doesn't actually sound too bad." Those were his last words before he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning came much too soon for Danny. The sun shone right in his eye, forcing him to wake up. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head, causing his back to crack a few times. A smell caught his attention and he pulled his shirt collar away to get a whiff of himself. He recoiled in disgust. "Phew! I reek! Better get in the shower." He hopped out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes to bring with him.
One shower later and Danny felt clean and refreshed. "Now I just have to wait for Tucker and Sam," he said to himself. He didn't really feel like dealing with his parents until he had to, so he went back to his room where he found a plate of eggs and sausage waiting on his desk. "Thanks, Jazz." He smiled softly.
He scarfed down the food as fast as he could. Normally he wouldn't eat so fast but he felt like he was just a ball of nervous energy. He was beyond thankful when he heard the doorbell because it meant he could finally get this over with. He rushed down the stairs yelling "I got it!" He ripped the door open so fast that he startled his friends on the other side. "Man am I glad you guys are here. I've been a nervous wreck all morning!"
"You think you've had it rough," Sam asked. "Try keeping my parents from finding an overexcited preteen flying around the house." She looked pointedly at Danielle, firmly squeezing the girl's hand that she held.
"Aw come on," Danielle whined. "I said I was sorry." She pouted as she looked up at Sam.
"And I told you to stay invisible so my parents wouldn't see you," Sam chastised her.
Danny and Tucker glanced at each other. "What did I tell you," Tucker said. "She's a natural born mother." Sam socked him in his already bruised arm. "Ow!" He rubbed his sore arm tenderly. "That bruise is never going to go away is it?"
"That depends on your ability to not say stupid things," Sam answered.
Danny chuckled and ushered them inside. "Come on. Let's do this before I lose my nerve." He closed the door behind them as they entered and went to the center of the living room. "Mom? Dad? Can you come here please?"
Jack was there in an instant, his back ramrod straight, with an excited grin on his face. Maddie and Jazz were slower to get there. "What is it Danny," Jack asked excitedly. "Got something you wanna tell us?"
Danny blinked, confused. "Uh, yeah…" he said. "You might wanna sit down for this one."
As they took their seats on the couch, Maddie took notice of the girl holding Sam's hand. "Sweetie, who's that," she asked. Danielle, suddenly feeling self conscious, hid behind Sam.
"She's… someone special," he answered vaguely. "I'll explain everything. Starting with this." He closed his eyes and two white rings erupted from his midsection, transforming him from Danny Fenton to Danny Phantom. When he opened his eyes again, revealing electric green irises instead of his usual calm blue, he expected shocked gasps and surprised faces. But he saw none of that. His parents were strangely calm about it. But he kept going anyway. "I'm half ghost. It happened during the accident with the portal." He waited for his parents to say something but they remained quiet. "Huh. Not the reaction I was expecting. Alright, how about this? Vlad Masters is also half ghost!" Still nothing. "Are you guys ok?"
"Oh, sweetie, we're just glad you trusted us enough to tell us this," Maddie said.
"Wait did you know?" He turned to Jazz. "Did they know?!"
Jazz nodded. "I think they figured it out last night," she said.
Turning back to his parents, he prepared himself for real bombshell. "We'll at least that makes this easier to explain," he said, changing back to human. He reached around Sam and gave Danielle a nudge, encouraging her to step out from behind her mother. "You ok?"
Danielle looked up at him anxiously. "A little weak in the knees actually," she replied.
"Mom, dad, Jazz," Danny said as Danielle stepped forward. "This is Danielle. My and Sam's," he hesitated for a second. "Daughter."
"Your WHAT," they all shouted, standing up.
"Ah, there it is," Danny said. Danielle rushed to hide behind him, turning herself invisible.
"Danny, you can't really expect us to believe you have a daughter this old, can you," Maddie asked.
"The girl must be 11 years old," Jack exclaimed.
"Hey, take it easy! You're scaring her," Danny yelled back. "Just let me explain." He waited for everyone to calm down and sit back on the couch. When they did, he reached around behind him and pried Danielle off of his leg, forcing her to be visible again and set her on the floor in front of him. "About nine months ago, Vlad started trying to clone me. He wanted his own obedient half ghost son."
Maddie's fist clenched in her lap. "Curse that man," she said to herself.
Danny nodded. "There were a couple failed experiments. Then he made Danielle."
"So she's a clone," Jack asked. He noticed how Danielle flinched at the question.
"That wouldn't really make her your daughter though," Maddie piped up. "More like a younger sister."
Sam stepped forward now. "That's what we thought too. But Danielle brought us Vlad's research notes. Tucker, what did you find?"
Tucker whipped out his PDA and started scrolling through the notes Danielle had given him. "The simple explanation is that Vlad used Sam's human DNA as a base, and introduced Danny's DNA afterwards. Like some kind of super advanced IVF."
"The point is," Danny interrupted. "Danielle doesn't have a place to stay. And I want her to be able to have a somewhat normal life."
Maddie smiled softly at him. "No need to beat around the bush, dear. Of course she can stay with us!" She got up and approached Danielle, kneeling down to eye level. "You look so much like your father at that age." That earned her a happy grin from the girl.
"Well," Jack said. "This is certainly more surprising than telling us you saved the world from a planet killing asteroid!" He glanced over to Maddie and Jazz who were glaring at him. "I was, uh, supposed to keep that to myself, wasn't I," he asked. Jazz and Maddie nodded.
Danny's eyes went wide. "Mom, dad? How do you know about that," he asked, panic seeping into his voice.
Tucker got an alert on his PDA that caused his eyes to almost pop out of their sockets. "Uh, guys," he said.
Maddie sighed, standing back up to look her son in the eyes. "The truth is, Danny, I found the Time Medallion that was left in the lab. I figured it was Sam's and-"
Tucker started waving his hands, trying to get everyone's attention. "Guys, you should really see-"
Danny cut him off. "No, that's not the point! If touching the Time Medallion gave you your memories from another timeline, that means Valerie still knows my secret!"
"GUYS!" Tucker's voice echoed through the living room, causing everyone to go silent and look at him. "Turn on the TV! Right now!"
Jack grabbed the remote and aimed it at the TV, bringing it to life. It was in the middle of the local news. "-top story this morning, a video has gone viral online of a girl who claims to know the identity of Amity Park's own Danny Phantom. Roll the clip."
"Oh no," Danny groaned.
The TV showed Valerie in her room, an almost manic look in her eyes. "People of the world, Danny Phantom is not what he seems," she said. "He's half human! And I can prove it!" The camera panned to show the street outside her house, where Danny Fenton stood on the sidewalk before those familiar white rings changed him into a ghost.
"No, no, no," Danny mumbled, panic really setting in.
The camera pointed back to Valerie who said, "His name… is Danny Fenton!"
Deep in the Ghost Zone, a lone ghost flew manically toward a giant palace of marble. The bat wings on his shoes flapped furiously as he charged past the marble pillars and into the main hall, where a ghost with a white beard waited for him on a throne. He kneeled before the man before him and bowed his head deeply in respect. "Sire," the ghost said. "I bring joyous news!"
The bearded ghost lifted his hand from where it rested beside him. "Please, stand, child. It has been almost a millennia since I have last seen your face. Deliver your message with your head held high!"
"It would be my honor, your majesty." The messenger stood and lifted his face to lock eyes with the powerful ghost before him. He stood at attention and proudly delivered his message. "My king! A new gateway to the human realm has finally been opened!"