Danny woke up almost instantly after receiving his friends' messages. The situation wasn't just bad, it was truly horrible. Right now, hundreds, no, thousands of people were watching the video of him fighting a ghost. And it would have been okay if that footage hadn't gotten on video. But they did! That means tons of people saw what happened in Friendship Park. No one ever believed their ghost stories, they thought the town was a bunch of crazies. The first time they called the Justice League, they just didn't believe them. After that, they couldn't even get through. A lot of people say that even relatives have a hard time getting through from Amity Park, which is probably why the post office was a priority.

But now. It's all over social media. And everyone's seen it, maybe even league members. And if Danny would have been happy about it before, now it wasn't generating any positive thoughts. And there were a number of reasons for that, which he was about to voice:

One, ghosts are a new race that is open to a very limited number of people. Consequently, the first people to be approached by professionals would be the experts in the field. And experts are idiots who believe their unsupported theories to be true.

"Which means they can believe the research of my parents or the idiots in white. "They won't listen to the children. "

Second, since ghosts are unknown to them, they are unaware of the dangers that await them in the city!

"An Omnicidal Superman will definitely be a problem. And even though I won't have any trouble beating the ghost out of him, the scale of destruction he could wreak is frightening. Not to mention the rest of the League. "

Third... What will happen to him? If the professionals get dragged into this case, eventually, Danny has no doubt that his secret will be revealed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been asked how he was feeling! He didn't even want to think about being a lab rat, to be dissected on a cold metal examination table, to be experimented on until the last breath escapes his lips, until his heart beats its last beat, until his blood freezes in his veins...

"It must be bad that I'm preparing for the worst outcome without assuming there's a better one, right? "

He needed to calm down. Take another look at everything. Jaz had always said not to jump to conclusions, not to assume the worst. There was always a way out, you just had to find it. Right now, the best idea was to have a meeting and decide together what they should do with the video. Danny got on his phone:

Ghost_Boy: General meeting outside Nasty in half an hour.

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– I can't believe it. Your level of irresponsibility astounds me! -

Sam was already scolding Tucker when he came toward them. The boy looked very embarrassed, holding a red beret that he fiddled with nervously. His voice sounded very guilty, of course, such an oversight could not happen on purpose:

"I'm sorry, I already said that... I mean. I deleted the video immediately. I even deleted the entire account and cleaned up any links! No one will ever find what device it was taken from." -

Danny just rested his face in his hands and slowly slid his head back down to the surface of the table, never touching his fries:

"I don't think it's a big deal... Meaning. If anyone realizes this isn't just a stupid montage, then.. I don't even want to think about it." -

Sam and Tucker silently looked at their friend with sympathetic eyes. Gotka even picked up a potato, which she gingerly held out to Danny. He obediently took it into his mouth, but instead of eating it, he sat with it in despair. Tucker coughed a little to get some attention:

"Dude, I don't think professional heroes need us. We've called them more than once, haven't we? What's the point of them showing up in a godforsaken town that they've basically already managed to reject? Besides, we're all aware that not all information about Amity Park reaches outsiders." -

Sam and Danny looked at their techno-friend with curiosity. On the whole, his words carried common sense:

"Like. Dudes, I mean, don't you think it's weird that for some reason most of the people in our town are using some weird couch cushions? My folks use those things because they're the only way to get through to anyone in town. And the news. As much as I love Lance and the media gossip, don't you think it should be in the public domain? Well, somebody must have noticed, right?" -

Now what he said was even more disturbing. It didn't make me feel any better. With a groan of despair, the half-ghost exhaled and simply began to speak incoherent nonsense about his imminent second half-death:

"I'm dead, my parents will kill me, the government will bury me, and ghost hunters will dance on my bones. We're screwed. It's only a matter of time. Soon some state agents will come here, and then…" -

Sam and Tucker sharply interrupt their friend, jumping up sharply from their seats:

"Danny!" - a sharp shove against the table causes a glass of Coke to fall and spill across the table, causing the half-ghost to rise from the table and turn his attention to his friends. His cheeks slightly reddened with embarrassment as he began to sink back into self-injury.

Sam continued as Tucker gave her a sign:

"Danny. Please calm down. Right now, nothing happened. We're with you and we're not going to leave you. We'll figure something out together." -

Tucker nodded and continued the thought:

"She's right, man. We've been through so much! Traveling in space and time, overthrowing horrible ghostly royalty, bringing back a city from another dimension, clones, Undergrowth... I could go on and on, but.. Hey! I don't think it's too late to give up so soon." -

His friends' words probably made sense. But the feeling that was building in his chest was pressing harder and harder by the minute. Maybe he really needed professional help a long time ago? No, we're not talking about heroes right now, we're talking about his mental state. As long as Jazz was around, he didn't get so down. At home, he had the one person he could count on. But now. It was just him and his friends. No, Danny certainly didn't want to complain. He's happy that he has those who support him, who haven't turned away. And their words do make him feel better. But... it can't completely help and fix the inner anxiety. The stress he gets on a daily basis should have turned him gray long ago. Well, his ghost is doing a great job of dealing with it. Perhaps the fact that Phantom has white hair is the only reason Fenton himself wasn't white yet. What would his sister say?

"I think you guys are right. You can't just think about the bad stuff. All right. Let's go over it again. Tucker, you deleted the video from the main channel. The account itself and all the links have been cleaned up, right? So our next task is to create fake pages. If someone wants to check out our city, the first thing they'll probably do is check the profiles of teenagers who live here. Faking the dates on the pages isn't that hard. What we need to do is post pictures of our hangouts so that no one suspects that we might be engaging in any outside activity. It may seem strange that teens our age don't do social media in any way at all." -

The boy in the red beret immediately started working on the PDA, saying only a few sentences:

"Leave it to me!"-

Danny looked proudly at his friend and then turned to Sam:

"Sam, I have another task for you. Your family is one of the most powerful in the city. I know you hate to get into your parents' conversations and their business dealings, but I need any information that might be useful. If anyone is coming to town anytime soon, it's your job to find out and report it."-

Goth just squinted her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, she seemed really proud of herself at this point:

"Don't worry about it, Danny. I have eyes and ears all over Amity, if I want, my personal servants will leak me any information. Speaking of which, do you remember Tracy? She just recently took a job as a manager at a local hotel. If I ask her, she'll be able to get me information on the new arrivals. Then Tucker can run these people through the database and do a background check." -

Danny started to calm down and nodded. It had been a good plan to begin with, but now it was time to protect ourselves even more:

"All right. And lastly, my job. I'm going to leave bags of supplies in case I have to run. I remember we've talked about this before, but we haven't put the plan into action. It's time." -

The friends heard another abrupt change in Danny's voice. Toward the end his voice shook and his shoulders slumped to the ground. Sam and Tucker looked at each other, neither of them daring to ask. And yet, the girl was the first to dare to ask:

"Danny. We haven't asked in a while, but.. Is everything okay at home?" -

Tucker nodded and added carefully:

"Yeah. We know your folks can be a little... Well, you know. We don't have anything to worry about, do we? Well, more than usual." -

The black-haired boy was quiet. It was the one topic he really didn't want to talk about. Still, as Jaz had said, it wasn't a good idea to keep such things inside. But was it worth talking about? Did Danny even have a right to be angry with his parents? I mean, they love him. They gave him life. And their camping trips together? Yeah, it may have been all about ghosts, but the whole purpose of the trips was to bring the family together and strengthen their bond, wasn't it?

– "Well. Uh, it's not that bad, but, uh. We just don't talk anymore. At all. Honestly, I can't remember the last time we had dinner together. They spend all their time in the lab, I don't even want to know what they do or eat, to be honest. After Jaz left, things started to go downhill from there. I think she and her persistence was the linchpin that kept us together, but now.. I sometimes think that I never meant more to them than ghosts. I'm selfish, I guess. But.. Oh," - the boy leaned back in his seat and covered his eyes with his hands. Slowly, slightly greenish bright bitter tears flowed from beneath his hidden palms:

–.. Is it normal that I don't feel anything for them anymore? That I don't feel like they need me? Oh, Ancients, I'm so selfish. -

Tucker and Sam immediately jumped into each other's arms. Danny couldn't hold back, the emotions he let out with his abilities, battles or creativity just poured out in silent bitter tears. Boy thought:

"Why... Why am I crying? Just why... Everything was always fine. Why does one question just throw me off balance? I mean, they love me. And I love them? But then why do I ask it? Why am I saying these things? What's wrong with me? It's something wrong with me, isn't it?"

Sam was only able to add one sentence:

"Danny. We're with you. You're not selfish, okay? What you're feeling is normal." - three teenagers left sitting together in a tight hug. Maybe Team Phantom could handle ghosts, but when it comes to something... Personal? That's hard to handle. They can't just kick the baddies' asses and send them home like they usually do. In this case, the main villains are in the same house with him, sharing a roof over his head, a family name and blood. What is a child whose main enemies are his own parents to do?

The internal conflict that the teenager experiences day by day eats him from the inside out. It builds up, drips and drips, until the vessel is full. But what do you do when it is full? Will everything inside spill out, or will the vessel itself simply crack under the pressure?

Danny is wracked by his own emotions, his own thoughts. He can't figure out what's right and what's wrong. Can he think badly of the people who've been with him all his life? Yes, the Fentons are careless, sometimes overly so, but they love him and Jazz. That said, he hasn't felt welcome in his own home in a long time. That said, the Fentons are willing to tear Phantom apart, molecule by molecule, but only to protect their family and loved ones. Two sides of the same coin, just like Danny himself. Except no one ever realizes there's still only one medal. He and his parents definitely have issues. Whether they solve them together or not is another matter entirely. How close is their relationship now that they'd even try to listen to him? Certainly not close enough to start a dialog. And there's no adult to lean on.

– "Maybe we should go to Vlad...?" - was a thought that Danny accidentally said out loud. The three kids blink their eyes a couple of times at the same time, then grimaced and said clearly:

– No, definitely not. -

This caused a small nervous wave of laughter. The tears finally fell from the boy's face, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. Danny said:

"I'm sorry, guys, I got a little emotional today. Thank you for being here for me. I don't know what I'd do without you guys, really. I haven't talked to anyone lately about.. Personal stuff. And I don't like to. And as much as I hate to admit it, Jazz was right that talking about problems with someone you trust

you trust helps." -

Tucker immediately picked up his cell phone and pretended to go to messages:

"Say what you just said again, man. I'm sure Jazz will be very happy to hear that!" - said the guy in a slightly snide voice, squinting his eyes.

– "Don't even think about it, Tucker!" - Danny made angry green eyes and gave his friend a stern look. Sam just rolled her eyes and smirked, glaring at her two idiot friends. And at that very moment, an alert came on the PDA that almost made Tucker drop the device to the floor. Everyone abruptly stopped talking and stared at their friend:

"Guys...? We have a problem…"

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The three young guys sat in Tucker's operating room, littered with computers, smartphones, and other technology. The boy in the red hat adjusted his glasses and went back to quickly tapping the keys on the keyboard:

"Some unknown person has already started hacking into our database. Apparently, he can't get through our firewalls. I can't get back in either, apparently the barrier between Amity Park and the other cities won't let him in or out. On the one hand, that's a plus, but on the other hand, we don't know who or what the threat is coming from." - the boy leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. Tucker bit his lip and started tapping his foot on the floor out of nervousness:

"Damn... I could finish the first part of our plan right now. But we need to hurry. If this isn't just some rogue entity, we could be in danger. They might even come here…" -

That wasn't good. They had even less time than they thought. Danny began pacing hysterically around the room, literally walking in circles. He had been doing this for several minutes now, and if no one stopped him, he would continue to do the walking and tear up the already waxed floorboards. Sam set about distracting her friend on her own:

"Danny, get a grip, soon your laps will form not a trail but a whole trampled hole. Come on, ghost boy." -

The half-ghost turned his attention to her and paused for a moment, thinking. Tucker was right that there could only be two possibilities. But what are the odds that some individuals actually want to find them? Usually, as his math teacher and professor in probability and statistics theory used to say, the simplest answer is the right one. But would it work in this case? And what option, given their crazy lives, is that the simplest option? Halfa brushed a hand through his hair, perked up a bit, and looked around at the guys before he spoke:

"Oh... So... So, it's time for us to prepare for the possible arrival of uninvited guests. But there's a chance it's a false alarm. We can't back down, we need to be prepared. But at the same time, we should act normal. We don't need to draw attention to ourselves right now." -

Tucker, who had just gotten off the computer again, grinned a little and took a sip from the coffee cup on the table. (Danny didn't want to know how long that nasty stuff had actually been on the desk):

"Does that mean we're going to continue your superhero latex shoot?" -

Danny fell silent, slightly thoughtful, while Sam tsked irritably, rolling her eyes slightly emphatically, then stated sarcastically:

"Oh, yeah, Tucker, that's a great idea. Let's walk around town in Robin costumes and fight ghosts! It certainly won't attract any attention." -

But the black-haired boy didn't say anything to that statement. He was really starting to think about it:

–"Actually. It's not such a bad idea." -

Sam looked at her friend with her eyebrows raised in surprise. The Goth girl had been experiencing too many different emotions lately, which wasn't in keeping with her personality and the image she had built of herself:

"What do you mean, Danny?" -

The boy smirked slightly, seeming to get a small idea into his head that seemed good enough:

"I have an idea. It's either the dumbest idea I've ever had or the most brilliant." -

Tucker adjusted his glasses, seeming to break out into a slight chuckle now, which made the half-elf frown slightly. He was already anticipating what his friend might give away now, so he pulled a five buck bill out of his pocket:

"Given that you clearly haven't passed on your ancestors' genius genes, I'm betting on the first option." -

The saddest part is that Sam pulled ten bucks out of his pocket and started arguing with his friend for money:

"I bet he had a good idea for the first time. Although, really, I'd really like to support Tucker on this one. But someone has to be on Danny's side." -

Halfa just crossed his arms over his chest and pouted a little. Now he looked like a beaten puppy who'd had something tasty dangled in front of his eyes but hadn't gotten a bite:

"Thank you guys for believing in me so much." - of course, it was just a little joke to lighten the mood in the room:

"So... My idea is to continue this silly cosplay activity. First of all, if we just pick up and disappear, it'll raise questions from the people living in Amity Park. Second, we could try to turn things around for us. It was Halloween recently. The stores are still selling Halloween merchandise. What if we put it all out there as a holiday promotion? People in this town don't have a problem seeing ghosts, they're more surprised by the characters themselves. You can put on a little show for them and then officially endorse it as a holiday charity event. That way, gradually the wave of popularity will subside and most will have no questions. And those who decide to stick their noses in our business, we can deal with it as the problem comes in." -

Now that all three of us were on board with the idea and considering all the options. It didn't sound so bad. Now they had some kind of cover. Sam coughed a little and summarized:

" ..Means Tucker's finishing up our pages now, I'm staying in touch with my people, getting new costumes ready for our 'show', and you're creating a safety cushion for yourself in case things go wrong. Oh, right. Also, Tucker owes me five dollars." -

Computer Boy nodded at every word, right up to the last statement, then dropped his coffee from the table:

"Hey! I didn't sign up for this!" - Unfortunately, the small bill of money had already been snatched out of the teenager's hands, now it was the younger Foley who looked offended, not their semi-transparent friend, who finally had a relaxed smile on his face:

"Actually, you signed off when you said the word 'betting' " -

– "You guys are insufferable! This is a rip-off! That five bucks, that's a whole two meaty little burgers... or one big super meaty sandwich." - The teen sighed a little dreamily before sadly returning to programming. Goth could only make a facepalm at this statement, and the halfa, without any shame or conscience, laughed at his best friend.

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The three friends stayed in the room for a while longer. The day had been quite eventful with all sorts of events. No matter what anyone said, they were still just kids who had to take on the roles of heroes and their support on their own, for the sake of keeping the peace and the common good. So, sitting late on a rooftop at night after his patrol, Phantom looked around the slowly living city. Beside him sat a small green figure resembling a cat. The ghostly cat sat next to it, yawning and stretching slightly, feeling secure and free. The ghost boy stroked the ectoplasmic fur, shifting his gaze from the lights of the city to the flickering dots in the sky.

– You left because it was time to leave. It was time to say goodbye to your loved ones and your family, right? -

The cat in Halfa's arms rolled over, putting its fluffy belly under the hands of the stranger. The creature could hardly understand his words:

–" I'm glad they loved you. And you loved them, too. You know, so much has happened in the last couple days. I don't know how to explain it. I feel like I'm in the wrong place. Everything's changing. And I'm not sure which way to go. Or where I should be going myself. I'm in danger every day. I've always been in danger. But...it's now that I've started to realize that the danger has always been there. My thoughts are that I don't feel at home in my own house." -

The bluish cat rolled over on its paws and twirled around Halfa, who was sitting on the edge of the roof. Then, the fluffy ectoplasmic lump perched on the edge and took a small step forward, straight up into the air, climbing it as if it were an invisible ladder.

"And you're leaving... Because you have to. Because it's time. Maybe I feel this way because it's time for me to go too?"

Green eyes stared up at the brilliant moon, which reflected white saucers in the poisonous ectoplasm. The young Ghost's response was only calm silence and a gentle night chill wind.