A/N: Welcome to another chapter of Heart of a Hero! Hope you enjoyed the three straight weeks of chapters! Progress on the writing side is slowing down a bit since my pre-writing has officially run out, so I have to buckle down and do some more hopefully you won't notice, as I do have a backlog built up! (Up through Chapter 11 is already written and just waiting for my beta readers to touch it up.) So even if I don't manage to write a single new chapter until then, you'd have Chapters for all three posts this month. Moving on, I'll let you guys get to the chapter. Please remember to comment and review! I love hearing your thoughts and suggestions for the story.
"Danny! Come on down, I think we've finished it!" Jack said, calling up the stairs to his son. Danny descended the stairs, seeing their work lying on the counter, his smartphone, a custom one designed and built by his parents, was lying on the soldering station, seemingly finished. "Behold, the upgraded Fenton Phone! The Ghost Digital Assistant! All the benefits and features of a standard smartphone, with everything a ghost hunter needs included! We've added a ghost tracker, a patrol route optimizer, and even a ghost emergency button that contacts us directly!"
"Neat stuff Dad." Danny said, picking up the phone and looking at it. The additional features had packed on some extra size, the device was now about as chunky as mid-2000s PDA, the same height and width of a regular smartphone, but now nearly an inch thick.
"Size is an issue, but it was necessary to add one additional feature. Technus, how about you hop in." Jack said, gesturing for the ghost.
Technus flew into the device, his avatar appearing on screen. "Hello Ghost Boy! While I am in here, I am capable of providing you with various forms of assistance, from technical support and increasing the processing power of the device during times of heavy stress. I can even do this!" Technus has the phone grow arms and legs, and walk around a bit. "Pretty cool eh? I can also interface with other technologies through here, including all of the Fentonworks devices."
"That is really cool, although as a question, how did you make it to where Technus won't set off my ghost sense?" Danny asked, looking to his parents.
"Uh… we didn't." Maddie said, before dropping her head onto her desk. "I knew we overlooked something, Jack."
"You're right Maddie, but that's a big one. Technus, do you have any ideas how that would work?" Jack asked, taking a seat back onto the soldering desk, clearing tools and starting on some new plans.
"I believe an ectoplasmic containment field I could turn on and off from the inside and with a switch on the outside would be sufficient, although I will admit that the boy's ghost sense is an ability I do not have, so I cannot be certain how it works." Technus said.
"We'll need to do some tests when you get home then Danny. We'll get a prototype set up and have Technus get inside it when you get home. For today, how about you just carry him with you and track ghosts the old fashioned way?" Jack suggested, handing Danny a belt clip that was custom sized to fit the phone.
"That'll probably be okay, ghosts usually come after me anyway." Danny said putting on the clip before waving goodbye. "Guess Technus and I are off to school!"
"It will be very enjoyable to be at school again, I haven't been in a high school classroom in over forty years!" Technus said happily from his seat on Danny's belt.
As Danny flew to school he decided to speak to Technus for a moment. "Not that I don't appreciate it Technus, but why are you deciding to work with me and my parents? I figure a lot of ghosts wouldn't be happy with you helping me put them back in the ghost zone."
"Assuming all ghosts get a similar chance at a deal like I received, I am assuming that they are acting in bad faith. Getting to work with your parents to develop new technologies is very exciting! We have several new projects in the works, a set of ghost filtering earphones, more compact wrist lasers, and your mother showed me that Star Wars movie that you all enjoy, and I was fascinated by the light sabers seen within. That movie came out a few years after my death, so I missed it, but I would have loved it. I see why you all do so much." Technus said. "In short, as long as you only attempt to trap ghosts that are actively harming people, and are lenient with the others, I do not mind assisting. Do not expect me to fight unless I am threatened though."
"No worries Technus, you're good to just let me and my folks do the ghost fighting, you can handle the tech stuff." Danny said with a smile.
His joy was cut short when a ghost suckerpunched him out of the sky, slamming him to the ground, Danny turned and looked up, seeing a blob with arms laughing. "You good if I clobber this guy then Technus?"
"I believe he has, as the youth say, sucked for it." Technus said. "Sending a message about this encounter now."
Danny flew up and punched the ghost, knocking it further into the air, causing it to cork screw around and attempt to deliver another punch. Danny caught the fist however, spinning the ghost around and around before throwing him, following it up with a blast. The blast hit the ghost straight on, sending it flying away. "Dang it, I need to stop doing that."
"Yes, it is far more effective to capture the ghosts than to send them away like that. I will take notes about this encounter and possible ways you may improve. Learning from your mistakes is very important child." Technus said.
"I appreciate it, Technus, although you don't have to rub my losses in my face." Danny said; he knew Technus didn't mean it like that, the man just didn't understand sarcasm.
Landing invisibly behind some bushes at school, Danny transformed back into his normal self and walked in, his disappointment must have been showing, because Star stopped him. "What's wrong babe?" She asked, her blue eyes looking at him with concern.
"Ghost got away this morning, I'm messing up encounters with this new ecto-ray power I got against Desiree. Against her I didn't know I could do it, so knocking her away then was something I could call not my fault. This time I did it KNOWING that was a possibility, and now that ghost is still out there." Danny said disappointedly. Star hadn't joined in on the ghost hunting fully yet, she was aware and was starting to practice with a blaster, but she hadn't been on a real mission outside of the encounter with Desiree.
"It's alright, you're doing your best aren't you? It's not like you're the only ghost hunter either. Your parents are around if anything happens while we're in school, and once we're out you have me, Kim, Sam, and Tucker to help out. If we tell him the secret, we could probably get Ron too." Star said, pulling him into a hug. "You're not alone Danny, we're here to help. I'm just learning about this ghost stuff, and it's going to be a bumpy road, but I know you can do it. Not because you're Phantom, but because you're Danny Fenton."
"Man, you're really good at this cheering me up stuff." Danny said, with a smile on his face as he returned her hug.
"Part and parcel with being a cheerleader. Now you can make it up to me by helping me set-up decorations for the Spirit Festival this week. The cheerleaders have to do it, and you know there is no way Paulina or Bonnie are going to help." Star said.
"Alright, but only because there'll be two pretty girls there." Danny said with a smirk.
"Oh, who would they be?" Star asked knowingly.
"Oh, you know, just Kim Possible and Star Lett, the two prettiest girls in the school." Danny teased. Star just chuckled, as the two walked hand in hand to their first class.
As Danny and Star took their seats, Danny glanced over and waved at Kim, who waved back. They had gone public with their relationship just after Danny came back from Wisconsin, since they had already told all of their friends and family. James Possible had been furious, but Ann had calmed him down, saying that Kim was well within her rights to choose a boyfriend, and she thought she couldn't do much better than Danny. Star's mom had simply accepted it, not thinking too much about it. The wider school had… various reactions to say the least. The 'nerds' that Danny was usually looped with due to his love of robotics and astronomy had begged Danny to tell them how to get girls, but Danny didn't have any advice for them. Others didn't take it well. Paulina and Bonnie had totally ostracized the girls, insinuating that the two of them were so incapable of finding boyfriends that they had to team up to get one of the biggest losers in the school. That made Danny's blood boil, not for the insult against him, but for how they treated Kim and Star. Dash had upped his bullying significantly, which was beginning to make Danny reevaluate his stance on fighting back. He wouldn't stoop that low though, and just bared it as best he could. The three of them had a support network, they could work through it.
Tucker had been ecstatic for the trio. He knew that Kim liked Danny, and that Danny was interested in both girls, so was happy that they worked out a solution that made all of them happy, even if he was sad that Sam couldn't be happy with the result as well.
Sam was less enthusiastic about the situation, with her feelings laid bare, and the rawness of that rejection, even if indirect, had caused her no small amount of emotional turmoil. She knew that it was her own fault though. She'd never pushed for Danny, never tried to make her feelings known, and she wasn't going to blame Kim and Star for being braver with their feelings than she had been. She was distancing herself for now, still Danny's best friend, but letting herself recover.
Ron was confused at first, he couldn't imagine a universe where Kim would ever share a boyfriend, but had gotten over it quickly. He and Danny were good friends, and Ron knew Danny would treat them both right, so he didn't mind too much. He only needed assurances that Kim was still his best friend, and that wouldn't change come hell or high water.
Valerie was a different beast altogether. She'd confronted Danny, demanding to know why he was cheating on Star. It had taken Star, Kim, and Sam to pull her away and tell her that Star and Kim had come to the agreement on their own, and that Danny had never even suggested the idea. He barely put together that Star wanted them to really be boyfriend and girlfriend by the time they asked him. Valerie relented, saying that as long as Star was happy she could deal, although she glared at Tucker not to get any ideas. That was when she and Tucker revealed that they were officially together, which was a much less controversially positive thing for the group.
Danny was pulled out of his thoughts though, when Mr. Lancer spoke up. "Good morning class, it is my pleasure to introduce a new student who will be joining us. Come on in Ms. Spectra."
An attractive red-headed girl entered the room, her hair went to roughly her middle back, and combed it to where she had no bangs. Her green eyes were accentuated by winged eye-liner that drew the attention to her face. Her outfit was a red overshirt worn unbuttoned over a white long-sleeved shirt, with a red skirt that made it to just above her knee. Some stylish red boots completed the ensemble. She was pretty, that was certain, although something about her felt off to Danny.
"Hi everyone! I'm Penelope Spectra, you can just call me Penny though! Oh, I'm sure we'll all be great friends!" She said, a perkiness in her voice that couldn't be ignored. She seemed exactly the kind of girl Sam would hate.
"Why don't you sit over next to Ms. Sanchez Penny. We'll begin class once you have your seat." Lancer said, turning his back while Penny stepped over to sit with Paulina. The boys eyes followed behind Penny as she took her seat, obviously enthralled by the new beauty. Danny supposed he couldn't blame them too much, if he wasn't with Star and Kim, he'd probably be looking too.
Class began and Danny overheard snippets of conversations between Paulina and Penny. The pair seemed to hit it off immediately, sharing interests in fashion, as well as that general sense of superiority that came from being attractive. Danny signed internally as he put the pieces of Penny Spectra's personality together. She was well and truly everything Sam hated about popular girls, vain, self-obsessed, and materialistic. He wondered if that's why she and Paulina were getting along so famously.
Danny felt his ghost sense go off, his anxiety jumping into overdrive out of habit, but calmed down. Technus was still present, attached to his belt inside of his phone. The ghost sense was constantly going off, it seemed every few minutes it was triggering. Danny simply ignored it for now, figuring any ghost that wanted to fight would let him know pretty quickly.
By lunch time, Spectra had already earned herself a spot at the A-List table, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Paulina and Bonnie, while Dash, Kwan and Dale sat opposite them. As Danny walked by the table getting his lunch, he couldn't help but notice how miserable they all looked, with the exception of Penny. "You know Bonnie, it really has to be infuriating how you had everything set-up for you to take over Middleton, you were set-up for success to be head cheerleader, and the most popular girl in school. One lab accident over the summer though sent those plans down the drain. Now you're Vice-Captain to Paulina, and number two to her in so many ways." Penny said casually. Danny cringed a bit at that. Kim had made it very clear that Bonnie was all about image, and that deep down she's actually not a horrible person, just obsessed with maintaining that image. To have someone new just tear it apart like that HAD to sting.
Danny sat at his table, taking his seat between Kim and Star. "You're looking down Danny, something up?" Kim asked, looking over at her boyfriend.
Danny sighed, pointing his fork over at the miserable A-List table. "Looks like new girl is looking to be Queen Bee of the school. Tore Bonnie down like she wasn't even there, and that's just what I heard. I've NEVER seen Dash look that miserable." Danny said. "They're not people I'd call friends by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm not convinced anyone deserves that."
"Really? She seemed so friendly in class." Star mused, looking over. "Yeah, no Paulina's upset, her left eye is twitching like it always does when she's upset about something. Val, I know they're not our friends anymore, but can you help me come try and cheer them up a bit? I don't wanna see them like that."
"I'd say let 'em have it, but you were always too nice for your own good. I'll back you up girl." Valerie said, standing up and smoothing out her skirt. "Tucker, don't eat my Salisbury steak or I'll bury you."
"You know I wouldn't do that Val, I like my meat, but I'm no thief, besides, I've got Sam's." Tucker said, happily chowing down.
"I'll come with too if you don't mind, Bonnie and I aren't on the best of terms, but I'm not going to stand by and let someone be worse to Bonnie than Bonnie is to me." Kim said, standing up. "Back in a minute Danny."
The three girls walked over to the A-List table, Star putting on a friendly smile. "Hey! Penny Spectra right? It's nice to meet you! I see you've found some friends already, that's great! I'm Star, I'm a cheerleader like Paulina and Bonnie. This is Kim Possible, she's a cheerleader too. This is Valerie, she's my best friend."
"Oh it's nice to meet you Star! So this is the girl you're sharing that boyfriend of yours with. It must be pretty bad when it's so hard for you to find a boyfriend you have to share a loser like him with another girl. Although I guess that's what you get when your friend finds someone better to replace you with." Penny said, casually hitting every insecurity Star had all at once. Star frowned, crossing her arms in front of her. She felt about two inches tall right now.
"Hey! You don't get to talk to Star like that!" Valerie said, anger clearly evident on her face.
"Oh! Valerie, this is the girl that Kwan ditched at homecoming to go with Bonnie. That's gotta sting, the boy you like dropping you for another girl. I heard you bought that expensive dress too. At least you got to use it, even if it meant going with a loser like Foley." Penny said, that same smile on her face like she had just commented on something mundane like the weather.
"He's not a loser!" Valerie said, but her tone sounded weaker than normal. Almost like the fight was taken straight out of her.
"Now look, all of that is uncalled for. Apologize now." Kim said, glaring daggers towards Penny.
"Ah, the Superheroine, I've heard all about your exploits. I bet your parents are disappointed that their oldest isn't even as smart as her two younger brothers. They're building their own rockets, while you're over here struggling with your trigonometry classes." Penny said, her tone the same as it has been, annoyingly casually.
"Maybe, but my skills are in places that aren't purely academic. Mom and Dad are still plenty proud of me, thank you very much. Come on girls, this one isn't worth our time." Kim said, red in the face with anger as she led the other two girls away.
Sitting back down at the table, Danny saw how deflated Star and Valerie were, and how angry Kim was. "Conversation not go well?"
"She's awful. Said horrible things to all three of us." Kim said.
"So she's a bitch like Paulina?" Sam asked.
"Not the word I'd use, but I won't say it's inaccurate." Kim said, calming down a bit. "Look, Star, Valerie, it's okay. You guys are better off now than you were with the A-List."
"I know, it's just… she hit me right where it hurt the most." Star said. "I love hanging out with you guys, and I'm really enjoying being Danny's girlfriend, even if I am sharing him, but it's still something I worry about."
"Let's move on from that then, don't even give her the time of day. That new horror movie 'Night of the Undead Cheerleaders' came out over the weekend, why don't we go see it? Tickets are 20% off if you come with a cheerleader, and we've got the two prettiest ones right here!" Danny said, moving the topic away. "Val, Tuck, Sam, Ron, you guys in?"
"You know I'm down for horror movies." Sam said, a grin on her face.
"Sounds fun, come on Val it'll be great!" Tucker said, grabbing his girlfriend's hand. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Alright, it does sound pretty fun." Valerie said.
"The Ron is ready for some undead cheerleaders!" Ron said, as Rufus gave a thumbs up from his pocket.
"We'll head there after we decorate for Spirit Week then." Danny said, giving Kim and Star's hands a squeeze.
In the gymnasium after school, Danny is on top of a ladder hanging up a banner. The decorations for Spirit Week, while perhaps a little tacky, were plentiful and did add a sense of fun to the generally boring gymnasium. The bland gray walls now found themselves adorned with color, the reds and whites of the Casper High Ravens emblazoned for all to see. Spirit Week was always held in commemoration of the final home game of the football season, where students were expected to go all out and cheer for their team. Danny would be in attendance at the game, barring any ghostly influence, but not out of any love for the sport.
He glanced over at his reasons for supporting the team at all, as Kim and Star were hastily blowing and tying up balloons with Tara and Valerie, the girls laughing and making jokes as they attached the balloons to the streamers. Danny wondered how he had gotten so lucky, that not only one of the most beautiful girls in school had decided they liked him, but two of them did, and they were even willing to share. Sure, trying to maintain that relationship was hard, but they were managing. It had only been a couple weeks, but it was something special.
"Careful Danny, don't want to fall would we? A broken neck isn't exactly useful for your future career prospects." The voice of Penny Spectra said, rousing Danny from his thoughts. She was standing next to Tucker at the base of the ladder, arms crossed and looking up at him.
"You're right, it wouldn't be." Danny said as politely as he could. He didn't need a mean girl on him right now, so it was best to just play it off.
She gave him a look, following where his eyes would have been looking. "Looking over at the girls huh? Thinking of adding Tara to your little harem? Or Valerie? Can't let your best friend have anything over you huh?" Penny said.
That had caught Danny off guard, he'd not even thought of dating another girl, barring the initial confrontation with Sam when all of this was getting sorted out. He, Kim, and Star had talked about it in passing, mostly because of how Jazz had brought it up while they were in Wisconsin. While academically the answer had been 'we're open if there are real feelings there' it seemed unlikely that such an event would occur. It was already a miracle two girls liked him and were willing to share. A third or a forth? Inconceivable.
"I'm plenty happy with Star and Kim, and our relationship is private between us. I'd also appreciate it if you didn't bad mouth Tucker, since he is standing right next to you." Danny said, looking at the boy holding the ladder. It was pretty obvious he was mad too, but he was biting his tongue.
"I'm sure you are, although surely you must be thinking how hard it is for them aren't you? That they get looked down on by the other girls for stooping so low as to willingly let their boyfriend cheat on them. They must feel so pathetic." Penny said, moving her hands to her hips in a sign of authority. "Even worse, you're blowing off your other friends because of it. How does Sam feel knowing you dropped her and replaced her with newer, prettier girls?"
Danny frowned at that. Sam had drawn away, but they had talked about it. Danny might not have reciprocated her romantic feelings, but they were still the best of friends. She needed time to adjust to the new situation, but everyone did. Her words got Danny thinking though… did he, even subconsciously do that? Did he replace Sam in his life for reasons as shallow as vanity? He knew he didn't, Kim had been his friend before, he could have friends outside of Sam and Tucker, and Star and Valerie had entered the group naturally. Something about how Penny said it though… pulled something from him. A lingering doubt, a fear that despite everything he stood for, he was just a weird petty little teenage boy.
"Danny, focus up!" Tucker said, trying to stabilize the ladder. Danny looked and noticed that he had been shaking, which could have led to a nasty fall. Danny knew he would be fine, a fall from this height was nothing to his superhuman physiology now, and he could fly to not even hit the ground, but there were witnesses. Tara, Valerie, and Penny didn't know about his secret, and none of the other cheerleaders and their friends did either. He couldn't risk showing off.
"Thanks man." Danny said as he calmed down, the happiness briefly sucked out of him. He recentered himself. "Sorry Penny, I've got to focus on hanging this up. Wouldn't want to fall off and break something, or someone."
"Okay Danny, I'll leave you alone. Goodbye for now." Penny said with a wicked grin as she walked off.
Waiting a few moments for her to be out of earshot, Tucker spoke up. "What do you think that was all about?"
"Mean girl making everyone feel worse about their lives in an attempt to make herself feel better? Jazz would tell me it's low personal self-esteem." Danny said. "Still though, she got to me a bit. Feel like switching? We both know I can catch you if you fall better than you could catch me."
"You got it bro, and don't let her get to you. You, Kim, and Star are great together, and I know you aren't trying to take Val away. Not that you could anyway, she's totally enraptured by the Foley charm." Tucker said, confidence in his voice.
"I heard that Tucker! Do you need another lesson in why that's a bad idea?" Valerie called over.
"No Ma'am!" Tucker said fearfully, as everyone else got a good laugh. Danny could ignore Penny for now, after all it was just words… right?
At the movies later, everyone had gotten their tickets and were waiting for showtime. Danny was holding onto the large popcorn he, Kim, and Star were going to share, when he received a notification on his phone. Handing the popcorn over to Kim, he checked it. Ghost sighted near the theater, a giant hornet.
Danny sighed, leaning into whisper to the two girls. "Ghost problem, I'll deal with it quick and be back in time for the movie, cover for me with Valerie okay?"
"Got it Danny, kick it's butt!" Star said, giving him a quick hug as he walked off into the bathroom, turning ghost before flying out of the building.
Danny finds the hornet pretty quickly, it's massive, the size of a school bus, which is more frightening than most of the other ghosts he's fought purely based on the fact it's a giant insect. "Alright Vespacito, I'm gonna squash you and get back to my date." Danny quipped, before flying in to land a solid punch to its mandible. The hornet shook its head stunned by the blow, before flying forward with its stinger poised to strike. Danny contorted his body around the oncoming stab, retaliating with a solid kick to the thorax. The hornet spat at him, causing Danny to shield his eyes, and the second he did so, the hornet turned invisible, flying away.
Danny looked around, disappointed in himself. He's never had issues dealing with animal ghosts like this, why have these last few been giving him so many problems? He flies back into the theater, coming out of the bathroom when Penny Spectra stopped him.
"Ah, what's wrong Danny boy? Nervous about your little date? This is the first one with all three of you isn't it? I bet you're worried how a failure like yourself is going to handle it. After all, you're not a genius like your sister or your parents, a star athlete like Kim or Star, or even particularly gifted in other areas like your other friends. You're just basic little Danny Fenton, you're nothing." Penny said, laying the hurt on thick.
Danny frowned, his self-esteem lowering by the second. She was right, outside of his powers, an accident he had no agency in, he wasn't special. He was nothing, Phantom was everything interesting about him. If Phantom wasn't in the picture, there'd be no Star, no Kim. Valerie wouldn't be his friend, it'd just be him, Sam and Tucker all by themselves again. Except now he'd be replaced. Tucker had Wade now, a tech geek he could talk shop with. Sam had Kim, who while they disagreed on many things, shared similar sentiments on feminism and animal rights, among many other causes they both championed. Danny had nothing. Nothing that would keep his friends.
Penny seemed to bask in her words for a bit, walking off. Danny's ghost sense went off again, but he ignored it. Technus was still on his belt, false positives… even his own powers were useless right now. He couldn't fight a ghost, tell when a ghost is nearby… all he could do is go invisible… be nothing for a moment.
Danny sighed as he tried to put on a brave face. He came here to make Star and Kim feel better, and he was going to damn well do his best at that. Heading into the theater he recognized he had only missed a few minutes, and he took his seat between Star and Kim, taking their hands in his.
"Take care of it?" Star asked, bright eyed. She was still amazed by the whole ghost fighting thing, and loved hearing his stories.
"No, he flew off, but I'll get him next time." Danny said, with faux bravado. Star squeezed his hand tighter.
"You will. You're the best Danny." She said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. That made him feel warm. Kim squeezed his other hand and smiled, leaning over to kiss his other cheek.
A scream on screen brought their attention back forward, the first cheerleader had risen from the dead, and was currently eating the face of another cheerleader. Danny leaned over to Kim. "She kind of looks like Bonnie doesn't she?"
"Now that you mention it, a little bit." Kim said, smiling as she took a bite of popcorn.
As Danny entered his home after the movie, he sighed as he released his pent up sadness. He'd done his best to put a brave face on in front of Kim and Star, and they had enjoyed the movie, so he'd at least done okay on that front. He was exhausted emotionally though, he just wanted to crawl into his bed and die.
"Alright lil bro. Spill, I haven't seen you this depressed since Paulina refused to go to your middle school prom with you, and you weren't this bad then." Jazz said, patting the seat next to her. "I promise, no psychoanalyzing, just big sistering."
Danny pulled his gaze from the floor to look at his sister, she looked sincere, and he knew she cared. "Promise?"
"Promise, now, you were going on a date with Star and Kim to that horror movie, something go wrong there?" Jazz asked, as Danny took his seat beside her. "I doubt you got in a fight, none of you are the type to do that in a public place, and it's a bit too early for you to start that."
"Jazz, no psychoanalyzing, you promised." Danny said, a glance of annoyance towards his sister.
"Sorry, but this was on the situation, not you. Why don't you just tell me what happened." Jazz said.
Danny sighed, before recounting his encounter with the blob ghost earlier in the day, and then the hornet ghost later. "I've never had a problem with these animal ghosts before. Skulker is technically a blob that gave me trouble, but he had a whole suit and weapons and things. I just don't know what's throwing me off my game."
"Well, a lot of people notice that it's harder to do their jobs when they are under emotional stress. I imagine when you were keeping your powers a secret from us that was causing you some stress. Who are you still keeping the secret from?" Jazz asked, rubbing his back a bit.
"Well everyone, Ron and Valerie are the only two in our group who don't know, although they seem to understand that I have something going on, if not exactly what it is. Wouldn't surprise me if Ron figures it out soon, since he's seen me fight as both Phantom and Danny." Danny said, trying to wrap his head around it. He wasn't sure if he could tell Ron, he was a good friend, but he couldn't imagine he'd ever held on to a secret like that, since Kim had always been public.
"Any other new stressors in your life? I know we've been trying to pull back on the stuff here at the house so you can focus on ghost fighting, which we're happy to do. You know how ecstatic mom and dad are that you're doing the family business." Jazz said. "I like making your study guides anyway, they're a nice little review for me, makes me feel less worried about where I'm going after high school."
"Well, I guess there's one. There's this new girl at school Penny Spectra, no I don't like her if that's what you're gonna say. She's… awful. She's been tearing everyone apart, picking apart their insecurities. The entire reason we went to the movies today was because she had made Valerie and Star miserable, so I was trying to cheer them up." Danny said, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know how, but she hit every single insecurity I have, even some I didn't even know I had."
"Why don't you tell me what she said? I can help you work through it." Jazz said, looking sorry for her brother. "You know I won't judge you. You're my little brother, and I love you to pieces. You're big strong Phantom outside the house, in here you can be Danny."
"She… started with my relationship with Kim and Star, basically asking who I thought I was that was so special to have two of the most attractive girls in school as my girlfriends. Then assumed that I was looking to add more girls to the 'harem' as she called it. Said I was going to take Valerie from Tucker. Then said that I had just replaced Sam with 'prettier' models, getting rid of my best friend. I know that's not true, but it still hurts a lot. After that it was just comparing me to everyone else, how I'm not as smart as you or Tucker, as athletic as Star or Kim, how I'm just… average, nothing special." Danny said, his voice getting weak.
"Well that's stupid. Danny you're plenty special. Mom, Dad, and Tucker gush all the time about how great you are with the mechanical side of things, how you can just look at something and intuit how it works. Your grades are great, they slipped a bit when you first started ghost fighting sure, but they're recovered now that you've found better balance in your life. Maybe you aren't as naturally athletic as Star or Kim, but you're no slouch. Even before your powers Dad was convinced you could have been top dog in the boxing club if you had joined, and Mom was constantly impressed by how well you could pick up martial arts moves. Danny, you're amazing, I feel like you outshine me all the time! I'm so happy for you to do it though, because you inspire me to do better, to be more. I've devoted more time to martial arts and gadget training because I want to help you fight ghosts. Now, stop saying you don't think you're worth anything. That's my brother you're talking about, no one gets to talk bad about him." Jazz said, an earnest smile on her face.
"Not even me?" Danny asked, looking at her with a small smile.
"Especially not you." Jazz said, punching him in the arm before pulling him into a hug. "This Penny girl seems awful, stay away from her as much as you can, and when you can't just try and stick close to Kim, Star, Sam, Tucker, or me. I know none of us are gonna let someone talk to you that way."
"Alright, I will. Thanks sis." Danny said, returning the hug.
The next day at school, Danny saw that everyone seemed down… walking through the hallways like zombies. Making his way to his locker, he opens it grabbing his books when he sees Dash beside him, looking particularly glum. "Uh…. Dash, everything okay?" Danny asked. Normally he'd be ecstatic to see his bully feel bad about something, but this wasn't right.
"Not that you'd care Fentoni.. Just… am I really one bad tackle away from my entire life being over?" Dash looked up, seemingly in deep thought.
"That depends, are you defining your entire life by your football career?" Danny asked. He didn't want to provoke Dash, but having him feel SOMETHING other than this complete hopelessness would be an improvement.
"Yeah, my grades aren't good enough to get into any colleges without a football scholarship, and I don't have any other skills." Dash said dejectedly. Danny paused, feeling the real vulnerability that was rolling off of Dash.
"Then learn something, college isn't a one-size fits all solution. I've seen you eyeing cars in the parking lot at school, you're interested in them aren't you?" Danny said, trying to find something, anything to latch onto Dash with. Dash hadn't really been a person in Danny's eyes for a while. An obstacle, a bully, so trying to find any interest Dash had besides football or being popular was hard.
"Yeah, I love cars, especially old sports cars, but what does that have to do with anything?" Dash asked, looking up.
"There's a center in town that offers auto shop classes. You could maybe try learning how to work on cars? If nothing else, knowing how to change your own oil could save you some money, and what's manlier than fixing your own car?" Danny suggested, warily eyeing Dash. The blond boy seemed to mull it over in his head a bit.
"You know… that does sound kind of interesting. Guess I could give that a try. Thanks Fenton." Dash said, walking off.
"No problem… wait… did Dash just thank me? And not turn my last name into an insult? Wow." Danny said, as Kim, Sam, and Tucker walked up.
"Wow what?" Kim asked.
"Nothing, just.. Surprised about something. What's going on with everyone though? It seems like everyone just lost their brother or something." Danny asked.
"It's Penny, she's managed to bring everyone down. It's incredibly annoying." Sam said, glaring down the hallway. Penny wasn't there, but Danny knew the glare was for her.
"How are you guys so unaffected then?" Danny asked, looking to his friends and girlfriend.
"She's tried to get to me, but I know my flaws and can deal with them. I got frustrated with her yesterday, but she didn't tell me anything I don't already know." Kim said, rolling her eyes. "If I cared too much about what people thought of me, I couldn't save the world like I do, and I wouldn't have you as my boyfriend, since I think Star would have beat me to the punch of confessing."
"I've just avoided her. I have nothing to say to a bitch like that, and I have no qualms of being rude to do it. Anytime she has tried to talk to me I just walk off." Sam said.
"I'm perfect, she's got no dirt on me." Tucker said, a large confident smile on his face. "Tried to say my beret is lame? Nah, pinnacle of style. My interests are nerdy? You know it! Loud and proud."
The others shook their heads, but they admired his confidence. Tucker was who he was and he was proud of it.
"Ron's been having some issues too, but he's mostly just focused on trying to make everyone else feel better. Penny's said a few things to him, and they've got to him a bit, but not like everyone else. He's never cared about being popular, he's just Ron." Kim said, pointing to where Ron was now. He was talking with Mikey and Nathan, seemingly about a game they played, since Ron seemed to be miming swinging a sword around. "I swear, it's like Penny's literally sucking the happiness out of everyone."
"Shame she's not just a ghost we could trap in the thermos." Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"Wait… Sam say that again." Danny said, looking to her.
"It's a shame she's not a ghost?" Sam asked.
"Almost every time I'm around her, my ghost sense went off. I thought it was just where Technus has been with me, but… maybe it's not." Danny said, as he pulled out his phone. "Hey Technus, think you can head back home for the day? I'm going to see if my hunch is correct."
"Alright ghost boy! I will return to Fentonworks, we are finishing the prototype ecto-field anyway, I can be of use there." Technus said, as he popped out of the phone and flew off.
"So, what's the plan if she is a ghost? It's not like Phantom can be seen punching her lights out or anything." Tucker said, wracking his brain for ideas.
"We'll find out if she's a ghost first, then discuss." Danny said. "I'll talk to her at lunch, try and get her to poke at me some more, if she's literally using ghost powers to feed off of my misery or whatever, it should trigger my ghost sense."
"And after that?" Kim asked.
"If she's a ghost? We make a scene that forces her to reveal it, then Phantom can swoop in without any issues." Danny said smiling as a plan formed in his head.
At lunch Danny braced himself as he walked over to Penny, he was walking into a metaphorical lion's den, but he was ready. He hoped at least. "Hey Penny, how are you today?" Danny asked, trying to be casual.
"Oh, Danny Fenton is trying to be nice to me? I better watch out in case he wants to add me to his harem." Penny said, sending a verbal dagger straight at Danny. He felt a little bad about it, but let it slide. She'd have to say something worse to get to him right now.
"Nothing like that, I just realized that we started out on the wrong foot. I don't exactly get along with Paulina and Bonnie, but you don't have to be a part of that, we could be friends." Danny said, trying to position around her. As much as he didn't want to, he NEEDED her to hurt him, to make him miserable enough to show that she is a ghost.
"Get along with? More like aren't even worth their time. Danny Fenton's just the weird kid with freaky parents. Incapable of doing anything on his own without the help of his friends. You're nothing Fenton. I don't want to be associated with you." Penny said, and Danny felt his insides drop. That was a low blow, one he really hated. He felt miserable, and then a chill ran down his spine. A burst of mist popped out of Danny's mouth, and he knew. Penny… she was a ghost.
"Alright then, I'll see you in class I suppose." Danny said, trying to play off his anger now. He was still miserable, but now he knew he could do something about it.
Walking back over to the table he sat down, noticing that Ron, Star, and Valerie weren't present. "Penny is a ghost, where are the others?" Danny asked, lowering his voice to where only they could hear him.
"Ron's off trying to cheer people up. I think he's doing knock-knock jokes now. Star and Valerie went to the bathroom after Star started crying about some comment Penny made." Kim said, glaring at the girl. "So what's the plan?"
"I'm going to tail her for a bit outside of class. I'll need you guys to cover for me." Danny said.
"You got it, just make sure you capture her before all of this gets worse." Sam said, nodding.
Danny ducked under the table, transforming into Phantom as he turned invisible and intangible, following after Penny as she left the room. She walked to the old guidance counselor's office, temporarily vacant as the regular guidance counselor was out on maternity leave. Danny was surprised when inside was a short man, wearing a well tailored suit.
"So, how goes the misery feeding?" The man asked, looking at Penny.
"Oh, so well Bertrand. These students are just fountains of it, your idea of posing as a student and not the guidance counselor was SO good, now I can get the misery I create, and just the ambient misery from the classrooms! And that Fenton boy.. Oh his misery is just delectable. So many insecurities, just ripe for exploitation. I can't wait for the next phase of the plan." Penny said, her smile somewhat sickening.
"Ooh, do I finally get to know what it is? You've had me on distraction duty for Phantom to make sure you could get everything set-up." Bertrand said. "Why did you have me be the hornet anyway? You know I hate bugs."
"So does everyone, you caused plenty of misery when you flew over, it was delectable. But yes, you can know. I've rigged the fireworks spectacle at the assembly today to overload. It'll kill Ms. Fenton as she gives her speech. Once she's dead, killed in front of the entire school, I'll pull so much misery off of everyone that I'll be young forever!" Penny said.
Danny processed the conversation for a moment… Penny was going to kill Jazz? Jazz had been so excited about giving the Spirit Week speech, had prepared so much, and Penny was going to ruin it? Danny wouldn't let her. He knew what to do now, he just had to get everyone else on board. Flying silently back to the lunch room, he popped out from under the table, scaring those who were still seated.
"Ah! Danny, warning next time!" Sam said, scowling a bit.
"Sorry, I've just got BAD news." Danny said, centering himself for a bit. "Penny's rigged the fireworks that are supposed to go off after Jazz's speech today to explode. They plan on killing her. Apparently she uses the misery she pulls off people to stay young. She thinks by killing Jazz in front of everyone, she'll have enough misery energy to stay young forever."
"That's… awful. What are we going to do about it?" Kim asked, looking to Danny. "You're the ghost expert here."
"Alright, here's the plan." Danny said, as everyone listened in.
Jazz stepped up to the edge of the stage, where Lancer glanced over at the depressed student body. "Not a lot of school spirit this week it seems." He said, a frown on his face. "I wonder what we've done wrong, the team performed well this year, and we put more into the Spirit week than normal, yet everyone seems so down."
"I don't think it's anything the school has done Mr. Lancer, I believe there's something outside of this that's causing the issue." Jazz said, as she mentally readied herself. She trusted Danny, she knew he wouldn't let anything happen if he could help it, but she was still walking onto a stage she knew was set to kill her. She wondered if Danny and Kim felt this anxiety when they were off being heroes. That they were walking into a life-threatening situation, knowing that they were one bad hit away from not coming back.
"Nerves Ms. Fenton? That's unlike you." Mr. Lancer said, his voice filled with concern. Lancer was strict, but he was a caring teacher, especially towards those who put in the effort. Jazz certainly qualified as one who gave it her all.
"Just… wanting everything to go right. The speech I can give, but I worry the 'Spirit Sparklers' we have set-up might not be enough to woo the crowd." Jazz said, trying to give a plausible excuse for her anxiety.
"I'm sure it will be fine, although I am surprised the fire marshall allowed us to have such a display indoors." Mr. Lancer said thoughtfully. Jazz wondered if perhaps Penny or her little assistant had overshadowed the man to give the okay.
"We'll have to see. Once you knock over the dominoes Mr. Lancer, you should step back, get with the other students so you can see the fireworks too." Jazz said, with a forced smile on her face. Penny had planned for the explosion to not harm the students, just kill her. Lancer should be safe provided he was with the rest of them. If Jazz was going to die today, she was going to make sure no one else went with her.
"I suppose I shall then, I do love fireworks." Mr. Lancer said, before patting her on the back and giving her a thumbs up. "You'll do great Ms. Fenton."
"Let's hope." Jazz said as she stepped up onto the stage. Making her way to the microphone, she scanned the crowd. She saw Star and Kim, each of them holding a set of Fenton Ghost Gauntlets ready for their part in the plan. Sam and Tucker were with them, Sam with a thermos at the ready, and she knew Tucker had a wrist blaster in his bag. Off to the side, she saw her own bag, which contained a new invention her parents had made, specially designed to give her an additional edge when fighting ghosts, the Fenton Peeler. If everything went right, it would see its first real test today.
If things didn't go right….
Jazz decided not to think about that.
"As we gather here for the end of Spirit Week, we celebrate not only the achievements of the Casper High Ravens football team, but the achievements of all of the Casper High Ravens, past, present, and future. We celebrate the alumni who have changed the world, and those who have changed the world for the few who are lucky to know them. Spirit Week is more than the dress-up days, more than the pep-rallies and speeches. It represents the community that is fostered by this school. In a year as chaotic as this one, as we welcomed the former Middleton High Mad Dogs into our fold, we bestowed onto them a set of Raven's wings such that they could fly alongside us. This Spirit Week, like all before it, is special in its own way. For me, it is special as it is the first one I get to share alongside my brother, and the friends he has made. For you, it may be special in its own way. For our seniors, it is special as it is your last spirit week before you must leave the nest as a Casper High Raven, and soar to find your new home wherever it may be. For the Freshman, as well as the newcomers from Middleton, it is your first glimpse of your wing-feathers, that will carry you to heights you perhaps didn't even know you could reach. As such, we have prepared a spectacle, fireworks for our ravens to fly amongst, released in celebration of all the great things you have achieved, and will achieve in the future." Jazz spoke, closing her eyes as she heard Mr. Lancer knock over the first domino.
Time slowed for Jazz, she could look over and see each domino fall in turn, one action leading to the next, a pure expression of cause and effect. She pondered briefly how a similar situation had brought her here. She had put in so much work, tried so hard to be a model student. She was already set to be Valedictorian, and it was only the beginning of her Junior year. She'd graduate Casper High at the top of her class, and be the first person to obtain their Bachelor's in Psychology from the University of Illinois while still in High School. That is, assuming she survived today. Five dominos remained in line before the trigger was ignited. The fireworks would go off, and without intervention, Jazz would be no more. She'd exist in only the memories of those present. In pictures on her parents' walls. There likely wouldn't even be enough left of her to bury. The final domino fell, and Jazz felt nothing.
The explosion rocked the gymnasium, the concrete walls vibrating with the force of the blast, it was controlled, no shrapnel made it to the students in the stands, no fire caught forth from the blast. All that remained of the stage was a scorch mark and hole where Jasmine Fenton once stood.
Breaths were held as everyone glanced around for any sign of Jazz. There was no time for her to run away, everything was over in a moment. One single instant had been all there was between knowing something had gone wrong, and the spot that Jazz had been standing being destroyed.
Jazz stepped forward from behind the bleachers, Phantom with her handing her her bag, a smile shared between them. She was safe, everything was going according to plan. A cheer went up as people saw that Jazz was alive, the depression of the week seemingly fading in an instant as one spontaneous moment of gratitude filled the stands. Only one person was anything other than ecstatic.
"NO!" Came the voice of Penny Spectra who made a massive leap out of the bleachers and into the middle of the floor. "You've ruined my plan Phantom! You won't get away with this."
"I know you're a bit of a mean girl Penny, but murder seems a bit too far." Phantom said, pushing Jazz behind him as he got into a guard stance.
"No matter, I'll get enough misery from these people once they see their hero and speaker torn asunder right in front of them!" Penny said, as her form shifted. Her hair shortened, turning into two upturned spikes, her figure and outfit changed, moving from teenage girl in fashionable attire to adult woman in smart business skirt. Then she changed more, her shape staying similar, but giving way to shadow. A black mass in the vague shape of a woman appeared, legs replaces with inky black tendrils that swarmed about angrily, her green eyes replaced with pure red. "Bertrand! To me, we'll tear these punks limb from limb!" A pause, but no other ghost appeared. "Bertrand!"
"Short and shifty's been captured, just like you're about to be!" Phantom said, flying in with a punch to Spectra's face. She quickly recovered though, grabbing him from the air.
"You fool! While I might not have all the misery I wanted, I've been collecting it from the entire school all week! I've got nearly 3000 students worth of misery collected! You can't touch me!" Spectra said as she slammed him into the floor.
Danny reached up, firing an ecto-blast into her face, forcing her to reel back as he charged and delivered another punch to her face, knocking her over. "NOW!" He called out. As Kim and Star grabbed their ghost gauntlets and slammed Spectra's 'hands' into the floor keeping her pinned.
"This is for making everyone miserable!" Jazz said, as she fired up the Fenton Peeler. The device covered her in a suit of body armor, and then fired a beam. The beam tunneled into Spectra's form, peeling back the layers of her disguise. The shadow form gave way to the adult woman, then to an older one, then an older one. She seemed to age by years, first five, then ten, then twenty. Before long, she was an old woman, shriveled and weak.
"Thermos coming up!" Sam called out, tossing the thermos to Phantom, with a flash of blue light, Spectra was pulled inside, the cap placed on after her.
The crowd cheered as the ghost was put away, and Phantom gave a salute as he flew off.
Later, at Fentonworks, the group of friends, with the exception of Valerie, as she was at a wrestling match with her father, were having pizza in celebration. "That really was a pretty good speech sis." Danny said, eating a slice.
"Glad you liked it, I was worried it was a bit too heavy-handed with the wing metaphor, but I wasn't sure how else to make it work." Jazz said, taking a sip of her cola.
"You guys helping Phantom take down that ghost was so cool! How did you know you needed to help though?" Ron asked, as the group paused.
They'd forgotten he didn't know. They couldn't hide that they had worked together to fight against Spectra, and Ron was close enough to them that he could start to get suspicious.
"Kim, can he keep a secret?" Danny asked after a moment, looking to her.
"He better." Kim said, looking over at Ron. "Ron, we're going to tell you something. This HAS to remain quiet. If it comes out, things are going to get really bad. So can we trust you to keep it?"
Ron looked taken aback for a second, before nodding. "If it's that serious KP, you know I'll keep it locked up tight."
Danny sighed, as two bars of light engulfed him, replacing his normal clothes with Phantom's jumpsuit, and his black hair and blue eyes with white hair and green eyes.
Ron's eyes widened. "WHAT THE WHAT NOW?"