PHANTOM FORCE, Goin' Ghost Retold

by DarkShadowGames451

DP AU! Mass X-over! It's been a year since the accident, and Daniel Fenton has found a balance between his teenage life and secret life as a superpowered ghost hunter with the help of his older sister. But he will face new challenges and greater threats with new friends and allies while discovering his destiny as a liminal halfa. But will it all be enough to save the world?

1. Vol 1, Issue 1

The Pentagon, Arlington, VA, Year 2005

In a small conference room within the US Department of Military Defense, four people sat at a round table; three men and one woman. Each one represented a unique and distinct faction.

The only woman was the youngest out of the four. She was an average woman in the prime of her life. Her build was curvy, but she had a firm body. She had neck-length brown hair, brown eyes, luscious lips, and tan skin. She wore a dark blue jumpsuit, a black utility belt with a silver buckle, and a pair of black boots.

One of the three men was tall with a fair build, ash-grey skin, dark brown eyes with yellow sclerae, and long black curly hair tied into a ponytail. His face had a white and black skull tattooed onto it with a small scar running down his forehead and he wore a red jacket with black trimming and a collar with red spiral patterns, a black turtleneck shirt with a white ascot, red brooches with gold frames on his sleeves and ascot, black slacks and black heeled shoes.

The second man seemed younger than the gray-skinned man. He had dark brown skin, a fully grown black mustache, and a clean buzz-cut mohawk. He wore a white suit with black gloves, shades, shoes, and a black tie.

Lastly, there was the last male, who happened to be the oldest. He had graying hair with bits of white streaks connected to a gray beard and brown eyes. His body was well-built, muscular, yet lean as if he was at the prime of his life. Regardless of his physique, he had wrinkles on his face to signify that he was at least past the age of fifty-five. He wore a gray and black jumpsuit with a gray and black with a red dot at the neck for his attire. On his right wrist was a large black watch with lime green accents. Its size covered the man's forearm and knuckles. The watch's faceplate was large and had a green hourglass shape with gray triangles on its sides and a rim slanting outwards. The watch also had white connector tubes with a side button placed low.

These are Dr. Elizabeth "Dr. Director" Douglass, Grandmaster Hex, Agent Alpha, and Magister Maxwell Tennyson.

The four stared at one another passively but could tell there was a palpable tension between them. Mostly, Hex, Max, and Elizabeth had grievances with Agent Alpha. However, before anybody could break the ice, the front door opens revealing two government agents leading a middle-aged Caucasian man with short brown graying hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a black suit with a red tie and white shirt, to enter the conference room.

One of them announced, "All arise for the Honorable William Harangue, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs of the United States!"

Dr. Director, Agent Alpha, Max Tennyson, and Grandmaster Hex stood up and greeted the man. William lowered his left hand, allowing them to sit while an irked expression appeared on his face.

While the door closed and both arms were behind the man, William said, "It has come to my attention that despite the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act being recently signed and acknowledged by the President, nothing has been done to remedy this so-called "ghost" invasion."

"I assure you, Mr. Harangue, the Bureau of Occult Research and Defense has everything under control." Agent Alpha reassured the NSA.

The Caucasian man rolled his eyes and told the African American, "Everything under control? You? Please."

William then turned to Dr. Director and said, "Despite her younger age, Director Douglass' Global Justice Network has the criminal underground in a chokehold. They've gotten so desperate that they had to outsource to the stars for assistance."

"Speaking of stars," Harangue continued, turning to Max. "The freaks over at the Plumbers kept the alien threat at bay with our very own war hero, Maxwell "Agent Legion" Tennyson, acting as our shield for decades."

"Finally, the creepy interdimensional exorcist and his little cult have been making more progress in banishing these spooky specters within a year than you had in studying them in the last twenty years!" William expressed, gesturing to an impassive-looking Hex. "No wonder the young people called you people the Guys in White. You act like incompetent fools wearing fancy suits."

"With all due respect, sir, we've only recently discovered the existence of spirits." Agent Alpha tried justifying while hiding his growing ire. "This field of study is relatively new. Uncharted territory. These…ghosts are more powerful than we realize. We need more time to properly-"

"Excuses!"

Before the agent could continue, the NSA threw a file onto the round table. One of the documents revealed the picture of a skinny teenage boy with light tan skin, snow-white hair, glowing green eyes, and wearing a basic black HAZMAT jumpsuit with white gloves and boots.

This caused Agent Alpha to growl but he bit his tongue to keep himself as professional as possible.

'...That damn ghost kid!' The white-clad agent growled in his mind.

"Explain to me how a dead brat who hadn't gone through puberty managed to neutralize and contain his own kind better than an entire federally endorsed organization in which the people unknowingly deposit their hard-earned taxpayer dollars!"

"He's got you there, Al," Dr. Director dryly stated.

Agent Alpha glared at Elizabeth, but turned back to the NSA.

"As far as I'm concerned, this piece of ecto filth is public enemy number one and a growing danger to the safety of that literal ghost town in Illinois." Agent Alpha reminded the other people in the room. "Since the members of B.O.R.D. have recently reclassified it as a Level 5 ecto-based threat with its power growing daily. This makes it fall under the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act, Article 1, Section 1, Sub-section A, falling into our jurisdiction."

"And what do you intend to do with the boy, Agent Alpha?" Hex questioned, not liking the tone shift of the conversation.

"Our specialists back in our lab have been developing…tools necessary to apprehend the ghost. If we could get a hold of it and harness its ectoplasm, we could use it to understand the nature of spirits, weaponize it, and apprehend the rest of them until we find a more permanent solution."

From there, Max Tennyson slammed his right fist onto the round table with a scowl on his face.

"That's out of the question!" Max "Agent Legion" Tennyson shouted, outraged at the notion that Agent Alpha proposed.

"Too bad. A geriatric alien fucker like you has no say in thi-!"

"-Enough!" William shouted as he turned to Agent Alpha. "You, Agent, do not know your place! That is the Magister of Earth, a hero of the Plumbers! He has the power to destroy the planet, but chose to be a family man and a symbol of peace for the world and beyond! He has more than earned the right to be at this table than any of us! So watch your tongue!"

With that, the chief of the GiW bit his lip as the NSA turned to Max.

"...My apologies, Magister Tennyson. Please, continue," William said.

"Thank you, Mr. Harangue," Max said with a nod before looking at Agent Alpha and continuing to speak, "I believe that it is obvious to the rest of us that without the Phantom's presence in Amity Park, the number of hostile ghosts would double if not triple. That boy is the only line of defense Amity Park has from the Ghost Zone's more dangerous entities."

"I second Magister Tennyson's observation," Hex said with a stern tone as he folded his arms behind his back. "But that is not the only concern I have with the B.O.R.D.'s activities of late. They seek to not absolve or exorcize spirits, but outright destroy them! The cessation of the soul is a violation of the balance of life and death, an affront to the gods who gave us our souls in the Age of Creation."

"Why should morality have anything to do with our course of action? Congress and the President permitted us to neutralize the threat! But we cannot do so without information about the threat! Without any samples or a subject to go off of, what chance do we have in completing our task?" Agent Alpha reasoned. "These are deceased entities! No longer human! Why should our methods matter if it leads us to do our jobs?"

"Because that is what makes us living breathing beings," Dr. Director said, entering the conversation. "That is what makes us human. If they were human, wouldn't their souls want to rest like any of us would?"

"Don't go projecting humanity into scum! They are mindless monsters from another dimension that know nothing but destruction!" Agent Alpha growled.

"Now look who's projecting," Hex calmly uttered, rolling his eyes. "It's scientists and agents like you that remove your empathy which is why people live in fear. You have no understanding whatsoever, yet you childishly label extraterrestrials and my people as "freaks"."

"This is getting us nowhere," William said, getting everybody's attention. "Listen up! The President and Congress are riding my ass about this ghost problem! And I don't want to hear about it for a long time!"

Turning to Agent Alpha, William said, "You, figure something out and fast! If the B.O.R.D. doesn't figure something out within the next six months, your government funding will be cut, and the research will be given to someone more competent!"

Getting up to the agent's face, the NSA harshly stated, "You hear me, Agent? Your little Guys in White project will be finished! Kaput! DONE! Do you understand me?"

Agent Alpha ground his teeth, then said, "...Crystal!"

The NSA took a deep breath, saying, "Good."

"What about the ghost boy?" Dr. Director questioned.

William turned to the woman but addressed everyone and said, "Under Executive Order 9807 of 2005, the Phantom of Amity Park is omitted from the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act."

"WHAT!?" Agent Alpha screamed while the rest of the table smirked. "When was this passed?"

"Around the same time the law was passed," William Harangue stated. "I don't like it as much as you do, but like these three, the ghost kid has done a better job than you and your faction. Whether we like it or not, we need him. So, we better make use of him while we can."

"No, you can't do this to us!" Agent Alpha denied, feeling his blood boiling as he got up. "How can you entrust the fate of the world to a remnant of post-mortem consciousness!?"

Just then, a large hand grabbed his shoulder. When Agent Alpha turned around, he saw Max standing beside him with a scowl on his face.

"Stand down, Agent. You're on thin ice right now." Agent Legion spoke in a calm but grim fashion.

Just then, Dr. Director and Hex with the two government agents stood on standby with their weapons and magic. Understanding his situation, Agent Alpha fell back to his seat, sulking in defeat.

Before William left the conference room, he said, "What's that? I thought I heard you question a direct order from the Head of State. And that would be considered treason. You're not a traitor are you, Agent?"

"N-No, Sir." The chief of the Guys in White said, feeling beads of sweat drop from his forehead.

With that, the NSA left the meeting, saying, "Then shut up and get the job done."

Seeing that the meeting was over, Dr. Director walked out, saying, "That went better than I thought."

Hex snorted, following behind the woman. Max was about to leave himself but stopped to speak to Agent Alpha.

"...What do you want, Old Man?" Agent Alpha questioned bitterly. "Care to spare me with your otherworldly wisdom?"

"No, I'm here to leave you with a warning," Max stated. "I've seen your kind before. Your organization has no intention to help mankind but to benefit yourselves. I don't care what the B.O.R.D. believes, but either dead or alive, that is a boy that you're after. And I won't let any harm come to him."

Just then, Max raised his right hand, showing his exotic watch as it flashed lime green and stated. "If any of you ever think to step out of line and violate that EO, I will personally show you how I ended Vilgax. And I won't show any mercy."

Max finally left the room when the light faded, leaving Agent Alpha by himself in a pathetic state of fear.

The person remaining in the room slammed both of his hands onto the table and shouted with aggression.

Then, he looked and found himself staring at a fourteen-year-old Phantom and muttered curses from under his breath before crumpling the picture up.

"...Damn you! This is all your fault!" Agent Alpha growled before a sinister grin formed on his face. "I swear to God, I'm going to hunt you down and tear you to pieces if it's the last thing I do!"

Taking out his phone, Agent Alpha dialed a series of numbers before someone immediately answered from the other end, "...Ukulele, it's Alpha. I want you and Animo to expedite Project Sotoragg, but make sure it's tailored to Priority One."

---

Amity Park, IL, Year 2005

Above Fenton Works, Daniel Fenton, preferably Danny, was sitting at his desk where his personal computer was set up. He was already dressed, wearing his white and red jacket with a Saturn design, blue jeans, and black sneakers.

Currently, the half-ghost was communicating on a website labeled Kid Mystery's Guide To The Unexplained. From there, Danny found himself sending messages to a user named KidMystery2012. Next to his name was a pine tree with a label that said "Owner", signifying his status that he controlled the website.

Danny's username, much like when he planned the hit multiplayer online game, Doomed, was GH∅STB∅Y04 with the label "Moderator" next to the picture of a stock ghost beside his user.

This website was run as a means to document strange findings that the owner encounters while doubling as a forum for other people online to carry discussions revolving around that and other similar sights that users could post. KidMystery2012 and very few selected moderates would also catalog these strange occurrences into different categories ranging from conspiracy theories concerning the Mandela Effect, and theories of time travelers, to the bizarre alleged occurrences of aliens.

Both Danny and this KidMystery2012 person had a common interest in the paranormal. Ghosts, rather.

Due to Danny joining the website and his knowledge in ghost-related topics, more people found an interest in the site, quickly gaining the favor of the creator and eventually earning moderator status. This building of trust also paved the way for a long-distance friendship between the two.

KidMystery2012: Hey, Man. It's been a while.

GH0STB0Y04: Woah! Long time, no see! Where have you been?

KidMystery2012: It's a long story. Do you remember the time I posted about that Delta Level spirit I encountered last Summer?

GH0STB0Y04: You mean the one from that mansion you investigated in Oregon? Yeah, why?

KidMystery2012: Well, a lot has happened since then. Tldr; that shady great uncle that I thought I knew since two summers ago was using his twin brother's identity the entire time. While the actual guy came out of a portal the shady twin rigged.

GH0STB0Y04: A PORTAL!? Did your other great-uncle come from the Ghost Zone!?

KidMystery2012: Thankfully, no. It was an interdimensional portal, though. He must have been elsewhere.

GH∅STB∅Y04: There are other places besides the Ghost Zone… This is nuts. And here I thought my parents were the only ones with the idea.

KidMystery2012: I guess mad science runs in both our families.

GH0STB0Y04: I guess so.

KidMystery2012: Anyway, I quickly got to know the guy and he's not too bad. We're quite alike. The guy came over and offered me an apprenticeship at a firm he started with funding from the rich girl's parents.

GH0STB0Y04: That sounds like an opportunity. Are you gonna go through with it?

KidMystery2012: Well, I initially ran into some family troubles, because that involves me moving away. I managed to convince my parents when I told them that my education would be taken care of, but my sister wouldn't have it.

GH0STB0Y04: Sheesh, clingy much?

KidMystery2012: It's a twin thing, you wouldn't get it.

GH0STB0Y04: Right. Sorry. How did things go?

KidMystery2012: Horribly. We said some things to each other, stuff I regret. I ended up leaving home on bad terms with her.

GH0STB0Y04: Sounds rough. I'm sorry that happened.

KidMystery2012: It's alright. I'll get through this funk…eventually. On the bright side, I'm one step closer to being an archeologist and a paranormal investigator. And I get a fresh start in a new state.

GH0STB0Y04: Oh sweet! Where did you move to?

KidMystery2012: That's the best part! I'm in Illinois!

GH0STB0Y04: …No way! That means we can hang out and stuff!

KidMystery2012: I'm looking forward to that. I got a whole new perspective on spirits and some ideas that could help with dealing with them.

Danny beamed at this new information, only to hear his sister from downstairs.

"DANNY! COME ON, WE NEED TO GET TO SCHOOL EARLY!" Jazz screamed from downstairs.

Danny blinked, then said, "IN A MINUTE, JAZZ!"

Danny then typed on his keyboard to wrap up the conversation.

GH0STB0Y04: Hey. I gotta go. My sister's taking me to school early.

KidMystery2012: Think you'd make it to class on time for once?

GH0STB0Y04: Knowing my luck, probably not. But it doesn't hurt to try, does it?

KidMystery2012: Sure. Don't let me keep you waiting, D. We'll talk later, but don't let the spooks hit you on your way there.

GH0STB0Y04: Oh, boo! Boo!

KidMystery2012: Lol! Hey, remember what we talked about before. Reason with spirits. Some of them were human before, you know.

GH0STB0Y04: Fine. But if they cause enough trouble for me, they are getting stuffed inside the thermos.

KidMystery2012: Deal.

Danny rolled his eyes, then logged off the page before taking his bag and heading downstairs. From there, Danny went downstairs to the kitchen where his sister waited for him.

"What's taking you so long, Little Brother?"

While heading to the cabinet, Danny sarcastically said, "Good morning to you, Jazz."

"Don't give me sass. I'm trying to help you and get you to class on time for once!" Jazz fired back, crossing her arms with a disapproving frown.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks," Danny said as he quickly threw two pieces of bread in the toaster, grabbed the orange juice carton along with a red apple, and poured himself a cup of juice.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" Danny asked as the toaster shot two perfectly toasted bread slices.

"Down in the lab again." The redheaded bookworm droned.

"Seriously?" Danny groaned and facepalmed. "You'd think they would slow down after their precious magnum opus."

"Slow down? Are we talking about the same family?" Jazz said, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess not," Danny said before downing the drink. "What are they working on now?"

"I'm not entirely sure, I was studying when Dad was on his usual eccentric rambles." Jazz answered, shaking her head. "I think he said something about metal pants."

"What?" Danny questioned, raising an eyebrow as he picked up a piece of toast. "The Fenton Thermos was one thing, but metal pants?"

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one designing and building it. If I had to make an educated guess, Mom and Dad are either making a robot or some kind of new anti-ghost armor." Jazz said as she walked to the pantry to grab a brown paper bag.

"Anti-ghost armor? That would come in handy." Danny acknowledged. "Ghost fights aren't getting easier these days."

"Says the boy with ghost powers." Jazz said with a half-joking smirk while placing his apple and other toast inside. "If anyone's going to use that, it's going to be me."

"That's if they get the thing to work properly," Danny fired back with a smirk of his own.

"True, but that's where you come in." Jazz stated as she guided her little brother out of the house.

"Oh, so I'm the family lab rat now?" Danny sardonically heckled while holding his bag.

Jazz held her bag and opened the back door of her black 2002 Buick LeSabre for her brother, saying, "Hey, you're a living ectoplasmic generator. Your power practically activates all of the equipment."

Recalling how he caught the ghost of the Lunch Lady in the Fenton Thermos for the first time, he said, "...I hate it when you're right."

"Look on the bright side, Danny. At least Mom and Dad think that most of their things are broken. That gives us some leeway to use their anti-ghost equipment properly." Jazz said as she got in the front seat and began to drive off.

"True." Danny agreed, then thought about school.

A long pause took place between the siblings as they made their way to the route to Casper High. The car stopped in front of a red traffic light. Jazz decided to break the ice with a different conversation.

"...So, still no progress with Sam?" Jazz inquired.

Danny sighed while putting on his hoodie, saying, "No. Still nothing."

"You know she's not going to be mad forever, right?" Jazz pointed out.

"Oh yeah? Well, this feels like an eternity," Danny grumbled. "I've never seen her this upset, and for so long."

"Have you been keeping your distance?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah, but it feels like we're avoiding each other," Danny said. "We've been friends since kindergarten. I don't want to change that, but I don't know how to fix this mess."

"Danny, Sam is still emotionally charged and is still sorting out her feelings." Jazz reminded Danny. "Just wait it out until the air is cleared. Besides, you have other priorities. Like getting your grades in order."

"Right, I can't have a repeat of last year," Danny said, shaking his head in shame regarding the decline of his barely passable grades. "It's a good thing I turned in that summer paper for extra credit."

"That's the spirit!" Jazz cheered as she drove when the light turned green.

As the Fenton Siblings continued to travel to Casper High, Danny felt a supernatural chill run down his spine, causing his body to shiver and let out a blue mist in the form of a gasp.

'...Please tell me that was just my breath in the morning cold.' Danny prayed.

Jazz noticed this from her viewing mirror and asked, "Did your Ghost Sense go off just now?"

Suddenly, an ecto-based sound wave struck the side of the Amity Park Museum, prompting the locals to run for their lives. From the whole stood the person, or rather, the entity that created it.

The being appeared to be a tall, beautiful, and pale-cyan-skinned teenage ghost girl with a slender, pear-shaped build, green eyes, and long, flaming, robin's egg-blue hair which had been pulled back into a high ponytail by a black hair tie, with two locks of her hair framing her face, resembling a sharp-angled "M". Her makeup includes curled and curved black eyeliner under her eyes and amethyst-purple lipstick.

The otherworldly teenage girl wore a black choker around her neck, a black one-shouldered leather crop top, a gray-studded belt hanging from her waist, black skin-tight leather pants, and large, knee-length gray skull boots with black detailing. Her accessories include small amethyst-purple piercings shaped like a circle and a triangle, a black arm-length glove on her right arm, and a black bracelet on her left wrist.

This was the Poltergeist Punk Rocker, Ember McLain.

"GOOD MORNING AMITY PARK!" Ember screamed with enthusiasm. "ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!?"

With her purple and blue flaming guitar, Ember struck several cords simultaneously and continued her attack on the city block with note-shaped echo sound frequencies.

"EMBER!?" Danny and Jazz shouted before Jazz turned to an alleyway to avoid the other cars frantically looking for safety.

After Jazz secured the emergency parking with the execution of driving skills that rivaled their father, the Fenton siblings got out of the car and discussed the plan.

"Seriously!? What's she doing out here at eight in the morning?" Danny complained.

"Focus, Danny. She's attacking the block!" Jazz pointed out.

"I know, I can see that!" Danny responded in a huff. "...Just when things were looking up. She doesn't seem to have a motive since she's not hosting another concert."

"Thank God for that," Jazz commented as she opened her trunk and accessed her anti-ghost hunting equipment. "The last thing we need is for the school to get hypnotized by idol worship."

"Oh yeah? Try getting hit by that love spell of hers." Danny complained as he shuttered. "That was real fun."

Jazz tossed him the Fenton Thermos, saying, "If that's the case, keep your guard up, keep people safe, and let her have it."

"Best piece of advice I heard all morning!" Danny said with an eager grin.

Repressing a scoff, Jazz smacked Danny's shoulder and said, "Oh, shut up! What are you waiting for? Go ghost and get out there already!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin' ghost!" Danny Fenton cried, raising his arms before a silver ring of ecto-based light appeared in the middle of his body.

The ring split into two light rings that traveled up and down his body. From there, Danny assumed a black HAZMAT with white boots and black gloves while having a recently added symbol on his chest that vaguely looked like a D and a P. His skin turned tan slightly while his hair became snow-white that almost resembled fire and his irises turned green. Once his morph was complete, Danny became the Phantom of Amity Park.

"This shouldn't take me long. I'll meet you at school." Phantom said before turning invisible and flying out into the street.

Jazz nodded, then went back to her car as she thought, '...Get there safe, Danny.'

-With Ember-

While Ember was rocking out with her ghost guitar, one of her blasts hit a nearby billboard. This billboard was struck, leaned forward, and began to plummet to the ground. Unfortunately, a group of high schoolers were walking to Casper High and happened to see an ever-expanding shadow growing from over their heads.

Two of them were a pair of letterman jackets wearing football stars. One was a blond Caucasian American male with dark blue eyes with a blond buzz cut fade, and the other was a Korean American male with dark green eyes and neck-length bowl cut.

These two were David "Dash" Baxter and Kwan Lee, two of the A-Listers of Casper High and the leading Varsity Football stars. Next to them was the second most popular cheerleader Starla "Star" Andromeda Lynne, who acted as the satellite for the most popular girl, the beautiful but shallow Latina cheerleader, Paulina Roberta Esperanza Díaz Sanchéz.

Dash wondered if the sky was forming a storm cloud or something, only for Kwan to look up and scream.

"WATCH OUT!" Kwan cried as he pulled Star to safety.

Dash followed after Star, but Paulina tripped. As the billboard was about to flatten her to bits and the girl screamed, the billboard stopped mid-fall.

"No way...I-It's floating!" Star said, prompting Paulina and the boys to look up.

"The hell!? How's it doing that?" Dash questioned.

Suddenly, Phantom made himself visible, getting the A-Listers' attention.

Phantom turned his head, looking at them from over his shoulder, and said, "Are you guys okay?"

"...It's Phantom!" Star stated in joy.

"Alright!" Kwan and Dash cheered.

"Ghost Boy? Oh, mi amor has come to save me!" Paulina swooned while clasping her hands together.

The ghost boy turned his attention to Dash and said, "Hey, make sure you and your friends get to safety!"

"You got it, Bro!" Dash said before helping Paulina up and guiding his friends to a shortcut.

Before leaving, Paulina said, "I love you, Inviso-Bill! Call me!"

Phantom sighed at Paulina's delusional comment and placed the billboard on the ground as he watched the A-Listers leave safely.

'...She's still calling me that? I seriously need a publicist.' The ghost boy dryly thought as he directed his attention to Ember.

While wreaking havoc through her ghostly jam session, Ember managed to cause thousands of dollars of property and collateral damage.

"Now that's what I call a solo performance!" Ember said, euphoric at the destruction she caused as she tuned her instrument.

The spirit then turned to the local bank and said, "And I'm feelin' like giving an encore!"

Before the Poltergeist could strum a chord, she was struck by an ecto-ray and sprawled onto the floor.

"Show's over, Ember!" Phantom announced, floating in midair with ecto-energy radiating from the palm of his hands with his green eyes glowing harshly.

While picking up her guitar, Ember growled only to find Phantom hovering above her. Her spectral body began to hum with excitement. The ghost punk rocker got up as her fiery hair intensified.

"Babypop!" Ember greeted with a twisted yet somewhat affectionate tone. "Just the face I want to see! Now the real show can begin!"

Ember fired several ecto-based notes from her guitar, prompting the ghost boy to evade by flying. Ember followed suit and adjusted a setting on her guitar to the fist-shaped symbol. Phantom fired more of his ecto-rays, only for Ember to turn intangible to avoid her opponent's attacks.

Before Phantom knew it, he was sent through the window of the local bank by an ecto construct of a comically large fist. This sent the employees and the customers into a panic, and they ran out of the store.

Phantom got up from his dazed state while holding his head. He then immediately turned intangible and rose through the ceiling of the bank to meet Ember in the sky. With a strategy in mind, the ghost boy shifted from intangibility to invisibility, then rammed into the ghostly girl's back, knocking her into a streetlight.

Ember got up and avoided the timbering light by turning intangible, allowing it to hit a nearby car.

From there, Phantom landed in front of her. Ember then placed her guitar on the ground as they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The ghost boy threw a right hook and a jab but weaved and blocked the two attacks with her forearms. Ember went for a high kick and a roundhouse, but Phantom also dodged both attacks. Ember managed to strike Phantom's chin and was about to blast him with a face full of ecto energy, but she underestimated the ghost kid's quick recovery time and found herself on the receiving end of a strong knee to the sternum.

Or a ghost's equivalent to a sternum.

Ember was then kicked to a wall of a nearby building, only to be held down by the wrists by the Phantom of Amity Park.

"Damn it, One Hit Wonder! Would you cut it out? It's too early for this!" Phantom swore.

Out of left field, Ember purred and sultrily said, "I gotta say, Babypop, you sure know how to show a girl a good time~!"

Phantom's face blushed as he stuttered, "W-What!?"

Ember responded by using the fiery properties of her ponytail to burn Phantom's face, causing him to scream in pain. She used the ghost boy being distracted as an opening to knock the wind out of him, then used her super strength to fling him to the nearby Nasty Burger parking lot.

Phantom ended up crashing into a muscle car but managed to recover from the damage inflicted on him. Once he spotted Ember giving chase while flying at top speeds, he ascended into the air to avoid any further collateral and property damage.

While Ember went to claw and kick her opponent, she aggressively cackled, saying, "I NEVER FELT MORE ALIVE!"

'...Okay, that's enough.' Phantom thought in his mind.

The ghost boy formed potent ecto energy from his hands, then fired it at Ember. However, instead of harming her, she found herself unable to move.

"What the hell!? Why can't I move?" Ember said while struggling and failing to move her ghostly body. "What did you do to me, Dipstick?"

"You like it? I've been practicing that little trick all summer," Phantom explained with pride before a serious expression melted it away. "Now, what the heck is going on with you?"

"Nothing!"

Phantom crossed his arms and said, "Bull."

"Excuse me?"

"Ember, you purred at me. Then proceeded to flirt with me." Phantom said, listing the actions with his right gloved index and middle fingers.

"So what, it was a tactical move!" Ember said defensively. "It's not my fault your hormones aren't in check!"

"Yeah! I expected stuff like that from Kitty." Phantom retorted. "What you did was a Kitty move, not an Ember move."

Ember scoffed and said, "What do you care for anyway? Shouldn't you be shoving me in that stupid thermos and heading to class or whatever?"

Phantom sighed and said, "Because I know you, Ember."

"Shut up! You don't know a damn thing about me, Phantom!" The Poltergeist spat.

"Okay, maybe I don't know you personally, but I have fought you long enough," Phantom continued. "You don't pick fights unless provoked. Especially if someone interrupts your feeding. You didn't come here to feed, you came to lure me to a fight."

Ember was about to retort but choked when she realized that the ghost kid was right on the money with his assessment.

"...Stupid, Dipstick," The ghost punk rocker grumbled while a tinge of light blue formed on her cheeks.

"Come on, One Hit Wonder." Phantom tried to coax her. "Spill. What's with the tantrum back there?"

Sighing, Ember said, "...If you must know, my ex-boyfriend and I got into a heated argument, so I broke things off with the bastard."

"Wow, you had a boyfriend?" Phantom questioned.

"What? Surprised?" Ember coyly questioned.

Phantom blushed again and awkwardly said, "N-Not in the way that you think! It's just that, well, I didn't think you'd find any guy you would consider to be on your level."

"Apparently, I haven't!" Ember grumbled bitterly. "I should have never listened to that catfishing no-good lousy hunting idiot!"

Phantom gasped, thinking, '...No! Don't tell me she went out with him!'

"...You and Skulker were a thing!?" Phantom queried in utter shock.

"I know, it's embarrassing," Ember said, admitting to her shame.

Phantom gave the rocker a small smile and asked, "Not that it's any of my business, but what happened to you guys?"

"Like I said, we argued. We were supposed to go out with Kitty and Johnny 13 on a double date as scheduled, but the asshole stood me up! And I hate being stood up!" Ember hissed.

'...Right, she talked about that during the Christmas party last year.' Phantom recalled mentally.

"I went to his lair to confront him. He told me that he has no time for childish past times and that I was acting like a brat, yet I give him support whenever he gets his ass kicked by you."

"That doesn't seem fair," Phantom said.

"I know! But I said that he could make time to hunt you, but not for me? Skulker was like "I'm the best hunter in the Spirit Realm, I have no time for frivolous juvenile activities!" And I'm like, "Screw you! If all you do is get your dome caved in by a halfa, then you're the lousiest hunter of all time!" I meant that shit, too!"

"Ouch. What did he say?" Phantom flinched.

"He told me that he never liked my song," Ember muttered both in pain and sorrow.

"Double ouch. Knowing you, those fighting words must have set you off. …Did you beat him?"

Ember snorted and said, "Well, duh! I used my guitar to disrupt all of his gadgets…until I learned that his metal body was also a gadget."

Phantom's green eyes widened, recognizing where the conversation was headed.

"...Oh no. Don't tell me that you didn't know."

"...I always knew he was overcompensating for something. If he had been honest in the beginning and just came clean, I wouldn't have given a damn back then. But now… He could rot in the Unworld for all I care." Ember groaned. "So, I left his tiny ass right in his lair and found the nearest available portal to vent."

The ghostly punk rocker closed her eyes and said, "Go ahead, rub it in."

However, Ember, much to her shock, was let go of Phantom's telekinesis.

"Look, I know our dynamic can be a bit complicated. And I'll admit, I can be a bit of a jerk, but nobody deserves to be treated like how that jarhead Skulker treats people." Phantom said.

"...You're letting me go?" Ember questioned.

"Just this once, under the condition that you either head back to the Ghost Zone or stay here but don't cause trouble for anybody for the rest of the day," Phantom said in an even tone.

Ember asked, "You're serious?"

"Hey, I'm very flexible to work with," Phantom stated. "You just gotta work with me,"

"I don't get you. Why would you go out of your way to help a girl who's been nothing but trouble to you?" Ember questioned.

"You want people to remember your name, right? Well, I just want to help people," Phantom said as he held his right hand out. "Truce?"

Ember hesitated for a second, but eventually took it, saying, "Truce,"

Phantom chuckled then said, "Glad that we have an understanding."

As the Ghost Boy began to float away, Phantom admitted, "Oh, and by the way, for a One Hit Wonder, I think your song rocks."

Ember felt her face burn a bright blue while she sputtered about.

"H-Huh!?"

"Later, Ember!" Phantom said before turning invisible as he flew at top speed toward his school, leaving Ember to hover to the nearest building and sit on it.

The girl was left in her thoughts, coming to terms with her new feelings and thoughts revolving around her enemy-turned-frenemy. No, perhaps it was the beginning of something new between them.

Feeling a new kind of heat on her cheeks, Ember turned invisible while contemplating, '...W-What did that Dipstick do to me?'

---

Homeroom, Casper High, Amity Park

It has been a week since the beginning of the school year. Everybody settled in relatively well. Many returning students, now Sophomores, were present in Mr. Lancer's classroom. These kids include Paulina, Star, a brown frizzy haired glasses-wearing Caucasian American male named Nathaniel Lester, a dark-colored straight-haired Pacific Islander girl named Tiffanie, an African American football player with a bald fade named Dale, and three other students.

One was a plump teenage African American girl wearing an orange headband with a growing afro, green eyes, and dark brown skin. She wore a black dashiki with red, green, and yellow tribal designs, red jeans, orange bracelets, a pair of orange socks, and white sneakers.

Another was an African American teenage boy with glasses, light green irises, and small locks of black hair under a red and yellow striped beanie. He wore a green sweater, tan khakis, and green boots.

Finally, there was the Caucasian Jewish goth girl with violet eyes, black-colored neck-length hair with a small ponytail resting at the top, and small green highlights. At the same time, the right side of her head was shaved to a buzz cut dyed purple. This girl wore a sleeveless black tank top that exposed her midriff, a green and purple plaid jacket, black jean shorts with a dark purple belt, purple leggings, and black steel-toe boots.

These people were Valerie Josephine Gray, Tucker Christopher Foley, and Samantha Rebecca Manson.

As Vice Principal Ronald William Lancer was looking at his wristwatch on his right arm, he said, "Ah… We got one minute left before the final bell. Let's see if we get some stragglers."

Within a few seconds, Daniel James Fenton opened the door with his hoodie on while wearing his backpack. Mr. Lancer and most of the students were caught off guard by the boy's apparent punctuality.

"RAISIN IN THE SUN, MR. FENTON!" Mr. Lancer gasped.

Danny jolted up, nervously asking, "W-What's wrong!? Am I late again?"

Before the man could respond, the final bell rang, shocking Danny to his core.

Mr. Lancer smiled, revealing, "No. You've finally managed to make it here on time."

Danny sighed in relief, then took his seat. Danny's desk was next to Valerie and Tucker in the back of the room. This time, the jeering of other students and the heated glare from Sam did nothing to lower his spirits.

Finally, things were looking up for the youngest Fenton.

Tucker gave Danny a light wave, and Danny waved back. The Fenton boy then turned to one of his ghost-hunting partners, Valerie. She gave Danny a smile of acknowledgment and approval.

"Hello, class. Before I take today's attendance, I'd like to make an announcement," Mr. Lancer said while clasping his hands together. "Today, we will be having a new student!"

This riled up the sophomore high school students who were interested. The A-listers that were in the class hoped it would be a popular addition to their group. Other factions such as the techno geeks and the emo/goths groups hoped for another one of their kind to join. Danny raised an eyebrow as he turned to Valerie for an explanation. The girl shrugged, obviously not aware of the information beforehand.

"Now, now. I know this is exciting, but please remember to stay dignified and respectful. Not only will all of you be his classmates, but you're also representing our school as part of the Casper High student body." Mr. Lancer said while looking out the window and spotted a figure.

"Ah, looks like he's here!" Mr. Lancer said as he walked over to the door and opened it for the unknown student.

"Come on in, young man!" Mr. Lancer ushered kindly.

Entering the classroom was a fifteen-year-old Caucasian boy roughly the same height as Danny with a neck-length curly brown hair, fair skin, and brown eyes. For attire, he wore a white undershirt over a long-sleeved collared red flannel shirt, a blue jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and gray sneakers. Instead of a backpack, the boy wore a brown leather messenger bag with a question mark design on the cover.

The new student scanned the classroom with uncertainty and nervousness, not realizing how many people filled the space.

Whispers can be heard, which boiled down to either "He looks scrawny" or "Great, another geek".

This did not help boost the kid's confidence, but he still kept a reasonably level-headed expression.

"W-Wow, that's a lot of new faces," The boy whispered.

Seeing the person in front of the classroom caused Danny's jaw to drop.

'...Is that?' The youngest Fenton questioned mentally.

Mr. Lancer spurred, "Go on, introduce yourself,"

"Right," The boy nodded quickly before clearing his throat, "Um… Hi everyone. My name's Mason. Mason Pines. I'm fifteen years old, and I'm from Piedmont, California. But I just moved from Gravity Falls, Ore-"

"Gravity what?" Dale heckled. "What kind of name is that?"

"I don't know," Mason shrugged. "I guess it's just a small backwater town in the sticks that attracts a lot of weird stuff."

"You look like a stick!" A random heckler said, causing most of the students besides Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie to laugh.

Mason rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment while his face heated up. Mr. Lancer, however, was having none of the bullying.

"TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD!" Mr. Lancer shouted sternly. "EVERYBODY QUIET!"

This silenced the laughing students as they rarely found their teacher/vice principal genuinely angry. They could tell from the crimson color overriding his pale skin for a brief moment.

When calming down, Mr. Lancer apologized to Mason, saying, "Mr. Pines, I am so sorry about some of these…hooligans' behavior. I assure you that their actions do not reflect our entire student body."

Mason sighed and said, "No, no. It's fine, Sir. Trust me, I saw this coming."

'...It's not like half of these idiots have much of a future ahead of them anyway.' The boy thought.

"Well, let's see where I can put you…" Mr. Lancer said as he skimmed the room before finding a seat ahead of Danny. "Ah! You may sit at the desk in front of Mr. Fenton."

The name caused Mason's eyes to widen as he thought, 'Wait, he's not talking about who I think he's talking about, right?'

"Mr. Fenton, will you raise your hand?" Mr. Lancer questioned.

Danny did so with a small smile, saying, "Yeah, sure thing,"

Mason smiled back, as he thought to himself, '...It's official! Today no longer sucks balls!'

---

Hallway, Casper High, Amity Park

After four periods, Danny and Valerie managed to make it to the hallways. While the Ghost Boy wanted to speak to his online friend, the two ghost hunters decided to wait until after school. After all, ghost attacks could happen anytime, and they didn't want Mason to get caught in the crossfire.

The two held a conversation while on their way to Danny's locker.

"So, DJ," Valerie spoke, walking beside Danny as the two approached his locker. "You and that Pines kid know each other?"

Danny nodded as they stopped at the locker labeled "705", stating, "Yeah. I met him online two years ago on a Doomed server."

"You played video games?" Valerie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"With Tucker, but that was back when I had a life," Danny answered as he entered the combination to release the lock. "A lot has changed, so I don't have much time to have fun."

"I can relate, but back to Pines," Valerie said.

"His name is Mason," Danny reminded the girl before swapping his books. "Anyway, he and I talked in the lobby and eventually opened up. He eventually sent me an email which led to his website."

"The kid owns his website, huh?" Valerie said, crossing her arms. "He must be well off."

"I believe he is middle class, but I heard that his old man works as a tech wiz at Microsoft," Danny explained, closing his locker.

"Oh, nice." Valerie complimented.

"We kept in touch on the site, I helped him out and became a moderator as it grew. That's when he decided to open up about his life. And I did the same." Danny said as he locked the door.

Val's eyes widened, then narrowed at the information.

"How much does he know, Fenton?" The dark-skinned girl questioned.

"Uh-"

Before the halfa could answer, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Hey, Danny!"

Danny and Valerie turned to see Mason walking over to them. Valerie then whispered that they weren't through with their conversation before shifting into a neutral expression.

"Mason, what's up?" Danny greeted, giving the brown-haired boy a high five. "Why didn't you tell me that you moved to Amity Park of all places?"

"I never got the chance to tell you because you left for school. I never thought you lived in Amity Park. Granted, I should have guessed, given who your parents are…" Mason said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Danny's ribs were shoved by one of Valerie's elbows before she cleared her throat.

"O-Oh, right!" Danny uttered sheepishly. "Mase, this is my friend, Valerie Gray. Val, meet Mason."

Mason extended his right hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Valerie,"

Not sensing any bad vibes or ill intent, Valerie gave the boy a small grin, shook his hand, and said, "Likewise, Cali Boy. How's growing up in nothing but sunshine 24/7?"

"It's fine, I guess. Nothing happens in Piedmont. But my summer vacation two years ago was pretty eventful." Mason shrugged, letting go of the girl's hand.

"What do you mean?" Valerie asked.

Danny and Mason stared at each other, then the brown-haired boy said "It's a long story, but-"

"FENTARD!"

Mason, Valerie, and Danny turned to see Dash, followed by Kwan and Dale approaching their direction.

"Oh great," Danny and Valerie groaned simultaneously.

Mason, confused, asked, "...Guys, who are they?"

"It's Dash and his goons," Danny muttered.

"Ooh! Right." Mason said, immediately understanding the situation.

The sneering blond football star stopped in front of the trio as he set his sights on the youngest Fenton. Unlike Freshman year, Danny grew taller through the work of ghost hunting causing him to tone his body and build muscle. And while Dash still was taller than Danny, the younger high schooler was no longer scrawny enough to be stuffed in a locker.

Still, Danny got wailed on, pranked, and on the receiving end of jokes the A-listers threw at him. But the secret hero took all of this in stride.

He had a cover to maintain after all.

"What do you want, Dash?" Danny grumbled.

"I heard that we got a newbie from the sticks on campus," Dash said, crossing his arms with a devious smirk. "Paulina told me that he was from her year. So, I figured we give him the old Casper High initiation."

"By initiation, you mean giving the poor boy a swirly in the nasty ass restroom stalls?" Valerie corrected in a sassy tone.

Mason nearly puked, then turned to Danny and questioned, "...They do that?"

"I was one of their victims last year," Danny said in a dead tone.

"Gross!" Mason flinched.

"What? It's tradition," Dash justified.

"It's disgusting, and so are you!" Valerie countered.

"Shut up, you washed-up has-been!" Dash growled before turning to Mason. "Since you're new here, let me tell you how things work. Me and Paulina run this school, and our friends in the A-listers sit on top. Next, there are the techno freaks, the nerds, the goths, the student council, and the bookworms. They are middle class."

He then points at Valerie and Danny, concluding the peaking order, saying, "Last and least, we have the losers."

Mason, raising an eyebrow, asked, "Why do they have to be losers?"

"Why?" Dash chuckled amongst his fellow jocks. "Where do I even begin?"

The blond turned to Valerie and said, "This broad used to be one of us. But her pops screwed up on a job and lost his position. Now she's living in a shitty apartment in a ghetto, Now she's stuck working at the Nasty Burger! And to top it off, she got all buddy-buddy with Fentard right here."

Valerie growled at the reminder of her loss while Danny averted his eyes elsewhere, prompting the older boys (and Dale) to laugh.

"And what do you guys have against Danny again?" Mason asked, clearly unaffected by Dash's persuasion.

"Oh, right! That's the best part!" Dash said while trying to hold back his laughter. "The Fentons are half scientists nuts, half ghost hunting freaks! Everything they build either doesn't work or blows up in their faces. They even show up here sometimes and act dumb in front of him! And sure, their daughter is hot and smart, but little Fentonio over here's got nothing going for him except being a weak and clumsy little freak. Hell, the one girl that had the hots for him since middle school confessed at last year's dance, and he fucks that up royally like a dumbass! Now she ditched the dork and their little techno geek pretty much follows her around. If it wasn't for the A-lister reject joining him, nobody would be bothered with a useless runt like him!"

It took Danny all of his strength not to lash out with his superpowers, but being reminded of his past failures pissed him off. Still, he knew Dash wasn't worth his time. So, he placed his balled fists into the pockets of his jeans while the hood and his hair obscured his furrowed facial expression.

Valerie was angry with Danny, understanding the context behind his issues, and was prepared to rip Dash a new one when the blond opened up his big mouth once more.

"Anyway, you have two options, Newbie," Dash said. "You can follow the rules by joining the middle class and stay in your lane, or I can make your school life as tough as possible for the next two years here. And whatever I put down, my younger pals can pick up to continue. So, what's it gonna be?"

Mason looked at the football players, then laughed at their faces, catching Valerie, Danny, Dash, and the other football stars off guard.

While holding his stomach, Mason asked, "Oh! O-Oh, God! What kind of lame shit was that!? That's got to be straight out of a teen flick!"

This little commotion began to attract other students who heard it in the hall. This included Sam and Tucker, who were on their way to the cafeteria.

Dash turned to Kwan and said, "Who is this little twerp laughing at?"

"I think he's laughing at you, Dash," Kwan answered.

"He's not laughing at me!" Dash denied.

Dale confirmed, "Yes sir, he is,"

When Mason settled down, he said as he flipped Dash off, "…Yeah, no. I'll hang out with whoever I want to. So take your ultimatum, your little social status, your points about my friend and his mutuals, and your little threats, and shove them up your ass!"

This caused many who witnessed Mason's rebellion to gasp, including Danny, Valerie, Sam, and Tucker.

'...He didn't!' The four thought.

In a fit of rage, Dash grabbed Mason by the collar and reeled his left fist back, ready to wail at the new student.

Dash said, "You take that shit back right now, or it's your ass!"

"I don't think I'm gonna do that," Mason said, standing his ground with a cocky smirk. "None of this matters anyway, and you know that."

Dash went to punch Mason, only for Danny to intercept him and catch Dash's punch. This baffled the jocks, shocked the crowd around them (including Tucker and Sam), and raised concerns for Valerie.

Before Dash could react, Danny pushed the blond boy's hand back and got in front of both Valerie and Mason out of instinct.

His ghostly obsession with protecting others.

"What the-!?" Dash blurted out.

Kwan looked at the blond with "You okay, man?"

"Dash, what the hell was that?" Dale questioned.

"I…I don't," Dash muttered in confusion before locking on Danny's face with anger.

Danny, staying calm with his hood on, said, "Back off, Dash."

"Out of the way, Fenturd! This is between me and your new boyfriend!" Dash growled as he approached Mason. "You can nurse him back to health after I'm done wailing on-"

As he tried to shove Danny out of the way, Danny grabbed his wrist, stopping Dash's movements. And once again, the youngest Fenton pushed him out of the way, further baffling the random kids along with Tucker and Sam.

"Did you see that?" One of the techno-geeks asked.

A member of Casper High's Student Government said, "Freaky Fenton pushed Dash back twice?"

"I bet he's juicing," Star said while being among the crowd with Paulina. "There's no way he could have moved Dash so easily."

"Hm…" Paulina uttered as she looked at Danny's figure.

'...Come to think of it, he has gotten taller. Maybe Fenton has been working out during the summer. It's probably to impress me and push his luck to become popular.'

"Whatever. Fenton just screwed himself over," Paulina said, waiting for Danny to get pummeled again.

"Has he lost his mind!?" Sam whispered.

"I don't know, but somebody's gotta do something and fast," Tucker whispered.

"I said, Back. Off." Danny warned him, trying to defuse the situation and stand up for his friend.

"You trying to start something, Freak?" Dash said, getting in Danny's face.

"I'm ending it, Baxter." Danny corrected. "You can do or say whatever you want to me, but my friends are off-limits."

"Oh yeah?" Dash said, grabbing Danny by the hood. "I've been wailing on your scrawny ass since elementary school. What can you do?"

Danny's frown turned into a scowl as a side of Phantom bled in his civilian persona, saying, "...We don't have to fight, Dash."

"I know," Dash said with a vindictive smirk as he pushed Danny to a locker. "But I want to!"

"GREAT GATSBY! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Mr. Lancer said as the crowd dispersed.

Everybody except the A-Lister girls, Sam, and Tucker had left.

Danny, Dash, and both parties turned to the marching vice principal who approached the boys.

"Mr. Baxter, unhand Mr. Fenton this instance, or I'll have you suspended!" Mr. Lancer barked, prompting Dash to let go of Danny.

"Now can somebody politely explain to me WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE!?" Mr. Lancer questioned in anger while having a comedic twist.

"Uh…" Danny and Dash stuttered, immediately forgetting their hatred for each other.

"If I may, Mr. Lancer," Mason spoke up.

"Go on…" Mr. Lancer allowed, crossing his arms.

"Dash and his fellow sportsman were going to show me around the school bathrooms, when he decided to roughhouse with his longtime friend, Danny," Mason said, turning to Dash with a vindictive smirk of his own. "Is that right, Dash?"

The main football star began to sweat under the pressure of the adult authority in front of him.

"Y-Yeah! I-I was just horsing around a little!" Dash said with a fearful grin as he dusted off Danny's jacket. "Right, Fen-, uh, Dan?"

Danny looked at Mason, who winked at him. Danny smiled and nodded at the teacher.

"Sure thing, Davy." Danny snorted, causing the other kids besides the football teammates and Mr. Lancer to chuckle.

Danny and his friends barring Sam and Tucker laughed at the boy's jab. Dash had to swallow his pride and seething rage to save his skin.

Mr. Lancer looked at the two parties and sighed, saying, "...I suppose since it's only been a week since the school year started, I can overlook this debacle…for now."

Everybody sighed in relief at this.

"...But, I will not tolerate roughhousing in my school. If I catch wind of it again, I will not be lenient with my punishments. Understand, children?"

"Yes, Mr. Lancer," Dash and Danny said.

"Good, now shake hands and run along," Mr. Lancer said, turning toward the teacher's lounge.

When Danny extended his hand as a procedure, Dash did his best to crush his hand and whispered in one of his ears, "This is far from over, Fentard. Watch. Your. Back."

With that, Dash motioned his cronies to follow him as he walked away with Star and Paulina following behind him.

Danny sighed, and said, "...Great, just what I needed. More problems."

"You okay, Man?" Mason questioned as he approached Danny.

"I should ask you that. Dash nearly throttled you," Danny responded.

"Screw that, what in the hell were both of you thinking!?" Valerie scolded. "It hasn't even been two weeks! Are you trying to paint a target on both of your backs?"

"I mean, we kinda already have that by not being in any faction by default," Danny pointed out. "And given our situations-"

"You know what I'm talking about, Spooks!" Valerie vehemently said in a harsh whisper.

"To be fair, I was goading him to hit me," Mason pointed out. "I planned to stick him with physical assault charges and sue him to the Stone Age. It's not like he's got much of a future anyway."

"Hmph! For a cocky bastard, you have a level head," Valerie complimented, cracking a grin. "I like you, Pines."

"Thanks!" Mason beamed.

"We should get going," Danny suggested. "I don't feel like standing out more than I already did."

"Agreed," Mason and Valerie said before getting out of the hallway.

Tucker sighed and said, "That was a close call, right Sam?"

Sam remained quiet as her knuckles turned white.

'...Is he…replacing us!?' The girl thought with envy oozing off of her. 'This is bullshit!'

With that, the goth girl stomped away, prompting Tucker to follow her with concern.

"Hey, wait up!"

---

Unknown Sector, Ghost Zone

The Ghost Zone.

It has had many names over many lifetimes. The Spirit Realm, the Further, the Other Side, or simply the Afterlife. Currently, a white and black blur with a hint of red was zooming across the green and black Ghost Zone, moving past various purple-colored doors that floated aimlessly and randomly within this endless abyss. As the fast-moving blur approached a set of two dark red doors, it stopped in front of them, revealing that this blur was in fact a person.

They were a middle-aged man with sky-blue skin, red glowing eyes, and black spiky hair in the shape of a U with a goatee on his chin. His build was wide and muscular and wore a white long-sleeved tunic with a black collar and belt that stems up his neck, white trousers with black gloves and boots, and a high collar cape connected around his neck that had a white exterior and a red interior lining.

There was a secret behind this ecto-based being. In truth this was not a ghost, but rather the first half-Ghost in existence.

As a human, he was Vladimir Silver Masters, and was known as Vlad Masters by the public. But when transformed, he was one of the most powerful spirits in the Ghost Zone and has been recognized by his cunning wit, devilish charisma, and ruthlessness. This was Wisconsin Ghost, the arch-enemy of the Phantom of Amity Park.

This was Plasmius. Vlad Plasmius.

Plasmius looked at both red doors as he let out a sigh of exhaustion.

"I need to better maintain my speed, lest I burn through my fatigue…" Plasmius muttered to himself as he opened the two doors to the sound of loud and energetic music with red and orange spotlights flashing all around.

Inside was what looked like a rectangular nightclub with hundreds of patrons within, all Spirits of different walks of life, Ghost or Poltergeist, and even a few living guests there, but were the minority. On the right side of the club was a large red and black dance floor with a stage in front of it for musicians and DJs to perform their genres of music for patrons to relax and dance with. On the left side meanwhile was a drinking bar and lounge with a wall that had several bottles and cans of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages along with several pictures spread out across the place, depicting moments in history or personal photos.

This was the Avaricious Spirit, the Ghost Zone's very own nightclub and drinking bar for socializing and mingling with Spirits in a neutral zone where the owner makes the rules.

Plasmius flinched and grasped his head slightly from the overstimulation he was feeling due to the music and mass chatter he heard in the building's walls and air.

"Blasted music!" He growled as he walked into the nightclub.

As the half-Ghost ventured further into the establishment, he could see a few familiar faces here and there, Ghosts who had fought his arch-enemy in the past. On the dance floor was a silver-skinned ghost with green eyes and messy mop of blond hair with stubbles on his chin that wore a white t-shirt under a black trench coat, black pants with two belts wrapped around his waist, black fingerless gloves, gray biker boots, a necklace with a green skull pendant, and a gold and green ring on his left ring finger.

Next to him was a slender, attractive, pale greenish-white-skinned female ghost with red eyes, long, thick, shaggy green hair, and sports makeup which consists of thick eyeliner, followed by both purple eyeshadow and lipstick. For clothing, the woman wore a necklace with a green pendant, along with both a red leather jacket and a red miniskirt - her jacket being worn over a cropped, black tank top that was slightly torn at the bottom. She also wore fishnet stockings over green tights, and black calf-length, high-heeled leather boots. Her accessories include a purple scarf and a golden ring with a green gem.

The people that Vlad passed by were Johnny 13 and his girlfriend Kitty, and they were having a good time on the dance floor.

The Vulture Ghosts under Vlad's employment were playing the slot machines and many of the Phantom's Rogues Gallery were drinking or engaging in other contraband to satisfy their urges.

Vlad approached the bar, seeing that most of the stools were taken. From the far side sat the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter Skulker who was next to the small gentleman-looking Spirit Bertrand with his mistress, the shadow Spirit Penelope Spectra who looked like her human form while inside the walls of the Avaricious Spirit. After Spectra was Bullet, the warden Ghost Walker's lieutenant, then the technopathic Ghost, Nicolai Technus. Vlad looked at the empty bar stool and decided to sit on it, then looked to his side, and to his annoyance, the foolish Box Ghost was there, clearly drunk based on the six empty glasses in front of him.

"T-T-The Box Ghost…is not a joke…" The Box Ghost muttered in a drunken state. "...He…He…the...Box Ghost…is gonna…gonna….kick…k-k-k…KICK YOUR ASS! Ugh-hahahahahaha…"

Vlad rolled his eyes as the Box Ghost finally passed out and a female bartender walked by to clean up the mess left behind.

"Excuse me, My Dear. Is the owner in the building by any chance?" Vlad asked the bartender in a polite tone.

"Yeah, the boss is here." The female bartender replied in a dry tone. "Probably still flirting with that genie chick."

"Please inform your employer that Vladimir is here to see him." Vlad spoke, to which the bartender reached for the phone opposite her on the bench within the bar counter and dialed it.

"Some guy named Vladimir is here to see you." The bartender said into the phone before hanging up and putting it back on the bench as she walked off to serve more patrons.

After a few seconds, a burst of flames appeared from under the bar counter and there stood a handsome-looking man with a toned build, fair skin, and messy dark red hair. He wore a red undershirt, a black waistcoat, and slacks with a black tie, black shoes, a leather wristband on one hand, and a rope and bead wristband on the other. He also was wearing red sunglasses and had a cigarette in his grinning mouth.

This was "The Dealer", the enigmatic owner of the Avaricious Spirit.

"Mr. Masters." The Dealer said in a smooth voice, taking out a zippo lighter and lighting the end of the cigarette before taking a puff of it.

"Dealer," Vlad said back, avoiding the cloud of smoke that blew past from the owner's smoking.

"Scotch?" The Dealer asked, holding up a bottle of 12-year-old Dalmore.

"Very well, but only one," Vlad replied as the Dealer took out two glasses and poured scotch into both of them, giving one to Vlad.

The Dealer held up his glass of scotch, to which Vlad clinked it with his own before they took a sip of their glasses. Vlad gagged a little at the scotch's potency, causing the Dealer to chuckle before taking another puff of his cigarette.

"So tell me, mate, is that Ghost Kid still shit-sturring you? The way I heard it, that little bugger pulled quite the fast one on you, not to mention his fox of a mum rejected you." The Dealer said in a mocking tone.

"Enough of your mockery, Trickster! I did not travel this far into this chaotic dimension to be hurled with insults." Vlad said, gritting his teeth and clenching his glass slightly.

"I'm well aware of why you're here, Mr. Masters. It's my bloody business to know." The Dealer said, taking a sip of his scotch. "Wouldn't be much of a business broker if I didn't."

"Fair enough. Then shall we cut to the chase?" Vlad asked, looking at the Dealer as he took another sip of his scotch.

"Whatever you say, mate. Though perhaps we should take this conversation away from prying eyes." The Dealer said with a chuckle before taking a puff of his cigarette then pulled out a microphone from the counter.

"ATTENTION, MY PATRONS! THE NEXT ROUND OF BUCKSHOT ROULETTE WILL BE COMMENCING IN 20 FUCKING MINUTES! GET YOUR ASS OVER TO THE ARENA AND SIGN UP TO TAKE ON THE REIGNING CHAMPION!"

After hearing this, most of the club's patrons started flocking over to a door in the far left side which had a sign saying "Buckshot Roulette" on it. The Dealer put the microphone down and looked at Vlad.

"Follow me, Mr. Masters."

Soon enough, Vlad and the Dealer were inside what appeared to be an office, occupied by a large desk with one big leather desk and two smaller desk chairs in front of the desk, several shelves with various weapons, artifacts, and other items and possessions plastered around the room. The Dealer sat in his chair, still smoking and drinking while Vlad sat in one of the smaller chairs.

"No one's watching us here, Vladimir." The Dealer said in a half-serious tone. "Go ahead and change back."

Vlad let out a huff as a black ring of ecto-energy appeared around his waist, then split in two as they traveled up and down his body, shifting into his human identity of Vlad Masters. He was now skinnier but still fairly built, having fair skin, blue sunken eyes, and long white hair tied in a ponytail with a white goatee. He wore a black suit with a white undershirt, a red handkerchief in his left breast pocket, a matching red bolo tie, and black pointed shoes.

"If it weren't for our history, I would incinerate you for referring to me by that name. Only my father dared to address me as Vladimir." Vlad said with a hint of anger.

"Ohohoho! You're gonna have to get in line with every other stooge and barney that wants to take a shot at me, mate." The Dealer said, finishing his drink and then taking another puff of his cigarette. "I presume you were able to find the Skeleton Key? Last time you were here, you traded a small fortune for that information."

"It was right where you said it was," Vlad said, showing the Dealer the green-glowing Skeleton Key, causing the red-haired businessman to whistle.

"Guessing that the Behemoth wasn't too much trouble?" The Dealer asked.

"The beast was powerful but lacked the speed and tactical skills to best me in the long run. I could outlast it and once it became too tired to attack me, retrieving the Skeleton Key was no easier to take than candy from a baby." Vlad said with a smirk before putting the Skeleton Key away.

"This is risky territory that you're approaching, Mr. Masters. How do you suppose you're going to explain yourself if the Observants or that temporal twat Clockwork catches you with the Skeleton Key?" The Dealer asked.

"If the Master of Time or those one-eyed peeping toms know that the key is missing and that I possess it, wouldn't they have done something already?" Vlad asked back before finishing his drink and letting out another gag. "Christ, you're telling me that's 12-year-old scotch?"

"It's more potent when you're in mortal form, isn't it?" The Dealer said with a chuckle before finishing the last bit of his cigarette and putting it into the ashtray on his desk. "Alcohol aside, we both know what that key leads to, mate, and if you screw this up, then we all suffer the consequences."

"In all my years under your tutelage, have I ever failed the tasks you or I set out?" Vlad asked the Dealer.

"This is no mere task, cobber! This is Exodus-level shit we're talking about." The Dealer said in a serious tone before taking out another cigarette and lighting it. "But who knows, maybe you'll succeed, given how crafty a man you are."

"You flatter me with your compliments," Vlad said in a half-hearted tone.

"Well, if you're here again, I'm guessing you want something else from me?" The Dealer asked the half-Ghost.

Vlad simply nodded before speaking.

"What can you tell about a mystical artifact called the Reality Gauntlet?"

"HAHAHAHAHAAA!" The Dealer laughed in a maniacal tone, dropping his cigarette on his desk.

Vlad groaned in annoyance before the Dealer began to calm down and picked up his cigarette as he spoke again.

"First the Skeleton Key, now quite possibly the most powerful mystical artifact besides the Alpha Rune itself? Just how much power do you need, Vladimir?"

"As much as I need to ensure no one within the government's defense factions are capable of stopping me, not even the Order's Grandmaster." Vlad explained.

"And Tennyson? How are you going to handle him?" The Dealer asked.

"So long as I take out Earth's Magister before he can use the Galvan's abominable watch and unlock its true power, I am sure that the Plumbers won't pose too great a threat," Vlad said to the businessman. "Especially if I possess the Reality Gauntlet and its gems."

"I don't know if you're brave or just crazy." The Dealer said as he lit his cigarette again. "But what the fuck, let's see how far your little plan takes you."

"Then are you willing to help me?" Vlad asked with a brow raised.

"Help you? Nah, you know that's not how this works, Vladimir." The Dealer replied as he took a puff of his cigarette again. "I'm a businessman, remember? And everything worth having in this world…"

"...Isn't free. I am well aware of your ways." Vlad said, crossing his arms.

"Then what are you willing to offer me as payment for the information you seek, Mr. Masters?" The Dealer asked.

Vlad opened up his suit's blazer and reached into it with his free arm. He soon after pulled out a 1.5 liter bottle containing a light green glowing liquid inside of it.

"I've recently been experimenting on the effects that ecto-energy has on certain chemicals. I have brewed a special cocktail combining ectoplasm with some of the finest alcohols on Earth. I call it the Spectral Ale."

Vlad put the bottle of 'Spectral Ale' on the desk, to which the Dealer examined the bottle and opened it before giving it a smell.

"Has a nice scent to it." The Dealer said as he took a sip, causing his face to light up a little. "Oh wow, this is good. Sweet, tangy, fizzy, yet thick and rich in flavor and texture. Any side effects?"

"Besides inducing moderate to high levels of inebriation if drunk consecutively, it does appear to augment a Spirit's power temporarily," Vlad replied. "I could decrease the potency if you like."

"Nah, I'll sell it as a special limited drink, it'll cost twice the price of a standard drink." The Dealer said with a chuckle.

"But isn't that a tad bit reckless?" Vlad asked with a concerned look.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in playing it safe?" The Dealer said, forming a wide grin that showed his razor-sharp teeth before extending out his hand to Vlad. "Do we have a deal, Mr. Masters?"

Vlad smiled once more as he extended his hand out to meet the Dealer's. Once they held each other's hand and shook it, red spectral chains formed around their arms, wrapping around them and binding their hands together before evaporating seconds later.

"The vow has been binded." The Dealer said with a smile. "Now then, here's the deal…"

---

Study Room, School Library, Casper High

Study Period! Thank God for that.

At least, that's what many of the sophomores of Danny's Class thought to themselves. Some of them used this opportunity to study like normal rule-abiding students. Others used it to socialize, either on campus or off campus ala skipping fifth period and sixth period.

Thankfully, Danny wasn't one to skip periods despite his constant tardiness. He did aspire to be an astronaut even though he sacrificed his dreams for the safety of Amity Park.

Danny, Valerie, and Mason chose to go to one of the group study rooms in the school library to talk about the new kid's arrival and ghost-related. Once they settled inside and closed the door, they resumed their discussion from before.

"Okay, Pines. Spill," Valerie said, leaving no room for deflections and debates. "How much do you know?"

Mason turned to Danny, who gave him a nod of permission. Mason looked around, inspecting the walls, under the table, and the corners of the baseboard and crown molding.

From there, Valerie turned to Danny and asked, "What's he doing, DJ?"

"Making sure the place isn't bugged," Mason answered for Danny. "We don't want to disclose classified information to the Guys In White."

"The GiW? What's so scary about those jokers?" Valerie scoffed. "They are nearly as bad at their job as the Fentons. No offense, DJ."

"None taken," Danny said dryly.

"Now that the coast is clear, I can answer your first question," Mason said as he took out his laptop logged on to his website, and showed it to her.

"... ?" Valerie read out loud.

"Uh-huh! This site's my pride and joy," Mason said proudly. "I tend to keep things nice and tidy here as I'm in my element."

Valerie (and Danny) looked at the forums and discussions that were paired with different clips and pictures of various contentious topics including cryptids, aliens, government conspiracy theories, the occult, and etc. She raised one of her eyebrows at the tagline, "Keep an open mind and embrace the weirdness".

'...And I thought Manson was strange.' The girl thought as she turned to face Manson.

"What kind of site are you running?" Valerie inquired.

"I'm a guy of many acquired tastes," Mason answered cryptically.

Wanting answers, Valerie said, "DJ,"

"He's a conspiracy theorist," Danny answered plainly, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I resent that! I don't post any content without solid leads to them!" Mason huffed.

"Relax, Mase. It's the only term I could think of that she could understand," Danny said.

"I know, I just hate the connotation of it," Mason said, pulling out a special flash drive with Phantom's emblem on it.

"What's that?" Valerie questioned.

While plugging it in one of his USB ports, Mason smirked and said, "A little something I called the Phantom Files."

From there, Mason opened up a computer file, showing logs that dated back to Aug 4, 2004. This included the first sightings of Phantom in the media, the rogue spirits he has fought, strengths, weaknesses, and at least one instance of a different power that he used since his appearance.

"You've been documenting Phantom's exploits this whole time?" Valerie gasped. "What are you, a fanboy?"

"No, I'm not! I'm an aspiring researcher and filmmaker, thank you very much!" Mason said, crossing his arms.

Danny snorted but didn't say a word due to Mason's glare.

"Sure, sure," Valerie smirked before she found one video file that was labeled "The_Change. Wmv". "Huh, what's that file?"

Mason frowned, then turned to Danny and asked, "Is it okay if I showed her, D?"

"It's alright. She's proven herself to be trustworthy." Danny answered softly, causing Valerie's skeptical expression to become concerned.

The file had an encryption code. Mason typed his sister's name as the password, allowing the video to be viewable.

"Danny, are you sure about this?" Mason asked again with an uncertain expression. "I know this is personal to revisit-"

"She deserves to know, Mase." Danny responded with certainty. "Do it."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Valerie demanded. "Why are you guys acting so weird about a video?"

Without saying a word, Mason pressed the "play" button and showed the fateful night. Little did the trio know, Ember had gone intangible and invisible to keep Danny's Ghost Sense from detecting her. Now, the trio and the unnoticed guest began watching the video file.

Fourteen-year-old Danny from 2004 entered the lab in his pajamas and turned on the lights. He then went to the closet in search of something.

"Knowing Mom and Dad, they probably have some tailored HAZMATS jumpsuits for me and Jazz lying somewhere…" Past-Danny muttered to himself.

"...DJ, are you at home here?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah. At the time, Jazz and I were finally allowed to go down to the basement. Turns out that it had been a secret lab the whole time."

"Where they were making all of their tools," Valerie said as the two boys nodded.

The video continued as Past-Danny found himself a basic white HAZMAT suit with black accents to wear, only instead of the D/P symbol, Jack Fenton's face was slapped on the chest as a sticker. However, Danny took his father's face off when he noticed it and began changing his clothes.

"Nice try, Dad, but this is going to be a one-time thing outside of the new chores. I'm not getting involved with anything that's not NASA or space-related." Past-Danny sassed in the video.

When he walked over to the nearby mirror, Past-Danny said, "...Still, they'd be over the moon if they saw me wearing this. Jazz would probably try to talk me out of this. Or send me to a psych ward."

"Do you often talk to yourself when alone?" Mason quipped.

Danny shot back, saying, "Do you?"

"I don't think I'm inclined to answer, Mr. Fenton," Mason smirked.

"Was that what your original suit looked like?" Valerie questioned. "How did the colors get flipped? And what were you doing going through your parent's stuff anyway?"

"You'll find out very soon," Danny said ominously as the video continued.

The three watched Past-Danny muster up the courage by smacking his cheeks with his gloved hands and taking deep breaths.

"Okay, you can do this, Fenton. It's you…" Past-Danny spoke as the camera also showed the Fenton Portal. "...And the portal."

"The what?" Valerie inquired, not fathoming what she was looking at.

"Where it all started. My parents' twenty-year pet project," Danny answered unevenly. "Wonder where all of the spirits are coming from?"

"This is the source of the ghost outbreak?" Valerie, feeling her temper rise. "What were they thinking, punching a hole through God-Knows-Where!?"

'...I mean, it's a free ticket out of the Spirit World for a lot of us, but Hunty's got a point.' Ember thought to herself.

Danny chuckled at her mannerisms and said, "You know, that's what Jazz said to Mom and Dad earlier that day."

"Yeah, that's because her head was screwed on right." Valerie sassily commented.

"To be fair, there's been rumors of a particle accelerator being developed somewhere in Switzerland. Something about an organization wanting to harvest antimatter and junk." Mason commented.

"What is the world coming to?" Valerie muttered as the video continued.

The trio (and Ember) watched Past-Danny inspect the packet of research notes, and the blueprints of the Fenton Portal to see the exact malfunction.

"...Genetic Lock, Ecto-filtrator, Main Computer," Past Danny could be heard saying.

The video then found him running a diagnostic on the portal from the main computer.

"Could you even understand your parents' notes and the schematics of the thing?" Mason questioned while pausing the video.

Danny shrugged, admitting, "Barely. The notes they piled up seem more complicated than rocket science."

"What were you doing around that spirit world portal?"

"It's a Ghost Portal - the first man made portal to the Ghost Zone," Danny corrected. "But it didn't quite work at first."

"Much like a lot of the Fenton's gadgets." Mason dryly chimed in.

"Wait, if that's the case…you went down to the lab-" Valerie thought aloud.

"-To try and fix it." Danny sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, it was a really stupid and reckless move in hindsight."

"Then why? You don't want to be caught up in the family business no more than Jazz does." Valerie pointed out.

"I just…I felt bad for Mom and Dad, okay?" Danny confessed. "While it was a punch to learn where they invested most of their time rather than using it for me and Jazz, I was happy for them. They were going to achieve their lifelong dream and prove their work to be viable! …Then when it didn't work, my dad was starting to lose it. You should have seen how crushed he looked…he wasn't himself."

"Oh, Danny," Valeire said, sympathizing with the ghost boy.

"Don't tell me that you're trying to justify the neglect you dealt with, again," Mason frowned.

"I'm not!" Danny shot back. "My parents have their faults, and I got more than a few complaints about their antics, but they never stopped us from pursuing our dreams. They support us no matter what. At the time, I felt like I should do the same."

Valerie smiled and said, "I understand. You're a good guy, Fenton."

Danny chuckled, saying, "I try to be."

"Get a room, you two," Mason said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, hardy har har." Danny quipped while Valerie chuckled.

Ember shook her head at the teenager's dynamic while a part of her felt a little jealous. Ember wished that she had a group of people that cared for her.

"In all seriousness, Valerie, you should brace yourself. This next part isn't for the squeamish." Mason warned.

This caused both Ember and Valerie to grow concerned as everybody watched Past-Danny stopped

"Wait, Dad plugged in the power cord hooked up to the portal. If what the computer said was true, then there should be a power switch or power button." Post-Danny noticed as he moved away from the main computer.

When inspecting the blueprints again, Past-Danny said, "...Aha!"

"The power buttons are inside the portal! Dad must have done this by mistake." Past-Danny presumed as he approached the Fenton Portal's entrance.

As it turned out, this was true as the trio (and Ember) found the power buttons within the ghost portal.

'...What the hell!? What kind of buffoon would put one of the most important features to a machine inside of a safety hazard?' Ember questioned. 'That's an accident waiting to…oh shit!'

"Danny, are you getting in that-"

Before Valerie could finish her question, everybody watched Past-Danny tripping like the klutz he was. Unfortunately, Danny placed one of his hands on the surface of the wall. And that hand just so happened to press the "ON" button.

Suddenly, 10,000 volts of ecto-based electricity had fried the body of fourteen-year-old Daniel Fenton, causing him to let out an ear-piercing scream of sheer agony. The flash of green lasted for two seconds before the portal stabilized naturally.

Valerie's entire view of Phantom shifted here as she held Danny's hand out of comfort in regret. She had to hold back tears while Mason looked away, having to witness his friend die again.

Ember was left speechless, thinking, '...He's like me.'

Emerging from the portal was Past-Phantom, who barreled out of the active portal's entrance and collapsed onto the floor with smoke surrounding him, his jumpsuit's colors inverted, and burns covering his skin.

Two minutes later, Past-Jazz entered the lab and found her brother lying motionless on the ground.

"Danny!? OH MY GOD! DANNY!" The past version of his sister panicked, only for a bright light to cover Past-Danny in the form of the ring and reverted him to his normal human form that was naked barring his underwear.

Past-Jazz then looked at the portal and realized what happened, and uttered, "...God! What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

Running over to the control panel on the main computer, Past-Jazz closed the Fenton Portal before anything else could pass through.

Past-Jazz sighed, then dashed to Past-Danny and said, "Stay with me, Danny! You're gonna be okay! You're gonna be okay! Oh God...!"

From there, Past-Jazz went to take her brother upstairs to give him medical help before the video ended. Ember exited the room, having seen enough, and went on the roof of the school to ponder again.

"Fuck, I almost forgot how heavy that was," Mason whispered.

"Jesus Christ, Danny! Why didn't you-"

"-Tell you?" Danny finished in a huff. "I know you're still used to the whole "ghosts feel" thing, there are two things you shouldn't talk to them about. One, don't ask them about their obsession. It's insensitive. Can you guess what the other one is?"

Valerie opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it rigidly.

"...That's fair." The girl admitted, guilty towards her past mistakes. "But I thought after burying the hatchet with the whole Cujo incident, you'd tell me important things like this."

"...Valerie, I'm half dead." Danny bluntly stated. "I'm still processing the fact that I'm somehow breathing and can shift between human and spirit. On top of that, I have to watch my back in case my parents are around the corner waiting to dissect me, and the GiW who wants to do God-Knows-What if they get a hold of me. It's not a matter of trust. I literally don't know how to explain my secret to anybody who doesn't know, which is one of the main reasons I keep it to those who are open-minded in the loop."

"Besides, if he explained this to you a year ago without the context of the video, would you have believed him?" Mason questioned.

"...No." Valerie said, lowering her head. "I would have called him a lying piece of ecto scum."

"And that's why outside of Jazz, he trusted me to know first," Mason stated as he turned to the girl. "...Ghost Huntress,"

"Did you have to tell him?" Valerie questioned Danny, half angry, half irritated.

"Please," Mason rolled his eyes as he put away his laptop. "Who do you think suggested that he try out the superhero gig? Danny tells me about his normal life and the ghost he's encountered. Once I learned about Cujo and your fall from social grace, I put the pieces together on my own. Danny figured it out himself shortly after. That's why he never went all out on you."

"So, what, you were DJ's guy-in-the-chair behind the scenes?" Valerie asked.

Mason answered, "How else would he have figured out how half of the Fentons' gizmos work?"

"Then you're up-to-date with everything," Valerie said matter-of-factly. "Then what happens now?"

Suddenly, a supernatural ran up Danny's spine, causing him to gasp as a light blue mist formed.

Appearing from the wall, a short, somewhat round man with blue skin and short black hair stumbled onto the floor as he slurred, "BEWHARH-". He wore gray overalls, a gray hat, light gray gloves, a light gray undershirt, and dark gray shoes.

This entity was a Class-3 (Epsilon) Poltergeist, the Box Ghost.

The three teens looked at each other, wondering what was going on with the pitiful spirit, who looked even more pathetic than usual.

"Uh, was he supposed to do that?" Mason asked Danny and Valerie.

"No. Boxy can be sad, but not this sad," Danny stated as he looked at the Box Ghost, who was planted on the floor face first.

"...Is he drunk?" Valerie questioned, smelling alcohol. "Can ghosts even get drunk?"

"...B…Beware…Beware, I am…the…the Box Ghost...hic!" The Box Ghost said, struggling with his words as he tried and failed to get up from the ground.

"DJ, aren't you gonna…you know…?" Valerie said, trying to nudge the dark-haired boy to go ghost.

"Nah, I only fight in Ghost mode when the threat level of a spirit is high enough," Danny said as he reached for his bag to fetch the Fenton Thermos. "I usually beat Boxy as a human, anyways. And as he is now, he's practically harmless."

"But I am not, WHELP!" A deep and smooth but metallic voice rang in the room.

Danny gasped as his Ghost Sense went off. A strong gust of wind blew in the room. The window cracked and then shattered along with the overhead LED lights.

A small cube was dropped before expanding, injuring, and capturing the drunk Box Ghost. The cube was then minified once more.

Phasing into reality was a tall and hulking male ghostly-like figure that was over six feet tall.

The entity had a weaponized robotic suit for a body, electric green eyes, electric green flaming hair and goatee, and jagged teeth. The "skin" of his suit is off-white and his arms have metal seams. He wears a black tank top and pants, a dark gray shoulder guard on his left shoulder, and a dark gray belt that slung across his chest. For an entire, wore dark gray gauntlets that had technological features in the wrists, along with a gray utility belt that had a blue "S" on the buckle. He wore gray boots with blue laces and a necklace with a white skull on it.

This was the self-proclaimed greatest spirit hunter and Class 4 (Delta) Poltergeist. This was Ghost X to the B.O.R.D., better known as Skulker.

"You can say that I'm quite the predator," Skulker said with a grizzly smirk as he used telekinesis to catch the miniized cube. "Wouldn't you say, Ghost Child?"

"AHHH! It's Ghost X!" Mason shouted, fairly unnerved at the size of the hunter.

"Skulker!" Valerie and Danny growled.

To Be Continued...

---

Author's Note:

Co-Written by DarkShadowGames451, Som3BodE, and UltimateDemonBeast65

Disclaimer: We do not own Danny Phantom, Ben 10, Kim Possible, Gravity Falls, or other properties referenced. They are owned by Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and other respective companies/entities who hold the rights. Please support the official release!

The limited original characters that will appear (such as The Dealer) are exclusive to this story.

While this story is a crossover, it will mainly focus on Danny Phantom characters with Danny serving as the main character.

Questions will not be answered during the production of this project, but you are welcome to leave comments, thoughts, and predictions in reviews/down in the comments. DO NOT SPAM AND PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL!

With all of that being said, please enjoy the story!

-DSG451