Chapter 12
The next week went by entirely uneventful, and Danny was grateful. He was finally figuring out how to turn on and off his powers - for the most part. When they would happen against his will, he would remember what each power felt like. And with that knowledge, he was able to understand the power better. There were slip-ups here and there, but nothing completely mortifying or noticeable.
It wasn't an exact science. It was a mental game really.
Regardless, he did pretty much all of it without Vlad's help…wherever he was. He told Danny he had a business trip, but he never got around to explaining what for and how long. Just that he would be gone and unreachable for a while.
"Dude!" Tucker said, sliding into the seat across from him at The Nasty Burger.
Deep in thought, Danny jumped at this outburst. "Oh hey! What's going on?"
"I told you that I went out to the movies yesterday with Ella?"
"Who, what, where, when, and why? No! What about Valerie?
"Eh, she's old news," Tucker said then admitted, "and she kind of rejected me…"
"Oh. Well, how'd your date with Ella go?"
Tucker shook his head adamantly. "Man, it was awkward!"
"Oh, I'm sorry."
He shook his head again. "Nah, don't be. Anyway, we decided to just be friends. Anything more would be weird. She isn't my type anyway."
Danny chuckled. "What is your type?"
"Haven't really figured it out yet. What about you?"
"I'm not sure," Danny said, shrugging.
"Does it start with P and end with an -aulina?"
Danny shrugged again. "Honestly? I haven't thought much about it lately."
"Sure, you haven't."
Danny laughed. "I'm serious! And anyway, I guess my type is probably dark hair, a good sense of humor, likes the same kind of stuff as me, pretty…"
"Huh. Well good luck with that!"
Sam walked in and sat next to them. "Hey."
"Hey, Sam," they both said.
"My parents are open for teaching us some ghost hunting if you guys are free," Danny said.
"Yes!" They exclaimed in unison.
Danny looked alarmed at their enthusiasm. "Really?"
"Absolutely," Sam said. "The world of ghosts is so unexplored. Learning about the unexplained and paranormal is just what my goth soul needs. Plus, after what we saw the other day with that ghost attack, it wouldn't hurt to know a thing or two about how to fight back."
"Exactly! It'll be just like video games," Tucker added.
"And this is the ecto-blaster! It's my favorite one because it's so powerful," Maddie said, excitement in her voice as she handed it to Sam.
"Whoa cool," Sam said, turning it over in her hands.
She gave it to Tucker whose glasses reflected the blue and green of the weapon. Then Tucker handed it to Danny who looked it over. He supposed if his parents attacked him, it might be pretty useful to understand their weapons.
"When do we get to start trying out the weapons?" Sam asked, a gleam in her eye.
Maddie smiled as she took the gun from Danny. "Soon! We will do a demonstration next week. Oh, it's so fun having Danny's friends here to learn about our work! Parapsychology is such an under-appreciated science. It's great to see such young minds interested!"
"Where's Mr. Fenton?" Tucker asked.
"He's come down with something so he decided to sit this one out. He should be back to normal in no time."
Suddenly, a loud cough came from the top of the stairs. "Maddie? Maddie, are you done down there?"
"No, Jack! The kids are still here. Did you want to say anything?"
He shuffled down the stairs, looking pale as a ghost.
"Jack, are you okay?"
He frowned. "I'm not feeling so good."
Danny eyed him with concern. He had never seen his dad this sick before, even when he had a terrible case of the flu a few years ago.
Maddie rushed to his side and helped him sit. "Sam, Tucker, thank you for coming. Let's continue this another day, okay?"
"Sure. Feel better, Mr. Fenton," Sam said.
Tucker said the same, and they left.
"I think I need some soda to settle my stomach. Can you get me some of my favorite soda, Danny boy?"
"Sure."
He rushed up the stairs and opened up the fridge, grabbing a soda. It had a red and blue design, marking it as the mixed berry flavor. His dad loved those drinks. The rest of the family couldn't tolerate them - they were way too sweet.
He went down the stairs and handed it to his dad.
"Thanks," he said, popping the top and sipping some. "Gee, that's good." Some color returned to his face, and he jumped up. "I feel better already! Maddie, get my Fenton ecto-goggles. It's time to get back to work!"
Maddie exchanged a worried look with Danny. "Jack, don't you think you need a little time—"
"We don't have time! We need to start finalizing the Fenton peeler! It peels apart ghosts molecule by molecule!"
Danny grimaced. "I've got some homework to do."
"Okay, sweetie, you go do that."
Danny went up to his room, feeling dejected. He had no clue what was going on with his dad. He was up and down sick. It was so strange.
But regardless of that, he couldn't get "peel apart ghosts molecule by molecule" out of his mind. He was scared to find out what that would entail at the next training session. He just hoped he could continue to keep up this facade.
If he was going to that, he needed to keep training and get a complete hold over his powers.
Where was Uncle Vlad when he needed him?
After changing forms, he flew out of his window and high up into the sky. He was definitely starting to get the hang of flying. Closing his eyes, he thought of how peaceful it was up here: no people in sight, buildings and cars thousands of miles awa— Danny saw stars as he was wacked in the face by a small plane's wing at alarming speed. The pilot swerved and yelled as the plane went spiraling, smoke trailing from the wing, where it had hit Danny.
After he shook off the shock, he realized what was happening. Quickly, he flew down and attempted to steady the plane underneath, but his hands kept slipping.
"Come on, Fenton, you can do this," he told himself, eyes glowing green as he boosted his energy and grabbed fistfuls of metal. He strained, steadying the plane before bringing it down to an open field.
He pulled the door off the plane and got the man out. "It's gonna blow!" The pilot yelled. Danny took the man in his arms and flew speedily away. The explosion threw them forward, rubble beginning to graze Danny's back before he made himself, and the pilot intangible.
When the worst of it was over, Danny flew the man further away.
"Sorry," Danny said, looking back at the damage.
"Are you kidding? You saved my life! My plane was going out of control before I even hit you!" He explained. Then he looked Danny up and down. "What exactly - um - are you?"
"I - l'm a ghost," Danny stuttered.
The man looked dumbfounded. "And who are you?"
He paused for a moment and smiled, remembering the name he had picked out. "Phantom."
"Thank you, Phantom," he said, hesitantly reaching out to shake his hand. "You can shake hands, right?"
"I literally just - uh, never mind," Danny said, shaking his hand.
He grimaced as he realized the fire was spreading. He didn't have a power that could help with that - that he knew of anyway. Vlad had barely taught him the basics, let alone the other tricks he had seen him use.
Hearing sirens, he let out a sigh of relief. He flew to the fire truck that was just pulling up on a nearby road.
"Give me a hose! I have an idea," he told the firefighters as he flew above them.
"Huh?"
"What is this?"
He lowered himself to the ground as they all stared in confusion. He swallowed hard and did his best to appear confident. "If you give me the hose, I can come from overhead to put the fire out. It'll be more efficient than coming from it at the sides."
"Who are you? And how are you able to, um, fly?" The chief firefighter asked.
"I'm Phantom." An explosion shook the ground, and everyone yelped. "I don't have time explain the rest. Just trust me!"
The firefighters quickly handed the hose to him, and he flew up, pulling it with him over his shoulder. He hovered over the fire and nodded for them to open the valve. They did as he said, and water came pouring out. After several minutes of rushing water over the fire, the flames were out, with only scorch marks and rubble remaining.
Danny flew down, and they all stared at him, bewildered. To Danny's dismay, several reporters came running toward him with big cameras and microphones.
"This is Lance Thunder, and I'm here with Phantom, reporting live from the scene of the fire. Phantom, can you tell us what transpired here?"
"Um - I –" Danny peered around him, overwhelmed at the barrage of people. "Have to go!" He shouted, before shooting up in the sky. Screams and cheers rung out at the abrupt departure.
"And there you have it folks. A real-life superhero here in Amity Park!"
Wow, Danny thought to himself, floating down to his bed and transforming back. It was a great feeling to be able to use his powers for good. Having his first brush with paparazzi was a bit daunting though.
Uncle Vlad probably wouldn't be too pleased to see Danny not keeping a low profile. And honestly, Danny himself didn't want so much attention either. It made him feel exposed. What if someone found out the truth? It added a whole other layer to why no one could know who he was.
"Dad?" He heard Jazz say. "Oh no! Mom!" She yelled.
Danny came running down the stairs. Their dad looked unsteady, his face was blue, and he looked like he couldn't breathe. He collapsed. "Dad!" Danny shouted, rushing to help lessen the fall.
Their mom rushed in. "Jack. Oh no! Jack! Wake up!"
Jazz was already on the phone with 911. "Yes, we need EMT. It's my dad," she said through tears. "He passed out. Please hurry."