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?

12. Vol 4, Issue 3

Principal's Office, Casper High, Amity Park

Saying that Danny Fenton was steaming was an understatement. The boy was so livid, his ears were burning red. He had to suppress his ghostly instincts, which he could barely hold together.

Why?

Well, he'd just beaten three stupid football players who had lured two good friends of his from the Nasty Burger and jumped on them, leaving them unconscious in an alleyway where anything could have happened to them.

The secret hero of Amity Park had to be restrained by Mr. Lancer, of all people, before he could do any more damage to one of them. What pissed him off more was that they made Danny sit in front of the principal in her office as her vice principal called his parents and informed them of the ghastly situation.

Danny swore he could hear his father burst of shock and astonishment. He knew he was in trouble. He had never seen Mr. Lancer with an expression that oozed such disappointment before but frankly, Danny did not care. To him, his feelings were justified.

Danny remained quiet, even when his disappointed and irate parents arrived.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton." Principal Ishiyama said with a kind tone.

"And we apologize that you have to come during business hours on such short notice." Mr. Lancer added, retaining his usual dull tone in spite of looking disheveled.

"Oh, it's alright, Mr. Lancer." Maddie said.

Jack, with a hardened expression, spoke with stern paternal fury and authority, "Young man, this is intolerable! What on Earth were you thinking, picking fights on school grounds?"

"Those jerks deserved it!" Danny shot back. "They jumped on Mason and Tucker who did nothing to them, then left them to the dogs on the street!"

"Mr. Fenton," Principal Ishiyama addressed Danny. "I empathize with you for your concern for the unfortunate conditions of your friends and fellow classmates, and I commend you for supporting their safety, violence is not tolerated in our school."

"Ah, it goes against school policy, right?" Danny questioned with a mirthless chuckle.

"You know that it does, Mr. Fenton." Lancer stated, crossing his arms. "I fail to see the humor in this situation."

"Sorry, but I'm not laughing out of amusement of the rules." Danny said with a cold expression. "But I find it funny that you guys say one thing that enforces school policy, but you let the athletes do whatever the hell they want to other people for so long! What did you people expect was going to happen!?"

Danny's tone sounded alarms in both Jack and Maddie, who had never seen him act so defiantly.

"Danny!" Maddie gasped.

"Be quiet!" Jack snapped, forcing Danny to clench his jaw shut.

"Mr. Fenton, we are aware of the isolated incident that had taken place last night." Ms. Ishiyama explained, referring to Danny. "Going forward, the school will be conducting a thorough internal investigation alongside the local authorities to uncover the details of the full story. Until information has been given, everything stated by you is all alleged."

"Besides, we're not talking about that, we're talking about you." Mr. Lancer clarified, before sighing. "It's quite a shame, you were doing so well this year. I was amazed at how well your grades and attendance improved…Yet you turned to violence today."

"But everything that led to that isolated incident and today were based on a series of events that occurred on school grounds!" Danny argued.

Ishiyama mentally took notes on this, taking it as information to give to the authorities later.

"Even if that was the case, you should have reported to any of the school faculty here!" Jack said, scolding his youngest child.

"You think that I haven't tried!? I did! Many times!" Danny countered Jack. "Besides Ms. Tetslaff, the teachers are in on the bullying! All to keep the school's reputation intact!"

Maddie frowned and said, "I'm sure that's an over exaggeration! I never heard of this, and Jazz or you would have mentioned this to us or the school before."

Danny facepalmed and explained, "Mom, it's normalized here! I couldn't say anything before because of how far-fetched it sounds. And in case you haven't realized, Jazz survived by excelling in everything and because she has a pretty face! They favor the perfect A-straight model student! I'm at the bottom with average grades and I look plain as a piece of paper! She never had the problems with bullying that I have to deal with every day! That's why I'm Dash's favorite punching bag!"

Mr. Lancer bit his lip while Principal Ishiyama furrowed her brows and asked, "Do you have any proof of these claims, Daniel?"

At his wits end, Danny said, "For the love of Jesus, talk to any of the C and D-Lister ten and eleventh graders! Nathan Lester, Mikey Simmons, Tommy Winston, Tiffanie Lao, or the other nerds or geeks know this! I grew up with almost all of them in the same schools! Heck, you can even ask Star Astray and Valerie Gray! They could back me up!"

Mr. Lancer felt himself breaking a sweat, just as he did when he was getting Danny off of Kwan.

'...Oh Lord, I might need to start looking for another place to work…And a lawyer.' Lancer realized.

Ishiyama held up a hand to silence Danny, which he stopped talking out of respect.

"I will keep these in mind during the internal investigation, Mr. Fenton. I assure you that your account and the accounts of other's experience will be taken in, and no stone will be left unturned." The principal said with professionalism and grace. "But that doesn't excuse your actions today. For what many witnesses saw, you stormed into the halls and chose to attack three students without warning."

This destroyed Danny's argument, causing the boy to remain silent.

"Revenge proves its own executioner, Daniel." Said Mr. Lancer, causing Danny to furrow his brow.

"...What?" Danny questioned.

"John Ford's The Broken Heart. It's the first tragedy I've ever read, one my father gave to me. It's about choices and consequences of making such choices." Mr. Lancer explained. "We've never quite seen eye-to-eye, haven't we? Well, let me tell you that I do recognize the effort you made on bettering yourself academically, even amongst the hardships you've been facing recently. You're one of my best students in the homeroom, and I can tell that deep down, you're a morally sound young man. Whom I described does not match the person that I saw this morning. You weren't defending anybody in those halls. You purposely targeted those boys, like you had a vendetta against them. Revenge doesn't just hurt the person targeted, but it hurts the avenger. That's not going to secure your future, Mr. Fenton."

Hearing this struck a nerve with Danny.

"Really? Wow, I should feel touched," The raven haired boy said sarcastically. "Where was this talk about you caring about my future when Dash was trying to force me into eating dirt and his rotten underwear last year, huh? Do you remember that, old man!?"

Jack's face twisted into an expression of primal fury at Danny, astonished at the absurdity of the boy's claim and for insulting a high school figure.

However, Maddie beat her husband to it.

"Daniel James Fenton! Apologize this instant!"

"Are you kidding me!? To HIM!? No way!" Danny said, pointing to Mr. Lancer. "I've spent a whole year trying to make amends to people, and I'm still getting shafted, treated like I'm scum! Yet I'm the one expected to apologize to one of the people who has it out for me since Freshman year!? Bull! It's like nobody wants to admit the wrong people do to me, and I'm so sick of it!"

Ishiyama glared at Lancer, who sighed, knowing his days being a vice principal and instructor were numbered. Jack was about to verbally lash his son, but Mr. Lancer stopped the man.

"...You're right," Mr. Lancer admitted honestly, much to the room's shock. "I have failed you in many ways last year, and I'm sorry. Watching your growth and reflecting on my own fault has made me realize that. As a trusted adult and a teacher of this school, I will be owning up to those mistakes. But much like myself, you'll have to own up this one."

When looking at Danny's school record, the principal sighed in relief. Her anger at the situation caused her to sweat, which gave her the need for a towel. She took that out from one of her desk drawers.

Wiping her face with a towel, Principal Ishiyama stated, "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, your son is in luck. Since the injuries were relatively minor, he'll be getting at least a week's worth of suspension. Thankfully, the CAT will be scheduled Saturday, so he's able to take it with the rest of his class if he behaves himself for the next two days. If not, he'll have to take the makeup test next Saturday,"

"I assure you, ma'am, our son will be mindful," Jack said with a calm expression, "Is that right, Son?"

Hearing the tone and feeling the heated glares from his parents, Danny stiffly nodded while holding back his rage.

"Please excuse him, Ms. Ishiyama! I promise, he's NEVER acted out in school like this before!" Maddie said, apologizing for her son.

"I believe you, Mrs. Fenton. It seems that there's something bigger going on behind the scenes," The principal said, glaring directly at the nervous vice principal. "Expect a call from me between one and three days."

"Of course! I give you our word that never happens again, will it Daniel?"

"...No, Sir." Danny said in a calmer tone that everybody would hear.

"Good." Jack and Maddie said in a curt tone.

"You may leave. I'll be seeing you on Saturday, Mr. Fenton." Lancer said as he and the principal watched the Fenton's walk out of the principal's office.

When the door closed, Ms. Ishiyama glared daggers at Mr. Lancer, making him feel smaller.

"Ronald, what the hell is going on?" The Japanese American woman questioned. "What's this about a child eating someone's dirty undergarments and dirt!?"

"W-Well, I suppose i-it's appropriate to start from the beginning…" Mr. Lancer meekly cracked.

"Don't you dare joke at a time like this! Our jobs are going to be on the line here! Now, you're going to tell me everything that I need to know. Now!"

---

Hallways, Casper High, Amity Park

Things began to settle down after Danny was taken to the principal's office and when the ambulances were called to pick up Dash, Dale, and Kwan. However, the gossip behind the attack wasn't going to die down anytime soon, especially with yesterday's news fresh in the minds of the teens.

Jazz had arrived at school a couple of minutes before her parents did, so hearing the events of Danny snapping was her getting a case of whiplash. She knew something was up the minute she noticed that the boy was already out of the house. And now, she found herself struggling to pay attention with her classes knowing that Danny was most likely going to be punished despite the sacrifices that he makes and the good he's done.

Jazz could only blame herself for not taking him to school early enough.

She wasn't the only one stressing over the incident. In fact, Pacifica was an emotional wreck, and it took Valerie Gray to console the blonde inside the girl's restroom.

Currently, they stood next to a sink as Pacifica cried into her hands.

"There there… I got you, girl. It's gonna be okay," Valerie said in a soothing tone, rubbing her back.

"...I-I don't know what's happening anymore," The bleach blonde said, bawling her eyes out.

"Hey, Mason ain't dead, he's at the hospital. He's going to get better." Valerie reminded Pacifica.

Wiping her face with a towel she got from the dispenser, Pacifica hissed, "Screw this run down school and it's board! I'll sue them! I'll sue them, then I'll own them!"

Valerie smirked at the blonde's feisty nature, and said, "Hey, I'm all for it. I've been wanting to watch some of these shitty teachers fall off."

"I'll take this to my parents about it when I get home, and then take it to the family lawyer," Pacifica stated before a worried expression appeared on her face. "...I've never seen Casper so angry before."

"I mean, why wouldn't he be angry? They've been fucking with him for almost two months straight. I can't say that those morons weren't asking for that ass whooping…" Valerie shrugged, only to think about it out loud. "But I didn't expect him to start so early in the morning."

"God, what if he used his powers on them." Pacifica said, letting her morbid curiosity run wild for a moment.

Both girls shuddered at the thought.

"Don't even joke like that," Valerie said with a no nonsense tone. "Knowing Dash's folks, he'll probably try to either sue the Fentons or get the board of education involved. I hope DJ doesn't get expelled."

"I'm not gonna let that happen."

Valerie and Pacifica turned to see Star Astray, formally Star Lynn, who was by the three sinks.

"Lynn? What do you want?" Valerie asked, still apprehensive of the former popular girl's presence. "And what do you mean by that?"

"Astray, actually. ...Can we, like, talk outside? Please?" Star asked with humility and hope in her tone.

"-I don't-" Valerie tried to respond, only for Pacifica to gently nudge the girl.

"-She'd love to." Pacifica suddenly said, speaking for her.

"Paz!" Valerie said, glancing at the bleach blonde like she's crazy.

"It's okay, Val. I'll be fine. Besides, this was bound to happen sooner or later." Pacifica said with a smile. "I'll meet you in our next period together."

Valerie sighed, and turned to Star.

"...Fine." Valerie said before following Star out of the girls' restroom.

-With Star and Valerie-

Standing by Star's locker, the pair of old friends stared at each other. Star knew that abandoning Valerie after losing her status and money had hurt the girl. Unlike Paulina, Star genuinely liked Valerie, retroactively realizing that she was her true best friend.

The flower shirt-wearing, blue-eyed girl wanted to turn back the hands of time to salvage the friendship she'd once had with the African American ghost hunter. Alas, she was human. It wasn't possible. All that the former cheerleader could do was try to make amends and start anew.

"...How are you doing?" Star asked awkwardly.

Normally, Valerie would storm off or lash out, but with everything that's happened, she decided to answer honestly.

"...Real talk, I'm all over the place." Valerie groaned. "I watched one of the nicest guys play rock'em sock'em with three dudes. They had it coming, sure, but he's never caused an outburst like that."

"Yeah. Maybe it's a hormonal thing. You know, boys and their testosterone." Star shrugged.

"Maybe? I don't know…" Valerie said, shaking her head as she changed the subject. "I heard that you're out of the group now."

Star flashed a bittersweet grin, saying, "It was gonna happen sooner or later, anyway. I thought I saw myself out. Like, it was time for a change, you know?"

"I heard about other things, as well. …Are you sure that you're really okay?" Valerie asked, prompting Star to frown in sadness.

"...No." The blonde girl muttered, shaking her head. "To be honest, I don't think I have been for a while. Look, about that time I ditched you and… I'm sorry. Deep down, I felt awful about it, but after what happened to your dad, I didn't want to lose my spot and be left behind. I guess there was something to that stuff about karma and whatnot."

"Trust me, I've been there," Valerie reassured.

'...At least you didn't almost murder your kinda-ex boyfriend.' Valerie thought to herself.

"I know that things ended horribly between us, and it may never be the same again." Star noted. "And I know this sounds selfish, shallow even, but I would like to have you back in my life, even if we can't be besties like before. If you let me make things right, maybe we can start over again?"

Star honestly shook her head, then said that she hasn't been for a while. Star then apologizes for abandoning Valerie and how she acted toward the girl afterward last year.

Valerie was caught off guard by this question. While it was true that Valerie was known for holding onto grudges with the A-Listers, her past friendship with Star had been surprisingly genuine, which made her betrayal hurt the most. And unlike the Alpha Human she befriended, she didn't hold on to any false hope of them reuniting.

…But now, her apprehension toward the blonde was slowly but surely evaporating and Valerie took notice of this.

'...Damn it, Spooks! Always rubbing off on me!' Valerie mentally cursed before sighing.

"I'm not gonna lie to you - what was again? Astray?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah, I go by my mom's name now." Star elaborated.

Valerie nodded then said, "You know me, so you know how I work. You were my friend, and thought we were cool. You left me when I needed you the most, then spat in my face for being thrown to the dogs. I ain't gonna pretend to overlook the way you did me last year. So no, I don't trust you right now."

"...I know. I was stupid. I made the wrong choice," Star acknowledged with regret. "That new girl, Northwest? I envy her. You saw how the whole school swooned over her. Not only is she beautiful, but strong, confident, like she could stand on her own without needing anybody…Then there's me. I was acting like I actually mattered here. Do you know that I don't even get called by name most of the time? Even being Queen Bee's second best, I'm just one of her friends. Paulina's lost little satellite. Now, I am basically alone. Maybe that's what I get for being around assholes…"

This served to be a wake-up call for Valerie, as she began to see Danny's perspective of leaving the door open for people. So, for the first time, Valerie Gray took the first step in forgiveness.

As the resentment started to leave, Valerie said, "...Okay. You get one more shot. I can't promise that things will go back to the way they were, but I think you deserve that much."

Star pulled Valerie into a hug and squealed, "Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-thank-you!"

Valerie did not know how to respond initially, but she managed to get a hold of her bearings and gently pulled the blonde off of her.

"Woah, girl, calm down! Don't thank me just yet," Valerie said. "Now, what were you talking about earlier? It sounded like you were plotting."

While walking along the hallway, from around the corner, Nathan "Nate" Lester, with two other geeks, stopped when he spotted his old crush, Valerie and Paulina's former best friend in the same space. They decided to listen to the girl's conversation when Danny's name was brought up.

Star explained, "Like, although I think what Danny did was too much, especially to Kwan, it wasn't out of the blue."

"Why? Because they were giving him a hard time?" Valerie asked, crossing her arms.

Star then pulled out her phone and showed Valerie Dash's text message. This nearly sent Valerie on a warpath, but she barely managed to control herself.

"...What the fuck?!" Valerie gritted. "That evil conniving bitch! To think Sánchez would stoop so low as to sick them on Tucker and Mason!"

The geeks that were secretly listening gasped at this, now having a clear picture on what happened.

"Yeah, I know. I'm the one who found Danny's friends last night, and I waited until this morning to text him what I had learned." Star explained.

"I swear, I'm gonna wring her neck-" Valerie started ranting before pausing. "-hold on, you told him? That's why he went off the deep end!"

"As I said, what he did is not out of the blue." Star reiterated.

"Sure, I can buy that now," Valerie admitted. "But these teachers won't see it that way. And knowing how people like Lancer operate, I wouldn't put it past the school trying to expel him."

Star said, "Not if we do something about that?"

"What can we do?" Valerie inquired.

"What any American can do, protest with a petition." Star answered.

"...A petition?" Valerie echoed.

Star nodded, explaining, "Kids like Paulina and her clique have been getting away with all sorts of heinous shit for a long time, and that's because of their parents' connection to the school board. However, as students, we have a voice that should be heard."

"Uh huh," Valerie nodded. "Where are you going with this?"

"Most of the C and D-List kids from our grade and the Juniors have had their fill of Dash's harassment in the past, and how teachers at school screwed them over. What we do is write a petition to get these jerks out of here and raise awareness of how school sucks, add their multiple testimonies, and combine that with the truth about Danny's situation with proof. We send that bad boy to someone like the Superintendent, it should make some rounds to the school board and maybe even the authorities."

"...That's a great idea, but it's no guarantee." Valerie pointed out with a bit of apprehension.

"Like, I'm aware of that." Star understood. "But I'm willing to try. If nothing else, no deserves that much after how the others have been treated. …How I've treated Danny."

"...Okay. I'll humor you." Valerie agreed. "If we're gonna get this protest off the ground, how are we gonna get enough people to pitch in and sign the petition?"

"Ahem!"

Nathan and his friends make themselves known, much to the girls' surprise.

"Nathan?" Said both Star and Valerie.

"...I think we can help," Nathan stated.

-Meanwhile, with Pacifica-

Pacifica, meanwhile, was trying to mentally fix herself while washing her face using the school sink. She knew she was a mess. This was unlike her. The Northwest heiress hasn't felt this vulnerable since the night she learned that her family's history was riddled with nothing but lying, cheating, and deceit.

The moment she released the curse of Archibald Corduroy's Wraith from her old family mansion, she knew that the responsibility of redeeming the Northwest name fell onto her and whatever children she may have later in her life. So, with Mason's support, she strived to become a better person and the best version of herself to reflect that mission.

But with that support being missing, she felt herself spiraling. After the fourth rinse, the girl mentally collected her bearings and reaffirmed who she was.

While reasserting positive mentally fortitude, Pacifica was met with the last girl that she wanted to see.

Walking inside the restroom was Sam Manson.

At first, both girls ignored each other as Sam went to do her business. Once that was done, Sam went over to the sink to wash her hands, but for some reason, she decided to use the sink nearest to Pacifica. But that's not what bothered the blonde. No.

The bleach blonde Oregon native saw a look of vindication etched in the Jewish goth's face from the mirror, which appeared to be directed at her.

This annoyed Pacifica, who asked, "What are you smiling for?"

Sam, as pleasant as her mood said, "Nothing. I'm just enjoying my day."

"Don't patronize me, Sage! You're doing that on purpose," Pacifica spat.

"It's Sam," The goth corrected, still remaining calm.

"Whatever, it still sounds like a fat old lady's name." Pacifica verbally jabbed.

"As for your question, I'm in Zen because justice has been served today." Sam said in a serene tone.

"...What? Justice? Zen?" Pacifica uttered, completely lost. "I don't speak goth. What are you saying, Manson?"

"Who knows," Sam said in a coy tone. "But I did see some shallow pricks get what they deserve lately, and it feels wonderful!"

Growling in anger, Pacifica stated, "Are you implying something here!? Because my man has done nothing to deserve to be put in a goddamn hospital!"

"Relax, Northwest. I said nothing of the sort," Sam said, rolling her eyes and frowning. "Hell, I agree with you on that, and Tucker, while a little sleazy and a pain, didn't deserve it either."

This calmed Pacifica a little as she asked, "Then who are you-"

"-Talking about? Well, you should already know by now." Sam said with a scoff.

"Are you seriously blaming Danny for all of this!?" Pacifica questioned, raising her voice.

"Are you going to start defending him like he's the victim here? He started all of this when he got in my business! And it's his choice to choose violence like an idiot instead of leaving things alone!" Sam retorted.

"He was trying to HELP you!" Pacifica reiterated.

"I'm NOT some damsel in distress! I can take care of myself, thank you! So stop talking as if you were there from the beginning!" Sam said with anger and jealousy in her tone. "Maybe if you, your little boyfriend, and the A-List reject would have kept him in check about getting into other people's business, Pines and Tucker wouldn't have gotten hurt!"

Hearing the term "kept in check" reminded Pacifica of the days when she had been in the control of her parents. She didn't want to recall what was done to her when stepping out of line, but all she could remember was the sounds of a small chime.

The chime of her father's bell.

That thing haunted her, more so than the actual spirit that plagued her family. She was so grateful once her parents lost the Northwest Manor. It may have been her ancestral home, but she could tell that something had changed in her parents since moving to Amity Park. There were still problems with them, but her once posh and condescending father and mother became less cold and self-absorbed and became more…actively aware. Dare she thought, warm and selfless.

Maybe it was watching the Wrath of the Lumberjack turn people into wood that fueled it, the fact that Amity Park was the most haunted place in the country, or perhaps it was losing his house. Regardless, the bell had never been seen since.

But from the way Sam had spoken about Danny touched a nerve that nearly made the Northwest heiress lunge at the goth. But she couldn't risk making the same mistake as the Alpha Human.

In a cold but composed fashion, Pacifica clenched her fists and glared at Sam while she spoke.

"I don't know what power you think I have over people, but no one has control over anybody except for themselves." Pacifica exclaimed. "If any of my friends are going to make a choice, it's theirs to make."

"You can't possibly be comfortable with what Fenton did to those idiots!" Sam refuted.

"His name is Danny, and I couldn't care less about those lizard-brained troglodytes!" Pacifica huffed. "At the very least, now people will think twice before picking on others and hurting our friends."

"God, you're unbelievable!" Sam exclaimed.

"No, YOU'RE unbelievable!" Pacifica fired back. "Putting everything on one guy just because of a grudge!"

"Don't you fucking go there, Little Miss Perfect! Stop acting like you're his friend when you haven't been around long enough! You're just a mutual, the girlfriend of some geek Fenton met off the internet!" Sam growled with anger fueling her every word.

"Newsflash, Manson, I am Danny's friend!" Pacifica corrected. "And unlike you, know more than you could possibly understand!"

'...What's THAT supposed to mean!?' Sam thought, offended by the statement before continuing to argue. "Violence is never the answer! Just because he was bullied like the rest of us, doesn't give him the right to beat people senselessly like he's the Incredible Hulk! He would have never done it if he was with me and Tucker!"

'...So she's jealous of us.' Pacifica recognized with a grim expression. 'If she can't have Casper to herself, no one should.'

Pacifica said, "People change, Manson! Whether for better or worse, it happens! Maybe what he did wasn't the best thing, but at least he ended up growing a spine and stood up for himself for once in his life instead of staying silent!"

Sam sarcastically heckled, "Right, he really showed those boys what for! Are you gonna pay for their hospital bills for him too?"

"Fuck you!" Pacifica cursed. "You're a so-called activist, aren't you? What are you doing about this problem!? That's right, jack shit!"

"Hey, you haven't done anything either!" Sam reflected.

"Oh, but I will, Sage." Pacifica said with determination and a hint of malice, purposely getting Sam's name wrong. "Oh, daddy dearest is a school board associate, right? I assume that's how you changed the school's menu last year."

Sam's eyes widened at her rival's extensive knowledge.

"Good, I've done my homework right. Tell Mr. Jeremy Manson to expect a visit from my father in the next board meeting. I assure you, he's going to want a word with him."

This left Sam in a bit of a daze of worry that brought enough satisfaction to Pacifica that allowed the bleach blonde to calm down. When walking out, Pacifica looked behind her and chose words that cut the goth deep later on.

"I don't know how Danny and Tucker stayed so long. A selfish coward like you doesn't deserve friends like them."

With that, Pacifica Northwest walked out of the restroom with her head held high with her confidence restored.

---

Fenton Works, Amity Park, IL

"YOUNG MAN, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" Jack and Maddie shouted.

Danny sat on the sofa while both of his parents were lecturing him about his conduct at school, namely how he spoke to the vice principal. It didn't affect him in the slightest at the moment.

Sure, he knew that his parents wouldn't take so kindly as to what happened between him, Dash, Dale, and Kwan, but Danny believed that perhaps they'd be a little more understanding as to where his anger had come from.

But instead, they chose to focus on his faults once again. God, he couldn't stand that. Whether he's Danny Fenton, or Danny Phantom, everything goes back to him being wrong or the problem.

Danny sat on the couch with a dull yet annoyed expression on his face, listening to them ramble on about his so-called "defiant" phase.

"Starting fights, mouthing off to school staff!? What is the matter with you!?" Maddie scolded. "Your father and I have not raised you to act with such deplorable behavior!"

"You've completely embarrassed your mother and I in that office!" Jack added with a booming and stern tone. "Honestly, if you're going to be fighting some punks, you should have taken that outside and away from campus! That's what we did back in our day!"

Maddie glared at Jack, telling him, "Jack, don't encourage him!"

Jack sighed, then rubbed his face and lowered his tone as he spoke to his troubled youngest child.

"...Look, Son, we know that you're a great kid. You mean well, we see that. And we support you standing up to wrongdoing, but that doesn't equate to picking a fight." Jack stated.

"As I said at the office, it was a long time coming," Danny reiterated with a low but irate tone. "Bullying me was one thing, but they crossed the line when they went after my friends and left them on the street."

"Danny, that's not your call to make," Maddie chastised in a lower but firm tone. "You're a child. You don't have the authority. If you want to help a person, when you see something bad happen at school to a person or out in the world, you tell an adult!"

"Any adult?" Danny questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"A trusted adult," Maddie corrected.

"Can I be honest for a sec?" Danny questioned before going on anyway. "There hasn't been any trustworthy adults at any of my schools since my fourth grade year. Every last one of them, whether advocating for jerks or turning a blind eye, have condoned all the messed up stuff that I've gone through while I was still hanging out with Tucker and Sam. So, sorry to disappoint you."

"That can't be right!" Maddie said, unable to comprehend the idea. "You never talk about-"

"-Again, it was normalized. I think some teachers masked the bullying as kids showing off their school spirit or something dumb like that" Danny recalled, shaking his head. "Besides, I had Sam and Tucker close to me, so it even things out at the time."

"That still doesn't absolve you from your actions! Again, why throw the first punch on campus without thinking!?" Jack said with his frustration peaking.

"Dad, I just learned about Mason being put in the hospital last night via the news and his girlfriend. I couldn't see him because visitors that aren't family weren't allowed." Danny explained. "Then, I got a text from a friend who told me who did it and that Tucker was the second person on the news. After that, a certain person called me out for not visiting Tucker at the hospital and blamed me for it all happening."

"...Sam?" Jack questioned with a tired expression.

Danny nodded with the same expression, saying, "Sam,"

"Jesus, that girl's giving us a headache," Maddie groaned.

"Look, I couldn't sleep last night because of the hospital thing. Then I learned what happened, and Sam called me out for being the worst person. Not to mention that I've been studying for the CAT like crazy. When I realized they wouldn't be able to take it, I snapped and confronted the guys who did it. All to spite me." Elaborated Danny before turning to his father. "Come on, Dad. You get where I'm coming from, right? What if Vlad was found lying on the street by a dumpster, beaten by guys that hate your guts? Wouldn't you throw the first punch the moment you saw one of them?"

"I was young once, you know," Jack stated. "Outside my military family background, I was disciplined in boxing for fun,"

"You did?" Danny said, surprised by the information.

"Yes, sir! I was going through a rough patch in life after the rock band gig didn't work out. So, while looking for my calling, I practiced boxing to blow off some steam. It eventually became a hobby over time. One day, I took out my frustrations on a sandbag. Boy, I knocked that sucker off its chain with ten mighty blows of the ol' Jack Hammers."

"...What?" Danny uttered in confusion.

"When his trainer saw how massive and strong your father's fists were, he compared them to jackhammers. People would later call him "The Hammer" when he stepped into the ring." Maddie explained. "I believe he was the number one heavyweight champion of the ring during our sophomore year in college."

'...That explains how Dad managed to beat Plasmius that one time.' Danny thought to himself.

"Still the reigning champion, undefeated." Jack said with pride before clearing his throat. "Uh, where was I?"

"Fighting at school." Danny duly reminded his father. "Sand bag."

"Right," Jack "The Hammer" Fenton said with a glare. "Point it, when I saw that sandbag fly and crash onto the floor, I imagined what kind of damage I could do to a person if I lost control of myself."

Danny remained silent as he stared at the floor.

"Defending your friends and their honor is a wonderful thing to do," Maddie explained. "Your Grandpa Dan and Jack's father both served in the Korean War to put food on the table and protect us. And growing up, they taught us how to defend ourselves mentally, politically, and physically. They taught us that physical altercations are a last resort, only to be used as an emergency."

"Vladdie's like a brother to me, don't get me wrong," Jack added with furrowed brows. "But I wouldn't be able to help anyone if I lost myself and acted out of sheer anger. I wouldn't be able to think, to be myself. You weren't thinking things through, Son."

"If Mr. Lancer hadn't stopped you, Danny, that boy would have had broken bones." Maddie said with a grave and disappointed tone.

"Why are you taking their side!?" Danny said, remember Star's suicide attempt while fueled by anger. "I'm not the one who ganged up on two innocent people and left them for dead!"

"This is not about sides, Daniel!" Jack said with a stern tone, addressing his son by his proper name. "It's about doing the right thing and being held accountable!"

"...Wait. Where exactly did you learn how to fight, young man?" Maddie questioned. "We paid for Jazz's karate lessons until she turned thirteen, but you never took interest in learning any martial art."

Danny had to think fast as his parents began to become suspicious. He quickly began weaving lies with half-truths to preserve his secret.

Danny sighed and explained, "...Valerie's been showing me a thing or two on how to defend myself since I got mugged last month. She's a ninth degree black belt in Taekwondo, so I figured that I might as well get fit and learn."

"...Well, we can't deny the results," Jack told his wife. "The boy's as fit as an ox. And he's getting as rowdy as one too."

Danny rolled his eyes and said, "Dad, it's not like that. I just had one terrible day and lost it. I'm not turning into some delinquent."

"You could have fooled us," Maddie said with her arms crossed. "Last year, you struggled with detentions, the constant tardiness, and subpar grades from missing assignments and late homework!"

"Not to mention that your focus in class would be elsewhere!" Jack chimed in. "Now you've traded that to testing your curfews, causing fights, and mouthing off to teachers! Honestly, your sister never had these problems!"

Danny gasped while Maddie shouted, "JACK!"

The man paused, realizing what he had just told his son. Before he could apologize or correct himself, Danny chuckled at this.

"Wow, it's like you haven't listened to anything I said in the office…" Danny said in a low mirthless tone before glaring at Jack with an emotional outburst pouring out of him. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm the disappointment of the family! I'm sorry that I didn't turn out to be the geniuses you expected me to be or easy on the eyes like Jazz! That I'm an embarrassment to you! But I still try! I'm still trying to be like you guys! Why can't you people see that I'm struggling and just need help!?"

Jack was taken aback by this outburst for a moment.

"We are trying to help you, Danny!" Maddie said, feeling her maternal instincts kicking in. "We're your parents, that's what we are here for!"

"Oh yeah?" Danny snorted bitterly, choking between sobs. "How come I only see Jazz more often than I do either of you?"

This snapped Jack into reality as Maddie's expression appeared as if she had been slapped.

Jack's tone turned low with his expression becoming drenched in paternal fury.

"...How dare you?" Jack growled at his son.

"How dare me? No, how dare you!?" Danny said, standing up to his father with tears running down his face. "While you guys tinker away at your toys, Jazz was there for me when I needed someone! Seriously, what's the point of having parents when you guys care more about some stupid portal than your own kids!?"

This time, Danny closed his mouth the moment he saw that he let something out he knew he should have kept to himself. He saw that his mother, Maddie, had clasped her mouth with both of her hands.

'...Oh no, why did I say that!?' Danny shouted in his mind.

"Daniel James Fenton." Jack spoke in a tone of tranquil fury. "Go to your room and do not come out of it for the rest of the night. Now."

Danny knew that tone of voice, as his anger began to diminish quickly.

"Dad, I didn't mean to-"

"MARCH!" Jack screamed furiously, to which Danny immediately got on his feet and zipped upstairs and to his bedroom without looking back.

Jack leaned back on the couch and let out a heavy sigh as Maddie sat beside him for comfort. Maddie could see that the situation was disturbing her husband, just like it was disturbing her. For Jack, Danny's words played in his head.

'How dare me? No, how dare you!? While you guys tinker away at your toys, Jazz was there for me when I needed someone! Seriously, what's the point of having parents when you guys care more about some stupid portal than your own kids!?'

Though these words made him angry, deep down he couldn't deny that the reason for said anger was because his son's words did hold truth to them, even if he didn't want to admit it.

---

Laboratory, Sixer's Repairs and Electronics, Amity Park, IL

One of the many things that Ford liked to do to pass the time was to keep himself busy with work, whether it was building things, drawing blueprints, or driving around the city in search of supernatural energy signatures. Most of the time, he would watch Danny Phantom from afar and monitor his ghostly activities and relay the information back to his peers.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do that. His great nephew had been attacked by some hooligans a day ago. Somebody was going to answer for that. And thanks to his extensive knowledge of computer hacking, he managed to tap into the CCTV cameras of the town. Currently, he scoured the many cameras on the large monitor of the lab, looking for the right one.

That's where he found two screens. One on the street that led to the alleyway where Mason ended up yesterday, and the other was where the Nasty Burger stood.

"...Found it. Now, let's rewind the tapes," Ford Pines said with the lighting of the screen reflecting onto his glasses.

It didn't take long for the man to find the footage that he needed. Watching the brutalization of the two boys, his great nephew especially. He was itching to fetch his old Quantum Destabilizer and erase the three bullies from existence.

But immediate satisfaction isn't what he's looking for. No, what Stanford Fillbrick Pines yearned for was justice.

And Ford knew just the person who could help him.

Ford got up to his computer, went to his desk and opened up one of the drawers. Ford took out a phone book and scoured through each page until he found the "G" section.

When he found the house number of the person he was looking for, the man took out his cell phone and dialed the number he spotted in the book.

The phone rang for a couple of minutes, and soon enough, a man picked up from the other line.

"...Hello?"

"Good afternoon, am I speaking to a Mr. Damon Gray of Axion Labs of Technology and Security?"

"Yes, sir. I am Damon Gray. How can I help you?" The man said from the other line, verifying his identity.

"Sir, my name is Stanford Pines. I am the current guardian of a student that goes to Casper High. He's one of the victims from yesterday's news." The man revealed.

"Good Lord, I saw that last night! I am so sorry about that." Said Damon.

"Don't be, Mr. Gray. Listen, there's something that I'd like for you to help me with that involves the situation. If my hunch is correct, the authorities may get involved sooner than expected. I would like to discuss this further with you in person as soon as possible."

"...I can get behind some serious business if it's for those kids. I'll be off tomorrow, so let's discuss this over lunch in the local diner near the mall at noon. Does that work for you?" Asked Damon.

"Perfect. I'll see you there." Ford said before hanging up the phone.

"I got a few days left before the explosion is supposed to take place. It's a good thing that Daniel's suspended, so no one has to go to the Nasty Burger." Ford said, walking back to his computer chair. "And if what Mason told me is true, then Daniel shouldn't have the answers like in Prime Phantom's timeline, thus, theoretically preventing Daniel's darkest day."

He spun back to face the monitor, he looked over to a recording of Danny and the bearded Spirit's battle.

"...Odd, it looks like the Zeitgeist sent an aged variant of Box Ghost in Daniel's way. I assume that he's supposedly from the direct future. Perhaps Box Lunch doesn't exist in this branch in time. Hm… Father Time, what are you planning?"

---

Fenton Works, Amity Park, IL

Once again, Danny Fenton found himself unable to sleep. He didn't bother changing out of his clothes or work on his homework. There was no point given his current situation.

He had basically told his parents that they were worthless.

Of course, Jack didn't take that too kindly and sent him to his room. And rightfully so, as what others had reiterated to him, Danny wasn't acting like himself.

Like Sam, all the build up of horrible experiences at school and his inability to protect his friends all culminated in a negative reaction that affected Danny's ghostly instincts. The whiplash was so great, he couldn't listen to reason until his human mind took back control.

This sent Danny into a deep depression. He remembered hearing a distinctive knock on his bedroom door roughly two hours ago. Danny could tell that it was his older sister, but he didn't bother answering. He wasn't to leave his room, and even if he was allowed to eat dinner with the family, the Alpha Human wasn't hungry.

He never felt more alone. Pacifica was most likely scared of him, so was Star. Mason was…unwell. No mother to comfort him, no paternal reassurance, no Sam or Tucker to help him drown his woes with their comical antics. Jazz wouldn't do him any good, love or not, she'll poke at his brain for inner turmoil. He didn't need that at the moment.

Danny got up from his bed and walked to the full body mirror. For a strange moment, he could see his reflection. He imagined Danny Phantom, his alter-ego, staring back at him with the same expression that carried the self-loathing he held.

'I never asked to be Phantom, to have these creepy powers. I never imagined it meant getting battered daily, a strict evening curfew, crazy people hunting me down, parents that see me as a disappointment, and losing friends who think I'm scum!' Danny mentally ranted, with his hood off, showing off his messy raven bed hair. 'It was all an accident, a tragic terrible fate. …A fate I somehow survived. Now look at me, a dead kid failing at half-life. What a joke.'

Danny sighed and thought aloud, "...All of this is so messed up."

The boy's morbid and intrusive thoughts stopped when someone began calling his phone. This was odd, given it was ten at night. He doubted that he knew anybody during this time. It was a school, after all.

It was a good thing he turned his phone on vibrate.

Danny picked up his phone, then recognized the phone number. It was Valerie.

'...Valerie? Why is she calling at this hour?' Danny pondered before answering the call.

"Thought I check up on you. You calmed down, now?"

"...I'm calm," Danny said with a strained voice. "What's up?"

"Look out your window."

"What?" Danny said, confused as he walked toward his bedroom window. "Why would I have to look out-"

Danny's eyes widened as he found the Scarlet Huntress standing on her hoverboard that floated next to Danny's bedroom window.

He opened his window and uttered, "V-Valerie?"

"Hey, DJ," Valerie said with a smile and her visor now visible to Danny. "Missed you back at school."

"And here I thought you would be afraid of me…" Danny said, cracking a ghost of a smile. "What are you doing here out this late, anyway? If my parents wake up and spot you here-"

"-Relax, Spooks. I got a cloaking device installed, so I can disappear and reappear at will like any other ghost could." Valerie reassured him. "...Wanna head out for a little bit?"

"What? Val, I can't be out this late. You shouldn't be out this late. I'm surprised your dad hasn't caught you." Danny exclaimed.

"Can't be caught if my GPS is usually off between nine at night and five in the morning." Valerie said with a coy smile. "Come on. I know you can't sleep if you hadn't changed out of your normal getup."

Danny looked down at his clothes, then sighed.

"...I'm pretty sure that I'm grounded." Danny weakly mentioned with a sheepish expression.

Valerie's smirk never waved, knowing very well what Danny needed right now.

"Sure you are, Fenton," Valerie shrugged before raising one eyebrow in a playful smile. "But is Danny Phantom grounded?"

Danny took one look at Valerie, then remembered how the day started because he couldn't sleep with stressful situations such as his friends' hospitalization and the weight of studying for the CAT. There was nothing to help him relieve his stress, not even with ghost hunting.

He came to the conclusion that he needed some time away from his house.

"...Could you move a little?"

Satisfied with a job well done, Valerie moved her hoverboard back a few feet. Danny then hopped out of his room with his window opened and floated next to Valerie.

She tilted her head and said, "...Hm, I'm still not used to seeing you fly as a human."

Danny chuckled, then closed his window shut. He summoned his white transform ring, changing into the Phantom of Amity Park.

"It's a good thing that we're away from the house, or the Ghost Alarm would have gone off." Danny sighed in relief.

With that, Valerie, as the Scarlet Huntress, and Danny Phantom took off to the skies while the pale moonlight beamed over the two ghost hunters.

"So, where are we heading, Sparky?" Phantom questioned.

"I heard Downtown Amity's nice this time of night." Valerie offered, flying on her hoverboard. "Why don't we head there, then talk at our usual spot on the Anson Building?"

"Sounds good! I'll race ya!" Danny said, with a bit of his upbeat personality shining through to brighten the mood.

As she watched Danny speed off with his ghostly tail getting farther behind her, the girl smirked, showing off her competitive side.

"Oh it is on, Spooks!"

Thus, the two ghost hunters raced each other to Downtown Amity Park.

-Downtown Amity Park, Five Minutes Later-

The former rivals ended their race in a tie, which surprised them while also impressing each other.

Once that was done, they decided to casually fly around the area, enjoying the city lights and the landmarks. On their way to the Anson Building, they passed by the wealthier side of Amity Park. Before moving past Poe Bridge, Danny managed to snag himself and Valerie a couple of hotdogs from a vendor while going invisible. The man didn't notice, but Danny left him a generous tip and a note that read, "Thanks for the two hot dogs. Purchased by Phantom, the Friendly Ghost Kid."

The two passed by construction of a building while a sign read, "Club Banana, coming soon in Spring 2006". Danny, while unsure as to what the store was, Valerie expressed interest in working there as soon as they started hiring, explaining that it was a high-end clothing store from Colorado that took off during the last decade and into the new century.

The two ghost hunters made it to the Anson Building and sat at the top to enjoy their hotdogs in peace.

After eating, the Scarlet Huntress said, "...That was pretty good stuff for a street dog. A shame that we couldn't get the name of the stand, or the guy running it."

"Yeah. I made sure I paid, though. Hero or not, it's his establishment." Phantom stated before looking into the sky. "If only the city lights were down, we could have had the perfect view of the night sky."

"What, are you into stargazing or something?" The huntress inquired.

"How'd you know?" Asked Danny.

"It was just a lucky guess, Space Boy." Valerie quipped. "Not that there's anything wrong with it."

"My folks used to take me stargazing out in the summer. Dad would take out this big telescope from its case, and we'd look at the North Star while Mom and Jazz would fly kites out in the open. Those were good times… until they stopped. I think I was eight, then." Danny said, closing his eyes and looking back into his past. "...After that, they started locking themselves in the basement. Little did Jazz and I know, they were building the Fenton Portal. Then I..."

Danny fell silent as he glanced at his hands and body, uncomfortable with finishing his sentence.

Feeling vulnerable herself, Valerie revealed, "...My mom called me a while ago."

'...Her mom? That's the first time I ever heard Valerie mentioning her.' Danny recognized.

"She did?" Danny questioned. "Well, what did she say?"

Valerie frowned and said, "She said that she made time to visit for the upcoming holidays."

"That's a good thing…right?" Danny asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Too little too late if you ask me," Valerie scoffed. "I don't hate her, but I hate playing nice and putting on fake smiles in front of a woman who left me for her career."

Danny winced, hearing a mirrored version of what he told his parents.

"...I get it." Danny nodded. "If there's any consolation for that, you won't be the only Scrooge on during the holidays."

"Really? Do your parents ruin them?" Asked Valerie.

"You have no idea." Danny sighed as he glanced at the city buildings in front of them.

Changing the subject, the Scarlet Huntress stated, "You know that you made the social rounds at school today, right?"

"Again?" Danny asked, turning to Valerie with a semi interested expression.

"Mhm," The African American teenage girl confirmed with a nod of her head. "You left the gossip crowd in a chokehold. Or at least, that's how Star described it."

Danny raised an eyebrow, then asked her, "When did you start talking to Star again?"

Valerie gave Danny a weak smile, saying that "She approached me a couple of hours after Lancer dragged you to the principal's office. We're starting fresh as friends, but I'm keeping myself at a distance."

"Baby steps, I suppose." Danny nodded with understanding.

Valerie's face showed concern as she said, "You got us all worried, DJ."

"Us?" Danny inquired.

"Yeah. Star was there first, but Pacifica and I came in the middle of it. You were letting Kwan have it." Valerie mentioned. Like, Mr. Mike Tyson at his prime going against a golfer, bad."

Danny's eyes furrowed at her statement.

"I'm just stating facts. By the time you were done, Paulina's scaredy ass hid in the crowd, hoping you wouldn't find her. Jazz didn't get to see anything - Thank God. But everybody was talking about you finally going off the deep end. It left a lot of people reeling back, us included."

Danny averted his eyes, with his hands clenched as anger of earlier events started bubbling inside him.

"...I'm fine." Danny huffed keeping his composure despite not liking what led to his meltdown.

"Come on. I ain't here to scold you like I'm your mom if that's what you're thinking," Valerie said, placing one hand over his. "That's the last thing that you need."

Danny sighed for the umpteenth time and said, "I'm…not fine. I'm a freaking mess, and I think I just became the worst kid ever."

Valerie didn't agree with that, but offered, "Wanna talk about it? I'll listen."

Danny got up, then paced back and forth as he explained, "This whole mess is screwed up, and just like always, I end up making things worse than they have to be just like on 8/4! Every time I think I'm making progress, whether in my personal life as Danny Fenton, or as Danny Phantom, there's always something that sets me, like, five steps back!"

He turned to Valerie with stress on his face as he continued.

"Now two friends are hurt because of me, they can't show up for their CATs, I'm suspended, everybody at school thinks I'm a psychopath, my mom thinks I'm a delinquent, my dad thinks I'm a disappointment, now I'm sure they hate me because I basically called them worthless!"

Danny felt his knees give out. He sat back down, then held them to his chest.

"Shit…!" Valerie whispered softly. "Was it always like this for you?"

"...Yeah." Danny nodded. "At least those Idiots in White aren't giving me trouble these days. They were the worst last year."

'...I didn't make it any better for you either.' Valerie thought with remorse.

Danny Phantom peered into the sky, then expressed, "...There are days that I have that I just want to leave it all behind. I'd…I'd think about flying off into space. I don't know if I could survive in a vacuum or not but..."

"...Right. You're gunning to be an astronaut." Valerie remembered.

"It's all I ever wanted in life." Danny reiterated. "I never asked to be…this."

'...I didn't want this life, either.' Valerie empathized, looking at her suit before focusing back on Danny. "Running away from your problems won't do you any good."

"Yeah, I know." Danny understood. "That's why I haven't done it yet."

Phantom went silent for a good fifteen seconds before asking the Scarlet Huntress, "...Maybe I'm not cut out for this kind of life. Maybe… maybe I should give up the ghost."

Valerie frowned at this, not agreeing with the idea but chose a different approach on the topic.

"You know, it was hard keeping this from my dad for almost a year." Said Valerie. "Tests, homework, a shit part-time job that's demanding, and someone to answer to. It gets rough, living a double life. It would be easier to call it quits…"

Danny remained quiet, attentively listening to his former rival.

"...But kept going back. I thought I was doing something worthwhile, even if I was vengeful back then." Valerie answered, shocking Danny. "I can't tell you want to do with your life, Danny, but with a clearer picture, I know for a fact you've done so much good for Amity Park. I'm just one of many ghost hunters, but you are it's only hero. It would be a shame if I-we lost you."

Danny's eyes widened at her response, not knowing what to say at the moment.

"Nonetheless, whatever you decided, Danny, I'll support it. And you have plenty of time to decide who you want to be." Valerie said in a soft and supportive manner.

"...Thanks, Val," Danny said with a grateful smile. "Say, do you think I made the right choice doing what I did today?"

Valerie shrugged, claiming, "Beats me."

She then crossed her arms and said, "If I were you, I would have snapped a long time ago. Come to think of it, I would have done the same, then flipped that bald fat ass and told him to eat a fat one. He sounds like the type anyway."

Danny couldn't take it anymore and let out a foolhardy laugh. Valerie shared the sentiment and joined in on the laughter. Both of them enjoyed each other's presence, serving to leave their personal woes behind to savor the moment.

"A-And people say that I have jokes," Danny said, wiping a tear away from one of his glowing green eyes. "You should be a stand-up comedian."

"I try," Valerie giggled, feeling herself grinning from ear-to-ear. "Do you regret it? What you did to the dumbass trio."

Danny sat next to Valerie in silence as he pondered the reasons behind his acts of aggression. He remembered Nathan getting his lunch money stolen, getting shoved into a locker, then Star nearly jumping off the school's roof. Then, his mind moved to Mason and Tucker's hospitalization.

Danny Phantom then shook his head and said, "...Not in the slightest."

"On that note, if there's another thing that I don't regret, it's being partners with you." Danny suddenly said, looking at Valerie with a grateful expression.

Valerie felt her cheeks growing red, but her smile never disappeared. She leaned on her closest friend's shoulder, mutually showing her affection to her ghost hunting partner.

"Same here. And I wouldn't change a thing." Valerie admitted.

The two sat together, enjoying the night while sharing an intimate moment when Danny's Ghost Sense went off. This was followed by Valerie's wristwatch's alarm ringing, indicating the presence of a spirit.

The Spirit manifested in front of the two ghost hunters as a blue light that materialized it.

The Spirit appeared to be a combination of two beings that shared a suit of a robotic high-tech armored suit. The primary wearer of the suit had a skull-like armored head that was burning in green ectoplasmic flames while possessing jagged teeth. The skin of its suit was black and dark gray with glowing green circuit patterns all over it and its arms have metal seams. It wore dark gray shoulder guards on its shoulders. Two green tubes attached to a mechanical backpack-like unit. The secondary wearer had a green face with black glasses on. It had dark gray gauntlets that have technological features in the wrists, along with a gray utility belt that had a green "ST" on the buckle. He had a ghostly green tail.

"WELL, WELL, WELL! LOOK WHAT WE HAVE HERE?" A familiar nasally voice spoke from the chest of the Spirit.

"Two prey for the price of one!" The raspy, but deep voice said from the burning head of the Spirit.

"That voice! Is that Technus?" Valerie inquired, standing up and materializing an anti ghost gun from her left wrist.

"No, that's Skulker!" Danny Phantom exclaimed, concentrating ectoplasmic energy into his palms.

"Wrong." The Spirit's top half stated. "We are Skulktech 9.9, the pinnacle of all hunters in the Spirit World-!"

"-COMBINED WITH THE LATEST TECH AND THE MOST ADVANCED OPERATING SYSTEM THE FUTURE HAS TO OFFER!" The Spirit's bottom half finished.

"Skulker and Technus…together?" Phantom cringed.

The Scarlet Huntress looked at the two with disgust and said, "...Ya'll nasty!"

"EXCUSE ME!?" The Technus of Skulktech 9.9 growled. "OUR UNION IS BUT A SIMPLE MATTER OF BUSINESS AND SURVIVAL!"

"Agreed! If it wasn't for your meddling, Ghost Child, Ember would have still been with me!" The Skulker of Skulktech 9.9 brooded.

"AND FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I WAS ONCE MARRIED TO A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WITH A BRILLIANT MIND TO MATCH!" Skulktech's system operator defensively added.

Phantom and the Scarlet Huntress glanced at each other, then back at their new opponent.

"...Whatever," The two said before blasting Skulktech 9.9 away from their spot on the Anson Building and sending the combined Spirit to a different one twenty feet away.

"You ready for some action, Sparky?" Phantom smirked.

"Always, Spooks!" The Huntress smiled back.

The two dived off of the top of the Anson Building, performing a front flip before floating through supernatural flight and a summoned nanotech hoverboard respectively. The two ghost hunting vigilantes took off, preparing to engage in the fight with Skulktech 9.9.

"I'm going in first!" Said Valerie, flying ahead of Phantom.

"Be careful, Val!" Phantom warned. "If that thing is part Technus, he might be able to hack into your upgraded suit!"

"Not this time! Dad's been stepping up on my suit-game!" The Huntress stated while her hoverboard fired her own version of a Ghost's Stinger.

"ACTIVATING SHIELD!" The system operator of Skulktech stated before forming a Ghost Shield that protected the combined Spirit.

"Hmph! Even with the improved suit, the attack was pitiful compared to the Huntress from our world." The top half of Skulktech 9.9 scoffed.

"I GAVE HER THAT UPGRADED SUIT YEARS AGO, AND I CAN EASILY TAKE THAT GIFT AWAY!" The bottom half of Skulktech 9.9 stated.

Skulker 9.9 raised their left hand and fired a green beam from their gauntlet to hack into Valerie's suit…to no avail.

"What the devil!? Why isn't her suit shutting down?"

"IMPOSSIBLE! I MADE THAT YEARS AGO! WHY CAN'T I HACK INTO HER SYSTEMS!?"

Skulktech's arguing was cut short as they were met with a glowing red and black blur that had blitzed them. As a result, they were knocked into the side of a building, courtesy of the tail end of Valerie's hoverboard.

"Nice one!" Danny Phantom complimented. "Hey, was that a new move?"

"Yeah! Not only did Dad creep-proof my suit with purified ectoplasm, now it can't be hacked by ghosts like Technus." The Huntress explained. "So, I figured that I should test out my new Overclock feature."

"Sweet." Danny Phantom said as he flew toward Skulktech's direction. "My turn!"

Skulktech 9.9 regained their focus and flew to a rooftop to recuperate themselves.

"Ugh! Never mind the girl, we need to focus on the Ghost Child! Hurry up and activate the Cephalo Battepack! And prepare the repaired Palm Pummel-!" The top half of Skulktech ordered, only to be cut off.

"DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB!" Scolded Skulktech's bottom half.

"Aw~! What's the matter?" Danny Phantom said as he appeared before them out of nowhere. "Trouble in paradise?"

The constant mocking triggered a rage within the Technus of Skulktech 9.9. Without warning, seven mechanical arms sprouted from their back. One of them was too fast for Phantom to react to, causing Danny to get grabbed.

"DO YOU EVER SHUT UP!?" The system operator of Skulktech 9.9 boomed, slamming Phantom into the ground twice before tossing him at the wall of the building connected to the rooftop that they floated over, leaving a large crack on it.

On his knees, Phantom got up and glared at his opponent, claiming, "Ugh… Nope! My phans expect a certain amount of banter in every ghost fight."

In a fast motion, Danny fired a blast of ice at Skulktech's flaming head, causing the head them to lose balance and made the Cephalo Battle-pack's mechanical arms hold to the ground for leverage. The top half tried and struggled to free the head from its frozen state with its hands.

"ARGH! CURSES! I FORGOT YOU STILL POSSESS THAT FREEZE POWER IN THIS TIME!" Skulktech's lower half grunted before grabbing Danny with one of his mechanical arms.

'...This time? What is this guy talking about?' Danny pondered.

"Don't forget about me, ghost!"

Just before the lower half of Skulktech could electrocute him, the Scarlet Huntress came with an arm blade construct formed by her nanotech suit on her hoverboard. Valerie cut one of the arms off, freeing Danny Phantom as she jumped beside her partner.

"Thanks for the save," Phantom said.

"You can thank me by helping me take out some of those arms," The Huntress instructed.

"Sure thing. Lady's first," Phantom said politely, letting Valerie take charge as he formed a sword made of ectoplasmic-based ice.

"What a gentleman," The Huntress quipped, charging at Skulktech 9.9. "Don't mind if I do!"

Skulktech 9.9's lower half screamed as its creations were amputated fairly quickly. The remaining six arms were cut with the joint efforts of Danny and Valerie's agility and ended with them flying kicking the combined Spirit into the same wall they threw Phantom into.

The impact of the attack shattered the frozen encased head of Skulktech's top half. Out of rage, Skulker's Madness turned their ectoplasmic flames red. The Madness summoned a pulse of negative spectral energy that knocked Danny and Valerie back.

"That does it!" The top half of Skulktech growled. "We've had just about enough of this!"

'Man! Their Madness is way more intense than Skulker's and Technus 2.0 at once!' Danny said while sweating.

While Valerie's face remained intense and ready for battle, her legs began to shake in fear, subconsciously remembering that regardless of the enhancements of her tech and suit, she was still a squishy fleshy human.

With a wave of his hand, Skulktech's lower half used telekinesis to move the Scarlet Ghost Huntress from off the ground, restraining her.

"VAL!" Danny screamed.

"HEY! UGH! L-LET GO OF ME YOU FREAKS!" The Huntress demanded in midair.

"WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HACK YOUR SUIT ANYMORE, BUT YOU'RE BECOMING TOO MUCH OF A NUISANCE!" The lower half of Skulktech declared as he threw her against the wall violently, temporarily incapacitated.

Danny gasped and tried flying to her with his ghostly tail behind him. However, Skulktech 9.9 grabbed him by the tail and slammed him onto the floor on the rooftop.

Phantom coughed, only to be picked up by the throat with the top half of Skulktech grinning. They then dangled Phantom off of the roof of a three-story building.

"...You have no idea how satisfying this is for us." Skulktech's top half said with a smirk, only to toss Danny into the air.

As Phantom yelped while airborne, Skulktech's bottom half announced, "ACTIVATING PHANTOM PALM PUMMELER!"

Skulktech 9.9 then ascended to the air to further his attack on Danny, not realizing that the Scarlet Ghost Huntress had regained consciousness and her expression flared with anger.

Meanwhile, Danny managed to regain his equilibrium. Unfortunately, he was struck by a blue and white beam that sent him farther up. Once Skulktech's blast hit him a second time, Phantom was forced to transform back into his human form. On instinct, Danny switched back into being Phantom.

"You're shorting out my powers?!" Danny said, piecing their strategy together.

"Indeed. We had a feeling it would work on you here, given your eventual immunity to the Pummeler's effect in our time." The top half of Skulktech 9.9 stated.

"Your time?" Phantom parroted.

The Spirit's bottom half laughed, saying, "OH, I LOVE IT. YOU'RE RIDICULOUSLY WEAKER THAN THE OTHER PHANTOM WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH!"

"What!?" Danny questioned, only to narrowly dodge a third blast from Skulktech's hand.

Phantom began to fly away from his opponent, trying to shake him off his tail. The chase went on for at least four minutes, with Valerie managing to track them down near Poe Bridge.

Phantom was then struck by the Pummeler beam against one of the tower's walls from the bridge, causing him to change back into Fenton. Danny's pain wasn't done yet as Skulktech 9.9 slammed their fist into the boy's gut, causing him to gasp while blood and bits of ectoplasm spewed from his mouth.

"...End of the line, Ghost Child." Skulktech's top half spoke in a low and sinister tone as their fist was still planted on the boy's sternum, holding him against the tower's wall.

"W-Why…?" Danny croaked, with blood running down the side of his mouth. "W-What did I do?"

"IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE UP UNTIL THIS POINT, BRAT. IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE." The bottom half of Skulktech said. "CONSIDER YOUR FUTURE REVOKED."

With that, Skulktech 9.9 tossed Danny from off of Poe Bridge with the intent of watching the boy drown in the ocean. Skulktech was then bombarded by missiles from Valerie's hoverboard, sending them crashing into the street.

Danny screamed, looking down to what he believed to be certain death. Thankfully, his torso was wrapped in a cable as Valerie came to his rescue using her hoverboard.

"I GOT YOU!" The Scarlet Huntress shouted. "Why the hell did you change back!?"

"T-Their palms got lasers…!" Danny coughed, feeling immense pain. "T-They shorted out m-my ghost powers!"

Valerie gritted her teeth, then said, "Oh, those freaks are toast!"

Danny gasped, then shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

The Scarlet Ghost Huntress found Skulktech 9.9 flying toward them with the intent to wipe them both out. As a response, Valerie flew low over the bridge's road and formed a bazooka and shot off one of Skulktech's arms. In retaliation, The lower half of Skulktech 9.9 channeled ectoplasmic based electricity into a blast that knocked Valerie off her board and sent Danny tumbling to the ground.

Both ghost hunters were down on their luck in a literal sense, face planted onto the ground. When they looked up, they found the combined Spirit floating above them.

Skulktech's top half looked at Valerie and said, "...Since you gave us a formidable hunt, we'll let you live."

The Spirit then held a hand, fired a mechanical arm with a clamp to restrain Danny. He shocked him for a few seconds, worrying the huntress.

"DANNY!"

"OH, SPARE US THE DRAMA, GIRL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS I THINKING PUSHING YOU TWO TOGETHER." The lower half of Skulktech scoffed. "WHEN THIS MENACE BITES THE DUST, YOU'LL THANK US LATER."

In fury, Valerie pointed her nanotech wrist mounted anti ghost ray at Skulktech.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Valerie roared, firing an anti ghost ray with a power output greater than normal.

Skulktech was overwhelmed by the blast, making his armored suit malfunction and shut off. The armored Spirit fell onto the ground, dropping a hidden trinket he carried.

A Time Medallion.

The Scarlet Huntress, pacing her breath, got up and limped over to a trapped Danny Fenton who struggled to free himself.

"Hold on. I'll get out you out of there-"

The Huntress' was taken aback by a bright light that enveloped both Skulktech 9.9 and Danny, who was caught in their trap.

Valerie had to shield her eyes, but when the flash died down, she was left alone with nobody and nothing remained. All except a Time Medallion.

"...Danny?"

---

Clockwork's Lair, Ghost Zone

From within the clock tower of the Specter's layer, one of his time portal's lit up upon something crossing through it. As it turned out, Danny and an unconscious Skulktech 9.9 barreled out of the portal while the Alpha Human screamed, crashing into the floor.

The clamp of Skulktech's trap around Danny's waist opened, freeing him.

Danny groaned in pain, still feeling the effect of the Phantom Palm Pummeler and the physical assault from the unconscious combined Spirit.

He looked around and found himself in another place. A tower of sorts with a couple of floors that's filled with various clocks and slowly spinning gears while the top of the area was a large bell.

"...Where am I?" An injured Danny Fenton inquired, looking at the top floor.

Danny then noticed the stained window in the shape of a clock with Roman numerals in front. He recognizes the swirling green and black void in the background, confirming his suspicion.

"I've been sent to the Ghost Zone, or at least a part I've never seen," Danny confirmed. "But how?"

Walking around the clock tower's top floor, he found a rack where two dozen Time Medallions hung.

Thinking back to where he was, and the bearded Spirit, Danny began to put the pieces together.

Danny grabbed one of the Time Medallions and said, "Whatever happened to that weird Box Ghost-like Spirit must have been what happened to Skulktech, to me. This place must act as some kind of anchor."

"Maybe this could bring me…" Danny thought aloud, putting the Time Medallion around his neck.

Nothing happened.

"...Damn." Danny sighed, holding the Time Medallion that he held in his right hand. "Oh well. I'll keep on until I figure out how to make it take me back home."

Danny walked further into the large room on the top floor. When he did so, he spotted something that caught his eye.

"What the-!?"

Where most of the time portals were placed, one displayed a visual that alarmed Danny. One window in time should be a future, a timeline that took place ten years from the present. This future was bleak as a city from a seemingly random country was being attacked by violet ectoplasmic blasts. People ran for their lives, leaving their homes and vehicles with children in tow, with a few of them being vaporized. Then, Danny spotted the figure causing the attacks. The figure was obscured in shadow, only seeing glowing red eyes, white fangs, and a familiar emblem that burned blue on his chest.

His emblem.

'...Is that me!?' Danny recognized, aghast at the realization.

Danny took five steps back from the portal, unable to process what he saw while hearing the shadowy version of himself laugh maniacally.

"No, no, no! I'm seeing things!" Danny denied, shaking his head. "T-This has got to be a joke! I'm not evil! I'm not-"

Danny turned around when he saw the unconscious Skulktech 9.9 get lifted from off the ground while surrounded by a blue spectral force. They were then tossed into the time portal Danny had just peered into, shocking the Alpha Human.

"...What just happened?"

A deep and monotone voice spoke above Danny.

"...You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

Danny looked up to find Clockwork descending from the ceiling, revealing himself to the teenager in his adult form.

Danny asked "You've sent Skulktech back. That means that you're the one who sent the older Box Ghost, right?"

The hooded Specter smirked, turning into his elderly form.

"How astute," Clockwork praised. "Out of all the Daniel Fenton variants that I've come across in the timestream, you happened to be one of the smarter ones-"

Danny smiled at the compliment.

"-You're also one of the more depressing variants." Clockwork finished, causing the teen to frown.

'...And there goes my non-existent ego.' The raven haired boy sighed.

Remembering what Clockwork just said, Danny glanced at the Specter in confusion, uttering, "Wait, variants? What are you-"

"-Talking about?" Clockwork finished for Danny, making him gasp. "The truth, Daniel James Fenton, is that I already knew you were going to be here before your conception, and we were always destined to meet each other. It's a fixed point in time."

"What is this place, and who are you anyway?" Danny questioned.

"This is my realm, serving as the center in which time flows freely across this vast multiverse." Explained Clockwork, shifting into a child-like form. "I have had many names throughout the eons, but you may call me Clockwork, the Master of Time. Though, I suppose in this branch, it would be simple to label me as a Specter, like Frostbite."

'He's definitely a Spirit. Yet, the way he changes ages on the fly, it's like he represents human mortality.' Danny analyzed.

"I'm sorry to have trespassed, but I was brought here by mistake," Danny explained.

"It was no accident that you've arrived in my realm," Clockwork corrected. "Since you have been deemed as a threat, I was tasked to eliminate your future, thus preventing the apocalypse."

"What? That's ridiculous! I help people!" Danny denied. "Name one evil thing that I've done!"

Clockwork smiled, then pointed his staff at the window of time when it shuffled in different locations. One visual showed Dash with a scar on his right eyebrow in the dentist office. The assistant turned to an older burly blond man, assuming to be Dash's father. Dash overheard that Dash may need dental veneers given how many front row teeth had been cracked. This caused Dash to burst into crocodile tears with an ugly cry, showing the lack of whole teeth in his mouth.

The next scene showed a room in Amity Park General Hospital. This one held Dale, while he had an arm sling. When the nurse removed the sling that held his arm for cleaning purposes, Danny saw that it had been discolored dark by how hard he had gripped it.

At the same hospital in another room, Kwan was lying down on his back, sleeping with multiple cuts and knots on his face, a busted up lip while covered in bandages. Outside the room, he saw an older pair of Korean Americans sitting outside of Kwan's room, possibly his parents, waiting for him to wake up.

Danny bit his tongue out of frustration, conflicted at the sight of his bully's suffering despite the hard time they gave him and his friends.

Then Clockwork shows a different scene, one of Danny's obscured evil future self-destroying a military force with his powers. Distinctively, there was a lack of freeze powers used, but an abundance of pyrokinesis involved incinerated soldiers, tanks, and helicopters.

Clockwork challenged Danny, saying, "What's one act of violence compared to over two thousand sins."

Danny argued, "But that didn't happen yet! I'm still-"

"-I don't enjoy certain parts of my job," Clockwork said, cutting Danny off. "But a threat is a threat no less."

Danny shook his head in frustration as his bangs obscured his face.

"Why me? Why is it always me!?" Danny whispered in pain and anger, clenching his fists with his eyes shut.

"For what it's worth, I have nothing personal against you." Clockwork said holding his Time Staff while holding a palm out.

When Clockwork fired a simple ectoplasmic blast, Danny dived out of the way, showing an expression filled with determination despite having injuries on it and underneath his tattered clothes.

"...Do what you have to do, Grim," Danny said in a low tone before transforming into Phantom once more. "But don't expect me to be going down quietly."

Danny fired a blast of ecto-energy at Clockwork. With a wave of his hand, the Specter of Time rewound the time around the ecto-energy blast until it disappeared, surprising Phantom.

"Impressed?" Clockwork quipped as he held up his Time Staff.

From there, he transformed his Time Staff into a scythe, known as the Temporal Scythe.

He twirled the Temporal Scythe, then unleashed an energy slash that Danny Phantom narrowly avoided by ducking. He lost a few strands of snow-white hair in the process.

'Fast!' Danny analyzed mentally. 'I can't attack this guy head on!'

"Speed is irrelevant, as for me, time moves forward and backward and-," Clockwork explained, only to pause mid-sentence and give up. "-Oh, why do I bother? You're fifteen."

Without warning, Phantom was blasted into a nearby stone wall and tumbled onto the floor.

With one hand using the wall as leverage, the shaky ghost boy got up, drawing haggard breaths.

"...I-I get it!" Danny groaned, glaring at the Time Specter.

"Oh, no, you do not," Clockwork chuckled in disagreement, with his non-scarred eye gleaming blood-red.

Suddenly, at least three dozen versions of Clockwork surrounded Danny, each appearing to have originated from a different branch in time with the same strength as the main one.

From there, Clockwork's emitted a pressure of spectral energy so great, all the gears and clocks stopped moving, as if time in his realm ceased for a moment. Danny himself, quaked in fear as if he was experiencing his own death for a second time.

He sank to his knees with the Time Medallion dangling around his neck. He couldn't win this battle. It was too much. No other Spirit outside of Frostbite compared to him. Vlad couldn't compete. The power was insurmountable.

"Time is up, Daniel," The main Clockwork announced with his Temporal Scythe in hand. "You face an opponent you cannot defeat. And there is nowhere left to run."

Turning around, Danny realized there was a portal behind him, one of his doomed future. He didn't have any other choice.

In a desperate attempt to survive, Danny flew into the portal while shouting, "N-Nowhere but the future!"

Clockwork's variants all smiled at Danny's choice before vanishing, leaving the main Specter of Time at his lonesome. Time resumed in Clockwork's realm when his Spectral Pressure died down, allowing the gears and clocks to move again.

Clockwork asked, "Very well. Do you have the strength to face that future?"

---

Lovecraft Cemetery, Amity Park, IL, 2015

Once more, Danny found himself crashing in a place that he didn't know. Or, that's what he believed. Danny landed on grass, but got a face full of dirt.

He was irritated from getting thrown around all night…except it wasn't night at all.

That raised alarms in his mind as he rubbed the dirt off of his hair and face, but what he opened his eyes to was a horror that would only come about in Danny's darkest nightmares.

What was in front of Danny Phantom was a headstone with words which made his anxiety hit the roof.

Here Lies Jasmine Colleen "Jazz" Fenton, 1988-2005

Beloved Daughter, Sister, and Friend

"J-Jazz?" Danny Phantom managed to croak out before stepping back. "No! She can't be…she can't!"

Danny didn't know what to make of this. He had to look elsewhere and figure out where it was located and to go from there. However, regret instantly washed over.

He found a joint grave that said "Fenton" on its wide headstone. Looking down, he found two plaques with two people's names written on it.

Jacob Nathaniel "Jack" Fenton, and Madelyn Bridget "Maddie" Fenton Nee O'Connor with their years being from 1962-2005

Gone, but not forgotten

Danny felt his heart crumble into millions of pieces.

"No, No, NO!" Phantom shouted.

He turned away from tombstones and began to run without caring about where he would end up so long as he couldn't face the reality he realized he was in. This led to Danny tripping and falling into another tombstone.

He raised his head to find the grave of his best friend, Tucker Foley.

Danny yelped, jumped up and started running again. Time and time, he found names that were familiar to him. Paulina Sánchez, Kwan Lee, Ronald W. Lancer, Dale Jones, David "Dash" Baxter, and among others that started to overwhelm his mind.

'This can't be real! This can't be my future!' Danny Phantom thought, continuously denying the reality he's trapped in.

However, everything came crashing down when one grave forced him to stop moving.

Samantha Rebecca Manson

1990 - 2005

Taken Before Her Time

May Thy Soul Rest Peacefully

Danny fell to his knees, feeling streaks of tears boring from his eyes.

"Sam, no…!" The Phantom quietly sobbed, holding her tombstone with quaking hands on each side while his head bowed in shame. "Not you too…! I'm so sorry…!"

Danny took the time to grieve, finally grasping the situation. He was stuck in a timeline where everybody was gone. His friends, his family, the world where he knew. The one that he was destined to fail.

The future was looking bleak, and he was responsible for it.

It's here where Danny gets a clear overhead view of future Amity Park, and it appears to be a straight dystopian nightmare. One that he made himself.

He cried for at least a minute before a loud siren blared from the city proper. This prompted Danny to wipe his tears and face whatever that lay ahead.

He eyed Sam's gravestone, thinking about what could have been between him and his former closest friend. He knew if he made it out of the hellscape he forced himself to, Danny would have to distance himself from Sam indefinitely. It was better that way.

She deserved a life away from all the haunting and the danger.

"...Goodbye, Sam." Phantom whispered before flying toward Amity Park proper, exiting Lovecraft Cemetery.

Flying above Amity Park, Danny was met with a future dystopian version of his haunt. The best way to describe the city was that it was always in a constant state of repair. Many buildings appeared to have either been reduced to rubble or were in the middle of reconstruction.

It was hard for Danny to think, between his screwed up emotions over what he would eventually lose, and the loud sound of the blaring sirens.

From below, the ghost kid noticed the citizens of Amity Park evacuate, while moderately sized tunnels that led to shelters were being filled by them.

"...Are they heading to shelters? What's going on?" Danny wondered aloud.

"I GOT YOU NOW!" A vaguely familiar feminine voice spoke to him.

Danny looked over his shoulder to see, only to be shot out of the sky by an anti-ectoplasmic blast.

Phantom crashed into a flag pole, tumbled onto a truck, then rolled onto the ground, emotionally and physically a wreck.

Little did he know, a fair-skinned male figure with brown curly hair had spotted Phantom's fall, looking through his binoculars.

"...He did come, just like the Specter said he would." The man spoke before warping in a flash of light.

Meanwhile, Danny Phantom from the present timeline laid on his back, exhausted and in pain. He looked up to find the Scarlet Ghost Huntress, maskless and without her upgraded suit. Instead, the Future Valerie Gray was hovering on a silvery chrome hoverboard while wearing her classic red and black jumpsuit. There was an inclusion of a bandolier while her hairstyle was that of a buzz cut.

Phantom, with his body smoking, groaned.

The woman jumped off of her hoverboard with a bazooka in her hands.

"You've caused so much damage, destroyed so many lives…" Future Valerie said in seething anger. "And in the end, you have the nerve enough to take this form? You really are a fucking monster!"

"Ugh…V-Val, please listen," Phantom moaned in agony. "I-I'm not who you t-think I am,"

Phantom was met with a swift kick to his ribcage, nearly fracturing it as he grunted

"SHUT UP!" Future Valerie shouted, taking five steps back while holding her bazooka toward his face. "I'm not falling for any of your tricks! I'm taking you out here and now!"

Before Danny could be killed, a flash of light stood between Future Valerie and the ghost boy.

The figure was revealed to be a young male Caucasian male in his mid-twenties with brown curly hair, a small but well-kept beard, and brown hardened eyes. On his forehead was a burn mark that was precisely shaped like the Ursa Major constellation while on his neck were two wedding bands tied to a chained necklace. As for the stranger's attire, he wore a dark blue double-breasted leather trench coat over a red plaid button up collared shirt, dark blue corduroy trousers with a high-tech belt, and dark brown combat boots.

Looking into the eyes of the man, Danny pondered, 'Who is this guy?'

"You!?" Uttered Future Valerie, not liking the man's presence at all. "What are you doing!? Move out of the way!"

The unnamed man ignored Future Valerie as he inspected the young Phantom next to his feet. He noticed the Time Medallion that hung from his neck and confirmed his suspicion.

'...He looks more beat up than I remember.' The man thought to himself. '...He must have been in the middle of a ghost attack when he was sent here.'

"U-Uh…" Phantom stuttered, unsure if the newcomer was a friend or a foe.

"I SAID STAND ASIDE, PINES!" Future Valerie barked, holding her bazooka toward the man.

"Put a sock in it, Gray! I'm looking at something," The man fired back before Danny gasped.

"...Pines?" Phantom said, causing the two to stop glaring at each other as they watched Danny sit up. "A-Are you really Mason?"

"It's Dipper now," Future Mason corrected.

"He's getting up! Move before that bastard recovers!" Valerie ordered, only to be ignored by Future Mason as he helped the boy up.

"Enough with that! The kid already looks like he's been kicked to hell and back as is," Future Mason, or Dipper, said, waving Valerie's urgent voice while allowing Danny Phantom's arm to be wrapped around his neck as leverage to stand. "Besides, he's not the Phantom from our time anyway."

"...Of course, you come here with some load of shit," Future Valerie said with a pained expression. "For God's sake, Pines, time travel is science fiction! Impossible! That ghost is clearly messing with your head!"

"Gray, we've been in the game a long time," Dipper said in a calm but curt tone. "At this point, nothing is impossible."

Before Future Valerie could argue, Dipper ordered Danny, "Change back. She's not gonna cooperate until she can get some reassurance."

"...That's fair, I guess." Present Phantom nodded before shifting back into Danny Fenton, shocking Future Valerie enough to drop her weapon.

"Oh my God," The older African American woman gasped. "Y-You really are Danny…!"

Danny Fenton, appearing awkward, asked Dipper, "Uh, what's up with her? Why is she looking at me like that?"

"It's only natural," Dipper said, remaining impassive to the younger male. "Nobody has seen Danny Fenton alive in ten years."

---

Ops Center, Fenton Works, Amity Park, IL, Year 2005

In the present, Valerie and Jazz ended up having a secret meeting in the Ops Center over an emergency. That being that the Fenton family's youngest member and Amity Park's local hero had vanished off of the face of the earth.

"...And when I tried to approach the trap that held him, they just vanished in a white light," Valerie explained, wearing her normal attire as she explained to Jazz what occurred at Poe Bridge.

Jazz bit her lip, both concerned for her brother's safety and fearing for what this meant.

"...This is bad. This is really bad," Jazz whispered.

Valerie's lip quivered, nearly on the verge of tears.

"I know, I'm so sorry, Jazz. This is all my fault," Valerie apologized. "I should have never-"

"-No, don't blame yourself," Jazz said, holding the black girl's shoulders gently, "You reached out to my brother when nobody else could, me included. Whatever Skulker and Technus did to merge together was a force neither of you were prepared for."

Jazz sighed and rubbed her temple, trying and failing to mask her nervousness, "...I just don't want the other violent Spirits to get the wrong idea now that he's missing, let alone my parents figuring out something's up."

"I'll scour every alleyway and street corner if I have to," Valerie declared. "We'll find him for sure!"

"No need for that, Val," Jazz said before taking out her brand new Kimmunicator.

"...What are you doing?" Asked Valerie, wondering what kind of PDA was she using.

"My mom installed the Fenton Finder's function into my handheld. So, I'm using that to locate Danny's ectoplasmic signature which should home in on his exact location…" Jazz explained, only to gasp in shock. "...He's nowhere near Amity!"

"Damn it!" Valerie growled. "As much as I hate to suggest it, but he might have been sent to that damned Ghost Zone."

"Ugh! It could take days to find him!" Jazz groaned. "And there's barely three days before the CAT!"

"I can't explain this to my dad. He'll break us all up and shut our operation down! Girl, we gotta plan and fast." Valerie advised.

"...Okay, first and foremost, we have to keep up appearances until Saturday." Jazz stated, "I say you search the town for several hours. If you don't find Danny, I'll enter the Ghost Zone and look for them there."

"Well, that's the best we got for now. Wait, but he's not home. What are you gonna do about that?" Valerie pointed out.

"No need to worry, I have a friend in the Ghost Zone that owes me a favor." Jazz mentioned. "He's a body double professional."

"...Okay?" Valerie accepted while slightly confused. "And what's the worst case scenario?"

Jazz gripped her hands tightly, then took a deep breath to reinforce her nerves and resolve.

Jazz hoarsely answered, "If everything goes to hell, I'm going to have to tell my parents the truth, including Danny's secret."

---

Lovecraft Cemetery, Amity Park, IL Year 2015

Moving back to the year of 2015, a tall figure stood in the cemetery surrounded by hundreds of tombstones. Though, one lone grave held some sort of interest in the figure.

The grave of Jazz Fenton.

The figure happened to be a male with tan skin who wore a black leather jacket with a red accent on it. He had white hair that went past his neck, two bangs on the fringe of his hairline, red irises, noticeable bags under his red eyes, and a white goatee.

The man gave the tombstone a hapless smile.

"...Happy Early Anniversary, Big Sis," The man said in an impassively low tone. "Don't worry, I came with a present this time."

Tall, dark, and monotone then reached from his breast pocket and threw something at Jazz's grave. It was the severed head of an old beat up teddy bear with the hair of Albert Einstein, but with a missing eye button, decolored, and covered in mold.

"There you go, good ole Bearbert. He was always your favorite." The man said mockingly. "You know, if there was any consultation with your demise, my decade-long rampage across the planet and the Ghost Zone has brought me a proud sense of freedom."

The man stopped smiling when he recognized imprints and footprints that were on the dirt and grass. From there, he gasped while two streams of red mist escaped his nostrils.

The malicious glee that once graced the tan-skinned man's face morphed into that of absolute disdain. He bore his fangs while his eyes glowed blood-red.

He hissed, "...Ghost vermin!"

The man morphed into a shadow as he flew into the city, which formed a shadowy figure.

-Fenton Works, with Danny and the others-

Danny Fenton sporting his red and white planet hoodie, was taken to his old home by the future versions of Valerie and Mason, who called himself Dipper for some reason. Danny tried asking about it, but Dipper didn't give him an answer and told him to keep his head down.

It didn't take long for them to make it to their destination, as the ghost boy slowly connected the dots to the route and streets they ended up maneuvering in.

Standing in front of them was Fenton Works, remaining the same as when Danny last saw it.

"This is my house," Danny uttered before turning to Future Valerie and Dipper. "Why are we stopping here?"

"It's a base of operation now," Dipper revealed.

Danny gasped, saying, "What?"

"Dad and I converted it to a base shortly after the carnage started." Future Valerie explained in a monotone voice.

Danny paled at the thought of what damage his future self must have caused.

"Eccentric or not, your parents' technology and military mindset for surviving ghost attacks proved extremely valuable. The government, or what's left of it, has come to respect and appreciate their inventions." Dipper exclaimed. "They were ahead of their time."

When they entered the house, Danny found that it's exactly as it was in his time. The living room, the kitchen, his parent's master bedroom, his sister's room, even his room were all kept intact.

"...I-It's like I never left at all." Said Danny, still freaked out that everyone had died despite being at home.

"We made an effort to preserve the home to honor your family," Future Valerie added as the trio went past the living room, entered the kitchen, then made their way downstairs.

"...Between us, I haven't gone down here by myself." Danny thought aloud.

"That checks out. The lab is your haunt," Dipper said in a calm tone.

"Not anymore," Future Valerie corrected with a frown. "The Phantom of this age made the entire planet his haunt."

Danny turned to Future Mason, Dipper, with a fearful yet inquisitive expression.

"...You'll find out soon." Dipper answered with a foreboding tone.

Future Valerie placed her hand on the scanner, then granted all three of them entry into the laboratory.

While inside the largely unchanged Fenton Works basement/laboratory, the group spotted a future version of Damon Gray who had aged drastically since the last time he saw him. The man was now balding with gray hair. He wore an eye patch (lacking a right eye) and lacking a left arm. For attire, he wore a dark blue long-sleeved button-up shirt, black trousers, and matching loafers.

The moment the man spotted the trio, his singular teal eye met Danny's haunting baby blue.

"...M-Mr. Gray?" Danny spoke first.

"Don't move!" Future Damon said, taking out an anti-ecto handgun and pointing it at Danny Fenton. "Hands where I can see 'em, ghost!"

Danny held his hands up, not wanting to be shot or escalating the situation he was currently in. He did so despite the injuries he withstood since his battle with Skulktech 9.9 to his ambush he endured from Future Valerie,

"Dad, wait-" Future Valerie tried speaking, only to be silenced by her aging father.

"Stay back!" He warned his daughter and Dipper. "That sick demon's gone and played some mind tricks on you!"

"Nothing is as it seems, Sir," Dipper calmly instructed. "Take a look at what's around his neck."

Damon suspiciously glanced at Danny's neck, then gasped.

"...Impossible!" Said Damon before turning to Dipper. "You should have that trinket."

"I still do," Dipper said, taking out Danny's old Time Medallion from his battle with Future Box Ghost.

'...He kept that for that long?' Danny mentally gaped.

"What does this mean?" Asked Future Damon, then turned to Danny. "Who are you?"

"Okay, let's not freak out and do anything hasty," Danny advised in an apprehensive but calm tone. "What year is it?"

"2015," Future Damon said, lowering his gun cautiously.

"Okay. I'm Danny Fenton, and I'm a fifteen-year-old Sophomore in Casper High. Where I come from, it's late October of 2005," Danny explained with his arms lowering slowly, trying to convince the man that he wasn't a threat.

"...Oh my God, you're from the past." Future Damon sighed, thankful that the group wasn't compromised by the enemy while his head was about to crack open out of the absurdity of the day.

Danny sighed before hissing at his injuries, getting everybody's attention.

Future Valerie helped Danny stand, then said, "We might need to borrow the medical ward. He sort of dropped in our time fresh out of a fight. …And I didn't exactly help."

"Yes, of course." Future Damon understood as walked his daughter and her friend to the Medical Bay of the laboratory to clean Danny's wounds.

During the strenuous process of having his wounds clean, Danny started to explain the Time Medallion's function, much to Future Valerie, Future Damon, and Dipper's interest.

"From what I could piece together, there's an anchor point in the Ghost Zone where these medallions come from. If my inference is correct, it keeps visitors from different periods locked within the timeline that they are visiting." Danny stated, wincing in between the swabs of cotton, courtesy of Future Valerie.

"...So if you were to take off the medallion-" Future Valerie started.

Dipper finished, "-You'd theoretically return to that anchor point."

"What I want to know is what's different from your time up until your arrival?" Asked Future Damon.

"Well…" Danny pondered, as he started to get bandaged around his torso Dipper. "I just got suspended today. When I got home, I had a big fight with my parents about the fight, and then…"

Danny paused as he turned to Future Valerie, who looked back at him, instantly sharing the memory of their getaway that night.

The ghost boy instantly snapped out of it when Dipper said, "Then what?"

"O-Oh, right," Danny said, quickly getting back on track. "I-I left the house to clear my head when everybody at home went to bed. That's when I got attacked by this ghost."

"What kind of ghost?" Future Damon questioned.

"It was Skulker and Technus, but they combined into this stronger merged ecto-entity." Danny explained.

"Skulktech 9.9. They're bad news." Future Damon frowned.

"You're telling me. I was lucky he was knocked unconscious before I got creamed." Danny grumbled.

"...I don't remember seeing him with you," Future Valerie whispered under her breath, only letting Danny hear it.

This shocked Danny, meaning she remembered their night together a little differently.

"Skulktech, huh?" Dipper inquired, finishing up bandaging Danny's body. "I haven't seen them in five years. They must have gotten their hands on this Time Medallion."

"I wonder who made them?" Future Valerie pondered out loud.

"...It was Clockwork, an ancient Spirit that oversees time," Danny explained.

"Can such a ghost exist?" Future Damon asked, worried whether the being was friend or foe.

Dipper cryptically stated, "Anything is possible."

The future version of the Scarlet Ghost Huntress snorted, "Relax, you're not Mr. Mystery."

"Uh, yes I am." Dipper scoffed with pride.

Suddenly, Danny Fenton blinked as a thought crossed his mind.

"...Hey, Mase-, I mean, Dipper? Where's Pacifica? Is she staying with you?"

The air of the room became tense, and Danny immediately detected it. Danny wondered what was wrong, but neither Future Damon nor Future Valerie could give him a straight answer.

As for Future Mason, he turned away from Danny while staying silent.

After ten seconds, Dipper, with a hardened expression, walked away from the group as he stated, "...I'll be right back, I have to grab something from my locker."

Danny frowned while watching his friend walk away.

"Daniel James, there's something I need to show you," Future Damon said, causing Danny to give him his attention. "Follow me,"

After putting on his black shirt and red and white hoodie again, Danny left the medical ward and walked over to the main computer with Future Valerie in tow.

With one hand, Future Damon displayed records and digital images to the boy, while providing exposition.

"...Take my bluntness and words with discretion, I cannot sugarcoat what the world has devolved to, as it involves the Phantom," Future Damon stated.

"Danny Phantom?"

"No. You're Danny Phantom," Future Valerie corrected with a firm tone toward Danny. "That thing…it's nothing like you."

"We gave up on finding answers. Our utmost priority is the safety and protection of survivors and stragglers." Future Damon said, showing a newspaper of the Nasty Burger explosion incident. "As for the beginning of the end, I suppose it began around the death of your family and old friends."

"...Oh." Danny said, looking at his feet.

"That wasn't your fault," The older Valerie reassured. "It was a tragic accident, but you survived."

'...Of course, I did! Because it's always me!' Danny bitterly shouted in his mind.

"Unfortunately, you were placed in a facility for orphaned youths." Future Damon continued explaining. "You were last documented to be taken in by a new guardian two weeks into November of 2005, but all traces of you dropped from the face of the earth."

"Which ties to the disappearance of Danny Phantom," Said Future Valerie. "Nobody has heard of you for eight months."

Future Damon then changed images on the screen and started showing a slideshow of war and a rampaging shadowy Spirit attacking cities around the world with multiple graphs and numbers on them.

"...That was until approximately early July of 2006." Future Damon revealed. "What stood in the place of the Amity Park's hero was a violent devil that began causing havoc across the city, attacking anything in its path. It didn't matter if it was human or ghost. For the next nine and a half years, his power grew, and so mayhem this devil relished had expanded from a single lone town to across the entire planet. And at a certain point, he became the planet's only ghost."

Danny was at a loss for words. His eyes were glued to the destruction he'd caused, trying to rationalize as to how he could have turned out this way.

Sure, he lost his immediate family and oldest friends, but he at least had two aunts, one of them with a son around his age in California, and a grandfather in Arkansas. It wasn't much, but he wasn't completely alone.

Not to mention there were supposedly powerful people in the world watching his back. Where were the superpowered soldiers, mystics, and secret agent types that safeguard Earth? How could they let him slip through the cracks? Danny struggled with these questions.

"...Some called the attack on Amity Park the greatest tragedy in American History." Dipper said, coming back from the locker, carrying a large case in his hand. "Even topping the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001."

"...W-Worse than 9/11?" Danny croaked, on the verge of having a panic attack. "He's that evil?"

"Let me put it this way. The planet's first world governments all tried their hand with the sole purpose of putting Phantom down. Separately, they failed, and he decided to pay that country a visit. Personally." Dipper recounted. "It varies depending on his mood, but some countries were wiped out within a few hours, and others were destroyed in a few weeks, a couple of months if he felt like playing with his food."

"In 2005, the Earth's population was bustling, with over six billion people living their lives worldwide. Flash forward ten years later, and thanks to the global haunting of one demonic spirit, we find that the human race's population has taken a massive blow." Future Damon stated like an analytics teacher while pointing at one of the bar graphs detailing the fall of humanity. "We're looking at an overall seventy-five percent decrease."

"Hold on, hold on! There are, well, there were about six billion people alive in 2005!" Danny clamored.

"And now the global population is barely breaking over a billion." Dipper stated, glancing at the statistics on the screen.

"Jesus…" Danny whispered in horror. "I always had trouble controlling my powers as they grew. It's like my worst nightmare come true."

"Unfortunately, it only gets worse from here," Future Damon said, shaking his head.

"How so?" Danny wondered duly, doubting the idea given how bad the world had become.

The future version of Valerie's father pressed a button, playing a video which would be an image that would haunt Danny for years to come. The teenager was then shown a clip of the shadowy version of his evil future self firing a red stream of highly destructive ecto-energy in the form of a sonic blast, eradicating the united global army in a chorus of high-pitched torturous screams that sounded as if hell escaped the spirit's mouth.

'No!' Danny mentally gasped while his jaw dropped.

When Future Damon stopped the clip, he was met with a pale faced Danny, who had sweat pouring from his face.

"...This was the last stand that the united forces of earth took, and this happened eleven months ago." Future Damon stated.

"T-That power…That's-!" Danny stuttered, but unable to make out the words.

"-The Ghostly Wail," Future Valerie mentioned, getting Danny's attention. "You told me about the power a long time ago, but I thought it was a fluke. To think it could be replicated on command…"

"That wail of his quickly became his calling card," Dipper explained, placing the case over his shoulder. "With it, none that rose up stood a chance against Phantom."

Danny shook his head while holding his head, uttering, "None of this makes any sense! I get that my old friends and family are gone, but I wouldn't just stop helping people like that! It's my obsession! I'm not evil!"

Future Valerie told Danny with a colder tone, "None of that matters now. That thing isn't you anymore. Whatever it is, it's worse than any ghost we've come across in the past. Our focus besides providing the survivors' safety is to put that bastard down for good."

Danny flinched at this, feeling a sense of hurt and déjà vu.

"...Fool," Dipper said, rolling his eyes at the future version of the Ghost Huntress' shortsightedness.

"What was that?" Future Valerie snapped at the brunette. "Run that by me again. I dare you!"

"Hey, cut it out! Now's not the time to-" Future Damon tried intervening, but failing.

"-No! If Pines got something to say, then he should say it to my face!" Future Valerie growled, looking directly into the older Mason's eyes.

"I called you a fool, because that's what you are," Dipper said with his eyes narrowing.

"You know what, screw you! I never liked that I'm-smarter-than-you attitude of yours! While you were busy sulking in that dingy little cabin in Oregon, I've been working my ass off trying to keep what's left of Amity Park from crashing and burning to that beast!" Future Valerie shouted, pointing at the Caucasian Jewish boy's face. "What were you doing, genius!?"

"Studying," Said Dipper in a curt and calm tone as his eyes grew darker. "Something that you seem to forget when caught up in anger, as per usual."

"I DON'T-" Future Valerie fumed, only to catch herself when she was in the middle of proving Dipper right. "...get caught up."

'...Just like her mother…' Future Damon sighed while shaking his head.

'Some things never change, I guess.' Danny thought to himself, having backed away from Future Valerie subconsciously.

"Right," Dipper said, repressing the urge to scoff. "Look, we have history for a reason. If we learn the root causes of terrible things and/or people, we educate ourselves and each other so that we don't repeat them. It's how we stop making enemies. And this dark Phantom is no different."

"But it is, Dipper! The atrocities it's committed, the lives lost, it's-" Future Damon tried to explain, only for Mason to cut him off.

"-No different from Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, or any of the terrorist organizations from recent memory," Dipper pointed out to Future Damon before he continued to talk to Future Valerie. "If you must know what I've been up to, I was gaining information about the enemy in the place of my late Gruncle in and sending info to what's left of allied forces. We're not dealing with the average Spirit, this is a Wraith. A Wraith with a motive. And if you believe that observations aren't worth learning and understanding before engaging the enemy, then you might as well let him drag you to the darkest pit of hell."

Danny reeled back at Dipper's comeback, and the initial shock in the older Ghost Huntress' face shifted into disgust.

"...I can't believe you," The African American woman spat. "Even after everything it did to you, to everyone, you still defend that monster like it's still Danny deep down. You're so smart that you're stupid. What would Pacifica-"

"-KEEP MY WIFE OUT OF THIS, GRAY!" Dipper bellowed with his skin flaring up in fury.

Danny and Future Damon jolted at the outburst, unable to keep control of the emotional tension between two people who were once friends with one another. But before anything escalated, the loud siren went off with a nearby building getting attacked.

Future Damon turned to the others from the main computer, and said, "It's here!"

---

Fenton Works, Amity Park, IL Year 2005

It was early in the morning, roughly five. Jack and Maddie were sitting in their bedroom, wearing their pajamas. Neither of them had a good night's rest. They were emotionally drained, mixed with conflicting feelings of guilt and disappointment. Both of them decided to talk about what happened to be on their minds.

Their son and last night's events.

"...Jack?" Maddie besought.

"Yeah, Mads?"

"Were we too hard on him? On our boy?" Maddie questioned in a whisper.

"...Maybe? Maybe not hard enough?" Jack said, running one hand in his dark locks of hair. "I don't know what's going on anymore. It's like we know nothing about that kid. But that's crazy. Danny's our son! If we knew what was happening, we would have…"

"Jack, baby," Maddie said, placing her hands on the large man's shoulder. "Perhaps Principal Ishiyama has a point. There may be more things going on in Casper High behind the scenes, or maybe the entire school district."

"Right. I keep forgetting that this isn't Arkansas," Jack nodded right.

Maddie added, "Nor is it Wisconsin,"

"...To be honest, I am not angry about the fight." Jack said with honesty. "That Baxter boy and his little friends, they probably deserved it. But just because Danny could do it, didn't mean that he should have done it. We taught him better than that."

"He has changed so much since last year…" Maddie said, crestfallen. "I think we overlooked how much that autumn formal incident affected him. He must have felt alone."

"...You're right. I-we were so used to Sam and Tucker being around that we didn't have to worry about watching him all the time, and took that for granted." Jack sighed as the one part of his rant resurfaced.

Honestly, your sister never had these problems!

"...What was I thinking, saying that to him!?" Jack said, smacking his forehead with one of his palms.

"Sweetie I know you didn't mean it,"

"No! That's not an excuse, Maddie!" Jack said, shrugging his wife's hands away. "Danny's great in his own way, he's just impulsive."

"Like father, like son," Maddie said, lightly poking fun at her husband.

Jack smiled a little, before stating, "He made a horrible mistake, but I crossed a line down there. I failed him, I failed our boy."

Maddie grabbed her husband by the hand and said, "WE failed him, Jack. We made and had him no different from Jazz, so I'm just to blame for this as you."

Jack was left speechless while Maddie reassured her husband.

"Danny's hurt, and he doesn't trust us as we think he does. And I'm sure Jazz knows more, but hasn't told us for obvious reasons. Nobody said that parenting was going to be easy, but we'll tough it out and sort things out like always." Maddie said.

Jack smiled and squeezed his wife's hands.

"You're right. It's also going to be an uphill battle with the eventual board meeting with the principal and the parents." Jack mentioned. "Hopefully, we can figure something out with the kids' parents."

Maddie sighed and repeated, "Hopefully…"

'Being haunted by the ghost boy is one thing, but potential lawsuits is another kind of beast.' Maddie thought to herself. 'Oh, Danny. Where did my happy little boy go?'

-Fenton Works Laboratory, With Jazz-

While the parents discussed and reconciled their woes of failure, the eldest Fenton child stood in front of the main computer to operate Jack and Maddie's mechanical spirit world gateway.

As the siren went off, Jazz opened the doors of the Fenton Portal, awaiting the arrival of a ghost she had contacted. In a few seconds, a Spirit crossed over to the lab before Jazz closed the portal's doors.

The lengthy Spirit that floated in front of Jazz had a pale white face with no mouth or nose. He wore large red glasses, a black fedora hat, a suit with long coat tails, a red tie, and a red sash, and carried a black cane.

Jazz sighed, saying, "Sorry to call you in such sort of notice, Amorpho. But this is urgent."

"I assure you that it's quite alright, Jane-"

"-Jazz," The ginger haired girl corrected duly.

"Right," Amorpho said before tipping his hat to her. "How may I be of service to you, young scholar?"

"My little brother's gone missing, and I aim to find him after school." Jazz explained.

"Ah, Billy," Said Amorpho exclaimed.

"Danny," Jazz frowned out of ire, correcting the ghost. "And since my parents don't know that his DNA got hacked by ectoplasm or that he's Danny Phantom, I need you to shapeshift into his human form and stay inside the house until ten o'clock. That's when everybody goes to bed."

"Ah, so you want me to masquerade as the ghost boy for a day? That'll be fun." Amorpho chimed with interest. "But if I may ask, why can I not take Phantom's form outside? Isn't he seen as a big hero these days?"

"Ghosts aren't as easy to fool as most of the people in the city, for one. As for the main reason, Danny got himself into some trouble, so he's currently suspended and grounded." Jazz explained.

Amorpho adjusted his glasses in surprise, then asked, "...We're talking about the same ghost kid, are we?"

Jazz then elaborated, "Danny's a good kid, but everybody has their breaking point. I guess he has reached his."

Amorpho nodded understanding, then asked "...So nobody in this town has connected the dots about Bobby being a halfa, huh?"

Jazz rolled her eyes, then said, "Nobody except the Ghost Getters, you guys, and the Fruitloop."

Amorpho scoffed and sarcastically asked, "...How hasn't he gone insane?"

Jazz paused, then asked "Do you mind answering a question of mine? Why hasn't anyone from the Ghost Zone outed Danny yet? Wouldn't that be a win for a majority of his rogues?"

"Well that's obvious, Jess," Said Amorpho as he elaborated further. "It's all about the challenge!"

"Challenge?"

"Think about it. Sure, we have turf wars in the Ghost Zone every now and then, but rarely are there conflicts that threaten our obsession. It's a boring meaningless existence. And then there's the ghost boy. Most spirit-folk relish the challenge Billy possesses because he's helping fuel their need to exist by standing against their desires." Amorpho brought up. "Nowadays, his menagerie of foes are eager to do battle with him. Why?"

"...Because he acts as their drive?" Jazz answered, not entirely certain.

"Exactly!" Amorpho confirmed. "Amity Park is his haunt and acts as the hero to these morons, and the spirits whom he battles play their part as his villains. Sure, they get beaten up and flushed back to the spirit world from time to time, but to fight another day almost completes them. If Billy were to get exposed to the world or captured by those Yahoos in White, they lose their challenge. Why spoil the fun in the game?"

'So the ghosts need Danny as much as Danny has to protect us from them.' Jazz mentally noted. 'That's definitely going to be added to my notes.'

Jazz sighed, then asked, "Never mind that, would you help or not?"

"Very well," The shapeshifting Spirit accepted. "I have nothing better to do. Besides, your family is interesting."

Jazz then extended her hand, saying, "Let's shake on it."

Amorpho accepted the deal by taking the seventeen-year-old girl's hand while morphing.

After changing to a perfect clone of Danny Fenton with red irises, Amorpho said, "A deal's a deal...Big Sis."

The ghost's human disguise had red irises before it changed to a light blue.

---

Downtown, Amity Park, IL Year 2015

The trio traveled through the deserted streets of Amity Park, with Future Valerie flying on her silver and chrome hoverboard while Dipper drove a 2000 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R with Danny sitting behind the driver.

Their destination, the source of the disturbance and the reason behind the alarm going off again. From a distance, a dark green tempestuous cloud loomed over the area while thunder boomed.

They stopped at the cusp of its epicenter, with Danny staring in awe and bewilderment.

'...Could I really become this powerful?' Danny wondered as he got off the motorcycle.

Then he noticed the sheer magnitude of the weather and spotted a flash of lighting streaking across the sky. That's when Danny's Ghost Sense went off.

"This isn't a normal storm, is it!?" Danny shouted.

"No! It's an ecto-storm, and a large one!" Future Valerie claimed, taking out multiple anti-ecto guns from her hoverboard and putting them in her holsters.

"Ecto-storm? He's got weather powers too!?" The bandaged teenager questioned.

"They're minor in nature!" Dipper shouted through the storm, taking out a plasma gun from his case and slinging it on his back. "If he's pulling this off, then he knows we're here and is making an entrance!"

Suddenly, Dipper pulled out an item from his coat and gave it to Danny. This happened to be a small orange egg-shaped device.

"Listen closely!" Dipper instructed loudly while shouting over the thunder. "I want you to put that in your belt!"

"Why!? What does this do!?" Danny queried.

"It's a grenade! But this one sends its target outside of space and time!" Dipper explained. "It's handy, but you'll have to use it wisely!"

"Why are you giving me this?" Asked Danny. "Shouldn't-"

"No time to explain everything! Listen, Grunkle Ford told me to leave it in the right hands! It was his last wish, so I trust you with it!" Future Mason shouted, staring into Danny's eyes. "You'll know what to do with it, when to do it and how, in time! Just hold on to it for me!"

Remembering how he entrusted the Time Medallion to Dipper, Danny returned the favor by holding on to the grenade while nodding to the man before pocketing the item.

"GUYS, UP THERE!" Future Valerie screamed, pointing heading.

Dipper and Danny looked toward the direction the Scarlet Huntress directed, spotting the dark clouds starting to swirl, creating a powerful wind current that started encompassing the district that they were in. In the epicenter of the storm, a figure descended within a thin tornado.

This figure whose eyes gleamed blood-red fired bolts of violet ectoplasmic energy at the trio. Surprisingly, the one who responded the fastest was Dipper, who quickly expanded the settings on his metallic belt, warping them away from the line of fire. This only left the beam to incinerate Dipper's motorcycle.

When they were warped in a "safer" location that happend to be an alley between two close buildings and in front of a parked minivan.

Danny looked at the man and shouted, "Thanks for the save!"

"Don't thank me just yet! He's just getting started!" Dipper shouted, gazing at the figure in the ecto-storm leering back at him.

The shadowy figure fired a few more beams of ectoplasmic energy around their location as an intimidation tactic. The explosions sent a shockwave that caused Danny to scream while holding onto the vehicle for stability.

Impatient and yearning to get back at the figure, Future Valerie shouted, "I'M GOING IN!"

"Valerie, no!" Danny shouted, trying to dissuade his friend to no avail.

Future Valerie, on her hoverboard, took off to do battle with the threat while dual wielding her anti-ecto guns. Unfortunately for her, she was knocked to the side by a moving shadow that detached itself from the enemy before it returned to the figure.

Another ecto-energy blast was fired by the shadowy figure, something that Dipper couldn't respond to in time. Thankfully, Danny did by creating a Ghost Shield with his own energy. Of course, the strength of the foe's beam far exceeded Danny's shield, shattering it instantly. This knocked. Dipper and Danny on their backs.

The figure decided to finish its entrance by destroying a building across the street from Danny and Future Mason. With a single blast, he toppled a building with ease, then descended upon the burning establishment.

When the two looked up, they saw a figure standing on top of the wreckage of a fallen building while it was set ablaze. The shadowy appearance of the foe disappeared gradually while the ecto-storm rapidly disappeared, but quickly enough for the monster wearing a man's face to be revealed. One that looked like an older tan-skinned Danny Phantom with red irises that was devilishly handsome, but inconspicuously harmless. A mockery of the hero that once was and a shell of his former self.

This was the Dark Phantom, taking a human-like form.

Out of reflex, Present Danny kneeled and transformed into Danny Phantom, watching his evil future counterpart floating toward their direction.

"Dipper," Greeted the Dark Phantom with a small yet malicious smile in a monotone voice, landing on the ground just five feet from the man. "It's been a while. Five years if I'm not mistaken."

With his left hand, the Dark Phantom channeled violet ectoplasmic energy to hold him and Danny Phantom and Dipper in place telekinetically. Danny tried to move, but his efforts proved pointless.

'I can't move!' Danny mentally grunted. 'This guy's power is like one hundred Vlads combined!'

"It hasn't been long enough, Dan," Dipper stoically answered, addressing the Dark Phantom directly.

The Dark Phantom scoffed, then said, "Danny Fenton died a long time ago. I'm just Phantom, all Phantom. I thought branding your forehead, wiping out your hometown and slaying the Northwest family would have convinced you of that fact by now."

Danny gasped, now having a dreadful confirmation of what his evil future self had done.

"All that did was prove my theory about your new obsession." Dipper spoke with a stoic tone. "Tormenting humans and Spirits."

The Dark Phantom chuckled and said, "I see that you haven't changed either."

The Wraith turned to his younger past self and asked with a smirk, "Interesting …To what do I owe to this little blast from the past?"

The tan-skinned disguised Spirit looked at the boy's neck and spotted the Time Medallion. This made the Wraith snarled.

Dark Phantom frowned, "...Clockwork! Meddling again…"

Before the Dark Phantom could say anything, he was blindsided by a magenta anti-ecto blast, sending the leather-jacket-wearing Wraith into a nearby building. This lack of concentration freed Present Phantom and Dipper from the telekinetic grasp of the Dark Phantom.

Getting out of the rubble, the Spirit that wore his hair like a mullet looked up and found Future Valerie flying toward him on her hoverboard, holding a bazooka.

She placed it back in the hoverboard, then pressed a button on her wristwatch to execute the Overclock attack. Once her suit began to glow, she jumped off her moving hoverboard and performed a flying kick with perfect form.

Dark Phantom blocked the attack which created a small shockwave while a crater formed beneath him, causing Future Valerie to backflip onto the ground.

The two began exchange blows, with Future Valerie's suit surging with anti-ectoplasmic energy as a product of using the Overclock feature. In spite of the power-up, taking the blows of the Dark Phantom made her bones rattle, feeling as if they could break at any moment. She took dark breaths while doing battle with her archenemy as pain in her body was apparent, but she couldn't falter for a moment. The Dark Phantom preyed on the weakness of his victims, and she couldn't afford to show such a thing.

He had done it to her before, and Future Valerie wouldn't let him do it again.

From Present Phantom's perspective, he noticed his evil future self enjoying that battle, having a twisted sense of amusement etched on his face. That's when it dawned on Danny.

Future Valerie could be killed at any moment of (Dark) Phantom's leisure and the Wraith knew that.

Dipper watched in frustration, saying, "He's toying with her!"

"I know!" Present Phantom growled, watching the battle. "Val is giving her all, but he's not even trying!"

"Why would he when he's in his Sealed State?" Dipper questioned.

"His what state?" Asked Present Phantom.

"The form that he's currently assumed. It's his Sealed State," Dipper explained. "He constructed that disguise to suppress his power and to conceal his true form according to Mr. Gray. He must have gotten bored after he dealt with all of the world's heavy hitters and the rest of the military."

This news made Danny Phantom's stomach churn. Somewhere in the darkest part of his mind wondered what his evil self's true form looked like and what he was truly capable of.

"You're boring me, Sparky." The Dark Phantom said, dodging a kick from Future Valerie before backing her away from him with his left hand.

She was sent seven feet away, only for Future Valerie to skillfully roll onto the ground and stop herself from skidding. She pressed another button on her watch, causing her Overclock feature to wear off while her hoverboard shot an anti-Ghost Stinger at the Dark Phantom from behind. This hit the Wraith, causing him to hiss in pain, but Future Valerie wasn't done as she fired a ray of anti-ectoplasmic ray from her wrist mounted anti-ecto gun, straight to the malicious Spirit's chest.

The injury and pain brought down on one knee as he groaned in agony. Future Valerie used this window of opportunity to take out her bazooka and approach the proper threat to finish him off once and for all.

Holding her Axion Lab brand bazooka to the Wraith, Future Valerie spat, "You've had this coming for a long time, ghost! Now it's all over for you!"

The (Dark) Phantom chuckled at her with his fangs pronounced as he heard her talk.

"What's so damn funny, freak!?" Future Valerie shouted.

"You're such a broken record," The Dark Phantom mocked. "It seems that you've forgotten who you're dealing with."

In a swift motion, the Dark Phantom summoned a strand of his Ghostly Teether out of ectoplasmic adhesive to snatch the bazooka out of Future Valerie's hands. Then, while holding the weapon, he easily dispatched the Scarlet Ghost Huntress by kicking her back several feet and stood up once more with a malicious smirk on his face.

"Allow me to remind you who I am!" Said the Dark Phantom in his Sealed State.

The Wraith summoned a black transformation ring around his waist, causing Present Phantom's lips to part. As the black rings split in two for the top and bottom halves of the Dark Phantom's body, he had shed his human-like Sealed State to unveil his true form.

Danny, with his eyes glued to his future self, witnessed a dark reflection of himself take form.

Before them was a tall and muscular version of Danny, roughly the size of Jack Fenton with a build more imposing than Vlad Plasmius. Speaking of which, like the crazed up Fruitloop, he bore pale blue skin similar to a corpse, eyes fully blood-red with a hint of black outlines that suggested his sclera changing color, and had retained his fangs but they were accompanied by a long forked tongue like a snake. Instead of his snow-white hair having fire-like qualities, his hair has been converted to burning hot white flames with a tint of light blue while some of it was made into a ponytail, and a matching goatee. His jumpsuit changed from a darker version of his man-made Fenton jumpsuit Jack made to a modified version of his current HAZMAT suit, albeit with flames emitting above the upper legs of his boots, his forearms, and highlighting his emblem on the chest. He now sported a cape that seemed to be a sentient shadow with a green eye on each side of the where it draped on the shoulder that expressed unbearable agony. Around his hips was a purple belt that held a few trinkets of some kind; one being a broken faceplate of a watch familiar to Danny, a folded black mask with red patterned lines on them, a golden broach with a red jewel on it, and what seemed to be black nails from at least two beasts of some kind.

This was the Dark Phantom, as the malevolent Wraith that he embodied.

Danny couldn't utter a single word, but his heart sank at the monster he had become. It was like he took on Vlad's apprenticeship and became the evil son that he always wanted, even going so far as to imitate his look.

The haunting Wraith took three steps toward Future Valerie, leaving behind burning light blue footprints on the ground.

"BACK AWAY!" The woman screamed, throwing anti-ecto grenades at him.

As a response, the older evil Phantom used his black shadowy cape and had it absorb the three projectiles before they detonated inside of the cape's apparent pocket dimension.

For some reason, as if it was sentient, Present Phantom swore he saw the cape squirm in pain. He didn't know why, but it seemed familiar to the ghost boy.

Danny Phantom regained focus on the fight as he watched his evil future self blur, reappearing in front of Future Valerie's face.

The Dark Phantom grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her up in the air while his blood red eyes peered into her teal eyes as if he could see her soul.

"VALERIE!" Present Phantom and Dipper screamed, worried about what the Wraith was going to do to her.

"I suppose out of respect for our past that I should let you live…but that's not how I work." The Dark Phantom said, slightly tilting his head to the side while Future Valerie desperately and failed to claw out of her enemy's grasp.

While savoring the sounds of her choking and gasping for air, the Wraith honestly stated, "For what it's worth, you were my favorite."

The Dark Phantom used his superior supernatural strength to chuck Future Valerie to the nearest building with the intent to kill her without a hitch. Dipper couldn't react in time, but Danny Phantom did.

He lept into and took flight so fast, he temporarily manifested his ghostly tail. The ghost kid managed to grab her midair and turn intangible to prevent her death on impact, going through three different buildings. Before hitting the ground, he used his body to break the Ghost Huntress' fall.

Despite the pain, Danny Phantom got up to check on his friend. When Future Valerie opened her eyes, she looked at him. She could tell from the worry in his eyes that this was the Danny Phantom she remembered. The one who she had made peace with and befriended.

'...I forgot how cute he was back then.' Thought Future Valerie, looking at his concerned expression.

"You're really from the past, are you?" Future Valerie questioned, fully convinced that it's her Danny.

'...She must have subconsciously thought I was an evil clone playing the long game.' Danny mentally assumed before answering.

"When we talked on top of the Anson Building, you mentioned about you wanting to tell Mr. Lancer to suck on a fat one." Present Phantom cheekily mentioned.

Future Valerie lightly giggled, and said, "Yep, you're Spooks alright."

The Scarlet Ghost Huntress then frowned and told, "You should go home. It's not safe in this world anymore."

"I can't do that, Valerie," Danny Phantom refused, shaking his head. "Not until I figure out exactly what happened here so I can stop this from happening."

Future Valerie groaned, "Y-You always were a stubborn boy..."

With that, the Ghost Huntress of the future passed out from exhaustion and injuries.

Danny checked her pulse and sighed in relief, saying, "Thank God, she's still alive."

He mentally promised, 'Sit tight, Val. I'll fix this for sure!'

-With Dipper and the Dark Phantom-

Meanwhile, the Dark Phantom turned around to find nobody. He knew this wasn't right, as he recalled Dipper was just in the area.

"Where is that little wretch?" The Dark Phantom, in his Wraith form, questioned aloud.

The Wraith then felt a sharp stinging sensation from his back as he was shot from behind again. Both the Dark Phantom and his sentient shadowy cape lightly his, but remain mostly unphased. He whipped around and found Dipper, standing in front of a truck while holding a plasma gun.

Dark Phantom scowled in aggravation, then asked, "Was that supposed to hurt me, Pines?"

Dipper dropped his gun on the floor, still in front of a truck with a stoic expression.

"Of course not," Dipper stated. "It was to get your attention."

Without wasting time, the Dark Phantom tried to fly toward Dipper and grab him by the throat, but failed as Dipper warped to a twenty feet behind the Wraith.

Dipper rubbed the front of his neck while exclaiming, "God, Dan. You're going for the throat that time. After everything we've been through?"

"You're stalling, Dipper." The Dark Phantom spoke, keeping a low tone despite projecting his voice for the young man to hear him.

The Dark Phantom tried again, steadily increasing his speed with the intent to murder his former friend, yet he failed again.

This time Dipper warped ten feet back, standing on top of an abandoned Toyota Camry.

"You know I haven't forgotten what you did to me that day," Dipper stated. "Not a day goes by where I want to find a way to destroy spirits. To destroy you. But the more I thought like that, the more I realized what you would want."

The Dark Phantom then tried to destroy Future Mason by hurling a ball of violet ectoplasmic flames at him. As a result, not only did Dipper warp away, he blew up the abandoned car, causing him to growl.

"Oh, so you think you have me all figured out, huh?" The Dark Phantom snarked. "You're not my sister, so stop talking to me like you're her!"

The Dark Phantom tried firing ectoplasmic lasers from his eyes when he spotted Dipper, but the Wraith ended up destroying an entire building instead of the desired target.

Dipper reappeared about ten feet away from the Wraith then said, "Fine, it's not like I'm here to do that. All I want from you is an answer to why."

"Why?"

"Why all of this needless destruction? Why the countless deaths? Why Dan?" Dipper questioned. "Why turn your back on the world after everything you've done to protect it?"

"...You still call me that?" The Dark Phantom snorted. "You're broken, Pines. I've done everything in my power to show you what I've become. I've seared my hatred into your flesh, made you watch as I snuffed the life out of your wife's eyes, and stripped you of everything you held dear."

Dipper listened on as the Dark Phantom continued, "You have nothing, yet you speak to me as if I'm some twisted human. Why do you refuse to see me for what I am now? Why won't you accept that Danny Fenton has died, and what's left of him has become a monster?"

"All Spirits exist with a motive," Dipper began before warping away from another attack from the Dark Phantom, appearing twelve feet behind him. "And since you came from Danny Fenton, even a murderous bastard like you has some sense."

Dipper warped out of an attack that would have pierced his heart.

"I am beyond human emotions. They serve no purpose for me." Claimed the Dark Phantom.

"So you claim," Dipper said, warping away once more, then appeared on top of the building. "If that's the case, why leave a handful of a species around that mistreated you when you lived as human!? That hates you as a Spirit!?"

Once again, the Wraith failed to burn the great nephew of Ford Pines alive, as he warped about a yard behind the Dark Phantom on the ground. This made the malicious Spirit snarl as he approached the brunette slowly.

Dipper dropped his stoic nature as a last ditch attempt to reach what was left of future Danny Fenton.

"I GET IT!" Dipper confessed loudly, causing the Dark Phantom to stop moving. "As screwed up as you are, I understand you! We both lost our families, our best friends! We believe that the world has failed us while everybody else has to move on with their lives without us, leaving us to wallow in our misery in the dark! Even today, the pain is still there!"

The Dark Phantom stood in place, mulling over Dipper's words.

"...Ten years isn't enough to completely lose one's humanity, whether they are living or dead." Stated Dipper with confidence. "Call yourself a monster all you want, but all that I can see is a heartbroken Danny Fenton, lashing out on everything and everyone."

Right when Dipper said that, Present Phantom phased from the ground, ready to attack his future self.

The Dark Phantom's hair violently burned bright red in anger, signaling his temper flaring when his Ghost Sense got off.

Calming down from Dipper's insolence, the Dark Phantom groaned, "Oh please…"

The two blasted each other, knocking each other down.

When Danny sat up, he turned to Future Mason with a concerned expression.

"Mason, run!" Danny Phantom shouted.

The Dark Phantom got up from the ground and smirked.

"Run?" The evil future Phantom repeated, "Where is he going to go?"

Turning to Dipper, the Dark Phantom took a deep breath and performed his signature finishing move. The red Ghostly Wail was so great, it shook the entire street. Present Phantom had to cover his ears due to being in close proximity to the attack.

The red ultrasonic scream flung Dipper back two yards before he crashed into the surface of a brick building, leaving a crack on the wall as the man slumped to the ground.

"NO!" Danny Phantom shouted, then tried flying toward his fallen friend. This was all for naught, as his evil future self took a hold of his left leg.

He used the Ghost Stinger to short out Present Phantom's powers, making him become human, then toss him to the car with the impact causing the vehicle to dent and shatter the windshield as the boy lay on his back.

Even while in agony, Danny got off the vehicle and limped over to see the dreaded fate of his old friend. Dipper, while laying limp against the wall of the brick building, had met his unfortunate end by the falling debris on him as a result of the Ghostly Wail's ultrasonic waves breaking some of the building down.

He was too late to save his friend, and so Danny Fenton watched one of his fears come true.

The man that helped him become a hero had died, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Danny collapsed on the ground, shouting, "MASON!"

The Dark Phantom Dipper's death, and shook his head out of amusement and faux pity.

'What a delusional fool.' The Wraith thought as he walked over to his grieving past self.

As the Dark Phantom approached Present Danny, uninterested in the boy's pain of loss, staring at the human that keeled over and pounded the ground.

The Dark Phantom mocked in a monotone manner, "How tragic. He died for nothing."

Danny suddenly screamed at him in anger, with his eyes glowing green.

"WHY!? WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?" Danny bellowed.

The Dark Phantom raised an eyebrow, unaffected by the outburst as he asked, "Why are you broken up about it? It's not your timeline."

"HE WAS MY FRIEND! OUR FRIEND!" Danny retorted, feeling his tears burn from the ectoplasm evaporating them while seething in righteous anger.

Sick of the boy's blubbering, Dark Phantom grabbed the younger Fenton by the collar of his shirt.

The Wraith coldly argued, "So what if he's gone. Pines' death isn't going to matter, and neither did anybody that we ever saved. Want to know why, kid? The truth is that everything that we have ever done for this town was pointless because in the end, we lose it all! That's why in the end, you'll end up becoming just like me!"

"No way! I'll never turn into you!" Danny shouted in defiance.

The Dark Phantom rolled his eyes when he spotted the Time Medallion on the boy's neck again.

Smirking, the Dark Phantom reassured his past self, "Oh, but you will see things my way. And we can't have you leaving this time period, can we? Not if you can't reach your Time Medallion."

With a devious smile, the Dark Phantom took the Time Medallion from Present Danny and phased it into Danny's body, making him unable to remove it.

With a frown, the Dark Phantom stated, "...In fact, you're not going anywhere at all."

The shock of the transplant was so great that Danny Fenton was rendered unconscious.

---

Study Room, Library, Casper High, Year 2005

Within the afternoon, ten years in the past, Valerie and Star met up at the reconstructed library during lunch.

"Here," Star said, pulling out a manuscript of the petition that was printed out onto the table.

Valerie took the printed out and stabled packet and looked at its contents. This included a copy of the text message Dash sent Star.

The African American girl whistled, saying, "I gotta say, you know your stuff."

"Thanks," Star Astray smirked, "I made two more copies just in case."

Valerie nodded and said, "Good, good. We should give Nathan a heads-up before school's over."

"Yeah. Like, by the time we get all those first-hand accounts and signatures, the school board won't know what hit them!" Star claimed with eagerness.

Valerie nodded absentmindedly while thinking, 'I hope that Jazz finds Danny and fast. I don't know how long Amity Park can stay peaceful without him.'

---

Nasty Burger, Amity Park, IL Year 2015

Danny felt numb when he woke up. He found himself in bindings made of ectoplasmic energy, floating in front of a large mural with the people who died ten years ago.

"...Wait, where's the Nasty Burger?" Asked Danny Fenton, only to be telekinetically turned around.

That's when found the establishment he spent most of his childhood hanging out at.

Walking from behind the building, the Dark Phantom, in his true form, approached his future self while tossing around a peculiar object.

The object seemed to be a white robotic head with dark empty eye sockets and blue two triangular attachments that were held down by bolts that resembled pigtails while accompanied with a tuft of blue model hair. While not entirely obvious, the head seemed to have a small unmoving mouth.

"Welcome," The Dark Phantom said, tossing the head in his hands. "This was the last sighting of our old lives."

Danny looked down and noticed that his Time Medallion was nowhere to be seen.

"The Time Medallion…!"

"Neat, right?" Commented the Wraith. "Infused it into your spectral form, making it unreachable for any Spirit or human. That makes you chrono-locked to this timeline."

"Why are you doing all of this?" Danny Fenton inquired.

The Dark Phantom threw the head away, then said, "I remembered their deaths like it was yesterday. I was running late for the CAT. That wench Spectra had a nasty temper and wanted revenge for foiling her plan during Freshman year's Spirit Week. I got carless during the fight, and stained the Scantron with my blood. That fat old man noticed, then decided to hold an intervention in the Nasty Burger of all places. Why? I don't know, he's retarded like that."

Evil or not, Danny suppressed the urge to laugh at the Dark Phantom's comment.

"By the time the intervention was held here, my parents and Jazz accompanied me. Tucker was discharged from hospital earlier that day, so Sam treated him. But little did any of us know, those pigeon shit stains in suits had sent a new toy out just for me."

"A toy?" Danny parroted.

"Yes. It was some kind of black and yellow experimental anti-ghost missile." The Wraith explained. "Its detonation next to the vat Nasty Sauce triggered a large explosion. We survived, obviously, and the rest was history."

Danny struggled in his bindings, then said "You know what? Even if I can't stop you, someone out in the world who's stronger and more experienced than me will."

The Dark Phantom laughed in his former younger self's face in a villainous manner.

"What's so fun?" Questioned Danny with a glare.

"Come now, Fenton. You can't believe that you're the only person to have played hero out in the world, do you?" Asked the Dark Phantom.

"What?" Danny uttered.

"Take a look at my belt."

Danny did so, then glanced at the trinkets that were on it. Some of the times looked familiar to him.

"These are little trophies of mine. I got more of them in my lair," The Dark Phantom revealed. "I won them throughout my rampage around the world. They are items that belonged to opponents that stood in my way. Some were harder to put down than others, but I made sure they each met a violent end."

Recognizing the faceplate of the Omnitrix, Danny gasped, "...Mr. Tennyson!"

"Ah, yes, the Super Soldier. He, the sorcerer, and his brother were mighty foes." Said the Wraith. "It made their crushing defeat all the sweeter. And wiping out the old man's family along with the witch's retreat were added fluff."

Danny's righteous anger reached its peak once more as his eyes glowed neon green.

"You're a monster!" Danny spat. "You're crazy if you think I'd let myself become like you!"

Dark Phantom, as a response, brought Danny's face close to his and grabbed his cheeks with one hand. He slowly began to leak his Madness to Danny, making it hard for his younger counterpart to breathe as panic filled his body.

While looking into Danny's eyes, the Dark Phantom asked, "Oh, and who'd stop me? I know you can feel this, my power. You've seen what I'm capable of. You stand no chance."

Danny couldn't look away and felt the overwhelming Madness his evil future self projected onto him. He was going to faint, but he could barely stay conscious as he heard the man belittle him.

"Face it, Fenton. You're nothing without me. Without the power I granted you. The power you rejected!" the Dark Phantom growled, letting his inner bitterness manifest, confusing Danny for a moment.

"W-What are you talking about?" Danny questioned.

Dark Phantom shook his head as he took his free hand to create a natural Ghost Portal with his power that alarmed Danny.

'...H-He can make ghost portals!? I can't do that!' Danny thought to himself.

Dark Phantom then declared, "When you decided to play the meaningless role of the hero, you were doomed to fail. All that awaits you is loneliness and pain. But I see that you haven't learned your lesson yet. So I'm going to teach you the hard way. I'm going to make you see by stripping you of everything you hold dear. Starting with the people you love."

Danny thrashed in his ectoplasmic restraints, vehemently rejecting the idea.

"NO! DON'T DO IT!" Danny shouted, desperately trying to break free. "PHANTOM, NO!"

Danny Fenton's words fell in deaf ears as he was thrown into the portal by his evil future before the Wraith closed it.

The Dark Phantom took out the Time Medallion he took from Dipper's corpse. He used his mid-morph ring to shape-shift into Present Danny.

Dark Phantom, now just Evil Danny, scowled and declared, "Now, to confront my past."

Using the Time Medallion, he warped to the present, leaving behind a broken future littered with death, fear, and misery.

To Be Continued…