Chapter Nine: Playing Hero

"People are not born heroes or villains; they're created by the people around them." - Chris Colfer

Vlad

It's been three days, and Daniel is still comatose.

The residents of Amity Park are scared, restless. Some fear the sudden spike in crime. Most are worried about ghost attacks. All are concerned about their beloved hero.

The people do love Danny Phantom. And, why wouldn't they? He keeps them safe and asks for nothing in return. When he isn't doing that, he is happy to chat with adults and play with children and support local businesses. He openly wept on camera when he learned that the townsfolk had been donating to a bank account he didn't know he had. Word spreading of his mental health issues only humanized him further. As did him having a son, a girlfriend, and at least one parent.

All in all, everyone wants him to be okay. Including me.

If what Mira and Danielle told me is true, then Daniel forgave me for my past deeds at some point. "Why would you tell them and not me?" I had demanded of Daniel's (lifeless) unconscious form after parting ways with Danielle. "I'm the one who needs to hear it!" Predictably, he didn't answer. "Why are teenagers so confusing?" I'd said through my tears. "What are you so confusing?"

I don't expect to receive answers today, but at least I am not here alone. At my side is spirit a bit shorter than me with light blue skin, close-cropped dark blue hair, and dark clothing accented by the hot pink feather boa around his neck. (No, I'm not kidding.) His name is Hutch Blairman, and though we have not been romantically involved for very long, we have known one another for well over twenty years.

We stand at Daniel's bedside and gaze down at the poor child, who looks so much older with dark stubble growing over his chin and around his mouth.

My arm is around Hutch who, ever the affectionate one, has both arms around my waist and his head on my chest. "This reminds me of when we had to put one of my dogs down," he says suddenly. "I was around Danny's age." Any time he refers to Daniel as something other than "Phantom" or "Cereal Boy" is noteworthy. "His name was Jenkins, and he was a pure-bred Pomeranian. That dog hated everyone, but he loved me and the other dogs as much as I loved him." Hutch looks up at me with sad neon-yellow eyes. "Is that a weird thing to remember right now?"

I hold him a little tighter. "No. No, it isn't. Every time I see Daniel like this, I recall my first go around with ecto-acne. At least he is allowed visitors, and we both know he has a lot of them. His immediate family is here every day like me. As well as Mira, Tucker, and Samantha."

"Okay, I know who Mira is, but who are Tucker and Samantha?"

"His best friends," I reply. "I believe Daniel's ghost family is here all the time as well, though the baby is debatable. I think he knows what happened, but I imagine he doesn't really understand it. As for everyone else, they come whenever they can. There is a lot of love in this room."

"Yeah," Hutch agrees, looking around.

The moment we walked in, we saw how much the room had changed overnight. Once devoid of anything that wasn't geared toward keeping Daniel alive, this room now has ice sculptures of varying shapes and sizes lining the walls. "Tributes," one of the doctors had called them. He didn't need to tell us they were from the denizens of the Far Frozen. The sole tribute that is not made of ice is a plush yellow mouse positioned in the crux of Daniel's arm. I wonder where that came from.

Daniel may not be conscious, but I hope some part of him knows how loved he is. I'm glad he isn't suffering alone like I did.

The door opens slowly, tentatively. Hutch and I turn toward it, expecting a doctor. Instead, a tiny light gray child floats into the room, his white spectral tail fluttering beneath him. It's always jarring to see ghost children wandering about without supervision, particularly one as young as Daniel's imprint, but that's simply the way among ghostkind.

"Hello," Bub whispers. "Are you my Daddy's friends?"

Ah, yes. We never have been formally introduced, have we? "You must be Bub," I say, blatantly dodging the question I don't know how to answer. "I'm-"

Bub puts his finger over his lips and shushes me. He points to his imprinted father and reveals the reason he's whispering. "Daddy is sleeping. Why is no one getting this?"

Hutch and I glance at each other, sharing an unspoken message: I won't tell him if you won't.

"Sorry," Hutch whispers to the toddler. "I'm Hutch, and this is Vlad."

"Nice to meet you," Bub replies. He floats up to Daniel and asks quietly, "How's he doing, Mouse?"

It takes a moment to realize that he is speaking to…to the stuffed mouse. Oh dear. That's where it came from.

Whatever Bub pretends to hear satisfies him. He gives the toy two tiny thumbs-up. "Okay. Keep up the good work."

Bub starts to fly out of the room, and I stop him by whispering, "Don't you want to visit with your father?"

Bub looks at me like I asked if this realm's atmosphere is green. "Daddy's sleeping. Grandper," I have no idea who that is, "says that he won't wake up until he's better." Bub points to the stuffed animal. "That's what Mouse is for. Daddy gave him to me, and I like to take naps with him. I thought Mouse would help Daddy sleep too."

Oh, to be so young and innocent!

Bub bids us goodbye and very carefully closes the door behind him with a parting wave to his father. Or, maybe Mouse.

My heart hurts worse every time I come in here.

There's a quiet sniffle, and Hutch tries to subtly dab at his eyes. Though since he's using his feather boa, he isn't being particularly subtle. "Perhaps I'll take my leave," he says. "Let you have your time with Danny."

He stands on tiptoes to kiss my cheek then walks out. My core cries out at each step he takes.

I take Daniel's hand and give it a squeeze. "I'll see you tomorrow, little badger," I say before going after Hutch.

I find him standing in the hallway with one hand on his hip and the other massaging his forehead. He looks up at my approach then turns away, oddly ashamed.

"You didn't have to leave," he pleads.

"I had to make sure you were alright," I say, wrapping my arm over his shoulders. "Besides, Daniel has a romantic partner as well, don't forget. He probably would have pushed me out the door if he could."

Hutch almost smiles and leans into my touch. "I don't know. Just…seeing that sweet little boy, it…it hit something."

I hum in understanding. When Hutch was alive, he was set to marry a woman he thought he had gotten pregnant. He called the whole thing off when he discovered that the child she'd been carrying wasn't his.

My next thought spears a spike of anxiety through me. I keep that thought to myself until we leave the medical ward. A duo of yetis pass by, sending suspicious glances at me, and enter the cave, perhaps to visit with their "Great One." Hutch and I propel ourselves into the viscous atmosphere, and I work up the nerve to give my mind a voice.

"Hutch…do you want kids?"

Hutch looks at me in surprise before he recalls what happened in Daniel's room. "I wouldn't mind. Obviously, I don't expect one of us to magically develop a womb, but an imprint would be nice."

"I'm sterile," I say before I lose my nerve. "It's something I discovered recently and then had a few experts verify. As it turns out, halfas cannot bear or, in my case, sire children until their human-halves die. I realize that has no effect on us, but I wanted to get it out in the open."

Relief floods me when Hutch shows no judgement. "Good to know. Though, like you said," he adds with a chuckle, "it doesn't affect us."

We fly in companionable silence until we reach my Ghost Portal and pass through it, landing in my lab.

I switch back to human-form and check the clock. "When do you need to be at school, again?"

"Not until classes let out," Hutch says.

Through a combination of overshadowing and persuasion (mostly overshadowing), Hutch secured a position as the director of the Casper High fall play. When I asked him why he did this when his Obsession is movies, not plays, his response was, "Don't you know a play is just a movie that happens live? Plus, this lets me get closer to Cereal Boy. He's rejected all my attempts to make him a movie star, so I thought perhaps live theater was more his speed." Considering that Daniel spit in Hutch's coffee when offered the lead role, I think Hutch's theory was incorrect.

"How's Amity Park been?" Hutch asks.

"As well as you think," I say, suddenly exhausted. "Three houses were broken into last night. As was the bank the night before. With Danny Phantom out of the picture, criminals are taking advantage. It's only been three days, yet the police already have their hands full."

"I saw Jack and Maddie duking it out with a ghoul yesterday." Ghouls are ghosts that formed in the Ghost Zone but are lacking in sentience, specifically thoughts more complex than attack. "Looked like a two-headed horse that dragged itself out of a vat of acid." He shudders at the memory. "Not an attractive creature."

"Yes, everyone's concerned about the ghost situation as well." I throw my hands in the air. "And, of course, they look to the guy in charge for answers. Remind me not to run for re-election."

Hutch cringes sympathetically. "I hadn't realized how much people counted on Phantom."

I grunt and shake my head. "You really have no idea. The boy once told me that he would give everything for that town, and I believe it."

Which means he'll be terribly upset when he wakes up and learns of the town's situation-

"That's it," I say as the plan takes shape in my mind. "I must call a press conference immediately!"

"What? Why?" Hutch calls as I bolt to the nearest phone.

Sam

School is worse than I expected, and that's saying a lot.

For one thing, Phantom's coma is all anyone is talking about. Any time class isn't in session, students and faculty alike are speculating on what happened and when he'll be back and if he'll be back. It's driving me nuts!

I will admit, however, that I feel especially bad for Eileen, Dash, and Paulina. (Still not a fan of the latter two, but they have gotten less obnoxious since learning Danny's secret.) Everyone knows Eileen is Phantom's mother, and Dash and Paulina have been publicly friends with Phantom since that whole movie fiasco last year, so those three have been getting all sorts of questions. We foresaw this, so the team talked it over and came to a decision. Since we couldn't agree on how much to reveal, no one would reveal anything. We would all play equal amounts of dumb on the subject.

That doesn't stop students, at the very least, from assuming that "Ms. Mae" knows something by virtue of being Phantom's mom. I know this because of the typed up note taped to her classroom door.

Please do not ask me about Danny Phantom. Anyone who does so will have Saturday detention. This is not a threat. It's a promise.

When I walked into her fourth period class, I asked if she was even allowed to do that. Her whispered response: "There might have been some Compulsion involved." In other words, Eileen brainwashed the principal. After seeing her hand a detention slip to a brave soul who asked about Phantom, I decided not to question her further.

Speaking of Eileen, her duplicate is the other fun thing that happened today and will continue happening for the foreseeable future. Eileen had one of her duplicates shapeshift into Danny Fenton and go about Danny's school day. I had completely forgotten about that plan until I saw "Danny Fenton" at his locker. I had been about to run up to him, but Tucker put his hand on my shoulder and mouthed the word duplicate. The fake Danny in question closed Danny's locker, saw us looking, and scurried away with its head down. I'm not usually a crier, but I was damn close then.

And, to add insult to injury, Team Phantom is down another player. Valerie's dad caught her literally red-handed when he saw put her Red Huntress gear on to help Mr. and Mrs. Fenton fight that freaky horse thing yesterday. Apparently, Valerie had told him that she gave the suit to the Fentons, who handed it off to one of their ghost hunter friends, so naturally Mr. Gray wasn't too happy. Not only did he make her actually hand it off to the Fentons, but he grounded her for a month under very strict orders to only go to school and work until the month was up. And, there would be further consequences if he so much as suspected that she was fighting ghosts.

To summarize, I hate school more than usual.

That being said, Tucker sent out a mass text during sixth period that is either a silver lining or the straw that will break the camel's back: Meet me behind the school after the final bell. I got something big!

Valerie replied with: Good big or bad big?

Tucker: Inconclusive.

So now, he, Eileen, Valerie, Dash, Paulina, and I are cramped together next to the dumpsters behind the school while Tucker pulls up something on his PDA.

"Vlad held a press conference during sixth period," he explains. "You're not gonna believe-"

"You were on your PDA during class?" Eileen asks accusingly.

Tucker glares at her and whines, "It was a study hall. Ugh. Just watch the clip!"

He fiddles with his PDA until he finds the clip he's looking for. It features Vlad Masters standing at a podium with a solemn frown.

"We are all worried about Danny Phantom. But, we are also concerned about this town's safety. While there is nothing we can do to aid in Phantom's recovery, I believe I have a solution to the other problem plaguing us. I enlisted the help of Vlad Plasmius - better known as 'the Wisconsin Ghost' - in keeping Amity Park safe until Phantom is well enough to do it himself."

"Is he serious?" Valerie exclaims. The rest of us are stunned silent.

Not the audience in the video, though. They got riled up the moment Plasmius was mentioned. Vlad raises his hands, signaling for quiet, and waits until the noise dies down to continue. "I know you don't have the best opinion of Plasmius, and I understand why." The admission holds a sadness that he couldn't quite cover up in time. His gaze turns severe once more. "But, for those who haven't heard, he and Phantom have denounced their animosity. And, I can say with utmost certainty that Vlad Plasmius is a changed man. I will now invite him to tell you himself."

Now Vlad Plasmius - whether he's a duplicate or the real Vlad, I can't say - phases through the door of the Town Hall. The audience is eerily quiet, at least from what I can hear, as Masters stands aside and lets Plasmius take the podium.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And, I must say, you are a vision in that new blazer!"

Masters tugs boastfully on said navy blue blazer and gives Plasmius a side-grin. "Careful, handsome. My boyfriend might get jealous."

Gag.

Once Plasmius is done flirting with himself, the camera zooms in on him as he speaks to the audience. "I'm not expecting to be welcomed with open arms. But, I will do my best to keep Amity Park safe in Phantom's stead. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I will be happy to answer them."

The reporters in the audience take that as their cue. The first one asks, "Mr. Plasmius, what brought on this change of heart?"

That's something we've all been wondering, but Danny has been tight-lipped on the subject. "Sorry, guys," he said when we asked, "but until I have Vlad's permission to say, that storybook is closed."

When Danny keeps a secret, nothing in the world can make him reveal it. It's usually a good thing, but…

Plasmius folds his hands on the podium. "I'm afraid that is between Phantom and myself. All I will tell you is that I owe Danny Phantom a great debt, and I intend to pay in full."

A great debt? What is he talking about? The only thing I can think of is helping Vlad with his fixation. But, that can't be it. We all knew about that, so Danny would have said if that was all it took for Vlad to change his evil ways. There has to be more to the story.

Plasmius calls on another reporter, who asks, "Is there any word on when Phantom will recover?"

Plasmius's serious expression wavers. "I'm afraid not. We can only hope he will awaken sooner rather than later."

The next person asks, "Do you know what caused Phantom's condition?"

Our group collectively holds their breath as Plasmius pauses, probably deciding how much to reveal. Ultimately, he does what we opted not to do, and I'm not sure how to feel about that. "I do. The cause of Phantom's comatose state was his own Healing Touch. The short version is that a ghost he holds dear was suffering from a severe chronic illness - for lack of a better human term - that no one in five thousand years was able to cure. I wasn't there, so I don't know all the details, but Phantom found a means of boosting the power of and his endurance with the Healing Touch. It worked, and this ghost was cured of their ailment…but Phantom paid the price."

The crowd is silent as they digest that. Then Plasmius calls on someone else. That person asks the real question. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"You don't," Plasmius says simply. "But, I plan to change that."

The clip ends there. "What do you guys think?" Tucker asks us.

"I don't know," I say honestly. "Danny trusts Vlad now, and he wouldn't do that for no reason. Still…it's Vlad."

"Why does Danny trust him now, anyway?" Dash asks.

Eileen taps her chin. "Vlad did say he feels indebted to Danny. Maybe it has something to do with that."

"Does anyone know what that is?" Paulina asks. No one has an answer.

Valerie blows out a reluctant breath. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe we should give Vlad a chance." When we all gawk at her and wonder if she has a fever, she holds up her hands. "I know. I know. I'm the last person who should be saying that. But, let's be real here. I don't have my gear anymore, and I can't fight ghosts at all with my dad breathing down my neck over it. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are, frankly, not that great. Sam, Tucker, you guys and Jazz are the only other Team Phantom members with any experience ghost fighting, but even you can only do so much. Face it. Danny does, like, ninety percent of all ghost fighting, and he handles the human criminals too. And, fires and car wrecks and things like that? He's got that covered. The cops and the firemen do good work, but Danny gets it done like that." She snaps her fingers. "Much as it pains me to admit it, we need someone as skilled and powerful as Plasmius to keep the peace while Danny's gone. What else are we supposed to do? Call the Guys in White?"

I don't like this, but she has a point.

Jack

My son has been in a coma for a week now, and a lot's happened since we first heard the bad news.

Maddie's been making a real, honest effort toward the acceptance of ghosts as people. When the Box Ghost came by looking for information on Danny, Maddie was the one who went outside to talk to him. She also joined Eileen in teaching Amelia - a Civil War ghost Danny and I befriended in Gettysburg - about the modern world. And, Maddie went to the Ghost Zone to do it! And, when Mira invited her to eat at her lair/diner, Maddie agreed! Hesitantly, but she still agreed! I don't think she ate much, but I'm proud of her for trying so hard.

On a side note, SANTA IS REAL!

We human Team Phantom members have been visiting Danny every day if we can. Dash has football practice. Paulina and Valerie have jobs, and the latter is grounded and can't risk leaving the human realm. But, we Fentons and Sam and Tucker - who are honorary Fentons - are always there.

One of the doctors - I think her name was Permafrost - said I could shave Danny's face when needed. The sight of him with all that stubble reminded me of when I taught him how to shave. He and I were all set up in the bathroom, and I gave his dark peach fuzz another look.

"You know, you look pretty good with facial hair," I told him. I lightly elbowed him with a smirk. "I bet Sam would like that rugged look you've got going on."

He blushed - he'd just started dating Sam at the time - but shook his head. "Not worth it. Hand me the razor."

I teared up a little while I shaved him, but I knew he wouldn't want to wake up with a beard. One time, he kept a goatee for a few days before shaving it off. I heard him telling Jazz, "It's itchy, and I look like a less fruit-loopy Vlad!" I didn't know what the Vlad part meant at the time.

Speaking of our visits, Tucker's made progress on his latrophobia, as I'm told it's called. He mostly hovers by the door in Danny's patient room, but he hasn't walked out in fear since that first day. I'm proud of him, too. We all are!

But, it's safe to say that the person who's changed most is Vlad. He's the other person I'm proud of! He made good on his promise to keep the peace in Danny's stead. The initial crime sprees have stopped, and I do see him flying around on patrol on occasion.

Of course, Vlad does things differently than Danny. Mainly in how he deals with the aftermath of attacks. After saving the day, Vlad simply leaves the scene. That's fine, except that Danny always, always makes sure that everyone is okay afterwards. If they aren't, Danny does whatever he can to help them, even if it's just offering a hug and a shoulder to cry on. Not Vlad; he lets people fend for themselves. Which, again, is perfectly fine…but there's a reason Danny Phantom is so well-liked and so heavily missed.

I contemplate this as I watch Vlad's current fight from my living room window. The opponent is a giant butterfly-like ghost that appears every now and then. Vlad grabs it by the antennae and throws it on to the road. The ghoul crushes the asphalt on impact - driving is going to be a pain until that's fixed - and Vlad sucks it into his borrowed Fenton Thermos. He then flies off without a word, considering his job done.

From the glares aimed in his direction, it's clear that the people whose cars have been crushed and whose skin has been cut and bruised disagree.

I shake my head as an ambulance rolls in. Vlad is doing a good job with the immediate threats, but he isn't Danny.

No one can replace Danny.