Disclaimer: Don't own Danny Phantom or anything to do with DC and the bats

So, 8 out of 10 time, Damian in my fics is unredeemable. Very rarely I have him be okay, like how he gets better in For Sale. This one is a good Damian fic.

I don't know what's up with this new trend of PMing to offering artwork for fanfics but please, stop. It's annoying and silly.

Prologue

He made his way down the alley, following the trail of green. It was hard, being so quiet, but this was his chance! But as he moved, he found the trail shifting colour a bit, red mixed in with the green? Was there an injured human as well? Finally, he had the ghost boy cornered and damaged enough to hopefully catch. And there he was! Trying to act human as it curled up against the wall, hands pressed against its side where ectoplasm was leaking steadily. Its head was against the wall, slumped to the side, eyelids fluttering as if struggling to remain conscious. It coughed, more ectoplasm drippling past pale lips. If it was human, it'd have internal damage and bleeding then, but it wasn't. But…where was the red coming from? It was mixed in with the green, making more a brownish colour.

He moved in, but Phantom showed no signs of realising he was there. Jack took his time to study the ghost boy, it was so much more human looking than most, more detailed. They had theories on why, the best was that the boy was a newer ghost than the rest. The way it interacted with the kids at Danny's school and spoke seemed to back that up, the fact it was often found at the school too. But it couldn't be the ghost of a local child, no one had died at the school in a long time.

So close, he could see the smattering of freckles across its face, the individual eyelashes…it was so human looking. And then those toxic green eyes opened, staring right at him, but they weren't really focused, half looking through him as Phantom whimpered in fake pain. He raised his ectoblaster and Phantom stared at him, eyes widening, hands weakly coming up defensively.

"No…please Dad…don't…please," he gasped out brokenly. "S'me…"

Jack hesitated, Phantom didn't seem to be seeing him and there was something about it that just…felt real. The way he was pleading, ghost or not, evil or not, it was a child…that other ghosts even called it…him one. Begging his dad…he felt his heart sink. Had Phantom been killed…by his own dad? He felt sick, the thought of something like that happening to Danny…

He looked down at the blaster in his hand and then up at the ghost…the boy. He holstered it and then moved closer to Phantom who just whimpered and begged his dad to not hurt him. It was far too easy to pry a skinny arm off the wound and…those were bones…organs… and the ectoplasm was brownish which probably wasn't good. He took a deep breath and then scooped the glowing child up into his arms, running back to the GAV. He lay the kid out in back and then raced home, hoping the kids were still out and glad Maddie was away at that conference.

He pulled into the drive and picked the very light weight form up, carrying him down to the lab to lie on the table. He grabbed the medical equipment but he wasn't sure what would work on a ghost. And Maddie was definitely the more knowledgeable about the more medically based sciences. If Phantom was human, he'd need to stop the bleeding, to close the wound so he'd start with that. He got out the antiseptic to clean the wound, Phantom whimpering softly before going quiet, eyes closed.

He threaded the needle and went to work trying to seal the wound. It was insane but well, if they were going to learn then better Phantom was in one piece to start…right? Glassy green eyes fluttered open as he worked and he paused in case he lashed out. The restraints were there, ready to activate, but for some reason he was reluctant to, the longer he looked, the more…familiar those features were.

"Da…ad?" Phantom slurred. And then he began to panic, babbling incomprehensibly, trying to weakly get away.

"Phantom lie still, you'll pull your stitches."

Thin arms lifted, reaching out to him, and he tensed, but then the ghost whimpered and he realised…but…a hug? Why would a ghost be asking for a hug? "Da…h'rts."

And Jack found himself reacting to the plea before he could think twice, leaning in so the ghost boys' arms were over his shoulders, gently lifting him into a hug.

"Dad pl'se…s'me…not ev'l…" Phantom went limp again, and Jack realised his heart was racing. No…it was impossible…wasn't it?

He settled the ghost boy down gently. Then he grabbed his phone and called his son only to hear it ringing…from the table. Did the jumpsuit…no…hazmat suit…and it did have pockets. He found it and pulled out Danny's phone, mind racing. How did Phantom have his son's phone? It couldn't be…it wasn't possible…was it?

He took a pale face in his hand, studying it closely and there…just at his hairline, a familiar scar. Danny had fallen of the swing when he was seven and cut his face, had needed stitches…but how? He had seen Danny just that morning, he had been alive…hadn't he? He shook off the thoughts, he needed to ensure Phantom would recover…Danny?

He checked him over and he seemed paler somehow. He got a container of ectoplasm and then looked around, setting up an IV. Okay, he just had to get it into him, did he have veins? With how detailed and human like he was, there probably were. So just find a vein and put the needle in, how hard could it be? It took a few tries but he was pretty sure he managed to get it in the right place.

He checked the ghost boy over, covering a few more injuries, splinting a seemingly broken bone. Jack then went upstairs and grabbed a pillow and blanket, taking them downstairs to make Phantom comfortable and hopefully keep him from panicking when he woke. He had questions and he needed answers. It couldn't be overshadowing since that was like possession, it would be Danny's human looking body with Phantom controlling him. some ghosts could look human but not for long. And Phantom had been around for three years now…there was no way he could have faked that. So how?

He sat at the computer, bringing up files…photos. Going back to before the portal opened and then after, seeing as Danny changed, he'd become withdrawn, skittish, showing up with injuries all the time… what had they missed?

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There was something cold and hard under him, except his head. What had happened? Where had he been… a fight? Da…Jack, Jack had been there. The GIW…Box Ghost? He forced his eyes open and froze in terror, the lab…no, please no. He shifted, surprised to find he wasn't restrained and…there was a pillow? Blanket?

He glanced to the side, finding the heavy IV tubing glowing green…ectoplasm? And then he saw him, sitting at the table with papers spread out, Dad. Except he was Jack right now. He went to move, feeling the pull in his side. He carefully lifted the blanket to see stitches in his side. Had…had Jack stitched him up? Why?

"You're awake," Jack called, moving towards him, and Danny tensed. Jack raised his hands, showing they were empty.

"What's going on?" he asked warily, carefully and slowly pushing himself into a sitting position.

And then Jack held out his phone, no…Danny's phone.

"This was in your pocket," he said, and Danny tensed.

How the hell could he explain that? Had someone called him? It was stupid to carry it as Phantom but it was the only phone he had.

"You have a scar…" Dad looked so tense, torn… "Danny?" he asked, and Danny paled, feeling sick. "Are you my son…are you Danny?" he asked.

Danny opened his mouth, terrified, trying to say something, anything. "I…I…Dad," he choked, cold tears falling from his eyes.

A warm hand brushed his tears away, Dad staring at him. "How? How can you be my son?"

Danny had dreamed of and dreaded this moment since the accident. He took a deep breath and triggered his transformation, feeling the extra pain as he returned to human, his Dad catching him as he wavered. "The portal…you guys put the on switch inside it."

His Dad went white. "You…you were inside?" he stammered, and Danny nodded.

"The electricity killed me…and the ectoplasm brought me back. I'm a halfa, half human and half ghost, stuck between life and death."

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Jack felt sick. They'd…they'd killed their son. Their life's work had… that much electricity… he must have been in utter agony. He wrapped his arms around his son, hugging him tight, feeling Danny cling to him. How many times had they attacked their own son? No wonder he'd pulled away over the years, he'd had to sit at the table with them as they threatened to rip him apart molecule by molecule.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Danny."

"I wanted to tell you…but I was scared."

"It's our fault," Jack assured him. "You are our son Danny, no matter what. And Phantom…all the times you've helped and we just wouldn't listen. I want to hear everything, all the good and bad. I want to know you, Danny, both sides of you."

He felt Danny shaking in his arms, tears soaking into his hazmat suit. How close had they come to killing him over the years? If he had died as Phantom, what would have happened to him? Would he become a full ghost? Cease to exist?

How was he meant to explain this to Maddy? Would she understand?

"Dad?" Jazz called, frozen on the stairs as she stared at them. "Danny?" she asked in alarm.

"It's okay," Danny answered, a shaky smile on his face even as he reached an arm out to her. "Dad knows."

"Dad?" She stared at him and Jack nodded.

"It's okay Jazz."

She rushed to them, joining the hug. They were the Fenton's; they would deal with this. Everything would be fine now. They would explain to Maddie and then they would work to re-learn their kids trust. The house defences would need a serious overhaul, it should have been done years ago when the weapons started targeting Danny. Did he even feel safe in his own home?

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Maddie stared from her husband to her children, something had happened while she was gone, but what? They all looked alright, just very serious. Even Jack and that was concerning. He was always so light-hearted, even when hunting ghosts.

"Maddie, take a seat, we've got a lot to talk about," he told her.

She felt the comforting weight of the lipstick laser in her pocket, eyeing them all. Danny was shifting nervously, Jazz holding his hand comfortingly. Oh, was he finally going to come out to them? Surely, he knew they wouldn't be mad, no matter who he liked. She relaxed and sat down. Obviously, Danny was very nervous and so Jack was being serious to show to him that they would take his words seriously and accept him for who he was.

"Alright," she smiled at her son, "I'm listening sweety."

"Mom…" Danny took a deep breath, looking from Jazz to Jack for support. "I'm Phantom."

Her mind went blank, body acting on autopilot.

TBC…