1/27/25: Chapter 52! Moving right along. Sorry, this chapter is setting things up. Not terribly eventful.
The cover art has changed again. The picture is Danny, and it's exactly how I picture his face in this story, complete with scar. The scar is…slightly off from what I imagined, but getting AI to create the scar I want is seemingly impossible. Pretty sure I've done like 1,000 iterations and that's the closest it came. Still, it runs through his eye, which is what I wanted, it just should continue up straight.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
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Chapter 52: Respect is Earned
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Danny and Sam were sitting at a round table along with General Hammond, William Caulsy, and a few other Marine officers. They were waiting for everyone to get there before starting the sitrep.
The pair were talking amicably with the general, William sending them annoyed looks. He saw it as a lack of decorum. One simply did not speak to the general like he was a friend, even if Danny had saluted him.
The final people walked through the door and Sam was happily surprised to see Lt. Col. Sheppard. "Sheppard!" she said excitedly, waving him over to sit in the empty seat next to her.
John walked over with a smile. "Sam, it's good to see you again."
Danny was doing his best to not growl at the handsome newcomer his fiance seemed to know. Then he noticed his rank and stood, saluting the Lt. Col.
John returned the salute with a smile. "Captain Phantom, I take it?" he asked with his hand out.
Danny shook the man's hand, impressed with his grip. "That's me."
"Last I saw you, you didn't look so good."
Danny's brows furrowed in confusion before looking at Sam.
"He's the one who led the Marine's when we assaulted the mine," she explained.
Ah. So that's how she knew him. The ghost rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah. Thanks for that, by the way."
"You're welcome," John said with a smile as he took a seat next to Sam. "You must heal pretty quickly."
"Comes with being a ghost," Danny responded as he once again took his seat.
"Are all ghost's hands as cold as yours?" Sheppard asked. Danny might have been offended, but he could tell the man was genuinely curious.
"It depends on your core. Mine is a cold core. A friend of ours has a hot core. So does Sam, actually," he explained.
"What's a core?" John asked before realizing he might be getting ahead of himself. "I'm sorry for all the questions. I've always been curious about ghost's. It's pretty cool to find out they're real."
Danny was beginning to realize why Sam seemed comfortable with the man. He smiled gently. "It's rare that someone is actually excited that we exist, so no worries. Think of a core like a human heart."
John looked at the goth then. "Does that mean you have both since you're half ghost?"
She nodded, but before she could reply, William cleared his throat. "We don't have time for chitchat, people."
He received a few glares but ignored them. General Hammond stood then and went over to the screen, using a small remote to navigate through the screens.
"The state of Amity Park is grim, and getting grimmer by the day," he started. "The Hybrids have a tight grip and the skirmishes we've been in so far have been disasters. We aren't equipped to deal with a terrorist group that not only has military equipment, but also superpowers. That's where Captain Phantom and Ms. Manson come in."
The general continued, outlining a bleak view of life in the city. He spoke for nearly thirty minutes, each word like a knife in Danny's core. All those people…
Finally, he was done. "Any questions or comments before we get into planning our next move?" General Hammond asked.
Danny tentatively raised his hand. "I have a few, sir. If that's okay."
"Go ahead, son."
"My parents, the Fenton's, are paranormal inventors. I'm sure I could convince them to help design and produce equipment that would work on half ghost's," Danny said.
"I think we can draw up a contract if they are amenable to the idea," the general replied with a nod.
"There's a catch," Danny added quickly. "Whatever they produce is not to be given to the Guys in White," he said with a serious tone.
"Watch your tone when speaking to your superior officer, boy. And you don't get to make demands like that," William barked.
Danny, already anticipating the man would rile Shade up at some point during the meeting, placed his hand on her thigh and squeezed it lightly in warning when he saw the look in Sam's eyes change over to Shade.
"The Guys in White hunt ghosts and either kill them, or torture them with experimentation. I will not give them the means to more easily hunt me or my family, or the denisons of the Ghost Zone," the ghost said clearly.
Mr. Caulsy went to speak again but was cut off by General Hammond. "He's right, Congressman. The Guys in White are incompetent on a good day, we don't need them messing up missions. I also don't feel it's right to give them the means to effectively hunt the Captain, or his kind."
William looked like he wanted to argue further, but decided against it.
"Anything else?" the general asked kindly.
"Do you have a plan for evacuating the city? You didn't mention one if you do," Danny spoke up.
The older man sighed. "We've been working on one, but it is difficult. The half ghost's are cunning and often invisible. The last few attempts at evacuating even the outer parts of the city ended in a lot of dead civilians," he admitted. He didn't miss the stricken look on the ghost's face.
"What about an 'underground railroad' kind of thing?" Sam chimed in, tilting her head.
The general licked his lips as he thought about that one. "We did discuss something like that, but it really requires a dedicated team, and we don't really have the manpower for that."
"The entire US Marine Corp doesn't have the manpower?" she deadpanned.
"The President isn't willing to expend a ton of resources right now," William explained.
Danny leaned forward to really look at the congressman. "Innocent Americans are dying and he's not willing to expend resources?"
"You're lucky you're walking free, Mr. Phantom. You caused this and now the US Government has to step in to fix it."
Shade's eyes flashed, the temperature in the room sharply rising. Danny squeezed her leg harder, his fingers biting into her thigh enough to get his point across but not enough to truly hurt.
"Mr. Caulsy, if I have to keep asking you to leave the room, I'm going to send your ass back to Washington," the general warned. "Now get out of my briefing room."
The congressman glared at the general but stood and left without a word. Shade calmed down, the room cooling as she did so.
"Ms. Manson," The general said, wiping sweat from his brow and gaining the goth's attention. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"I'm sorry, General," she said. "I've never been very good at reigning in my temper."
"I can't say it's not warranted," he responded before taking a deep breath. "Now, his original point still stands: we don't have the resources to dedicate to something like that."
"I think we can help with that. We know people who would be willing to help," Danny said, looking serious.
General Hammond shook his head. "We can't ask more civilians for help in this matter."
There was a pause. "And if I happen to mention it and they just do it on their own?"
The older man sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do about that."
The ghost grinned, but then a thought occurred to him and he looked pensive. "When you say limited resources, that doesn't mean that the aircraft and supplies you have here are all you have, right?"
"Yes, this is all we were given. One Hercules, three Oprey, Two King Stallions, Two Venom choppers, five Vipers, two Harriers, about 150 men with equipment and enough vehicles to transport them."
Danny paled. "That's not enough."
This time, John responded. "Are you sure?"
"We don't even know their true numbers," Sam answered.
"Put their numbers aside and their military equipment alone will crush us. I don't know exactly how many they have and I never did learn who their supplier is, but they've got Blackhawks and Apaches, and a few different kinds of jets. I remember seeing some F-15's and a few F-35B Lightning II's." Danny remarked, gaze on Sheppard.
The general looked disturbed. "Apaches and Blackhawks are primarily used by the Army, and the F-15's and 35's are Air Force and Marines. I'd like to know how in the world they're getting their hands on these aircraft."
John drummed his fingers on the table. "Not to mention the F-15 is undefeated in combat with a 100% kill rate in dog fights."
"I may need to implore the President for more resources," the general agreed.
"I've already proven I can take out a Blackhawk at least," Sam said.
Danny raised a brow. "Yeah, but only after getting shot in the chest with the 50 cal and poked full of holes by the miniguns. And what about the Apache? It's far more advanced and maneuverable than the Blackhawk."
"He's right," John said, backing the ghost up. "Blackhawks can be used as attack helicopters, but the Apache is solely made for it. They carry far more weapons and pack a lot more firepower than a Blackhawk."
"You're pregnant, Ms. Manson, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be battling choppers and jets," General Hammond added.
"I'm sorry, she's what?" John asked incredulously.
The goth groaned at having to go through this again. "I already told you guys, where Danny goes, I go. That isn't changing."
"And you're okay with this?" Sheppard asked, eyes landing on Danny.
The ghost shrugged. "Of course not, but if you want to stop her, be my guest. Unless you physically tie her down, it's not happening. And Lord help you if she manages to escape."
"Back on topic, people," the general gently reminded them. "Lt. Col. Sheppard is leading the entire battalion we have stationed here. Captain Phantom, you'll have a few platoons of Marines under you. Each platoon will be led by a First Lieutenant who will answer to you. You'll answer to Lt. Col. Sheppard, and he'll answer to me. Got it?"
Danny nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Ms. Manson," the general continued, gaze going to the goth. "You are to support the Captain in any capacity he needs, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"We're still going over your first mission preparations. For now, Captain, you're to go meet the men and women who will be under your command and train them on how to fight against superhumans for the next two weeks. They're in the training yard at the center of the base."
"On it, sir," Danny said before standing, Sam following suit. He saluted the general and Sheppard while the goth gave them smiles before they exited the room.
"Nervous?" Sam asked as they walked.
His eyes flicked to her. "A bit. I was solo under the Headmaster, so I'm not used to leading anyone."
"You haven't always been solo," she commented. "You did a good job leading Tucker and I when ghost fighting before that. And, whether you believe it or not, you've taken command and control on numerous occasions since then."
He pulled his mouth in a gesture that meant he didn't quite agree. "Yeah, but it's not exactly the same as leading an entire platoon of men into battle."
"I suppose that's true," she conceded.
They made it to the door that led to the training yard at the center of the base. He opened the door, letting Sam through first and following. As they walked towards the yard, the wind picked up, sweeping Sam's hair back and billowing their trench coats.
Danny, not used to wearing a piece of clothing like it, still felt like it was weird to feel it hitting the back of his ankles.
As they approached the yard, two men came jogging up before stopping abruptly and saluting. "Captain Phantom, sir!" they said at the same time.
The ghost was not accustomed to this treatment and he fought hard not to blush. "At ease," he said in a way he hoped sounded like he knew what he was doing as he returned the gesture.
"I am First Lieutenant Ford," the dark-skinned man on the left said. He was a young man, of average height, short cropped hair and deep, dark brown eyes. He was wearing standard Marine woodland colored cammies.
"And I am First Lieutenant Lorne," the slightly shorter man said on the right. He was fair-skinned with a stocky build, dusty brown hair shaved close on the sides and longer on the top, and bright blue eyes. He was also wearing the standard issue cammies.
"Nice to meet both of you. This is Sam Manson," he said, introducing his fiance. She shook their hands as well before Danny continued.
"I assume you two will be the ones I'm commanding?" he asked, donning an authoritative tone. It did something to Sam's insides.
"Yes, sir," they replied at the same time.
"Can you introduce me to the men and women?" the ghost requested.
"Sir?" Lt. Lorne said with a puzzled look.
"I'd like to get to know the soldiers under my command," Danny explained.
"Right. Of course, sir," the young man said, stepping aside and indicating for Danny to follow.
Sam and Lt. Ford followed behind. She glanced at the young man. "Is his request really that unusual?" she asked.
The Lieutenant gave her a small smile. "A little, ma'am. Most Captains and higher ranking officers don't really care to learn the name of the enlisted soldiers unless they have to for some reason," he explained.
She made a face. "Well, that seems a little rude."
Ford shook his head. "I think it's more born out of necessity. There's just so many enlisted soldiers compared to officers that it's really hard to keep track of names."
They reached Lt. Lorne's platoon and he introduced the sergeants. "This is Sergeant Baker who is in charge of Squad A. This is Sergeant Russo who is in charge of Squad B, and this is Sergeant Ume who is in charge of Squad C," the lieutenant said, introducing each man as Danny reached out and shook their hands.
Ford then introduced the Sergeants under him, the ghost shaking the hands of two women and one man. There was a moment of silence after the introductions before Danny spoke.
"And the rest?" he asked with a raised brow.
"You want to know all their names, sir? That's 54 individuals, other than officers," Ford asked, unsure.
Danny nodded. "I want to know every name of every individual I am responsible for. Their lives are in my hands, the least I can do is know their names."
The large group of Marines looked around at each other, confused, but impressed. Lt. Ford and Lt. Lorne then painstakingly introduced each Marine under their command to Danny. The ghost shook the hand of each and every man and woman.
After that he let the squads go back to their PT and spoke with the sergeants about what they had heard about the state of the city. Not long passed before a bell rang and Danny glanced at Sam, confused.
"It's the lunch bell," Lt. Ford explained with a smile. "If you haven't eaten, I suggest you get some grub, sir."
The group of Marines filtered into the mess hall and lined up for food. Danny and Sam followed, joining the line at the end. They hadn't noticed the lieutenants go down a different hall. All the Marines turned and stared.
The ghost stiffened, unsure of what was going on. "Aren't you going to the wardroom, sir?" Private Cole asked.
Danny thought for a moment before he remembered the officers ate separately from enlisted personnel. He gave the private what he hoped wasn't a nervous smile. "No. I want to get to know as many of you as I can. I'll eat here."
This earned him more confused and surprised stares, but soon, everyone went back to their own conversations.
It took surprisingly less time to get through the line than the pair expected. They soon grabbed their trays and they were filled with what looked to be chicken patties, mashed potatoes, peas, grapes and water.
The ghost looked around before spotting two open seats amongst a table. When he and Sam sat down, the Marines around them quieted.
Danny looked between the men and women around him, noting they'd all averted their eyes. "Please continue," he requested.
A few conversations sprang back up after nervous glances. For now, the pair let them talk and simply kept to themselves.
"It doesn't look that exciting, but the mashed potatoes are pretty good," Sam commented before giving Danny her chicken patty.
He smiled his thanks, gave her his grapes, and started eating.
"It's not a meal fit for champions, but it fills the stomach."
The pair looked up to see a young Private First Class (PFC) giving them a small smile, her eyes a bright green. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight bun.
Danny smiled back at her and he could swear she blushed. "Where are you from, Beckett?" He asked suddenly before taking a bite of the chicken.
"Florida, sir," she responded shyly.
"And they sent you all the way to Minnesota?" Sam inquired curiously.
The PFC played with her food a little, fork shoving the peas around the tray. "I requested the assignment, actually. I have relatives in the city, ma'am."
"I'm sorry to hear that," the goth said sympathetically.
"How many of you have family in the city?" Danny asked then, his deep voice ringing out loud enough for both platoons to hear him. A small number of hands went up and the ghost counted six.
He looked around all the faces and realized they were so young. His gaze fell. "I'm sorry. You're all here because I failed to keep this town safe."
"If I may be so bold, sir, but you're one man. From what we've been briefed on, we're fighting superhumans. I'm not sure how one man could take it all on on his own," the man next to Danny said kindly. He was a Lance Corporal.
Danny regarded him for a moment. "Do you know who I am, Sohma?"
The young Asian man seemed taken aback by the question. "I know you're Danny Phantom, sir. But I didn't know who you were until I was briefed on this assignment. To be honest, I don't really believe in ghosts."
The young ghost flared his eyes a little so there was no mistaking their glow. Sohma's own eyes widened.
"You're really a ghost, sir?" Another man asked. He had black hair and a long face.
"I am," Danny answered. "And she's half ghost," he added, shoving his thumb at the goth.
She grinned, her own eyes flaring.
"Respectfully, sir, but why are you only a Captain?" Beckett asked, her cheeks pink from asking such a question of an officer.
"Only?" was Danny's response.
Beckett looked nervous and she hesitated. "You're free to speak your mind with me," he urged.
"Well, sir," she started, eyes darting away. "It's the white hair. You look like you'd have a higher rank."
Danny gave Sam a 'really?' look when the goth broke out in laughter. "How old do you think he is?" She asked when her giggles stopped.
"Uhh…" the poor private said, looking like a deer in headlights.
A man, Matthews, spoke up. "Logic would tell me that the rank of Captain would mean you are between the ages of say 27 and 33, but most people in that range do not have white hair. Though you look too young to have that much white hair. I would say you're in your forties and went grey early?" he answered.
"That's it, I'm dying my hair," Danny said with a grumble. Sam chuckled at him and shook her head.
The ghost set his fork down. "If you want to get technical, as a ghost, I'm just shy of a year old. Before that, I lived twenty one years as a human before I died. My hair is white because I'm a ghost."
That opened up a can of worms the pair was not expecting and they ended up answering a lot of questions by the time lunch was over.
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As they walked back to the training yard, the pair's enhanced hearing picked up the sound of giggling women. Women who quickly averted their eyes when Danny looked their way.
"Aww, you have fangirls. It's cute," his fiance said with a mocking grin.
Danny rolled his eyes at her antics. "Phantom has always had fangirls."
"Yeah, but you've never dressed like this before," she retorted, wagging her brows. She turned so she was facing him, but walking backwards in front of him. "It gives all the girls the tingles," she grinned again at his blush.
"Alright, Shade," he warned with a bit of mirth.
"Damn, you caught me," Shade replied, internally glad he wasn't upset it was her.
And he truly wasn't that upset. This side of Shade was okay. This side of Shade he could handle.
They made it out to the training yard and the squads all lined up. Now that lunch was over, Danny was to brief and help train them on combat against ghosts.
He stood in front of them, trench coat softly swaying in the wind, arms crossed, as the Marines stood at attention.
"Before we get into training I need to know your grit," he said, projecting his voice.
"Our grit, sir?" Sergeant Ume asked.
"Yeah," Danny responded with a nod. "Do you spook easily? Does the weird and unconventional send you running? When something unexpected happens, do you startle bad enough you can't fight?"
"With all due respect, sir, we're Marines. We don't get startled," Ume replied.
"Glad to hear it!" the ghost said with a smirk.
He looked around the training yard then, eyes scanning the area. "This should be plenty big enough. Shade?" He asked, glancing at her.
He saw the moment Shade took over again and grinned, giving her a slightly sinister look. Her form lit up, the brightness causing the Marines to squint.
After a moment, her form grew huge and, as the smoke dissipated, she slammed her paw down right in front of some of the sergeants and roared, long and loud, her head swinging over the heads of the Marines.
The vast majority of them ducked, several scrambling behind others as shouts of surprise filled the yard.
As the roar ended, she chirruped a few times, backing off and straightening her neck up before growling low and deep in her chest. The ground rumbled with her.
The Marines stood slowly, every one of them eyeing the dragon with either awe, distrust, fright, or a mixture of the three.
Danny chuckled. "The good news is: she's on our side. But this is the kind of stuff you're going to need to expect out there."
"A bunch of dragons?" A private blurted, receiving a chastising glare from his sergeant.
"It's alright, Sergeant McKay," the ghost said. "I don't mind free speech. But to answer your question, no, not necessarily. I'm not sure there's other half ghost dragons. But you'll need to be prepared for literally anything."
He looked over the Marines and noted all the nods as they got back in formation.
"That said, there's something you all are going to need to get used to if you're with us." He looked at Shade. "You ready?"
She pulled her scaled lips up in a toothy grin as her eyes flashed.
The ghost heard the tell tale whistle in her throat as violet light showed through her chest plates. The Marines suddenly looked nervous.
"Remember this sound. It's an extremely important precursor to our best firepower," he explained. "Oh, and I suggest you hit the deck," he added with a grin.
Having learned their lesson, most of the Marines managed to drop to the ground before the shot went off.
Sam pointed her muzzle skyward and released the fireball, the sonic boom rattling the buildings and aircraft and jarring the eardrums of more than one poor Marine. Those who hadn't been quick enough were swept off their feet and forcefully landed on the hard dirt.
The wind whipped Danny's hair and trench coat around, but he otherwise barely moved.
The fireball ascended faster than sound before exploding just beneath the cloud layer, the sound delayed from distance.
There were gasps of awe from the men and women. As they recovered, Danny personally went over to those who had been thrown and checked on them.
Once satisfied they were okay, everyone got back in formation before Danny took his place in front again. "Every time you hear that whistle, you need to brace yourself. Now, any questions?" He smiled kindly as many hands went up.
Shade released her grip and allowed Sam to take over. She remained in dragon form for now and simply relaxed on the ground, belly settling in the cool dirt. She watched for the next hour as Danny trained the Marines on the specifics of ghosts, getting the chance to show off his powers and how they may be used against the Marines in battle.
She was so very proud of him. He had been nervous coming into this and may always doubt himself as a leader, but she maintained the opinion that he was born for this.
Now she just needed to convince him of that.
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1/28/25: This one took two days, which surprised me because I really had no outline for this particular chapter. I just wanted to highlight what kind of leader Danny is and show him settling in well to his new role.
When I say Sam "chirruped" think of that weird barking sound the velociraptor's make in the Jurassic Park movies.
I'm thinking they might have their first mission in the next chapter.