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charlietheepicwriter7 · 11 days

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V The Mysterious Wayne Family

Dick Grayson V Gotham - Chapter 2

“Why can’t I sit in the front seat?” Danny demanded to know, crossing his arms from the back of Dick’s car.

Dick sighed, peering back at him with the rearview mirror. He’d been shaky as they escaped the apartment without getting attacked by the media. Did the idiot get sick? Was the media in this dimension such a big threat?

Truthfully, Danny didn’t know a lot about this dimension, despite having lived in it for around a year. That year was spent almost entirely homeless, spending only the last few weeks with Dick. Otherwise, he was sleeping where he could, spending his days in libraries and conning people out of cash as a child medium.

…Well, calling it “conning” was a bit of an overstatement. He did get people in contact with dead relatives and the like. He just… didn’t always quote them exactly, especially when it meant he could get enough money to eat for the day.

“It’s unsafe, Danny, you know that.”

Danny glared at him from his booster seat, which put him perfectly at eye level so he could lock eyes with Dick with the rear-view mirror. He hated this whole situation: the booster seat, his age, needing to rely on an adult, the stupid media, the stupid police, the stupid Dick… Okay, he kinda liked the booster seat. It was based off of some hero—Superbman—who was an alien? But looked like a human?

That may be one of the biggest differences between this dimension and his hom–the dimension he was born in. Danny had been one of the only heroes back there, along with Valerie and Dani, if you could even call them heroes. In this dimension? There were hundreds. There were space aliens to normal people in costumes to other humans with powers, and while not all of them were heroes, a lot of them were.

And Danny hated how easy they had it.

Every day back in Amity Park was a fight for acceptance, a battle to convince people that yes, he was a ghost with good intentions, only for that trust to be lost the moment he wasn’t fast enough to stop a ghost from hurting someone, or got thrown through a wall trying to protect people. It was constantly one step forward and one step back, and nothing Sam or Tucker or Jazz said ever truly made him okay with it.

Despite everything, he hoped Amity Park was doing alright without him. He couldn’t go back—wouldn’t go back, even if he had an open portal and his powers, not after what happened—but hopefully they were doing okay.

He hoped his rogues had listened and stayed away from the Fenton portal. For their own safety.

Like every time he thought of his pa–the Fentons, the scars across his chest flared up. They might have been long-healed, but the pain always lingered, a sharp lance that lingered in the thin skin of his wound. Fiddling around in his pocket, Danny found his juul and puffed. Exhaling, a bubble gum smoke filled the cabin as the CBD started to work its way into his blood.

Dick coughed. “You know you won’t be able to do that in the manor, right?”

Danny grumbled, rolling down the window a crack.

“I’m serious, Danny. I know you need it, but the rules are different at the manor. You’ll need to go outside to smoke.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll smoke outside. Wouldn’t want your gramps to get bent out of shape.”

He laughed. “I think Alfred would be alright, once we explain your medical issues. It’s Bruce we’ll have to worry about. He’s got this thing about drugs… once he learns what’s in your juul, he do whatever it takes to get you off it. He won’t even listen if we tell him about your chronic pain, he’ll just think you’re lying!” Dick threw his hand up in the air. “Honestly, it’s just lecture after lecture with him.”

“He can suck a cock then!”

Dick laughed, all traces of anger gone as his bright eyes glanced at him through the mirror. “Say that to his face, and you get ice cream for a week.”

“Done!”

The illusive Bruce Wayne. Danny had heard the name from the TV that morning, and apparently he was Dick’s dad. Not that Dick ever mentioned him in the months they knew each other. Not that this Bruce guy ever visited on the occasions Dick managed to convince him to stay the night, nor in the weeks after his foster placement was finalized. Danny didn’t even know Dick had a dad until this morning, so clearly something was going on here.

If he focused on this case—the mystery behind the estrangement of Dick and Bruce—then he’d finally be able to get his mind off Mrs. Bennett’s case. The Shade had approached him early that morning, flickering in the moonlight, barely visible and just formed. Her case was so easy too; her killer was her son-in-law, she’d been awake when he killed her and he’d definitely left behind evidence too, but there was no telling if the other detectives at Bludhaven PD would find it. Or would care enough to find it.

Corrupt bastards.

Speaking of which—”Are we actually going to be able to consult on cases while we’re in Gotham, or was that just something you said to make me feel better?”

“I believe I said case, as in the singular one with Mrs. Bennett. But yes, I’ve already arranged it with the Commissioner.”

“But she works for the Damir family! We can’t trust her.”

“We can’t trust her when it comes to cases related to the Damir family,” Dick corrected. “Other than that, she’s decent at her job.”

“That’s not a compliment.”

“She’s better than the other officers in our department?” he tried again.

“Also not a compliment. I’ve met dead guys that are better cops.”

They bantered back and forth, but the closer they got to Gotham, the tenser Dick became. Dick wasn’t the type to get serious out of nowhere—the only times Danny could remember were when a case involved a gang or that one terrible time when some ugly-ass assassin with a stupid-ass name came to town—but whatever was waiting for them… must be bad. Right?

Gotham, Danny noticed as they drove through town, looked better than Bludhaven, like how rats look better than turds. Danny had heard the rumors about Gotham, mostly about all the dangerous villains, but there was clearly some money going into infrastructure. Beautiful gothic buildings dripping with gargoyles towered overhead, and there weren’t nearly as many boarded up shops and potholes.

It wouldn’t have been a bad place to set up shop if it weren’t for all the Shades around.

The ghost population of this dimension mostly comprised of Shades with the occasional Poltergeists and Wraiths. Ectoplasm wasn’t as accessible here; just traveling to this dimension had stripped Danny of almost all the ectoplasm in his body and he still hadn’t recovered, so his powers barely worked. But Shades were shadows of humans when they were alive, weak and incorporeal unless you were a ghost too, barely kept together with their obsession.

Bludhaven had a lot of Shades. That’s why Danny settled down there when he first arrived. He wanted to help people move on if he could, either by solving their murder or contacting their loved ones.

If Bludhaven had a lot of Shades, Gotham had a colossal number.

Shades clogged the walkways and the streets, dissipating when someone or something went through them and reforming in an instant. Some alleys were plugged with them and some alleys were empty. Danny watched with wide eyes. Ghosts were supposed to be rare. He’d thought ghosts were rare. But Gotham was plagued with violent crime… violent, unique, indescribable crime, worse in intensity from Bludhaven, but not quite there in frequency. There were women with their faces melted off, men ripped in half down the center, children blown to bits, creeping around the streets of Gotham.

Danny sunk down in his booster seat. “I want to go home,” he admitted quietly.

Dick sighed. “I know, kiddo. I want to go home too.”

He blinked away stubborn tears. Dick didn’t understand. This wasn’t Danny’s home, this dimension wasn’t Danny’s home, Dick wasn’t Danny’s home (as much as Danny appreciated Dick, he wanted his family, but they hated him, they attacked him, they—)

Dick continued talking. “But you know what? Everything’s going to be okay. Because my grandfather is going to love you. And Bruce— He’s a little rough around the edges and we might not get along right now, but he’s going to love you too.” Dick sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Danny. “Tim’s going to adore you; he’s told me that he’s always wanted a younger sibling and I can’t blame him; his house looks so lonely and his parents were always gone. He’s staying with Bruce now as a foster since his dad’s in a coma, but he’s been family long before that…”

He listened to Dick continue to ramble about his family. Bruce was rarely touched upon in his stories, but Alfred was spoken of with unmistakable love (Danny never knew his grandparents, Mom and Dad were disowned years before he was born, he could probably guess why), and he clearly adored Tim (He could understand that, Danny loved Jazz with his entire soul, but what would it have been like if he had a younger sibling? Would his relationship with Dani have turned into this if they could’ve spent time together?). Dick continued with stories about his best friend and ex-girlfriend, Barabra (Sam and Tuck, Tuck and Sam, his friends were dead and it's his fault—), and even a few including Tim’s ex-girlfriend too.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think.

Before long, the car slowed to a stop. Ahead of them was a grand manor, the kind shown in those regency tv shows that Jazz loved watching, with obsessively maintained gardens and beautiful, clean exterior. A stone staircase led up to larger-than-life wooden doors; Danny couldn’t identify what kind of wood, but it was probably something expensive and old. Mahogany? That sounded like an expensive wood.

Dick put the car in park before turning around in his seat to look at Danny. “Alright, buddy. Are you ready to meet our family?”

“Your family,” Danny corrected mulishly, unbuckling his seat belt.

“Our family,” Dick said again, smiling. “They’re good people, and they’re going to be here for you.”

“Sure.” Sliding out of his seat and out of the car, Danny stayed slightly behind Dick as they walked up the steps and to the front door. Before Dick could knock or find the doorbell, the doors opened to reveal an old stereotypical butler. He even had a British accent! “Master Grayson,” he addressed Dick coolly, but when he looked at Danny, his expression softened. “And Young Master Daniel. It is good to finally meet you, and welcome to Wayne Manor. I am the family butler, Alfred Pennyworth.”

Danny ducked away. “Danny’s fine,” came his muttered response.

Alfred smiled. “Young Master Danny, then. Come along; Master Bruce is waiting for you both in the foyer.”

Dick grimaced. Did that mean something bad? What was a foyer, a fancy word for office? Was Dick going to get scolded?

They followed Alfred into the house (although, calling it a house felt like an understatement). It was even fancier inside, with marble floors and a glistening chandelier overhead. Danny felt significantly out of place in his jeans and ratty coat he’d pulled out of the trash.

There was a man pacing in the room (was this the foyer?). He was dressed in a fancy suit and built like a brick house, but looked similar enough to Dick in a weird funhouse-mirror way. The moment he saw them, his face smoothed into a banal smile and Danny immediately didn’t like him. “Dick! You’re home.” Striding up to them, the man immediately hugged Dick, who stiffly returned it. “Welcome back, chum. And who’s this?”

Dick’s smile was strained. “This is my foster son, Danny. Danny, this is Bruce; I was his ward until I turned 18.” Ouch. Not even a foster son, but a ward? That sounded like a significant step down from fostering. Danny glared at Bruce, who seemed taken aback by his hostility. Dick laughed nervously. “Sorry about him, he’s shy.” Now Danny glared at Dick.

Bruce’s smiled evened out as he crouched down, like that would hide his fucking massive body. “It’s nice to meet you, Danny,” he said. “I’m very happy you're here. Hopefully it’ll be a lot more peaceful now that you’re staying with us.”

Danny scowled. “Suck a cock, douchebag.”

Bruce’s smile dropped as Dick smothered a laugh. “Watch your mouth,” Dick scolded without any heat behind it. Danny smirked.

“It’s okay, Dick,” Bruce said, straightening up. “I’m sure Danny’s just shaken up from the sudden change. I’m feel the same, since you didn’t tell any of your friends or family that you were taking in a child.”

“Oh, so you can adopt a child without telling anyone, but when I do it—”

Alfred stepped in. “If you both could contain yourselves a minute longer, I can get the Young Masters settled in. I’ve already arranged a room for you in the family ward, Young Master Danny, if you’d like to rest? It is still rather early in the morning.”

“It might be better to give him a tour of the manor before anything else,” Dick said, eyeing Danny warrily.

“I’m not going to get lost.”

“Mhmm.” Dick didn’t believe him.

“I’m not!”

“Just like how you didn’t get lost at the precinct? Or at the morgue? Or at—”

“I never got lost on the streets!” Danny thought that was rather impressive. Besides, it’s not his fault the morgue was just empty hallways that all looked the same!

“The streets are labeled. Besides, you’ll never know where the in-house theater is without a tour.” Dick winked, like that was a big selling point.

Bruce interrupted them. “Why don't you give him a tour after we talk, Dick? It’s been a long time since we last spoke and I was hoping to ask you about your… recent life change.”

Dick pinched the bridge of nose. “Of course you want to start the interrogation right away,” he muttered, eyebrows furrowed. “Alright, but I don’t want Danny to hear this. Alfie, could you– Tim!” Following Dick’s glance, Danny found a teenager in his fancy pajamas standing on the stairs leading to the second floor. The teen, who looked enough like Dick to be his brother and Bruce’s son, rubbed his eyes like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Tim can take you on the tour! Come on, Danny.”

Dick ushered Danny up the stairs to Tim. “Will you be okay without me?” Danny asked, not wanting to leave Dick alone with Bruce.

He got a bright smile in return. Danny didn’t trust it. “Of course I will, kiddo. Don’t worry about me, just focus on having fun with Timmy.”

Tim looked blearily between them. “What is going on?”

“You’re taking Danny on a tour so he doesn’t hear me and Bruce fight,” Dick told him plainly. “Danny, this is my brother and Bruce’s foster son, Tim. Tim, this is my foster son, Danny. You two have fun!”

Ignoring Tim’s protests that he hadn’t had breakfast yet, Dick pushed them up the stairs and into the immediate hallway, closing the door behind him. They stared at each other for a moment before Danny pressed his ear against the crack in the door. “When did Dick get a kid?” Tim asked.

“Like, three weeks ago, keep up.” Tim tried to say something again, but Danny shushed him. After a moment, Tim joined him in eavesdropping by the door.

Dick spoke. “I’ll start. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you both I was fostering a kid. I was planning to inform you after the two month mark and Danny had settled in a bit more, but obviously that plan is out the window.”

“I accept your apology, Master Dick,” Alfred said, and there was a sigh of relief. “However, I would still like to know how this happened in the first place.”

“I’m more interested in knowing how you managed to foster him without us being interviewed as character references.”

“...I may have used my boss’ influence to make sure that only my co-workers were interviewed?” Dick admitted.

“Master Richard.”

“I’m sorry, Alfie, but he’s a flight risk! Do you know how many times I managed to get him to come home with me only for him to disappear in the middle of the night!? Fourteen times! Danny’s admitted that he ran away from his previous home, he still hasn’t told me his real last name, and he’s paranoid enough to give Bruce a run for his money! I’ve just barely managed to gain his trust. I didn’t need Bruce being Bruce to ruin it for us—”

“If you had asked me to stay away, I would have—”

“No you wouldn’t, Bruce! You’d pick and prod and try to uncover his every little secret because you don’t trust me to figure it out myself! If Danny had suspected that someone was looking into his past, he would have bolted, B. And I would have lost him forever.”

Danny nodded. He would have. Not that Bruce would have found anything about his past–the perks of getting stuck in an alternate dimension–but some rich asshole poking his nose in his business? Danny would have snuck onto the next bus out of the city.

“You can barely take care of yourself, Dick!” Bruce insisted. “If it was such a dire situation, then you could have contacted me and I would have–”

“–Lost him immediately because he has a strange hatred for billionaires?” Dick scoffed. “He wouldn’t let you get within six feet of him if you tried to take custody.”

“I–”

“He bites too.”

“Dick–”

“Hard.”

“Richard–”

“And it’s pretty bold of you to say I can’t take care of myself. Have you looked in the mirror recently? Because the word hypocrite is written across your forehead in crayon.”

“But I’m not the one who struggles to make rent each month.” Danny flinched. He’d known that Dick didn’t get paid that much, but was it really that bad? Didn’t Dick get a pay increase when he was made detective? Or was Danny taking so much money that it negated the pay increase— “Nevertheless, I’m not trying to take custody away from you, Dick. I’m just… trying to figure out how we got to this point.”

“We got to this point by not trusting each other,” Dick said tiredly. “And I still don’t trust you, not after what you did.”

Dick, I–”

“No, Bruce. This is my life. Besides you were only a few years older than me when my parents died and you decided to raise me on your own. It’s hypocritical for you to complain that I’m doing the same. Look, I’ve known Danny for over a year–”

“You mean you’ve hid this from me for over a year?”

“Bruce–”

“I knew I should have been suspicious when you got that foster license. You’ve been planning this for months–”

“Bruce!” Dick snapped, and Danny had never heard Dick that mad before, not even the first time they met. “Obviously I’ve been planning this for months! I’ve been planning this since the first week I met Danny! The only reason I got that damn license was for him!” He felt… warm. Danny knew that foster licenses were hard to get, but Dick had really wanted him since the week they met. Danny had been so… feral back then, he couldn’t imagine anyone wanting him, not even Jazz. Dick continued, voice barely audible through the door. “He’s a good kid. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

A sigh. “I just… don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret, that’s all.”

“Are you saying you regret adopting me?” The angry voice was back. “Adopting Jason?”

“That’s not what I meant—!”

Tim pulled him away from the door. “We shouldn’t be listening to this. Come on, let’s start that tour you need.”

Danny tried to pull away, but Tim was deceptively strong for his thin frame. Despite his struggles, he was halfway down the hall before he knew it. “Let me go, cocksleeve!”

“You don’t need to hear that,” Tim said. “Trust me, things always get… heated between them, when Jason is brought up. That’s not something you need to witness.”

Jason, huh? That must be the linchpin in this entire investigation. Dick had never mentioned a Jason before, but he was clearly important if the entire family got bent out of shape for him. Did Dick cut contact with Bruce because of this Jason? Did Jason force Dick to do it? Dick would never abandon his family like that, Danny knew this had to be true because of his determination in trying to take Danny home, but if he was forced to stay away… Maybe Jason is an associate of Bruce that Dick hates?

Danny finally managed to jerk his arm away. His entire hand ached. “You don’t have to drag me!”

Shock crossed Tim’s face, like he’d finally realized what he was doing, before it fell. “I’m sorry, Danny. I shouldn’t have pulled you. It’s just… Jason isn’t something you should hear about, at your age. I would appreciate it if you didn’t bring him up, especially around Bruce. Okay?”

Studying the boy, Danny agreed. Sounds like Jason’s some sort of criminal contact, so it was best to behave carefully. Danny kicked at the ground, scraping dirt off onto the carpet that ran in the center of the hall. “So, what do you guys do for fun around here?” He asked. “I don’t need a tour, I’m not a baby.”

Tim rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I just spent the night in the library, working on a case? If you want to lend a hand with that?”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “I thought you just woke up?”

“...Just because I was in the library doesn’t mean I was awake the entire time.”

Ah, a fellow insomniac. His eyes narrowed further. “I only like interesting cases. What kind are we talking about? Fraud? Robbery? Some dinky school kid project?”

“Multiple homicides. If that’s interesting enough for you?”

“...Carry on.”

A/N: Anyway, I’m using @/jedipirateking’s age chart for the ages of Batman characters. Since we’re right before Under the Red Hood, that makes Dick 24. Danny is roughly a year younger than Damian, but was originally 17 before he was deaged.

Dick: Yes, this is my feral street child. Danny: *foaming at the mouth, swearing*

Tim, internally: Oh! Dick must have already informed Danny about our identities! They work on cases together too, maybe we can work on one to bond? Danny, internally: Wow, rich people have weird ass hobbies

Danny: *so close, yet so far from figuring out the Jason thing* Red Hood: Did someone just walk over my fucking grave again?

Yes, some things are being kept vague on purpose. That’s for a better reveal in the future.

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#dp x dc #dc x dp #dcxdp #dpxdc #constantine jr au #c: danny fenton #c: nightwing #c: tim drake #c: alfred pennyworth #c: bruce wayne #c: jason todd #fictag dgvg

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theglamorousferal · 2 months

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Liminal Amity Park

Danny is being crowned Ghost King soon. The entire town, as they are protected members of his Haunt, is invited. Danny has told his parents about him being Phantom, they set up a press conference for Phantom to tell the town they were invited.

This is an Amity that has come to terms with the fact the dead float along the streets. An Amity that realized around the time the town was pulled into another dimension that their lives were never going to be normal again. The Fenton's build a portal large enough for a tractor trailer to drive through in the center of the city that lets out in a newly formed town in what previously was the wasteland in front of Pariah's Keep. It's the new capital of the Ghost Zone and Phantom's Keep.

The newly formed ghost town and Amity essentially evolve together until they're essentially the same town but half of it is in another dimension. The human residents start to notice they're a bit more durable. Their eyes glow and teeth sharpen when angry. The realize they're ecto-contaminated.

So, to keep it from happening elsewhere, the Fenton's put a giant shield that filters out ectoplasm so it doesn't contaminate the air, water or ground outside of the bubble. They have a giant wall built around the city and distribution centers set up just outside of town so shipments can still be received so they don't run out of supplies.

There are shops in the newly dubbed Ghastburg that sell things thought lost to time. Dishes that people have only ever read about are available at little mom and pop shops run by ghosts whose obsession is cooking. Ghosts whose obsessions were collecting rare plants had seeds that they now could grow in Amity because the Ghost Zone didn't have proper sunlight. Fiber arts and blacksmithing techniques that died out now have new people learning them. A ghost with a similar obsession to Skulker but instead basically ran a zoo now has people they can infodump on about the rare or extinct species they have collected throughout the centuries.

Just, humans and ghosts thriving together and building a community and accepting that they are just a bit different and that's okay.

#danny phantom #fanfic #dp #liminal amity park #amity parkers

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elithemiar-blog · 2 years

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Danny outlived his family, Vlad, and even Dani. In the effort to prevent himself from following the previous timeline of falling down a dark path. He travels, going all over the world to help people.

Since his time travel shenanigans, he is a legend to ancient civilizations and even a myth to others.

Stories change over time and can eventually die. As more heroes come to light, who grew up on hearing the legend of Phantom, Danny is having a hard time of staying, as many civilizations call him, a myth.

He retires, believing that the world is now in safe hands, and he can return to living life as a human.

Secrets kept him safe, and even as the Justice League forms, he still believes that it's safer for him and other residents of the afterlife to stay secret.

He still does small things that keeps his protection obsession at bay. Keeping the temperature low when it comes to blazing fires, slipping stolen items in open areas where they can be found, even dropping some information that's just subtle enough for some investigators.

Even with the years going by, he feels off. Contained, pressured, this overwhelming feeling of not belonging. He's still human, well, half in his case. Truly half. His ghost side keeps him alive, simple as that.

His parents initial design of the proto portal had been modified and perfected. Working off his own ecto-energy that allows it to work. Allowing him to escape into the ghost zone whenever he's been human for just a smidge too long.

He's always gotta flip between the two.

Recently he's noticed, that whenever that feeling of not belonging appears he turns to the ghosts to calm down.

A Christmas truce one year, has Ember telling him that she herself gets like that sometimes. Socializing helps reign in that feeling.

Turning to Frostbite for more answers, he finds out that because of his halfa status he needs double the socialization. Some in his human form and in his ghost form.

During the spring, being reminded by the deaths of his family, he begins tracking down Jazz's descendants. Maybe he can be the family friend or even an uncle.

Starting to travel again, staying hidden in his Phantom form, he tracks his distant family down. It takes a few months, but he finds them.

The Wayne children reminds him of his friends and family. He can see each of their antics in them and can even sense the death. It's like he came home.

One or more of the Wayne children are descendants from Amity Parkers. Like maybe one is related to Paulina while another is related to Sam. Maybe three of the adopted children are the descendants of Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

A bubbling feeling overwhelms him, and he has to leave, taking the moment to just breath in the city of Gotham.

These people are not his friends and family. This is not Amity Park.

Still, he looks back to the manor, and begins to look over the Wayne family.

Finding out that they are vigilantes was a moment of frustration but also pride. It ran in the family, in more ways than one, but they are helping those, protecting those that can't help themselves.

He keeps a closer eye on them. Particularly on Jason as the ecto-contamination is particularly high, he gets the barest sense from some of the others, but Jason's is on another level.

With Danny being in the living realm, his normal Rouge Gallery that had gotten to know the young kid start to grow concerned as he hadn't returned for his normal "session" of socializing.

They track him down and finding him in Gotham is when one of the vigilantes get the chance to see Phantom and whoever he's talking with.

Then things snowball, researching what can be found.

Danny is fairly concerned that they're searching him out but can't blame them.

At some point, Pariah Dark is unsealed from the Sarcophagus. By a particular strong dark magic user that wants to kill him and absorb the life force of the Dark King.

Because the story of Phantom is ancient, there's not many resources nor knowledge of the reign of Pariah. Nor of GZ/IR ghosts in general. Rumors here and there but nothing substantial.

For some reason the ritual summoning works, and Pariah is unsealed. The ghosts flee to whatever portal is available, and suddenly the existence of ghosts is very real.

Then the JL get involved. Danny has to rise up as Phantom to figure out why they left the GZ/IR. Putting himself on the Batclan's radar which leads to many misunderstandings as he defends the ghosts from the vigilantes.

The batclan(s) that are descendants from the original Amity Parkers who grew up hearing stories of the famous hero of Amity, Phantom, is/are the one(s) that find him and calmly discuss the situation.

Through Batman, who is entirely on Phantom's side after getting all the information he can, go to JL to explain everything.

Some of the JL, like Diana, are shocked to find that Phantom is no myth. Others a skeptical, but with one call to JL Dark has them retrieving all information from all sides.

Danny has to enter the zone, carefully, to figure out the status. He finds the sarcophagus destroyed; the spell used leaves no way for Pariah to be placed down calmly.

Returning with no good news, it's one of the magic users that say that he just needs to end him permanently.

Danny doesn't take too kindly to that and is obviously unnerved.

Batman calms him down.

Perhaps time stops and Clockwork explains.

The Infinite realms needs a king to stay stable and prevent the two worlds from leaking into each other. While Pariah was sealed, he still held the title as king. Only a Champion, chosen by the Realms itself can end the dark king for good. Just more cryptic.

Time returns to normal with one question answered but many more follow. Danny relays the answers he got, which those that don't know of him are not trusting him. Still Batman and Diana defend him.

Due to the threat of a skeleton army, Danny takes his parents blueprints and starts to produce weapons that the JL and YJ can use. They're on a time limit.

Batman can tell that he's overwhelmed and takes him back to the cave to calm him down. The rest of the Batclan show to give him support, some family bonding happens.

Jason is in the cave when Danny finds out that he's the Champion, some of his titles from previous allies come crashing back. Danny has to be the one to end Pariah's existence. One panic attack later about the thought of taking a life, though not a true "living" life, he still believes that it'll take him down the dark path.

Carefully, and slowly, he explains this alternate timeline and what happened to Jason, who had been the one to calm him down. Jason absolutely tells him what he needs to hear, it helps but there's still that anxiety.

One nasty fight later, Danny ends Pariah and gains the new title of King. He does not want it, but reluctantly accepts it.

He now has allies all over that will be happy to help and a new kingdom he still doesn't want to rule over.

Danny and the Batclan return to the manor and relax, they deserve it.

Finally, they get the full story on why he was in Gotham, why he didn't reach out to the league sooner, and he shares stories about their ancestors.

---

Finally caught up on all the prompts, this shall be the last one...for now. There are a few on my FF profile from my Arrow phase, might do them too. Might also look into more of the magic and mystic stuff of DC to see if there’s a way to connect back to DP.

I need to get back and work on Superphantom series LOGA.

Three original stories that are potential books.

The POTC Fic of OC Raven (HC Jack has a daughter) that ran off into an unknown plot.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #last daily post #finally #a new take on the ghost king title #I can do plots and prompts #can't write them #when i don't know them very well #prefer writing original stories

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aikoiya · 2 years

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DPxDC AU - A Bird in Amity

DPxDC AU (can be Phantom Twin AU or not) where when Jason was thrown into the pit, shenanigans happened & instead of surfacing in Nanda Parbat, he found himself coming out of the Lazarus Pit hidden in Amity Park. It can be found in Silent Hill Park, at the bottom of Cauldron Lake.

He surfaces & is found by the Fenton family, who take him in & even get him into Casper. (Lancer is his favorite teacher. Loves that he swears in book titles.) This is at the beginning of the DP timeline, so not much has happened yet.

He rapidly realizes that the Fenton parents are actually pretty negligent despite their obvious love for their children & this begins to instill in him a latent desire to care for others that he may or may not have inherited from Bruce & would've ordinarily been resistant to. Specifically towards the younger members of the Phantom Team & especially Danny (& Dina).

At first, he's wary of everything, but eventually he comes around. Danny (& Dina) weird him out though in the beginning & the feeling is mutual. They can just sense that there's something odd about each other.

The Pit Madness doesn't really get time to fully develop due to living in a place with a constant influx of raw, ambient ectoplasm. Rather, all the corrupted, dark magic-infused ecto-gunk in his system gets filtered out quickly & replaced with healthy ectoplasm. Sure, there were instances of the Pit Rage bubbling up every once in a while, but it sort of puttered out after a while, especially with Jazz's help. Who he may or may not have a crush on.

He's quick to figure out that Danny (& Dina) are heroes & is surprised to learn that he is (they are) basically all that's keeping Amity afloat & elects himself to help the kid(s) & teach him (them) & the rest of Team Phantom the ropes. It's a shock to the entire team that they apparently have Robin on their side. Everyone is wary of his involvement & it takes some time to get used to it.

They eventually learn that he's becoming something of a very low ratio halfa (meaning that he'll eventually develop both an Obsession & a Fixation) & even begins to develop low-grade powers. Things like advanced healing, increased strength, speed, & flexibility, intangibility every once in a while (like, he can't use it willynilly), the ability to actually grab & hit ghosts, night vision, able to walk silently, even the power to see the regular, non-GZ DC ghosts like Deadman & the Gentlemen Ghost. Isn't able to turn invisible on occassion, but he is able to affect people's perception of him similarly to ghosts at any time. So, he can manipulate not only a person's sense of object permanence when in regards to himself, but he can also make himself unnoticeable. This is called Spectral Acknowledgement. Like, he can basically do what the Chameleon Circuit does. Like this:

However, because he's not a true halfa (or, at least, not a very good ratio of one), his anti-gravity center isn't fully developed, so he can really only glide & slow his falling. Just stuff that gives him an edge & a few benefits, while not taking away from his fighting style.

I see him having a hot core with an electric primary & either a fire or shadow secondary. It's nothing like lightningbending or firebending. He can only really coat himself with his element to give his punches more oomf. Though, I'm sure that Danny could make weapons that could channel the elements into them.

Either way, he's got Shocking Grasp & can probably use them as built-in defibs.

In the case of him having a shadow element, then it's not full umbrakinesis as he can only really control his own shadow.

Imagine him able to make it move like Dr. Familiar.

He can make his shadow touch other shadows, which affects the original. So, he can use his shadow to choke out someone else.

In a dark enough area, his shadow would be completely unnoticeable.

As mentioned before, he can coat himself in his shadow, giving him this sort of black flame armor that both protects him & makes his hits stronger.

Jason can Shadow Walk.

Like, Jason just merges into his own shadow, then hides in another shadow so he's completely camouflaged. I bet that even Supes wouldn't know he was near when approached if he was in a dark enough area.

In such cases, he's able to attack or outright kill someone's shadow, thus doing the same thing to the person themselves. And since Superman's powers don't apply to his shadow, it'd actually be very possible for Jason to just outright kill him in the right situation. Not that he'd ever choose to do so, but the option is there regardless.

Imagine it works a little like the bracelet from Link Between Worlds, but it connects to the shadow lands or something!

At the same time, the reason why he'd make his shadow attack someone while he, himself, is in the physical world would be for situations where he was spotted before he could Shadow Walk & so Jason physically distracts his target while his shadow goes behind them & knocks them out.

While Shadow Walking, he can also 'jump' between shadows. Like, from shadow to shadow?

Though, the weakness to this is that bright enough lights can dissipate his shadow.

There's also his Death Echo Power. I'm thinking napalm tears as he died crying in an explosion.

Either way, the best thing is, he's in the right place to better understand these new powers.

Jason has mixed & complicated feelings about Bruce, so he refrains from asking to go home until he sorts everything out. Then, he hears that there's a new Robin & the fact that Joker's still around & it all goes south. The Fenton kids do everything to be there for him, but he's just angry & feels betrayed. Though, not as vitriolically so as in canon. At least, not to such a degree that he wants to take it out on everyone he feels who betrayed him without evidence. It allows him to acknowledge the underlying hurt beneath the anger better.

It's actually because of Jazz that he's eventually able to realize that it isn't the new Robin's fault. However, he can't help how angry he is at Bruce.

Either way, because of the fact that Danny is still the only real defense Amity has against ghosts, Jay doesn't feel able to exact his revenge on Bruce & the Joker yet. But when he does, he has the whole of Team Phantom on his side.

Unlike in canon, Jason learns about how each of his old family reacted to his death. Not only does he learn that Dick had been so angry that he actually killed the Joker in revenge for Jay's death, but also that Bruce revived the bastard afterwards in some twisted attempt to keep Dick's conscience clean.

As a result, he actually patches things up with Dick pretty quickly, but on the other end of the scale, his relationship with Bruce is even worse than in canon. Which is saying something!

Jazz tries to remind him that it's likely due to Bruce's trauma from watching his parents get killed, but the thing is, Jason is not only ecto-liminal, he actually died & came back, which gives him a halfa-like connection to death. Unlike Jazz, who has yet to die herself &, as such, can still be considered human despite being fully ecto-liminal.

See, as per a really great hc I read, a ghost's killer is a source of a great deal of trauma for ghosts. So, if their killer is killed, or at least rendered incapable of causing further harm, it lifts a tremendous weight from that ghost's shoulders & will help them to better regulate their emotions & Obsession.

For more, look here:

So, for Jay to learn that Dick had killed his killer & that the world was so close to being Joker-free until Bruce decided to be a big damn hero...

So. Much. ANGER!!

Like, his relationship with Dick is gonna be great, but Bruce?

Man, his motivations might've been selfless, but they do say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

I love Brucie boy, but he chose wrong this time.

---

Interesting thing, when Jay does go back to Gotham, he becomes the Cardinal rather than Red Hood.

There is this superstition that when you see a cardinal, it means that a dead loved one has come to visit. Such is the case with Jason.

A very angry, aggressive cardinal...

I'm not sure what his costume would look like other than having red in it & a biker jacket with Danny's logo on the shoulders.

Also, the All-Blades are a motherfucking must!

One change to them, though. They don't only appear in the presence of pure evil & also work on paranormal beings such as ghosts. They are, however, only deadly to those who are evil. They can hurt those who aren't, but can't kill them.

#danny phantom #dp #dc #dp x dc #jason todd #liminal!jason todd #danny fenton #the fentons #anger management #aikoiya au #writing prompt

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lopsicle · 1 year

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Ahh, it’s been like months since I’ve posted anything! I am acc working on three fics rn, I only expect one of them to be finished soon though, so I figured I should write some quick headcanons to at least put something into my blog, and I decided on The Owl House as I’m pretty fixated on it at the moment!! These may also be a bit rambly! Also

There are Major Watching and Dreaming spoilers below, you have been warned!

——-

Luz Noceda:

•Practically a 50/50 switch. She loves getting tickled, but also doesn’t mind dishing it back out. I also feel like she’d try to deny the times when she’s in a lee mood and try to focus on tickling others to keep them happy, but the others can definitely help her with that!

•Her worst spot is her ribs, no doubt, she goes mad with laughter if they’re even touched. Other bad spots are her knees and stomach.

•Her favourite kind of tickles are cheer up tickles, she thinks it’s fun to give them, and desperately needs to receive them sometimes.

•It’s easy for her to catch onto if someone wants tickles, but if they’re being difficult, she’ll still make them ask!

•Speaking of, she cannot ask for tickles in the slightest, she gets too flustered and worries about being needy!

•Even though Amity and Eda have told her it’s okay

•Her main was of asking is initiating a tickle fight but giving up half way through

•Her tickling style is really random, she can go from scribbling, to squeezing, anything to keep her lees on their toes really!

•She can also be very attentive of a Lee’s needs and even switches up teases depending on who she’s tickling!

•Also let’s talk about Titan Luz? Calamity Luz? Whatever people are calling that form of her!

•TICKLISH HOOVES! I absolutely live for ticklish hooves, I honestly think she has my favourite character design ever!

•She has fangs which is amazing for raspberries or tummy noms, she can be such a vicious ler in this form, I wish it stayed!

Amity Blight

•A switch but definitely a whole lot more lee then ler! Being the youngest she was obviously the victim of tickle attacks from the twins, but once she got better with abomination magic, she was sure to get revenge!

•Speaking of, if she’s in a lee mood and doesn’t want to ask, she will use her abominations to tickle herself, though she doesn’t have to do that much anymore because Luz always makes sure she has tickles!

•Her worst spot is by far her neck, a second being her ears! Soft, fluffy tickles work really well her, like she will scream!

•In addition, if she’s being tickled anywhere else, she’s generally prefers more sharp tickles, like nails tracing or poking against her, the kind of tickling you’d see in a tickle fight!

•Also she wins those, period, even if she’s mostly a lee, she can be an absolutely cruel ler, only stopping when her lee is completely out of breath!

•And she uses abominations to hold people down if they got too squirmy

•Also when Luz found out Amity was ticklish, the witch never had peace from that moment on, she was constantly trying to tickle her!

•She gets very flustered from baby talk and coddling in general, though that’s not to say she doesn’t like it

•Also teases about her blush will kill her on the spot

•She can be so sweet during aftercare, both a lee and a ler! If she’s a lee, she’ll be mumbling a whole lot of giggly ‘thank you’s’ and sometimes cuddling up to the ler depending on who it is, and when she’s the ler, she’ll always tell the lee that they did amazing and took a lot of tickles!

•Unless she’s being a mean ler, which she can be a lot of time! Soft ler Amity is for Luz and Luz only! And sometimes Willow, okay definitely for Willow!

•Also her laughter is either the most bubbly soft thing you’ve ever heard, or full of screaming, no inbetween

Willow Park

•Definitely more of a ler in the group, but struggles with meeting her needs when she’s in a Lee mood, she can ask just fine, but she never wants to bother anyone with asking for tickles

•That being said, she is such a sweet ler, she uses such playful teases, and generally prefers using softer tickles unless a lee asks otherwise!

•Always checks up on a lee when tickling them, and she’s so nice to them afterwards, she’ll offer lees water and always give them whatever they need after a tickle session!

• Occasionally uses her vines or plants to help her, but only if a lee is being difficult

•Her teasing style is really praise-y, calling a lee adorable and cute and generally just showering them with compliments

•Even though she can’t handle it back

•Speaking of, her armpits are her worst spot, followed by her back and feet, she’s probably the least ticklish out of the Hexsquad but that still means she’s very ticklish!

•Her laughter is fairly normal, though she does try to quiet herself down to snickering whenever she’s laughing as to try and not be annoying, though her lers normally coax her out of things like that, either through soft reassurances or just jabbing their fingers into her armpit to really get that laughter outta her

•Constantly gets into tickle fights with Gus, but when the two team up to wreck someone, it’s practically over for them

•Night tickles are the best for her, just the thought of trying to keep her giggling quiet while being tickled to not wake anyone up is too flustered for her to take!

•Also her dads constantly tickled when she was younger, I don’t make the rules

Gus Porter

•He’s pretty open about tickling, though is cautious not to ask too much as to not come across as needy

•When he thinks he’s asked too much, he’ll use illusions or just tickle the other person to provoke them into getting him back

•Has no trouble saying the tword and constantly uses it to fluster the others

•If someone is having a hard time asking someone for tickles, Gus will just pop up and ask for them, even if the other person didn’t ask

•He sees tickling as a helpful thing, to either destress or torment whoever was unlucky enough to catch him in a ler mood

•Yeah, this child is EVIL when it comes to being a ler! The lee could be in the middle of trying to actually ask for tickles and he’ll just go straight for their death spot!

•Will constantly tease the lee with ‘What’s wrong? I thought you wanted this!’ Or ‘Don’t lie, we both know you love this!’

•Would cast illusions of the lee getting wrecked in front of them casually

•The type of ler where he could just wiggle his fingers and the lee is already in anticipation

•But he’s also an absolute baby when he’s a lee

•Curling up, kicking her legs around, clinging onto the ler, he’s the cutest Lee, it makes you forget about how vicious he can be!

•Also ticklish stomach, like a death spot for him, he will scream and kick you if it’s even touches

Hunter Noceda/Deamonne

•He thinks he’s this big bad ler, but everyone knows he’s just this total lee who’d probably fluster himself with his own teases

•His ears are a melt spot, he calls it a ‘weak spot’ though, melting is too childish for him! Though he will always thank a ler who tickles him there!

•He’s the definition of a walking tickle spot, he could barely handle Flapjack nuzzling against his neck

•He didn’t even know what tickling was for most of his life until Luz tried to tickle him one time, and he was hit with the worst lee mood ever!

•He also never ever asks, he’s far too flustered for things like that, however occasionally, Luz or Darius give him a mask to use while he’s trying to ask for tickles so it’s not as flustering for him!

•Also he shut down the first time Willow tickled him, and that only encouraged her to do it even more! Like I mentioned, it’s one of her favourite ways to destress, and Hunter just likes the feeling!

•Any tease can get to him well enough, compliments and nicknames are his favourites though!

•Has this crackly laugh that’s he pretty insecure about, but Willow thinks it’s absolutely adorable!

•The squirmiest lee on the planet, this boy can’t sit still for the life of him, it’s impossible!

•He is the reason Willie has to hold lees down with vines sometimes

•When he is a ler, he can be sort of awkward with teasing, but when it comes to actual tickling, he is a menace! He’s actually made notes on the different tickles people prefer and makes sure to use them!

•The first one to lose in a tickle fight, it’s not even a competition!

——

Well, there’s my first list of headcanons for this show! I’ll be sure to make more for different characters, and maybe even expand on these because I feel it’s a little short, but I’d prefer to get some content out!

#sfw tickling community #tickle headcanons #tickle content #the owl house tickle #toh tickle #owl house tickle #lee! luz #lee luz #ler luz #ler amity #lee amity #ler willow #lee willow #lee gus #ler gus #ler hunter #lee hunter

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space-dreams-world · 2 years

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Get what you wished for

First time writing a prompt: DP X DC au “get what you wished for”

Au where Danny is the blood daughter of Batcat is between Dick and Jason's age. Selina gave up Dione Luna Wayne as she help she is unable to raise her and Bruce would paint a target on her daughter's back. As a memento, she left two stuffed cats, a letter and a bat toy to remember her by.

How the Fentons got Danny: Gotham is full of supernatural energy, with the Lazarus pits under it. The Fentons trying to find a place to create a bigger portal with LP juice,(experiments can fuck you up reproductively. Jazz was a struggle to birth.)

Jasmine comes across Baby Dione and duckling imprints on her. The Fentons don’t realize the baby was abandoned and named him Danny, not realizing the wrong gender( they never do), no claim to the baby, ours now.

The Fentons take some LP juice to find more LP juice, which in amity park, there is a bunch(uncorrupted) and the ley lines are weak there. (finds house over direct access to an unclaimed Lazarus pit, and builds a secret third basement to get more ectoplasm to fuel their obsession. LP is ectoplasm btw.)

Danny is genderfluid but presents themselves as FTM Trans.

Portal time!: Danny shows his friends, Sam and Tuck his parent's third child, the portal. Peer pressured by their only friends, Danny goes into the plugged, malfunctioning portal, only to get zapped where their soul and body are fused as one being, unable to separate. (Danny sort of blames his friends for their death but appreciates that they are sticking by them. But later realizes they are their ticket to excitement.)

Jasmine notices right away that something is wrong with Danny. (Jazz is much closer to Danny in this au)

Danny is more independent in this au. (make more friends with ghosts, help them than enemies)

Danny by extension is an atlas of the Infinite realms and Earth, is pretty much op. Picking up skills and powers like nobody's business, (immortality? maybe, BAMF? definitely) Clockwork as ghost parent, Ellie, Dan, the other clones and Jazz as their sisters/brothers/ children and being High Eldritch sovereign of the Infinite realms. ( Fuck u, Vlad, everyone can see ur evil corrupt ass, creepy and fake)

Dual Obsession is space and peace/protection, has a multi-core and is blessed by the zone itself.

Amity Park is in a time/paradox bubble where the events of Danny Phantom occur. (in all 3 cannon seasons, they have never celebrated a birthday, I‘ve noticed.)

How Bat fam meets Danny: It’s been a few years, Danny reveals to their parents his status they are excited and can’t wait to figure out how he survived. The GIW has bugged their home and raided their house as their want also figure out how Danny survived, and make Super-Soldiers. (tipped off by Vlad)

Danny and Jazz take this as a worst-case scenario and book it to Gotham by Danny's suggestion because their bio-fam lives there and Gotham energy fuck with ectoplasm readings. Danny starts to look for his mom Selina, but when the civilian bat fam sees them, they look like a young Martha Wayne. Jazz starts working in Arkham internship for her Psychology degree and Danny goes to Gotham U for College. Some of Danny’s Ghost friends follow them, i.e: Desiree.

Angst time: Bruce's wish vs. Damian's wish

Bruce's wish: "I wish I knew you earlier in life to protect you..."

Bruce is given Dione at a very young age and does his best at trying to raise her.

Dione is clueless about her family's trade secret. She is a civilian and sort of grew up alone. (Bruce was busy being batman and CEO of WE, Tim drake situation, baby alone in a big empty house.)

Bruce still adopts Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Steph, Damian and Duke. (Damian and duke after the event)

Loves what Bruce does for Gotham, doesn't like that Wayne Enterprise takes most of his time away from the family, and hates Batman because of the ouroboros he creates in Gotham. (Endless cycle of crime, rehab, corruption, murder{Thank you, xmarksthespotonthemilkyway for Supervillain DAD! lex Luthor})

Dione has many hobbies to pass the time while she waits for her family, mainly she paints, writes and spends time with Alfred who she considers her real father instead of Bruce. (Being Batman has downsides, people!)

Selina visits her daughter at the manor and is pissed at Bruce for treating their daughter like a rotting bird in a cage. (Expect it to be there when he returns, to see it leave or die because you took too long to cherish it.)

• ANGST+: After Jason's death and resurrection, The sibs try to get Jason to come to the manor to show Dione that he is alive, at first Dione doesn't believe him or them, but he convinced her otherwise. This is where she learns that their vigilantes. (Jason and Dione were friends that get along like a house on fire, but the house exploded and Dione felt something missing in her life.)

Bruce and Jason as Batman and Red Hood have a huge fight in one of the manor rooms destroying some property and shit. Turns out it was Dione's painting room, where she was secretly working on a portrait painting of the whole family (including the late Jason Todd) for Bruce's birthday, and it gets ruined.

Dione berates them for destroying her work and declares that she fucking hates this family and what they put her through all the time.

Decides she wants to stay with Selina instead. During this time, Dione realizes a way to end the ouroboros cycle and decides to kill the joker in a quiet way, for all the hell he put her and her family through. (Lures joker to an unmarked hill location away from people to a hole in the ground with a wooden casket and fires five rounds at him. He falls in gets covered and is buried alive as he slowly dies from gunshot wounds. She can't have what she wants, and neither will he.)

Dione, later reveals to the family that she killed the joker after he doesn't return to Arkham and can't be found.

Bruce sends her to jail.

The sibs are pissed at Bruce for doing that, while at the GCPD, Dione is taken advantage of and raped by corrupt cops.

The sibs try to get her out and get her to tell them where Joker's buried, but she takes as the cycle is still continuing and commits suicide in Jail. (In her letter to them, she tells her final wish is to be buried on a hill with a clear view of the night sky with a big tree in an unmarked grave, so she can be forgotten as a part of her family, but not Gotham.)

Bruce feels fucking guilty that he pushed his daughter to this point, Selina and Alfred are at an end with him telling him I told you so and feel that Dione should not have been born into this life. (distraught, but once Damian and Duke enter the picture, they treat them better as a family.)

Dione is fully dead and becomes a ghost.

Batman and co. meet the new ruler of the Infinite Realms, and Recognize the ruler, Dione chose to let go of her past and forget them as they have done to her.

Damian's wish: "I wish you were never our sister..."

This is technically the Canon bat fam x DP timelines, but with a few twists.

• Dick is the one holding the fam together. He is more tired and stressed than before, maybe graying early..? (stressed and secretly depressed.)

• Jason is more angst and vengeful than normal and fucking hates Bruce. (Jason is like kill the serial to end the cycle, avenge me, Bruce.)

• Tim despises Damian more so than usual and tolerates Bruce. (baby brother attempts to murder, gets light punishment and the victim is not okay.)

• Stephanie isn't really part of the bat family, goes by spoiler, and is studying to be a nurse. (quit being robin earlier, distant self from negative influence, dated Tim, now Cass.)

• Cass, while mute doesn't communicate well with the rest of the family, which leads her to be quiet more often. (not expressive.)

• Duke, the newest to the family, has a hard time understanding the rest of the family's issues with each other, fearing the family's reaction to him being a meta. ( Batman is more strict with no metas rule, Duke still becomes signal. )

• Alfred is still Canon, but more strict than normal. (Put up with this shit Alfred, but loves his adopted son and grandkids.)

Bruce is still Canon. Mostly negative, hard on himself, the family and everyone he interacts with, and wears a mask (not a physical one) to hide his emotions. Is more Batman than Bruce Wayne. (grunts don't meet clear communication Bruce!!!)

• Damian is still Damian in this verse with his pets but loses his friendship with Jon. (no metas in Gotham, Bruce tolerates Superman.)

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apolloknightly · 2 months

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Whew

Now time for Daniel Andrew/Ikaros

At about the age of 23, Andrew (again, using Andrew to avoid confusion with Dan/Danny), was very well familiar with anything science. Mostly anything ranging from chemicals to physics

His step father Trayson got into working with Ectobiology and also ecto-chemicals. Mixing the ectoplasm with chemicals to figure out how what would react with what. Everything was going well, honestly.

Andrew got interested in helping Trayson with the ectoplasm mixing, experimenting. The source of the ectoplasm is directly from the Fentons; who inspired the two to work on this in the first place. Andrew's little sibling, brother, sister, whatever the hell you wanna call Xavier, wants nothing to do with it, preferring to get ready and finish schooling.

After a bit of testing, something odd and strange was happening to the ectoplasm and chemical mixture. It was bubbling. Intensely. Andrew is unsure of what to do here, he squints. Then grabs another, dropping it into the bubbling mixture- only for it to explode. He covers his face but not well enough. The ecto chemicals causing a burn on his face, arm and partially on the upper body.

You'd expect him to get like ecto acne; but he only got the scarring. But the ectoplasm had gotten into his blood stream. His step father runs in, quickly getting water and a few other things to stabilize the burn.

After a week, and a thorough check up. Andrew was fine. Felt fine. That was until he managed to phase himself into the living room, Trayson, who of which was very much minding his business, stares at him in shock. With Andrew also staring at him in shock.

I know Andrew would become his ghost form even a few weeks later, black and navy blue hair becomes white and light yellow, his pony tail looks like a flame, but cold. His scar is now a odd green colour, eyes are an amber with the sclera now a light yellow. He looks to be wearing his protective gear; all now black with some accents of other colours. He does find a way to change his outfit.

He has.. ghostly wings too. Which amuses him, he figured out how to fly. How he got his name however was because of Xavier.

Icarus.

Or respectfully, Ikaros. Flown too close to the sun with the experimenting but at least he didn't die!... Well he's half dead.

Oh wow, hopefully he doesn't meet this Phantom kid. But then again, Andrew and his family don't live in Amity Park, they're a few towns over. And they only moved to America just a couple of years ago! ...everything is fine

(though now Andrew is worried he may run into this Phantom's enemies too... How fun!)

If you have questions, you're allowed to ask!! I love answering things

#danny phantom #dannny phantom oc #au #alternate universe for characters #whoops

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pransesdp · 2 years

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W e l p, my DP nostalgia decided to bite me enough to wanna revamp one of my oldest and dearest OCs from back in the day... Morgan Fenton~ 🥺💜 Had alot of fun sprucing some new life back into her once again, so I hope the rest of yall enjoy her too~

More info on this sweetie can be found both below and over on my DA, for those who wanna learn more about her! :3

(Bio):

As the second-born daughter to Amity Park’s hero, Danny Phantom, Morgan Fenton had alot to live up to from the moment she was born. With her birthplace being within the Ghost Zone itself, along with her natural snow white tufts of hair, almost everyone was quick to assume she'd grow up to have as many ghostly powers as both her father & older sister, Lili. Still, to her folks they did what they could to ensure Morgan would have as normal of a childhood as possible (some clumsy misadventures in her youth aside), counting the years to when her powers would spark to better defend herself…

And they continued to count… and count… and yet by the time Morgan reached puberty, no powers were spotted within her. Further investigation and some trips to Clockwork confirmed that Morgan was in fact, a normal human after all. As much as Danny and Sam (alongside Lili) tried reassuring their daughter that they love her just as she is no matter what… this kind of blow really struck a chord in the girl deep down, as she felt like everyone was counting on her to follow in her Halfa relatives’ footsteps. For the longest time, Morgan began to seclude herself away from everyone in a slump… not feeling the confidence to open up as much to her family anymore.

Further, Morgan would’ve continued to close herself off… if it weren’t for the efforts of Darryl Foley (son of Tucker and Valerie) reaching out to offer Morgan a chance to prove herself as a ghost huntress, working under Valerie’s very own hunting team established within the town. Though a little intimidated at first if she could really “handle” such a lifestyle, after many months of training, dedication and stern (but necessary) discipline by Valerie’s leadership… Morgan’s confidence began to rise better than ever.

The thrill of blasting off and wrangling ghosts with just a few gadgets and MMA moves became Morgan’s new calling, and now three years later she’s established herself well as a member of Val’s team (even given the codename “Ultra-Violet”, or “UV” for short). It’s hard to tell where Morgan’s future will grow from here, how many allies/friends she’ll make, what love life she’ll have, or what other kind of ghostly dangers she’ll stumble across next… but one thing’s for sure, its best not to underestimate a snowy cutie like her anytime soon~

(Fun Facts):

-Within her time as a ghost huntress, Morgan’s preferred weapon of choice is a staff bo (which can double as a vaulting pole when she needs to cross over floating Ghost Zone rocks in case her glider-board and/or jet-pack won’t work).

-Has a deep interest in subjects pertaining to the sci fi and supernatural, often spending many late nights watching documentaries centered around space, urban legends, and so forth. Has a soft spot for anything “oddly” cute like reptiles, aliens, and squishy creatures (such as jellyfish).

-Tends to feel the closest to her mother Sam the most in her family, as not only can they both relate on being non-powered humans (and sharing an interest in goth subculture, or in Morgan’s case “pastel” goth), but Sam’s more down-to-earth nature tends to help ease Morgan’s anxiety on certain things whenever they spend time together. As for Lili and Danny; Morgan often finds herself a bit “overwhelmed” by her sister’s bubbly energy/naivety (though she knows Lili means well at heart), whereas with Danny it’s… kinda hard for Morgan to always see eye-to-eye with him given his “famous” status in town (and sometimes he just kinda tries too much to be “cool”/relatable with her age-group). When it all comes down to it though, there’s nothing the Fenton family wouldn’t do for eachother as the spookily sweet unit they are~.

-When she’s not busy ghost hunting, Morgan can often be seen gaming in genres like RPG, racing and fighting tournaments. Recently she maaay or may not be picking up an interest in visual novels on the side (thanks to a certain “perky” school-friend of hers pushing them on her like crazy lol).

-Her favorite foods includes soft-serve ice cream, french fries, and sour gummies; whereas her favorite drinks includes a classic milkshake, grape soda and matcha lattes (mainly before a big hunting gig with how early her schedule is).

-Ever since she was a kid, Morgan’s always had a fascination for exploration and what’s “beyond” the normal human and Ghost Zones she’s seen. With the organized map she’s planned out in her room, she wishes to go through as many portals as she can to see what colorful worlds await her.

-Has a pet gecko by the name of “Zipp”, who was given as a present to her by her folks a couple years back to help lift her spirits. A very squeaky and clingy fella he is, preferring to perch on Morgan’s shoulder whenever she’s relaxing in her room from a hard day’s work. Anyone who tries to go near or “mess with” Morgan in Zipp’s eye will be given a blaring alarm squeak and a swift bite to the fingers.

#danny phantom #danny phantom next gen #danny phantom oc #morgan fenton #danny x sam #my art

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ghostboidanny · 2 years

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Sisters’ day out

Ao3 link

Summar: Dani returns to Amity and this time Danny makes sure to introduce her to Jazz. The two girls decide to go on a fun outing together and by the end of the day, Dani gets much more than just a fun day to remember. She gets a family.

Prompts: Jazz and Dani bonding time. The two girl meet for the first time, and jazz suggest a sightseeing, but instead Dani lifted Vlad bank card, and they go to the amusement park. (PR326) by @lilinda21

Dani left Amity rather abruptly, but where did she go? How did she manage to live on her own? (PR290) @greyheartwriter

“Dani”, Danny said and pulled her towards Jazz despite her attempts to hide behind him. “This is our big sister, Jazz. Jazz, this is Dani, our little sister.”

Jazz smiled at her, her blue eyes twinkling kindly. Dani ducked her head, feeling shy all of a sudden, despite being the one who had insisted on meeting Jazz. “Hello Dani, it's really nice to finally meet you. Danny has talked my ear off about you, he was really excited about us two finally meeting.”

Danny blushed. “As if you weren’t just as excited about meeting Dani.”

Jazz’s smile grew wider and she reached out to ruffle Danny’s hair. “Of course I’ve been excited, I need someone to conspire with against you.” She winked at Dani and she pressed her free hand against her mouth to stifle a laugh. She liked Jazz already. Not that she hadn’t liked her before. The memories she’d inherited from Danny and all the stories she’d heard had made it clear Jazz was a wonderful person and an even better sister.

Danny gasped and threw one arm over his head all dramatically. “What have I done. I have doomed myself!”

“Oh stop being so dramatic”, Jazz laughed and lightly hit him in the arm. She turned towards Dani and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi”, Dani said and finally dared to fully step out from behind Danny. Her insides bubbled with excitement. She was finally meeting her big sister! She’d barely dared to hope this day would come but had dreamed about it during her many months traveling alone. Her, a part of the family.

Jazz’s smile turned softer. She held her hand out to Dani and after only a moment of hesitation she took it. Though she hadn’t been prepared for Jazz to pull on her hand, drawing her into a hug. After a moment of surprise, she melted into it. Well, not literally. Luckily, melting was no longer a concern she had, not after Danny got her that Ecto dejecto stuff last time she was here. Instead she melted emotionally, metaphorically. Those were words she had recently learned and she was very excited about finally being able to use them.

After a few seconds of them hugging, Danny cleared his throat. They pulled away from each other to look at him. “So, since I’ve now introduced you to each other I’m gonna leave you to it. Have fun!”

Dani opened her mouth to protest and say she wasn’t ready to be left alone with Jazz yet, not when they had just met. But before she could, Danny turned intangible and phased through the wall. She could have chased after him of course, but that would be rude towards Jazz. At least one of them had to pretend to have some manners.

Suddenly nervous again when Danny wasn’t here, she turned towards Jazz. Dani knew there wasn’t anything to worry about, but the months she’d spent under Vlad’s thumb had taught her that even those supposed to be family could be cruel. Especially behind closed doors where no one could see what happened.

Jazz rolled her eyes but smiled at Dani. “I bet he’s in a hurry to get back to playing video games. But we're gonna make him regret not going with us by having the most fun ever!”

Dani relaxed. Jazz was the same as before, this wasn't bad at all. “Yeah! Let's make Danny jealous! What are we gonna do?”

“We could go sightseeing? I know you like to travel and Amity has some interesting sights. Though most have been damaged in ghost fights by now.” Jazz rubbed the back of her neck, a gesture Dani recognized both from herself and from Danny. She was nervous. “That doesn't sound very fun though, and won’t make Danny jealous. I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this.”

Seeing Jazz nervous actually helped against Dani’s own nerves. She dug through her backpack until she found her valet. With a mischievous smile she pulled out the credit card she nicked from Vlad last time she was here - payment for all he’d done to her. “I heard there’s a pretty wicked Amusement park here, how about we use Vlad’s card to go have some fun that will definitely make Danny jealous.”

Jazz threw her head back and laughed. “I like how you think, little sister. I’ll drive!”

Dani’s insides felt all warm at Jazz calling her sister. Happily, she followed Jazz out to her car and climbed inside, excited for what this day would bring.

The ride to the amusement park was pretty short but Jazz allowed Dani to pick the music and they sang out loud together. When they arrived they were both out of breath and giggling messes. This was already shaping up to be one of the best days in Dani’s life and they had barely started.

If she was honest to herself, she had longed for this something fiercely. While it was true that she had sought her freedom in the world when she first escaped Vlad, she hadn’t expected it to be quite so … lonely. Going wherever she wanted, sleeping under the stars and seeking every thrill she wanted had been exciting, in the beginning. While trapped with Vlad she had craved it and there had been nothing more she wanted than to see a new place every day and to wander wherever her fancy took her. The problem with going to a new place every day though, was that there was never anyone for her to return to.

“Come on then!” Jazz said as she parked the car. “Let's have some fun!”

Dani’s smile returned. She did have somewhere to return to. People to return to. Danny and now Jazz too, her family. Even if it was only for a few stolen moments, like this one.

They walked into the park, hands clasped between them and swinging back and forth. Never before had Dani been more happy that she had nabbed one of Vlad’s numerous credit cards last time she was here. It had made it a lot easier to live out in the world. The first time around, even before she started melting, had been rough. No money meant no food or shelter unless she stole and broke into places. Her powers made it easier, but the more he had used them the more unstable she had become. She still had to be careful with the card, of course. If she used too much Vlad might notice and use it to track her down or he might turn it off, leaving her to steal again.

Splurging like this for her and Jazz was a bit dangerous, but she couldn't help it. Dani just wanted to make Jazz happy and as long as it was a one off thing, it should be safe.

So she bought them VIP tickets with unlimited rides and the ability to walk past any queue. She bought them cotton candy and hot dogs and paid for those silly little games all amusement parks seemed to have.

Rollercoasters didn't really hold much of a candle against the ability to fly freely, unburdened by gravity. But having Jazz by her side made it more fun than any risky dive or nighttime flight had ever been. Next time, though, she might just have to convince her siblings to go flying together. Danny and her could easily carry Jazz. Already, she pictured it. The three of them and the sky, all theirs. For now though, she laughed herself breathless next to Jazz on rollercoasters. Especially at how loud Jazz screamed at the loops and drops. Some even managed to make Dani’s stomach tingle.

The cotton candy melted on her tongue, almost too sweet. Vlad had never really allowed her sweets and while she had eaten some since her escape from him, she still wasn’t used to it. She still swiped some from Jazz and her sister yelped and pulled free a swath of cotton candy to smear across her face. Dani only grinned and licked it off.

The games were fun. Obviously rigged though. Jazz didn’t manage to get a thing, though Danny had talked about how bad she was at aiming so maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Dani might have cheated a bit with her powers, but since they had cheated first she didn’t feel bad about it.

She handed Jazz the small ghost she’d won at the strength test, not able to keep eye contact while she did so. Her cheeks burned. “A gift for you. So you don’t forget me.”

“Oh, Dani”, Jazz said and pulled her into a hug. “I don’t need a gift to remember you. You are my little sister and I love you.”

Dani’s core started purring and it was a struggle to keep her feet on the ground when she felt weightless with happiness. Jazz loved her. Danny had told her many times that he loved her too. And unlike Vlad, they both meant it.

“I … I love you too”, she mumbled. This was getting too sentimental for her. “Let's go to the fun house.”

She dragged Jazz away to look into silly mirrors - made sillier when Dani shifted her body into strange shapes (after making sure no one else was close, of course). They went on some more rollercoasters and even walked through the haunted house - though that one was more a funhouse now than a scary house. When one was a literal ghost and the other the sister of two and the daughter of ghost hunters, some humans in makeup weren't particularly scary.

It wasn’t until the sun started to set and they were both sticky with sugar and sweaty from all the excitement that they called it a day. The drive home was spent in silence, except for Jazz occasionally pointing out a landmark they passed. Dani was content to sit and listen. Jazz’s voice was soothing, comforting. She would miss this when she left.

That last thought immediately sobered her. She would have to leave again, probably soon. Go back to being on the run - because that’s what it was, no matter how much she tried to convince herself she was seeing the world. Staying here was dangerous, with Vlad and the hostile ghosts and all the ghost hunters. Not to mention that she had nowhere to stay.

“What’s the matter?” Jazz asked as she stopped for a red light.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

“No you’re not, and that’s okay. I’m here for you, whatever it is.”

Dani couldn’t keep it in any longer. Tears started falling down her face. “I don’t want to leave here. I want to stay with you and Danny.”

The light turned green and Jazz started driving again, silent. Right past the intersection she pulled into the parking lot to some grocery store and parked the car. Jazz turned towards her and put a hand on Dani’s shoulder. “Then stay.”

Dani shook her head. “I can’t. You know I can’t. It would reveal Danny’s secret.”

“Dani…” Jazz said, her eyes sad. Dani hated herself for that. This was supposed to be a fun day and she had ruined that. “Danny wants you to stay too.”

“It’s still impossible. I’d just ruin his life and I can’t do that, not after everything he’s done for me.“

“No, you don’t understand.” Jazz’s grip on her shoulder hardened and she turned Dani towards her. “Danny told our parents everything the day you called and told him you wanted to come back. There is no secret for you to reveal. This day? It's supposed to be a soft start on you joining our family, if you want to. No pressure or anything and you can leave at any moment if it gets too much, but we would all love it for you to stay.”

Dani’s mouth had dropped open some time during Jazz’s little speech. Danny had always seemed so afraid of telling his - their - parents everything, but he had done it, for her sake? Because he wanted her to be a part of his family, permanently? And Jazz wanted it too? Jack and Maddie wanted it too? It seemed too good to be true.

“Danny really did that?”

“I did”, a new voice added and she twirled around in her seat to find Danny sitting in the backseat, smiling at her. Her ghost sense hadn’t alerted her of him, but of course it hadn’t. He was family and she needed no warning for family. “I want you to have a home and I want my little sister in my family. So what do you say?”

“Yes!” she yelled and phased through the seat so she could throw her arms around Danny. She was crying again, but it was happy tears this turn around. Her core was purring so loudly it seemed to echo through the car. No wait a minute, it was echoing back at her, from Danny’s core. “Yes, I want nothing more!”

“Then welcome to the family, little sis”, Danny whispered in her ear and hugged her close with one arm. The other he phased through the seat to grab Jazz and pull her into the hug. She yelped but happily joined the pile of limbs in the backseat.

“Welcome to the family”, Jazz echoed.

“I’m home”, Dani whispered, content to snuggle in her siblings arms and listen to their hearts and cores beating as one. As a family.

#dp #danny fenton #danny phantom #dani phantom #jazz fenton #fluff #phic phight #phic phight 2022 #indrel writes

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lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 3 years

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fuck I still haven't done the rewrite of the Mutant Town AU that I specifically came off hiatus to write, like the Plant Witch Sam and Pharaoh Tucker posts were written to prep this au and I just got wildly distracted so uhhhh

yeah the concept is in the link but the gist is that the people and town becoming mutated by constant ectoplasmic contamination, we all know and love this concept right but I'm gonna expand on it

this is a direct result of the portal being opened, but they aren't getting infected from the portal, the issue is that creating a permanent opening into the ghost zone has weakened the veil between their worlds and Amity Park and the Ghost Zone sort of slip in and out of each other constantly

and because ectoplasm responds strongly to emotions (poltergeists being made from atmospheric emotions for example) it all tends to converge very heavily at the school full of hormonal teenagers

so Casper High becomes its own god damn cryptid, the teachers get so jaded about opening the door to a classroom and finding just a whole ass ghost zone on the other side that they just put a sign on the door telling kids to go to a different room, lockers swap contents with other lockers so kids have started putting their names on the inside so they know who's stuff they've just found

this also means the kids get super affected, like super affected, literally, they all get ghost powers, some are just physical mutations, some are just super abilities, or a general increase in natural ability, like a member of the track team getting super speed

it takes a while for Danny and co. to figure this out, Sam and Tucker should have been warning signs as they've spent the most time around ghosts and the ghost zone, but that's why the Witch Sam and Pharaoh Tucker posts are important

they have powers, but they thought they came exclusively from outside sources, they had no idea that their abilities were also strengthened and influenced by being highly contaminated by ectoplasm, which is why when one day Mikey sneezes and green acid shoots out of his nose and melts his desk, everyone is a little bit startled

the teachers have long since started using ghost detectors after the time Paulina spent a whole week overshadowed by Kitty, so Mikey gets a check over and other than the usual atmospheric reading Lancer gets nothing especially strong from him

there have been concerns about the gradually increasing ectoplasmic content in the air messing with ghost detector results, the devices have to be recalibrated constantly, so Lancer asks the one and only son of the local ghost hunters in the room if he has some other way to check

Danny's parents make him keep a few protective items in his schoolbag, so he tries some gear on him to see if anything comes flying out, but nothing does, Danny isn't too surprised seeing as he couldn't sense a ghost in the room anyway, but it definitely makes things a little concerning

even if it were a repeat of the Spectra incident and he wasn't being overshadowed, the Fenton's tech would have still gotten rid of whatever was causing this if it were an external influence

Mikey is sent home for the day and his parents are told to keep an eye on him

and then the next week, Star drops a pen off her desk and a strand of her hair whips out to grab it, she's also checked for ghost influence and sent home

a few weeks after that it happens again, a kid on the basketball team makes a leap to the net and stays in the air, they have to call in the cheerleaders to climb on top of each other to reach him and pull him down

Danny has been trying to figure out what's happening from the first moment with Mikey, and his parents have also been getting calls from worried parents who want to know if they can fix whatever's happening to their kids

over the next couple of months, every kid in the school has some kind of ability or mutation, Dash heals whoever he touches, which he discovers after punching Nathan in the face and curing his acne, Paulina turns invisible, which freaks her out at first until she realises it's great for eavesdropping, Wes can conjure fire (because I desperately needed him to have a polarising ability to Danny), Kwan becomes empathic and can feel and influence people's emotions

Valerie also had an early mutation that she didn't know about, when Technus gave her a new suit, her body pretty much just absorbed it as a part of her, Technus had not intended this to happen, and was pretty peeved about it, Valerie found out that she had stolen control over the suit when Technus had a big rant about it during a fight, and she put the pieces together once other kids started developing abilities

this whole thing causes a ton of chaos as kids are struggling to control what they can do, so Danny has to step in and help them out, he often has to run off to change into Phantom in order to protect everyone from an ability that's gone haywire, he ends up pretty much running ghost power training courses after school to help them control themselves

he's also gotten stuck in situations where he's had to step in and help someone without having the time to change forms, meaning he has to make up a cover story about having developed his own powers way before everyone else since he's been living on top of a portal for years, he only tells people about his ice powers

Jazz has always had a tendency to be able to reign in her emotions and keep a cool head, (the only ones who can really push her buttons are Danny and sometimes her parents, at school around other kids who look up to her she's often very in control) meaning she doesn't draw ectoplasm to herself all that much, and though Danny uses the excuse of having lived on top of a ghost portal to explain why he's already so familiar with using his power, it's actually not even remotely true, because the Fentons use specialised air purifiers to keep the atmospheric ectoplasm at a manageable level, the Fenton house ironically has the least atmospheric contamination compared to the rest of the town, that's how Maddie and Jack have had limited mutation to themselves (though they aren't wholly free, they've mostly just gotten physically stronger and tougher)

so even though Jazz develops her power a little earlier than everyone else's, it's not that far ahead, and she actually doesn't even realise she already has one until half the school has developed theirs

Jazz has the power to slow time in a little bubble around herself, she'd been using it without realising while studying, having gotten through hours of work in half that time, she always thought it was just her losing track of time or she was just getting faster at reading, she also spends a lot of time counselling other students and trying to help them sort out their problems, and they'd often comment that they felt like they'd been talking for so much longer than they had, again she just chalked it up to losing track of time

a lot of students had wondered why Danny developed a power early and Jazz hadn't, until someone walked in on Jazz helping a girl through a panic attack in the bathroom, and found them both talking extremely fast, a lot of her friends realised in hindsight that she'd been doing that unwittingly for quite a while, nobody had noticed because she always talked to people privately, so nobody outside her little time bubble had seen it happen

Sam and Tucker come clean about their abilities too, but they also don't give the full rundown, still keeping some things close to the chest to avoid standing out from everyone else

then there's the teachers

adults typically have a better time regulating emotions than teenagers, meaning much like Jazz they aren't drawing as much ectoplasm toward themselves, but this doesn't exempt them from developing something after a while, especially with the heightened stress of managing a school full of volatile super kids

Mr Lancer discovers that he can create shields, after an incident where he jumps in front of some students to protect them from another power gone awry

Tetslaff ends up with a sonic ability, able to project her voice like a megaphone (yes this is a Coach Boomer from Sky High reference don't @ me), Principal Ishiyama develops a physical mutation, growing to twice her size, she likes that she can tower over the students while delivering speeches, but she doesn't like having to stoop through doors all the time, she has the one to her office resized, along with her chair and desk

so as you can imagine, the town ends up erupting into chaos, a lot of kids very much misuse their abilities, Danny does his best as Phantom to teach people to be responsible, but sometimes he has to resort to literally kicking their asses to get them to straighten up

but for the most part, a ton of kids were already looking up to him, and are generally pretty happy to follow his example, especially the more popular kids, it's generally considered not very cool to get your ass kicked by Phantom, so weirdly enough a lot of kids get peer pressured into not causing any real damage or injury with their powers

this doesn't mean they don't absolutely misuse them, they're just more subtle about it

until a ghost shows up, a lot of the kids are more than happy to let loose to protect themselves and their friends, and Phantom for the most part is happy to let them, with some supervision of course, he still has to make sure nobody gets too hurt (including the ghosts)

the entire debacle makes Danny's life simultaneously a whole lot easier AND so much more fucking stressful

#lula's aus #mutant town au #danny phantom #you have no idea how hard it was to find the links to the other posts #tumblr's search system was fucking me around so much

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catmiint · 2 years

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Voices That They Left Ch 1 of ???

to celebrate DC day for Danuary, I decided to post the first chapter of my batfam xover! @amorpho

as per usual, reblogs are appreciated since i never show up in the tags and all further chapters will be only posted on ao3 unless requested here!

Summary: When a new ghostly enemy cost Danny Fenton the lives of his friends and family, he wasn't expecting to get adopted by billionaire Bruce Wayne and move to Gotham. All he needs to do is survive two years until he can go back to live in Amity Park. Something dark is growing in him though, and it's stoking the bitterness and anger that burns inside.

Gen, 4.3k, [read on ao3]

Part I. Fenton

Danny was tired of white.

White sheets. White walls. White bandages.

There wasn’t a speck of color in his hospital room to draw his eye. Nothing of note to spark an interest. It was quiet, too, except for the faintest dripdripdrip he could hear with his enhanced hearing coming from the IV and the gentle, slow (slower than normal) beeping of the heart monitor. The lack of stimulation was maddening in how it allowed for his mind to wander. He didn’t like the places his mind went. Places of blood and ash, regret and guilt.

He had to get away.

Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position with a groan of pain. His ribs were still bruised. Better than their previous state of being pulverized into pieces, and he may have a high pain tolerance, but that didn’t mean he liked pain. Blowing out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, he swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed and found his footing. The IV pole, wobbling, was used to steady him as he stood.

Ah, right, the IV. His gaze flicked to where it was attached to the crook of his elbow. He knew it was a bad movie trope to just rip it out, but he couldn’t very well leave with it still inserted. Mindful to keep pressure on the skin around it, he pulled out the IV with a hiss. Red flecked with green welled up from the wound, and he let the IV fall to the floor.

There didn’t seem to be any cameras in the room, so, with a slow, wobbling gait, he made his way to the window. He transformed into Phantom, but stumbled forward as the rings washed over him and caught himself on the windowsill. It felt like his head was spinning in dizzying circles. Inside him, he could feel a hollowness in his core. He felt… empty. That was disconcerting. Being Phantom usually caused his core to stretch with glee, like a cat unfurling after a long nap in the sun.

Danny closed his eyes for a moment against the sensation. He knew what was likely causing the emptiness–a grief not yet settled in. His grip on the windowsill tightened, knuckles turning white.

He shoved the memories of the faces of his family and friends down. Deep down where they wouldn’t come up like bile in his throat every time he exhaled.

Gritting his teeth, he tapped into that determination to get out of this damned hospital. It didn’t even matter if the nurses noticed he was missing.

(There wasn’t anyone left to care).

A growl of frustration bubbled in his throat. The windowsill was cracking in his grip, wood splintering under the pressure. The noise gave him pause, and he glanced briefly at the damage he had done. He sighed. This sort of fixation was why he needed to get out of the hospital.

He pushed off the ground and flew through the window, not bothering to turn invisible or watch the streets of Amity Park pass by below him. Danny didn’t even know where he was going, he just had to go somewhere. The route he took was subconscious, and one he had taken many times before. Surprise didn’t even register when he looked up and found himself floating in front of Fenton Works. He landed on the front step and tested the door handle, expecting to find it locked.

The door handle turned. He raised a brow at that.

Now it was curiosity that settled in his chest, rather than the ugly tangle of feelings he wanted nothing to do with. He pushed the door open to find his living room empty and untouched except for one thing of note–the door to the lab was open. Cautious, he floated inside, feet barely an inch above the ground, in case there was any to hear his footsteps.

Danny froze at the sound of voices coming from the lab.

“Are you sure this was Enchantress’ doing?”

“Mm, sure as I can be.”

“And where is June Moore in all of this?”

“Eh.”

He moved closer and glanced down the stairs, seeing nothing. They must be further in the lab. Closer to the portal, he noted. Danny continued to listen.

“Forthcoming as always.”

“Can’t tell you something I don’t know.”

He turned invisible and flew halfway down the stairs. In the lab, in front of the closed ghost portal, were two men.The first was a blond man with the look of a stereotypical detective. He was even smoking. Danny’s parents would have hated someone smoking in the lab. But, what caught his eye was the other–Batman. Wide-eyed, he watched Batman turn from the portal to face the detective. Most of his face was obscured, but it was easy to see he was scowling.

“What can you tell me?” Batman asked, voice a low growl in his chest.

The detective shrugged, “This place reeks of death.”

“This is where the girl made her last stand against Enchantress.” Batman paused before adding, “To protect her brother, we heard.”

Enchantress. There was that name again. Danny’s heart beat faster. Was that the name of the ghost–the thing–that took his family and so many others from him?

“How two kids ended up here when the rest of their peers were in that collapsed school building is beyond me.”

He bit his lip hearing that. If either of the men thought too deeply about that, would they investigate him? What excuse could he give for how he and Jazz got out of the collapse the ghost–Enchantress–caused?

“Jasmine Fenton must have been exceptional to be able to take down Enchantress.” There was an edge in Batman’s voice that suggested that he meant beyond the standard definition of exceptional. That gave Danny pause. If they thought Jazz was the ‘exceptional’ one, maybe he could get out of a Batman encounter without his secret being found and tossed to the Guys in White.

“Shame it was to protect a dead kid, though.”

Batman made a noise of disagreement. “Daniel Fenton isn’t dead.” The detective raised an eyebrow at that and took a long drag of his cigarette. Batman continued, “He’s recovering in Amity General as we speak. Miraculous survival, they say.”

“Miraculous indeed. Fenton girl really must have been something special to keep him from Enchantress’ claws.” The detective sounded almost impressed.

“That’s what I’m looking into, yes.”

“What of the other one?” He asked, to which Batman tipped his head to the side briefly to question his meaning. The detective sighed. “What’ll happen to the Fenton boy? Is your ‘friend’ going to take an interest?”

Before the hero could answer, there was a faint beep and grainy sounds of muffled talking, presumably over some sort of communicator. Danny’s hearing was good, but not good enough to hear what was being said. Batman moved away from the detective as he said, “Very well, I’ll be there as soon as I’m able.”

The detective huffed and dropped his cigarette, grinding it under the heel of his boot. Batman gave a pointed look, to which the other man gave an annoyed shrug. “Ditching me, then?”

Danny, realizing the two men would be leaving the lab, retreated back up the stairs and out the front door. He didn’t want to be caught–leave it to Batman to have something that could detect him even while invisible. His heart was beating far too quickly for his ghost form, anxiety heavy in his gut. Overhearing the conversation had certainly shifted the churning of his thoughts. He wasn’t sure if it was better than before he left the hospital room.

Had he been in a better frame of mind, perhaps Danny would have given pause to the black curling in the corners of his vision as he flew back to the hospital.

- - - -

The next day following Danny’s escapade, he was deemed healthy enough to be discharged. That would have been great had it not meant that the vultures better known as social services would be picking at the remains of his life. He was only half listening to the harpy talking to him now. She was prattling on about wills and laws.

“You do understand, right, Daniel?” She asked after a long pause.

He made a noncommittal noise.

The social worker he had forgotten the name of did not seem pleased.

“We’re discussing serious matters of your future, Daniel,” she scolded in what Danny bet she thought was a gentle, maternal tone but sounded more like thinly veiled condescension.

He spared her a side glance and shrugged, sardonically saying, “Something, something, my parent’s will.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Yes, your parents’ will. Did you listen to a word I said?”

“You certainly said words in an order.”

“Daniel,” she said with an exasperated sigh. “I was saying that your parents’ will designated your maternal Aunt Alicia as your guardian, but that she was deemed unfit.”

“I didn’t want to live in Spittoon anyways,” he grumbled under his breath. Danny didn’t have anything against his aunt, but he didn’t know her well enough to be too heartbroken at the news.

“Usually that means you’d become a ward of the state.”

He rolled his eyes. “You can just say foster care, ya know.”

“However,” the social worker with a sharp look, “Vladimir Masters has offered to take you in. From what I understand–”

“Pass,” Danny cut in.

“From what I understand,” she repeated, “Mister Masters was a close friend of your parents. He has resigned as mayor of Amity Park in wake of the Casper High Tragedy and will be moving back to his residence outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin.”

“I said pass. As in ‘nope, no way, not gonna happen’.” The last thing he wanted was to be stuck with Vlad for two years.

“Daniel, your only other option is to remain in foster care until you turn 18.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he said, shrugging. “C’mon, throw me in the system already.”

The social worker was looking at him like he had grown another head for turning down Vlad’s offer. He supposed that it was pretty nuts from the outside to so vehemently deny life as a billionaire’s charge. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the shrill ringing of her phone. Looking at the caller ID, she muttered, “Let me get this.” The social worker stepped out of his hospital room, and Danny zoned back out, not bothering to listen in on her conversation.

He had already resigned himself to two years of being bounced around the foster care system. The moment he turned 18, he was going to find his way back to Amity Park. Hopefully things wouldn’t go to hell too much without him around to deal with ghosts popping through the natural portals that plagued the city. Phantom belonged in Amity Park, that much Danny was certain of. Anywhere he ended up, he’d have to be careful to keep Phantom hidden. If anyone made the connection between Fenton and Phantom, there wouldn’t be anyone to go looking for him when the Guys in White caught wind of it.

The door of the hospital room slid open, and his social worker stepped back in. Her lips were pulled into a tight line as if trying but failing to school her expression into something neutral. “There is,” she paused to take a deep breath, “another option apparently.”

Danny said nothing and frowned. She waited a few moments to see if he’d respond. He didn’t.

Continuing, the social worker said, “Another party has expressed interest in adopting you.”

That was suspicious. Wracking his brain, he wondered who it could be. No way would the Mansons do that–they hated him. The Foleys? Maybe for Tucker’s memory, but he wasn’t particularly close to his parents. He didn’t think he made that big of an impact on their lives. Valerie and her dad only lived in a two bedroom apartment, so it couldn’t be them. No one else in Amity Park had ever taken an interest in his life. He furrowed his brow and asked, “Who?”

“Bruce Wayne.”

Danny blinked.

What?

He glanced at his social worker’s face to check for any hint of a lie, but there was nothing except that almost neutral expression.

Then, it clicked.

The conversation he had overheard–the detective had asked Batman about his ‘friend’. It made sense that Batman would be associates with Bruce Wayne, when he thought about it. Afterall, the superhero had to get funding for all his tech and toys somewhere. If Batman was looking into this Enchantress ghost that Jazz defeated, maybe he pitied Danny enough to ask Bruce Wayne to take him on as another charity case. It added up, but he felt like he was missing something.

Still… he’d be lying if Danny said he wasn’t fond of Batman. The hero wasn’t his idol or anything dramatic like that–of course not! But, when he got his powers, he had sort of asked himself ‘what would Batman do?’ as a guiding principle. And, if Batman trusted Bruce Wayne, maybe Danny could trust the man enough to agree to the adoption. It’d keep him out of Vlad’s hands and out of the foster system.

Danny looked down at where his hands were curled in his lap. He relaxed his hands and stretched out his fingers. There were crescent moon shapes on his palms from clenching them too hard over the past few days. The emptiness that had taken up residence in his core stretched in anticipation.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Tell Wayne I said sure.”

- - - -

The next two weeks passed in a blur of paperwork and phone calls. He was placed with a temporary family in Amity Park that he vaguely recognized from one time he saved their 6-year-old daughter from a building that collapsed during a fight with Skulker. They were nice enough and allowed Danny to spend his time there mostly in the small room they had set up for him. He learned, eventually, that his social worker’s name was Sarah (although he still was unsure of last name).

He passed the days lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and letting his mind drift, or locking the door and going for a fly around town as Phantom. To his surprise, there really weren’t any ghost attacks besides a few blobs bothering customers at the mall. Danny wondered if word about what had happened to Casper High and his family had spread around the Ghost Zone. A sort of respect had been forged between him and most of his ghostly enemies over time, and it wouldn’t be completely out of left field for them to direct their attention somewhere besides Amity Park out of that sense of respect. It certainly made him feel better about leaving for Gotham if that was the case.

The adoption process was being sped up from its usual timeline from what Danny understood. A combination of Bruce Wayne’s money and past record of successful adoptions, he figured. It only took a bit over two weeks for his departure to Gotham to roll around. His social worker Sarah had insisted on coming with him to see him off, so the flight there was full of uncomfortable small talk when Danny really just wanted to stare out of the window and wish he could fly alongside the plane.

Although he was trying to keep his mind off of it, he couldn’t help but think about the date. August 15th–the second anniversary of his portal accident.

It was strange to consider how his life would be changing on this day a second time with his official arrival at the Wayne household. It wasn’t as dramatic as dying and having your DNA recoded with ectoplasm, but it was still significant enough that he was struggling to think of much else. Stepping into that portal was simultaneously the best and worst choice he had ever made. Danny wouldn’t trade his life as Phantom for anything. Or, at least, that’s what he thought before the events of the previous weeks.

Now, he wasn’t too sure that he hadn’t caused this chain of events with the portal accident. Were the ghosts his fault? Was this ‘Enchantress’ his fault? Was Casper High’s collapse and all of those deaths his fault? The possibility of that wouldn’t leave him. So many people died, and was it all because Danny Fenton, age 14, tripped over a wire? His family and friends died–was that because he had taken up the mantle of Phantom? Maybe if he didn’t let Jazz get involved in ghost hunting in the first place, she wouldn’t have taken the Fenton Peeler and jumped into that last fight.

Danny tapped his fingers on the armrest restlessly. Sarah glanced at him questionly, noticing the agitation, but said nothing. She had come to understand that Danny didn’t appreciate her incessant questions if he was okay. The rest of the flight passed silently, Sarah’s idle chatter tapering off as Danny switched to ignoring her or only grunting a response.

When they landed and wandered the airport towards the pickup zone, it was a rather nice black car that came to pick them up. For all that Danny knew about car engines from years of watching his parents work on the GAV, he knew nothing about car brands besides that the car behind the man holding a sign with his name on it was very expensive. The man with the sign was an older gentleman wearing a three piece suit, although it seemed classier than when Vlad would wear something similar.

Sarah walked towards the man, gesturing Danny onward with her, and called out to him. He had a pleasant smile and demeanor, politely inclining his head in greeting and folding the sign under one of his arms.

“It’s good to see you both got in safe,” he said, voice smooth and warm, “I’m Alfred Pennyworth, the butler at Wayne Manor. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Fenton.” Danny shrugged in response and dragged his luggage over to the back of the car, moving to open the trunk and throw it in the back himself. Alfred stepped up next to him and took the luggage from him with an easy smile. “Let me get that for you.”

Sarah made eye contact with Danny and gestured towards Alfred, saying under her breath, “Thank him and introduce yourself, Daniel.”

“Fine,” he muttered back to her, then cleared his throat and spoke louder, “Uh, thanks for picking us up. I’m Danny Fenton, but you already know that, I guess. It is Fenton, though. Not Wayne.”

Alfred took the abrasiveness in stride, not seeming too bothered, as he replied, “Yes, Master Danny, I assisted Master Wayne with the adoption process, so I am aware you have kept your original last name. You do not have to worry about being referred to wrong by me or any of the family.”

“Oh, um, cool. Thanks, I guess,” Danny said.

The butler opened the car door for him, and he slid into the seat. It was far more comfortable than any car had a right to be, he noted. Sarah and Alfred chatted for a few minutes, probably going over some sort of official adoption business nonsense, before his social worker redirected her attention to him. “I’ll be leaving you in Mister Pennyworth’s capable hands, but we’ll be in touch.”

He just gave her a half-hearted thumbs up and buckled up. Sarah hesitated a few moments before shaking her head, and heading off in another direction. Getting into the car, Alfred lightly commented that the drive to Wayne Manor would be about an hour. At that, Danny popped earbuds in and turned on his favorite Dumpty Humpty album to listen to. A text from Sarah popped up on his phone.

Social Worker Lady: And remember, don’t be rude! Talk to him!

He typed back a quick ‘no’ and turned his phone on do not disturb so he wouldn’t be bothered by her response.

The ride to Wayne Manor passed by in silence after Alfred, glancing through the rearview mirror, noticed that Danny had closed himself off to conversation. The only sound between them was the faint hum of the engine (probably some sort of hybrid engine judging by the sound, he noted) and the music playing through his headphones. The Wayne Manor was in a nice, sprawling neighborhood full of old houses that looked more like small castles. It put a scowl on his face, as it brought up imagery of Vlad garish green and yellow mansion in his mind. The car pulled up to park near the front entrance–a grand wooden double doorway. The place reeked of old money. After the car rolled to a stop, Danny unbuckled and wordlessly hopped out of the car. He pulled out his earbuds and shoved them back in his pocket.

“Are you ready to meet Master Wayne and some of his sons?” Alfred asked gently.

Danny gave another half-hearted shrug. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

As they approached the doorway, Alfred pulled it open for him and gestured him into the entrance hall. If he hadn’t been used to popping into Vlad’s various mansions so often, he might have been impressed by the house as he stepped in. It was meticulously well kept and tastefully decorated. He analyzed the room, carefully cataloging every detail of the entrances, exits, and potential threats before he let his gaze land on the people gathered around a loveseat.

There were three individuals–a man around his parent’s age and two teenagers. The man was obviously Bruce Wayne, but he couldn’t put names to the faces of the teenagers besides a guess that they were Wayne’s other adopted wards. The younger of the two looked like he’d swallowed a lemon as he eyed Danny up and down. Danny was curious to note that he looked quite similar to Bruce besides skin tone. The older one was much more relaxed, almost excited judging bow how he was grinning and jittering his leg as he sat. Bruce and the older of the two teenagers stood up to greet him and Alfred.

“Daniel, I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Bruce Wayne said with a dazzling smile, reaching out his hand. It was the kind of smile that would easily win over anyone else, but Danny couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a mask. He certainly didn’t think Bruce was a bad guy judging by his working relationship with Batman, but he couldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows.

Danny cautiously took Bruce’s hand to shake. “It’s Danny. No one calls me Daniel.” Except Vlad, he added to himself.

Bruce nodded, taking that information in and then gestured towards the two teenage boys. “These are two of my sons–the older one is Duke and the younger is Damian. There’s also Tim, Cassandra, and Dick, but they no longer live at the manor.”

The older teenager, Duke, waved from where he stood next to Bruce, and Damian merely inclined his head as a greeting. Duke said, “We also have a handful of family friends that are practically family you’ll see around the manor! Stephanie, Jason, and Barbara.”

Danny nodded, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. He glanced back at Alfred behind him who had grabbed his luggage from the car. “Um, can you show me to my room?” He asked.

“We were just about to have dinner together,” Bruce interjected, “we try to have meals together as often as possible, since all of our lives are busy otherwise. You will not be required to attend, but there will be a spot saved for you.”

Duke flashed Danny a hopeful smile, but he glanced back to where Damian still sat, scowling, on the couch. He got the feeling that he wasn’t actually welcomed by the entire Wayne family. It set him on edge.

“Uh, usually I just eat in my room,” he said, “my family stopped eating together before my freshman year.”

A flash of disappointment crossed Bruce’s face, but the man quickly hid it. “That’s quite alright. Alfred can bring you something to eat after showing you to your new room.”

Danny mumbled a thanks under his breath and followed after Alfred up the stairs. He committed the hallways of the manor to memory as the butler explained what room each door led to. His room would be in between Duke’s and Damian’s rooms and have a bathroom of its own attached to the room. That aspect he was pretty excited about, since at Fenton Works he had to share a bathroom with Jazz.

“Feel free to decorate your room however you please. If you want to paint the walls or get new furniture, you need only ask,” Alfred said. “I’ll leave you to unpack and be back with a meal for you in an hour or two.”

He watched Alfred’s retreating form before entering his new room. Cautiously, he circled the bedroom and examined it. It was large–easily twice the size of his old bedroom–but bland. That was to be expected, he supposed. Looking at his luggage, he sighed. He really didn’t want to unpack, so he shoved the suitcase into the closet to deal with later. The bed looked like it might be a king size and was covered in plush pillows and a nice quilt. Flopping down on it, he sighed and relaxed into the blankets. The blank ceiling was white.

Danny frowned.

He’d have to change that.

#danny phantom #crossover danuary week 2022 #xover danuary 2022 #danny phantom fanfic

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dannys-phantoms · 3 years

Text

Doorways

DannyMay 2021 Day 5: Doorway

Read also on AO3

Sam and Tucker are directed to a special place in the ghost zone, and told to look around. They would never have guessed the things they see.

AKA Danny gets a lair

(Everlasting Trio)

To say that Danny got detentions often would be an understatement. Normally it was something that he could have probably avoided, like by actually doing his homework or not playing on his phone in class, but this time it was different. He’d fallen asleep on his desk – again – because he’d stayed up all night chasing Johnny 13 and his shadow all over Amity Park until all three of them were too tired to continue. And then, of course, when he was finally getting ready to tuck himself into bed, his ghost sense had gone off again. It’s a wonder that kid ever got any sleep.

Lancer had taken one look at him drooling on the desk and that was it, Danny Fenton would be staying late. It made sense, really, because he had an obligation to teach a certain syllabus, and it was obvious that Danny needed something a little more... fine tuned. Even so, Sam and Tucker both were in agreement that it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

They loved hanging out together even just as a duo, of course. They did it all the time. Three was never a crowd with them, but two was nice as well. When there’s only two, they’d never have to vie for attention, or wonder if they’re somehow third wheeling in their three-way love story. The reason they were missing Danny was for something else entirely. It was probably something to do with the eight-foot wolfman that had appeared in the middle of Tucker’s room.

He’d just been showing off his latest PDA (she’s called Norah, in case you were wondering) and Sam had been sufficiently engaged (enjoying seeing him happy more than she was actually following the conversation) when three jagged gashes had opened up between them, green and shimmering in the air and tempting a glimpse into the ghost zone. Then, the rift expanded and the creature swung through, landing heavily on his paws.

“Hi, Wulf,” said Sam, hesitantly.

He put a paw on Sam’s shoulder, and Tucker tensed as though he was ready for a fight. They were all friendly enough, of course, but it’s difficult not to be wary with those claws so close to someone’s face.

“Saluton, amikoj,” Wulf greeted, before pushing both of them through the portal he’d just made. “Vi volos ĉirkaŭrigardi antaŭ ol li revenos!”

They landed hard, and before they could look up to ask what exactly he meant, the portal was closed again. If only they’d put more effort into their Esperanto.

It was a wonder they weren’t both sinking through the floor, humans that they were, but Tucker decided not to dwell on it. There were unquestionably going to be weirder things going on here than that.

The hallway itself looked perfectly normal. Green, of course, but normal. They’d been deposited near the top of a set of stairs, and ahead of them were a series of wooden doorways. Under their splayed fingers was soft carpet.

It wasn’t a house they recognised but it quite easily could have belonged to a neighbour, or a schoolmate. It looked so laughably ordinary that they weren’t quite sure what to do with themselves.

The door closest to them creaked back on its hinges, opening a fraction to let a gust of warm wind through. It wavered for a few seconds before gliding almost to a close again.

Sam got to her feet with a sigh and offered a hand to Tucker. After she’d pulled him to his feet, neither of them let go.

The doorway was wooden and grained, looking more like her own kitchen door than one to a ghost realm. She squeezed Tucker’s hand and pushed it open.

She didn’t know what she’d expected, not really, but she knew it wasn’t this. Despite not having been for years, she still recognised the streets of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, deep in the throes of the Mothman Festival.

Nobody knew how much she’d treasured her memories of this place. Nobody except her boyfriends, that is. Even her own parents didn’t know that she dreamed of it almost every night.

It wasn’t a perfect replica of the place. It was as if the architect had merely been told about it, rather than having seen it themselves. Nevertheless, it was enough to have her mouth hanging open. There were pairs of red eyes everywhere, staring at her from every shop front, every costume, every street decoration and even from the foods in the signature Mothman pizza stores and bakeries. The live band was playing eerie music and, when she really stopped to look, she could have sworn that something was watching her from the trees.

If Sam could have chosen a heaven, a place to let her soul spend an eternity, she would have chosen here.

Tucker blinked owlishly behind his glasses. “Sam,” he said, in awe. “Is this...?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “It is”.

The music was pulsing around her, lulling her into a dance. Arms and legs and wings spun from every side as the crowd moved towards the bronze cryptid statue in the centre of the square. She’d not smiled like this for years. It was as if she was delirious. Someone offered her a Mothman lollipop, and she took it without hesitation.

Tucker took it from her gently as she began to wrestle with the wrapper. “It’s too dangerous. We still don’t know what’s going on. This could all be a trap.” He winced apologetically and, even though she tried to argue, she knew he was right.

She steeled herself and took his hand, marching back into the green hallway and pulling the door shut behind her. As soon as the latch clicked, it was silent again.

“Come on, let’s keep going.” Her voice was shaky.

Behind the next door was a meadow lined with trees. Here, it was the middle of spring. The pollen tickled both of their noses, and they quickly retreated before the hayfever could truly set in.

On the other side of the hall was a bright red door. Tucker reached for the handle, but Sam held him back.

“Red means danger, smartypants.”

“Awe, you do care,” he replied jovially. Then, he quirked an eyebrow and sent her the finger guns. “Red also means love.”

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help her lips quirking in a smile. “I’m being serious, Tuck.”

“As am I.”

He reached forward to open the door, and then immediately stepped back again as he got a wave of vertigo.

They were at the top of a huge drop slide, which was the same shiny red as a circus big top. There were a queue of ghost children lining up, but they all stepped aside, beckoning Tucker to go first.

“Don’t you dare.”

“Sorry, Sammy,” he replied, “but this is just too awesome.”

He sat down on the side and then launched his body forwards, sending it into the oxymoronic state of controlled freefall that left him feeling as light as a bird. It was as though all of his worries were flying from the top of his head. He felt a laugh bubble free and crossed his arms over his chest, equal parts Egyptian mummy and child at a water park.

The drop gradually began to round off, until he slowed down and crashed into a ball pit at the bottom. He’d been falling for what felt like forever.

Sam slid to a stop next to him. “Never, and I mean never, do that to me again.”

Her hair was mussed and her breathing was heavy. He declined to point out that she’d followed after him, even though she’d thought it unsafe. It left a warm fluttering feeling in his belly.

“I won’t.” He smiled.

The ballpit took off, zooming high into the air until they were at the top of the dropslide again. The sudden motion would normally have made them queasy, or at the least lightheaded, but it didn’t. One second they were at the bottom and the next they were at the top. It was more like the space had moved around them.

Tucker looked longingly at the slide, wanting to go again, but Sam grabbed his hand and pulled him back through the door. It would do no good to linger too long in one place.

The door right at the end of the hallway was glowing around the edges, as though there were nothing but lamps on the other side. Sam made a move towards it. What could this one be? A beachside paradise, perhaps? The light room of a photography studio?

She was inches away from the doorknob when she heard a familiar whoosh. A ghost portal. From the look on Tucker’s face, he’d heard it too.

They looked towards the stairway behind them as it was illuminated in a green glow, gone as quickly as it had arrived. Then, there were whisper-quiet footsteps.

They were both rooted in place. Every instinct suggested they should run, but where to? You can’t hide from a ghost in it’s own lair.

Soon though, a shock of white hair appeared over the banister, then a pair of slouched shoulders clothed all in black.

“Danny?” Tucker said incredulously.

The ghost whipped around, immediately at high alert with an ectoblast ready to go. He only fractionally calmed down when he saw who was there.

“Shit, Tucker? Sam? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Sam said dryly.

“I’m not ready for you guys to be here yet. I was waiting for the right time... have you been following me?”

“What?” Tucker said. “Danny, no, of course not. Wulf brought us here. Said something about looking around before ‘he’ comes back.”

Danny slumped, hand on his forehead. “Dammit, Wulf. That’s the last time I trust him with a secret. How much did you see?”

“Not enough for it to make sense,” Sam said, arms crossed. “Where the hell are we?”

Danny sighed, then looked her in the eye. He looked defeated. “Its my lair. Its not done yet, not by a long shot, which is why I didn’t want to show you –”

“Wait, what? I thought only full ghosts could have a lair.” Tucker’s brow creased.

Danny let out a hollow laugh. “Who knows what halfas can do, really? It’s not like there’s enough of us to study. This place is half ghost, like me, so I can touch stuff and walk about , no matter that mode I’m in. I’m guessing you can too. It helps, because it means I don’t fall through the bed.”

“The bed?”

“Yeah, it’s just through there.”

He looked between them to the glowing door, which he pushed open with one finger.

They were standing on the edge of open space. A million stars twinkled around them, piercing the blackness like twinkling diamonds on a velvet curtain. A red carpet rolled out in front of them, connecting the hallway to a larger rug, also floating. Below it was a deep chasm, the void never ending.

Danny floated down the carpet, which was rippling in an invisible breeze, and the others followed. It was surprisingly solid.

The rug at the end was covered with bean bags and blankets, and the biggest bed any of them had ever seen, big enough to fit ten people easily. Danny threw himself on top of the plush quilt.

“This is... I didn’t want you to see it, because I didn’t know what you’d think. I didn’t want to scare you off.”

Tucker laughed. “You’re a ghost. If we were going to get scared off, I think it would have happened already.”

“I guess,” Danny smiled sadly. “But... If you’d known my lair was adapting to the wants of all three of us, you could’ve thought maybe it was getting too weird.”

“Are you kidding me? This place is awesome!” Sam flopped down onto the bed next to him.

“I was thinking of asking you to stay here with me. Not all the time, obviously.”

“That would be cool,” Tucker said, trying to hide how excited the prospect made him.

“Think about it, Tuck,” Danny groaned. “You guys don’t belong here. You’re humans.”

“Okay, so maybe it needs a kitchen and a bathroom fitting, but other than that it’s pretty sound.”

“One of those doors opens into a Tomahawk Steakhouse,” Danny smiled.

Sam put her hand in his supportively. “We love you. We’d follow you to the ends of the Earth and beyond, you know that.”

Tucker sat down next to his partners and took Danny’s other hand.

Danny made a mental note to send a ‘thank you’ postcard to Wulf when he next saw him.

#danny phantom #dannymay2021 #everlasting trio #DannyMay #sam manson #tucker foley #danny fenton #wulf #fic #my writing #mine

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goodfish-bowl · 3 years

Link

@floralflowerpower here’s the fic you asked for, took me a bit but I think it turned out pretty well!

based on this post and this headcanon

Summary: Danny had to admit, he’d never thought something like this would happen. Usually, the roles were reversed, and he’d be the one bursting in through warehouse doors, guns blazing, ready to kick some ghost butt. Never thought he’d be the one dangling precariously close to a large vat of somewhat familiar bubbling ectoplasm, while the stereotypical villain paced near the lever that would drop him to his doom. That made him the damsel in distress, a concerning idea.

Words: 3530

Danny had to admit, he’d never thought something like this would happen. Usually, the roles were reversed, and he’d be the one bursting in through warehouse doors, guns blazing, ready to kick some ghost butt. Never thought he’d be the one dangling precariously close to a large vat of somewhat familiar bubbling ectoplasm, while the stereotypical villain paced near the lever that would drop him to his doom. That made him the damsel in distress, a concerning idea.

Normally, this wouldn’t be concerning, but he couldn’t phase through the chain that was wrapped around him enough times he resembled a cocoon rather than a hostage. It must’ve come from the Ghost Zone, with the light glow emitting from the mental links and the lack of burning pain associated with anti-ghost coatings and ectoranium. At least he bought local. He liked the energy coming off of the surprisingly large container of ectoplasm, radiating a glow and mist that bathed everything he saw in green, even less than the idea of being chained upside-down over said vat. He didn’t want to find out why.

Who was this loser anyway? The ghost lawyer? He’d never seen, heard, nor smelled this ghost in his entire half-life. His navy suit contrasted awfully with his green skin, violet eyes, and mint-green hair, and those red shoes definitely didn’t match any of it. What a lame villain, couldn’t even dress himself properly.

“Hey! Looser!” Danny called out, and the lawyer ghost perked up.

“Splendid! You’re awake! It would’ve been anticlimactic if you stayed unconscious,” the ghost remarked.

“Should’ve stayed unconscious, it would’ve kept me from having to witness your crime against fashion. Who are you and how’d I get here? Last I checked you didn’t ask me if I wanted to hang out?” Danny quipped.

“I am Wright, a ghost of due process and order, and your darling Valerie Gray has thwarted me for the last time! I boyfriend-napped you to draw her here! Your doom will serve as her punishment,” Wright exclaimed, like a looser.

Danny just stared at the ghost for a minute as his head attempted to wrap around what was going on, and hanging upside down, wrapped in chains, didn’t help.

“’Boyfriend-napped? Seriously? That’s not even a word, and Val and I stopped dating, like, a year ago!” Danny pointed out.

“Irrelevant,” Wright huffed, ”You still hold her affections, and your death will cause her the same grief she caused me.”

Danny scoffed, “What’d she do to you anyways? She shoots at all the ghosts, you’re not special.”

“I wasn’t aware that you knew about her… nightly activities,” Wright stated, and Danny gave him a look.

“Ok, let me get this straight, who am I to you?” Danny asked, confused. Most ghosts were aware that Valerie was the Red Huntress, and Wright had yet to make a remark about having “captured Phantom”.

“Daniel Fenton, the son of the infamous ghosthunters Madeline and Jack Fenton of Amity Park, and the former sweetheart of Valerie Gray, the Red Huntress,” Wright announced.

“Right, ok. What do you know about Phantom?”

“I hold great admiration for the protector of Amity Park! He goes through the process of capturing ghosts with efficiency and never acts without just cause! He’s a powerful ghost worthy of the titles bestowed upon him! He valiantly defends both his haunt and the people who live there, both human and ghost! Truly a pillar of order and process!” Wright gushed and Danny fought the urge to roll his eyes, ”What does this have to do with you, however?”

Danny frowned, fighting off the reflex to claim Amity wasn’t his haunt, but his home. The praise was appreciated, but he really didn’t understand why this ghost held him so high. He was more surprised by the fact that this ghost didn’t know that Phantom and Fenton were the same damn person and that he had just kidnapped someone he held in such high regard.

“What do you mean by ‘order and process’?” Danny asked, just to get a proper definition as to what this poorly dressed lawyer was on.

“He properly maintains a level of organization and protection in Amity Park, protecting the order and in every single fight plays out how it’s supposed to be. A trespasser with malicious intentions shows up, Phantom arrives shortly, they banter and fight, Phantom emerges victorious, and the trespasser is removed from the premises, thus process. Does that make sense to your feeble human mind?” Wright chastised, explaining himself carefully.

Danny rolled his eyes. “Well, aren’t you a ghost ‘trespassing’ in Amity Park? Doesn’t that mean Phantom will he show up to save m, tossing you back into the Zone?” Danny bluffed.

“But we’re not in Amity Park, I may have boyfriend-napped–“

“Please never say that word again.”

“-you from there, but that’s not where we currently are. Red Huntress operates out of Elmertown, and I would never infringe upon Phantom’s haunt!”

Huh, Danny supposed that made sense to a point, he never really dealt with ghosts in Elmertown, since they were usually just low-level specters that usually didn’t mean any harm. If Val was operating out of here, then it made sense that there would be so few ghosts, and also that the ghosts that were afraid or ‘admired’ him like Wright would stick to Elmertown rather than Amity.

“And Val doesn’t follow your version of ‘order and process’?”

“NO! She shows up, never lets me get through my proper monologue or cause the necessary level of chaos, and then threatens my afterlife, completely uncivilized! What an improper lady! Always shooting first, never asking questions!” Wright exasperated.

“Sorry, but that’s Val’s order and process. Guns blazing and ready to kick some ghost butt.”

Valerie burst in through the doors, with perfect theatric timing, her ecto-rifle poised and aimed at Wright.

“Danny!” she exclaimed, immediately focusing on him before shifting her rage towards the ghost in the room.

Oh boy, did she look pissed. Danny wasn’t sure if he’d ever pushed her to the point Wright currently had. Her suit blazed with scarlet energy, read to fire at the drop of a hat, bright enough Danny could see it over the green haze of the pool of ectoplasm beneath him.

“Finally! It took you long enough. I left a note and everything,” Wright complained, unmoved by her anger.

“Let Danny go, or I blast a hole straight through you this time, Wright,” Valerie snarled.

Wright sneered, ”You shoot me, and I drop the boy-toy into a vat of concentrated ectoplasm. There’s not even enough distance for you to swoop in and save him before he’s at least partially submerged.”

Valerie looked over to Danny, and he almost smiled in greeting, but he managed to stop himself as a particular detail resurfaced. Fenton didn’t know Valerie was the Red Huntress, that was knowledge only Phantom was privy to. Damn it. Valerie’s eyes were wide in fear under her visor, and her grip tightened on her rifle considerably. Danny couldn’t make a joke or anything, and he was forced to fill his expression with unfamiliarity and panic, like a proper actor. He met her eyes anyways, cool and calm, before gritting his teeth. He trusted Valerie, she would save him, but he also knew her well enough to know she hated playing along. Valerie hadn’t realized that the Red Huntress wasn’t supposed to know Danny Fenton either, so perhaps it evened out in its own way.

“Dragging a bystander into a personal fight is just like a ghost,” she spat the word, “What is it you want?”

Wright began with a flourish of his arms, “For everything to play out in the proper order of course! For an order to be restored to your haphazard violence! We are going to go through all of the proper motions of this encounter and the winner will always be the hero! We just have to figure out who’s who.”

“I’m not letting you monologue while Da-… while an innocent is hanging over… whatever that is!” Valerie protested.

“I never expected such an aggressive and weak-minded being such as you to understand the importance of doing things the right way! That’s why I needed a hostage.” Wright huffed. “Also, It’s concentrated ectoplasm. like the name implies its densely packed ectoplasm, a powerful source of energy for both ghosts and most of your human anti-ghost technology, but burns through humans faster than hydrochloric acid,” Wright explained, and Danny couldn’t help but pale in response.

Oh… that was bad, and no wonder he recognized it, he’d seen it in small amounts around the lab. Danny also didn’t want to see how he, a half-ghost currently human, would react to it. Valerie also apparently didn’t want to find out, more than she wanted to blast a hole through Wright apparently. Her shoulders began trembling and she grit her teeth, glancing rapidly between where Danny was dangling and where Wright waited patiently for her to make her decision. Danny took a deep breath and called out to her, snapping her out of her internal conflict.

“Don’t worry about me, Red Huntress! I’ll just hang out right here! I’m not going anywhere!”

Valerie sent Danny a look, exasperated and melancholic, most likely due to the pun, before setting her gaze on Wright, who had a large grin on his face displaying way too many teeth.

“Fine,” she spat, “let’s get this over with.”

“Wonderful!” Wright clapped his hands, “As you can see, Red Huntress, I have captured Danny Fenton! And unless you defeat me in the next three minutes, he will get dropped to his doom!”

“Wait, there’s a timer?” Danny asked, and Wright ignored his interruption, hitting a button next to the lever, probably starting the timer.

“Now meet your maker, Red Huntress!”

Wright vaulted over the bars of the platform he was standing on, directly at Valerie. She met him halfway with a crimson blast, energy meeting the sole of his atrocious red shoes in a form of deflection, launching him into the air where he remained suspended. He launched several violet ectoblasts while Valerie charged up her gun again, taking to the air as her hoverboard formed beneath her feet. They began a combination of hand-to-hand strikes and blasts midair, often speeding out of Danny’s view as he craned his neck to witness the fight. There was too much blood in his head for him to focus properly, but there was something off about the way Wright fought.

One, two, three, five ecto blasts, then he switched to close combat, striking 7 times with his fists and ending in a kick to gain some distance before firing ectoblasts again. It was in order…

“Red! He’s fighting in a pattern! Five blasts, seven punches, one kick!” Danny called out.

They careened back in front of him, and Val nodded in confirmation. Wright ended with a kick and floated back into the air.

“I’ve seen you figured me out! But it will not allow you to defeat me!”

Wright fired off his blasts, and Valerie easily countered them, now knowing what to expect. Wright came in close again, attempting to rush her. His fist connected to her forearms 6 times, each blocked easily and efficiently by Valerie’s suit, doing practically no damage. She had positioned herself right near the chain that held Danny above ‘his doom’. Wright had one more hit left, but rather than take it he backed off, just as the timer beeped.

“It seems it’s time for us to end this charade, Red Huntress.” Wright declared and broke the pattern early and fired a clean and precise ectoblast behind Valerie.

The chain went slack, and Danny plummeted. Valerie grasped it in desperation shouting something he couldn’t hear, but it was too late, the upper half of his body dunked below the surface.

It was like getting dunked into freezing water, at least before he became immune to the cold. It sent shivers and rose goosebumps along every single point of contact, he saw nothing but green. It felt like the submerged half of his body had fallen asleep, pins and needles piercing his skin, but never actually hurting him. Danny thrashed despite this, desperate to get out the concoction meant to kill him, not realizing he wasn’t in pain as panic swept away any other rational thought.

(page break)

“Danny!” Valerie shouted, grasping desperately for the chain.

It skid in her grip, a yard too late and Danny slipped halfway below the surface. His whole body thrashed sending ripples across the surface but making no sound. She screamed, her voice filling the empty void of Danny’s soundlessness. It was already too late, some part of her mind spoke, but she refused to acknowledge it. As fast she physically could, she tied the chain to the closest bar and launched herself on her hoverboard. She snapped the chain Danny was hanging from with ease and a grief-filled ectoblast, and took Danny down to the ground, careful not to touch the green sludge the covered the upper half of his torso.

Valerie’s hoverboard collapsed back into her suit, and then they met eyes, something that her mind could barely register. Even more than that, she wasn’t looking at the face that had plummeted into the vat. Phantom’s eyes stared back wide, bright green and covered in ectoplasm, stared back on her, while the bottom half remained clothed in jeans and battered red converse. Her mind short-circuited, and she was pretty sure her suit as well from the beating it had just taken.

Danny… Phantom… whoever the hell she was staring at seemed to finally realize that he was out, let out a cough, rolling over onto his stomach to purge the concentrated ectoplasm from his lung, and heaved a deep breath of air he couldn’t possibly need once they were clear. He rolled back over and sat up, shifting in the chains, trying to get out of them.

Valerie saw red, and snatched the chains, pulling Phantom’s face close to hers, a snarl on her face. Phantom’s eyes widened and he yelped at the sudden tug.

“Is this what you do?! You teamed up with Wright of all ghosts to get to me?!” Valerie cried.

Phantom’s eyes widened, confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! I was kidnapped!” He yelped.

“Don’t lie to me Phantom!”

Phantom froze, looking like a dear caught in headlights. He frantically tried to glance himself over, writhing in place, still unable to move his arms since he was still chained up. Valerie had no intention of unchaining him now. He caught sight of his jumpsuit and shook some of his soaked hair into his face, catching its color.

“Oh.”

“What do you mean ‘Oh’?!”

“Just learned what happens when I get drenched in concentrated ectoplasm.” His tone was even and quiet and only served to infuriate her further.

“Answer me, Phantom!”

“I didn’t lie!” He shouted right back, “He really did kidnap me!”

“Then where is Danny?! He’s still missing. Does Wright still have him?” She demanded.

Phantom shifted around in the chains again, and Valerie unceremoniously dropped him to the floor. He grunted by was focused on the chains now. Phantom’s eyes flared ice blue, overtaking their normal toxic green, and the chains froze solid. With enough strain, the metal links shattered and clattered uselessly to the floor. He stretched his arms and glanced them over.

There was a line, clear and definable, where the ectoplasm hadn’t touched him. Under the green substance, was Phantom, jumpsuit and all, but Valerie was fixated on the borderline, as was Phantom, where the jumpsuit transitioned into Danny’s iconic red and white shirt. There were no gloves on his hands, and the jumpsuit ceased existing halfway down his arms, and the skin underneath the goo was the same color as Phantom’s face, but the dry areas were the same pale as Danny’s skin.

“I’m right here, Valerie,” Phantom said, looking straight through her.

Valerie scoffed, “I see you here, Phantom, but where’s Danny Fenton?”

“I’m Danny Fenton.”

Of all the things Phantom could’ve said, that wasn’t the answer she wanted. For the second time that night, her mind reeled to a halt.

"You can’t be Danny, you’re a ghost,” Valerie justified.

“And people can die? I just happen to be caught in the middle.” Phantom said, making no sense.

“You died? Danny’s dead?” Her voice came out quietly, almost a whimper.

“I’m more like half-dead.” He had the nerve to laugh. “A bit of both ghost and human mixed together, I can be either-or.”

“What was the name of the flour baby we raised together?” She pressed, looking for a piece of information Danny would know, but Phantom shouldn’t.

“We… we didn’t name it, did we? I’m pretty sure that wasn’t one of the requirements Mr. Lancer gave us.” Phantom responded with a weak chuckle.

Valerie looked at him, really looked at him. Phantom and Fenton didn’t really look that different, in fact, they were surprisingly similar to the point it was eerie. He had always looked freakily familiar, and now she knew why. They had the same facial structure, hairstyle, and even the awful senses of humor lined up. The only difference was that Phantom was a ghost, and Danny was human.

“How can you be half-dead?” Valerie asked.

“Turns out the portal is really dark on the inside, that is until you turn it on from the inside.”

It took Valerie a minute, but then she understood. She fully understood. Her helmet and visor retracted, revealing her watering eyes. Danny was Phantom, and Phantom was Danny. He wasn’t being overshadowed, overshadowing didn’t look like this, not half-covered in ectoplasm like he was. Danny didn’t make eye contact, choosing instead to collect a bit of it onto his finger, watching intently as his skin sizzled, glowing white and the edges and spreading like a chemical reaction until it reached the edge of the ectoplasm. The skin became discolored, and a bit of white-silver glove appeared, manifesting all on its own underneath the goop. Then he had the nerve to lick it off.

Valerie scrunched up her face in disgust while Phantom seemed to contemplate the taste, still focusing on his finger. The darker skin tone and glove seemed to dissolve away on their own back into pale skin once the ectoplasm was gone. Danny really was Phantom.

Valerie threw herself onto the ground and punched him as hard as she could in her given state, her suit protecting her from the concentrated ectoplasm on his body that could possibly burn her if Wright was to be trusted.

“Ouch!” Danny complained, rubbing his arm where she’d hit, the ectoplasm spreading to his hand forming the glove again.

“I dated you!” Valerie protested, “I dated you, and then broke up with you!”

Danny’s gaze shifted around, confused and sheepish. “Y-yeah?”

“I broke up with you to focus on hunting you!”

“Yeah?”

“And you knew this entire damn time!”

“Uhhhhhh… yeah.” He admitted, looking down awkwardly and attempting to wipe his hand off on his jeans, but only succeeded in spreading the ectoplasm around. The patch of denim transformed into black rubber.

“You ruined my life!”

“I’ve told you a thousand times! It was an accident!” Danny protested, wiping his hand on the ground again in an attempt to get more off but finally looking back up at her.

Valerie stared at him for a moment, before devolving into a fit of giggles, getting to her feet from where she had seated herself on the floor. Danny looked up at her, even more confused than before.

“You really need to wash that stuff off, or are you going to lick yourself clean?” Valerie teased.

Danny huffed indignantly, climbed to his own feet, and a white ring blossomed around his waist. Valerie watched in awe as what parts were still Fenton transformed into equally an equally familiar jumpsuit and set of silver boots. The ectoplasm that still coated him slowly vanished, absorbed into his ghostly form. The ghostly halo around him grew in intensity, glowing brighter than before. His feet lifted from the floor and he began to float, eyes also growing in intensity. Danny gave a large smile, literally beaming bright enough to light up a good portion of the warehouse all on his own.

“Thanks, Val,” Danny said.

“For what exactly?” she asked.

“Well, you didn’t shoot me when I told you I was Danny Fenton, you saved me from witnessing Wright's awful sense of fashion any longer, and finally for Elmertown,” Danny counted off on his fingers.

"Elmertown?”

Danny put his hands on his hips matter-of-factly, ”Even if I don’t agree with your methods, you’ve been protecting Elmertown from ghosts. So, thank you,” Danny confessed.

He landed on the ground in front of her, boots barely making as sound and bright enough she was nearly blinded by it. He gave her a large, goofy smile, one that she was much more used to seeing on Fenton’s face than Phantom’s, but it only reinforced the idea that they were the same person.

Valerie smiled right back.

#Danny Phantom #fanfic #ao3 #some grayghost #its light though #goodfish writes #dp headcanons #floral's fault #its cute though #I like writing ridiculous characters light Wright #post was broken had to fix it

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breynekai-tfc · 3 years

Text

Threw all my stories into picker wheel, and it told me to write “Hunger”, so I said, “Okay, mysterious forces of the universe, I’ll write that first chapter.”

Not even one page in, and I’ve made myself cry.

That’s how you know it’s good. 👍

---------

Here’s some insights. Welcome to the Parasite AU. Let’s meet the Armageddon Worm.

In this AU, Danny Fenton is living in Amity Park, which is one of the last civilizations on the planet. About 20 years earlier, a parasite appeared.

This parasite is carried by animals but does not affect them in any way. Mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians; there is nothing that does not become a carrier. Soon, the entire ecosystem is infected, across the globe.

Animals carry the parasite, but it thrives in humans. It enters the human body when humans ingest meat. The parasite is a nasty little guy, too; like the tardigrade, they can withstand extreme temperatures, radiation, vast amounts of pressure, and can go for ten years (or more) without food or water and still be able to bounce back and reproduce. In the human body, they can utilize blood and energy to rapidly heal their hosts. Really, the only way to kill a human infested with the parasite is to destroy the brain (thus rendering the nervous system useless) and then destroy the body by incineration at a high temperature. Cutting out the parasite is ineffective, because it has infected the blood and will simply grow back. Also, removing it from the nervous system is almost always fatal to the host.

Once inside a human, it begins growing in their stomachs and hijacks their nervous system. It eats and replaces the majority of their internal organs, leaving only the heart and lungs behind. The host gains heightened senses and physical abilities and miraculous regenerative abilities, but they become ruled by hunger and lose most of their cognitive function.

In the final stage of its development, the parasite processes the consumed organs, expands its size, attaches itself to the severed blood vessels, and finishes developing the iconic “devouring arm”. The arm sits at the base of the throat, and during feeding/hunting, can extend from the host’s mouth and use its sharp masticators to cut food and the internal teeth to move it into the main body of the parasite. There, the food is processed for energy, and anything the body can’t use is hacked up. Very soon after ejecting the waste, high levels of ghrelin are produced, and the host is once again stimulated to hunt.

(Think Guillermo del Toro’s “The Strain”, except they’re not vampires.)

Anyhow, about 20 years ago, this parasite appeared. It can infect humans through bites from one to another, contact with infected blood, or ingesting an infected animal; so for some time, people did not know where it was coming from. Birds, insects, fish, and international shipping methods helped to infect the whole world within a few weeks. Chaos and violence ensued, and even when people had no contact with the infected, cases continued.

Scientists had conflicting reports of what carried the parasite. Certain insects. Rodents. Birds. Biologist Maddie Fenton, working with her husband Jack, made the connection. They tested a number of species, and realized that ALL non-human animal species larger than houseflies were carriers.

At this point, civilization had already broken down. But they spread the word, and soon, strongholds were able to develop, including Amity Park, the stronghold of the Midwest. It consists of two concentric structures; the center is a bubble-city, with artificial atmosphere, weather, and farming techniques. Anyone who goes in is sterilized before entry, so that they can’t bring insects inside. The second layer is a mile-thick area of suburban ruin, which has been cleared of Eaters. It is surrounded by a wall, for defense. If there is a breach, the hope is that this inner region will allow a barrier against the main city, a safe zone to hunt the Biters while the wall is repaired. This ruin is called the Outskirts of Amity Park.

Jack and Maddie Fenton developed the city’s defenses, while Damon Gray leads the community in food production for a safe and vegan lifestyle. The Fentons continue to produce weapons against the infected and are trying to find a way to eradicate the parasite from the ecosystem. So far, 20 years have passed, and they have made little progress.

Enter Danny, Sam, and Tucker. Despite the world having gone to hell in a handbasket, they are teenagers who are going to school. While some of their lessons are traditional, many involve science and technology, and P.E. supplements a soldier training period for those who wish to battle against the Biters on the outside. They train in high school, run missions outside the wall for one year, guard the wall for one year, patrol the Outskirts for one year, and those who are still alive move to the inner city to become guards there or decide where to be stationed as a general. (I imagine Jazz training to be a psychiatrist for PTSD sufferers.) A certain number of people have to apply for the program when they enter high school. If they don’t, there is a mandatory draft.

Danny lives under the shadow of his parents’ great success and subsequent frustrations. He feels like he should doing something useful to help the town, but he’s a bit of a dreamer instead. He is really interested in the world from before he was born and spends much of his time looking into it. Researching at the library – watching old news reports and movies – exploring ruins in the inner-wall region. He thinks it’s amazing that people once went to outer space. Now, they’ll never leave Amity Park.

Tucker and Sam are his friends, of course. Tucker is really interested in technology and is training to enter the weapons and communication development field. Sam is into plant sciences and wants to enter the field of food science. Danny – well, he honestly doesn’t know. He figured he would train to be a soldier, but then his parents forbid it. No big loss there – he isn’t the most physically adept person. But, he doesn’t seem to have a calling, besides history. Mr. Lancer thinks he should be a teacher.

But of course, he wouldn’t be Danny Fenton if he didn’t somehow lose his humanity.

🙈

That’s as much as I’ll share for the premise without getting into any important spoilers. Inspiration for this au from: The Strain, Attack on Titan, Ao no Exorcist, D.Gray Man, and a fanfic I was writing for Heinlein’s The Puppet Masters back in college.

#danny phantom #dp au #tfc has ideas #angst angst angst #poor danny #horror #parasites #bad science #gore #body horror

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geekgirles · 3 years

Text

Your Heart

Chapter 6 -- A Ghostophobe, a Giant Iguana, and Vegan Nacho Cheese

Word Count: 14402

READ ON AO3

As an aspiring astronaut, Danny’s dream had always been going to space.

Being able to look at the vastness of the universe, to literally look down on Earth and see every single country at once, to stargaze up close… All from the comfort of the space station as he leisurely floated around in zero gravity.

Really, that was all he asked for.

He was convinced he lost his chance when he got his powers.

Although not directly connected to his dream, the birth of Danny Phantom almost put his GPA in jeopardy several times. Before the accident, he used to be a good student, granted, not as good as Jazz, but he brought home good marks. But once the first sleepless night trying to catch rogue ghosts came, countless more were soon to follow.

Between the lack of sleep, being tardy to class or skipping it altogether, and many more instances of ‘teenage rebellion’ (all caused by his attempts to save everyone from malevolent spirits, not like anyone cared), Danny was sure his dreams of going to space had all but vanished before him.

There were no words capable of describing his joy when he miraculously pulled just the mark he needed to be accepted at Amity Park University’s Astrophysics degree. So what if he couldn’t go to a fancy college like Yale, or Stanford? That was Jazz’s dream, not his. Besides, studying at APU was perfect for protecting the town and getting access to the Ghost Zone.

He seriously doubted any of those preppy colleges would have granted him permission to build a ghost portal in their labs, anyway.

And so, he was closer to his dream than he’d thought he’d ever be during all of high school. During that time, he found solace in flying. Being one of the only two people in the whole world who could fly without help was even more special than being selected by NASA; a feat in itself. And it was so...liberating.

Even when he struggled most with his powers, just being able to fly made it all worth it. The immense relief that would envelop him whenever he just let the breeze guide him, lazily swaying in the sky and under the moonlight. The feeling he’d get whenever the adrenaline coursed through his veins as he picked up speed, sometimes even breaking the sound barrier when he felt like really challenging himself. Or just the chance to quiet the hectic voices ruling his life, even for just one moment: fight ghosts, save everyone, try to fit in, don’t let Mum and Dad find out what you are. Fight ghosts, save everyone, try to fit in, don’t let Mum and Dad find out what you are. Fight ghosts, save everyone, try toー

The mere chance to leave his worries behind, even for just a second, made the prospect of losing his one chance at his dream seem worth it.

Although...he did get the chance to be an astronaut during freshman year. But that was a story for another day.

Now, at twenty-one and with even more things to worry about, flying was still the one place he could find solace in. Tucker often told him that’d change the day he found himself a girlfriend, but let’s be real; who’d want to date someone like him?

Unlike high school, however, his problem wasn’t his look or his personality. The not-so-subtle glancesーwhich were almost predatory, might he addーand shameless gossiping and squealing he got from the girls around campus confirmed he’d grown from ‘Scrawny, Awkward Fenturd’, to ‘Tall, Dark, and Handsome Fenstud.’

The moniker stroked his ego, he wasn’t going to deny it. But the problem wasn’t his popularity with the opposite sex. The problem was how the opposite sex would react if they knew his secret.

Okay, maybe that was the wrong way to phrase that sentence. If the excited shrieking and squealing his alter ego received from the members of his fan club were anything to go by, any of those girls would faint in elation if they ever got the chance to date Danny Phantom. The polls from gossip magazines dedicated to discussing how hot the Ghost Boy was ーwhen were they gonna change that nickname to ‘Ghost Man’, anyway? When he was 40?!ー didn’t lie.

The real problem would come when his girlfriend got involved in his double life. And even if he wouldn’t want her to be involved, let alone fight ghosts alongside him like Tucker and Jazz did, deep down he knew it was inevitable. The moment his enemies found out he had a new girlfriend, they would use her to get to him. After all, what better way to defeat someone than to exploit his weakness? If Technus, of all people, could come up with that plan, anybody else could.

As he surveyed Amity Park from above, lost in his thoughts, Danny suddenly registered a source of heat coming from his right. Quickly swirling in the opposite direction to avoid the incoming projectile, a pink beam of ecto-energy, he quickly scanned his surroundings to identify his opponent. And judging by the way his Ghost Sense hadn't gone off, that could only be one person.

“Valerie.”

“It’s Red Huntress for you, spook!” A snarl, accompanied by another pink blast, came from above him. After blocking the attack with an ecto-shield, he looked up. Lo and behold, Valerie was hovering over him on her forked, black and red hoverboard, an ecto-gun protruding from her forearm and aimed directly at him.

Valerie Gray, also known as The Red Huntress. Amity Park’s most competent ghost hunter, after him. Who also happened to be his sorta-kinda-maybe-it’s-complicated ex-girlfriend. Or his S.K.M.I.C.E.G.F. for short.

Somehow, that acronym never had a good reception.

His story with Valerie was...an interesting one, to say the least. Their relationship was full of ups and downs, with the downs eventually becoming an integral and exclusive part of their interactions as Danny Phantom and The Red Huntress.

They started out as complete strangers. Well, not exactly. They both knew of each other back in the beginning to freshman year of high school, but they didn’t know each other. Valerie started out as another A-lister; haughty, self-centred, she made no effort to hide her disdain for those ‘bellow her.’ Of course, Danny, being Danny Fenton, one of the biggest losers in Casper High, was particularly low in her long list of those ‘bellow her.’

But that all changed thanks to a little ghost puppy he called Cujo.

Cujo was the ghost of a guard dog trained by Axion Labs, where Damon Gray, Valerie’s father, worked. They got rid of the dogs after upgrading the security system, with the misfortune of preparing the labs for any possible kind of assault, except for a ghost puppy with the ability to turn into a bigger, more menacing dog looking for his lost chew toy.

Needless to say, things could’ve gone better. If only because his accidental meddling had been indirectly responsible for Mr. Gray losing his job, the Grays losing their fortune and their house, Valerie falling from grace and losing her popularity, and her developing a huge grudge against all ghosts, especially him, that lasted well into present time.

If there were job applications for fucking people over that weren’t exclusively related to sex work, he’d be a pro.

As expected when someone dedicated their lives to hunting you, regardless of your attempts to befriend them or explain the situation, the two didn’t quite get along at first. Between Valerie’s newfound purpose to waste him and the fact that she never really acknowledged she’d been as terrible to him and Tucker as the A-listers were now with her, the two often butted heads even at school.

Their opinions of each other didn’t change until Skulker forced them to work together to survive his island and his attempts at hunting them both, when they actually had a heart-to-heart. Their civilian selves being simultaneously paired up for a Health class project also helped.

But what really changed things was the very same events that turned Danny Phantom into the Ghost King.

During Pariah Dark’s return, Danny Fenton and Valerie Gray really connected, and Danny learned to appreciate her in a whole new light. She was amazing while she fought Dark and the Fright Knight; the months she’d had to hone her abilities really shone through. Her attacks were intuitive, yet calculated. Her moves, nimble but they packed quite the punch. She was confident, and yet cautious enough to not get cocky.

As odd as it sounded, seeing her fight was incredibly hot.

...alright, so maybe he did have a thing for girls who could kick his ass. He blamed his dad for that one.

That day, something sparked between them...but only between Danny Fenton and Valerie; she still hated the Ghost Boy with every fiber of her being. She was positively furious when she found out he’d been chosen as the next ruler of the Ghost Zone.

Danny had to admit, anybody else with half a brain cell would have understood that crushing on a girl hellbent on destroying a part of him maybe wasn’t the best idea ever. Tucker and Jazz certainly thought so. But he was fourteen, hormones were high, and Valerie was the coolest girl he’d ever met so far, so…

Common sense be damned.

And so, they tried going out for some time. During those few dates the two went together he was over the moon, walking on air, he couldn’t believe his luck! He’d finally found a girl who liked him for him. Someone real and approachable, unlike his previous crushes on popular girlsーironically enough since Valerie herself used to be an unapproachable popular girl.

The universe itself seemed to want them to be together!

Not only did they dates suddenly get better thanks to some weird coincidenceーa blackout turning a dinner in a greasy diner into a romantic candle-lit evening, winning carnival tickets at the baseball game, the ferris wheel stopping at the most romantic point possibleーbut they seemed to be enough to get the idea inside Valerie’s head that maybe their relationship was worth giving up ghosthunting for.

Until Tucker, Jazz, and, surprisingly enough, Technus burst his little bubble. Turned out, Technus, who still didn’t respect him as his new ruler, seeing Valerie as a potential weakness, manipulated their relationship to keep him busy while he worked on his latest scheme.

The self-called ‘Master of Technology’ was also responsible for Valerie’s hatred of ghosts being renewed, for the destruction of her original suit followed by an upgrade to her current armor, and for Danny’s one-time experience in space (a happy coincidence).

Oh, and had he mentioned Technus’ meddling also led to Valerie breaking up with him before he could even ask her to go steady (hence the S.K.M.I.C.E.G.F. situation), giving him the most cliché excuse in the superheroing book, because she hated his ghost half more than she liked his human half?

Because it totally did.

Looking back, with Valerie’s icy glare set on him and a very menacing looking ecto-gun aimed straight at his forehead, maybe dating a ghost hunter set on killing him wasn’t his best idea. Fucking hormones…

“Look, Valerie, can we wrap this up? I’m really not in the mood.”

“Oh, we’ll wrap it up alright, Phantom,” she sneered, “with your ass in a body bag!” She shot at him again with the weapon protruding from her forearm. Seeing as the ghost only ducked the ecto-rays with relative difficulty, she changed tactics. Quickly typing down a command on her control panel, from between her fingers materialised three razor-sharp pink discs.

The moment her attention was focused elsewhere, Danny took the chance and flew off at top speed. Noticing his attempt to escape from the corner of her eye, refusing to let him get away, the Red Huntress stepped on the hidden button of her board’s body. With a whirring sound, the engines roared to life, allowing her to fly after him.

Once the Ghost Boy was within reaching distance and too busy trying to get away from her, with a swift motion of her arm, Valerie hurled the pink discs at him. At the sound of air being sliced, Danny turned his head just enough to notice the pink projectiles coming towards him from the corner of his eye. Maneuvering through the sky, he managed to dodge the first two, but as he ducked away from the second disc, the third came close enough to slice his upper arm.

Wincing in pain, not once stopping his flight, he cradled his arm to inspect the wound. Despite the oozing ectoplasm coming out of it, it was just a superficial cut. He’d live. As he registered the sudden heat approaching his back, Danny understood the only way to get rid of Valerie was fighting her.

As much as he hated fighting a friend, it was pointless to resist when said friend was trying to shoot holes into his body. And if he made the mistake of letting her get too close, he’d get caught in between her board’s forked ends, giving his chaser the perfect chance to activate the stinger and electrocute him.

“Hate to break it to you, Valerie. But I’m already dead, so body bags are pretty pointless!” Charging up his ecto-ray, hands glowing green, Danny shot in her direction, holding back just enough so Val would be forced to swirl around the sky to avoid getting hit. It was his signature move when facing off against Valerie: distract her with the need for an evasive maneuver in order to gain enough time to escape himself.

Just as he predicted, when the green rays of energy got closer to her, the Red Huntress willed her board to keep moving to the opposite direction of the blasts. What he hadn’t predicted, though, was that she’d change tactics and face the blasts head-on. The impact caused a plume of smoke to rise up in the air, hiding the girl from view.

Before he could fuss over her safety, however, Valerie rose up above him. Hunched down on her board before elegantly moving to stand tall, a smug grin on her face, she was surrounded by a bluish ghost shield coming from her preferred method of transport. He always forgot she could do that. “That’s too bad.” She said in a fake, sugary voice. “Guess I’ll just have to resign myself to seeing you fade.”

In an instant, she willed three metallic cubes to manifest around her head and shoulders. As the devices charged up, the Red Huntress gave chase to him once more.

Reacting almost a split-second too late, Danny resumed his own attempts of leaving her behind. Whenever an energy beam got too close for comfort, he either put all his years of flying to good use and miraculously managed to avoid getting hit, or he’d focus his energy on forming ecto-shields of different sizesーdepending on her ecto-rays' own intensity. The untrained observer would point out he could just turn intangible and the beams would harmlessly pass through him, but that was too simple. And fighting Val was never simple.

Even when she’d first got her gearーand by that he meant her old, non-Technus-upgraded gearーthe Red Huntress’ various weapons were all capable of hitting him even when he went intangible. Therefore, lowering his guard like that around her was like a clear invitation to get his ass whooped.

Getting frustrated, with Val still hot in his ghost-tail, he bellowed, “Would you just quit it?! I still got a mark from the last time we fought!”

Smirking darkly, Valerie forewent her cubic guns for her trusty ecto-grenade. “Then I know where to hit next.” She declared before throwing the dangerous device at him, hitting him square on his left shoulder.

As a burning pain suddenly spread through his left shoulder to the tip of his fingertips, not all was lost, for the resulting explosion had sent him flying across the sky to the asphalt, effectively putting some much needed distance from him and his pursuer.

Hands propped on the street and barely supporting his weight, Danny laboriously lifted his head up. All around him, people were either running away in fright of the impending battle or crowding the street as they pointed at him, whispering amongst themselves.

Lifting himself up to a sitting position, the halfa gently nursed his aching shoulder, wincing in pain whenever his fingertips touched the sensitive skin. Although whatever damage Valerie had managed to inflict upon him would soon be gone thanks to his enhanced healing factor, he knew he didn’t have the luxury to wait that long. Knowing the ghost hunter, she’d be around, looking for him. And the moment she found him, she’d waste no time resuming their confrontation.

The Red Huntress would never stop until the source of all her misery was finally banished to the Ghost Zone, or disposed off permanently.

Grunting in pain, Danny willed the cold of his core to spread throughout his body until it reached his hands. The moment his hand blazed a familiar, chilly blue he began caressing his suffering shoulder, the cold emanating from his fingertips a welcomed painkiller.

“Is there anything more unfair than being pummeled to a pulp when you’re actually holding back from hurting the other person?” He grunted, but his musings were cut short by another ecto-beam barely missing his head, a whiff of smoke coming from the asphalt that’d cushioned the hit.

His heart suddenly in his throat, the halfa gingerly looked up, only to find Valerie a few feet away from him, a smoking, double-cannoned ecto-bazooka resting on her shoulder, which only elicited the whispers around them to grow louder, more frantic. “Gotcha.” She said, her glare colder than his ice powers.

Adrenaline kicking his brain in overdrive, Danny frantically looked around, trying to find a way to escape that didn’t involve hurting Valerie or any of the onlookers. Argh, if only he could just turn intangible! As he futilely tried crawling away, his gloved hands moving against the asphalt floor below him, the sensation sparked an idea. Maybe turning intangible was useless against the Red Huntress’ weapons, but phasing wasn’t.

The only thing he needed was a distraction, and the whirring sound coming from the charging ecto-bazooka gave him an idea. It was reckless, but that seemed to be his thing lately, wasn’t it?

“Say goodbye, Phantom!” Valerie spat just as the weapon perched on her shoulder was done charging up, shooting a powerful blast his way.

Using the hand that was previously healing his wounds, Danny shot his own ecto-ray at the incoming projectile, causing his adversary to gasp in surprise. “Goodbye, Red!”

As the two forces came into contact with each other, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, they exploded into a blinding light that forced everyone, Valerie included, to shield their eyes. Wasting no time, Danny turned intangible, phasing through the floor and into the Amity Park sewer system. Once underground, he let his transformation drop, knowing Val’s Ghost Radar would find him otherwise, before making his way around the sewers in search of the nearest exit, his body leaning against the wall for support.

After what felt like an eternity, Valerie finally got her forearm out of her face. What was the point in having a dark-tinted visor if she could still be blinded? Once she’d regained the totality of her sight, that is to say, she no longer saw dark spots dancing around her vision, she quickly redirected her gaze to where Phantom stood.

Nothing.

Gasping, Valerie looked up to the sky. As her eyes scanned around for a black and white, flying figure, or even anything amiss in case the Ghost Boy had turned invisible, she soon realised the green-eyed spook was truly nowhere to be seen. Despite her growing frustration at losing her target, the Red Huntress quickly typed a command on her suit, hoping her Ghost Radar could still detect him. No such luck.

Growling in frustration with murder in her eyes, she jumped mid-air, summoning her hoverboard to appear right bellow her. Roaring the engines to life, she took off in direction to Elmerton, her home for the last seven years.

As she soared the skies, Valerie kept looking back and forth between her radar and her surroundings, looking for Phantom. “I was so close, damn it! Every time I think I finally have that ectoplasmic punk right where I want him, he up and disappears!” With a furious yell to the sky, she leaned on her board, using her feet to increase its speed.

Her gear had to be the only good thing that came out of her first encounter with that ghostly bastard. Even if she’d lost everything and her dad was constantly working long hours to keep her in collegeーher wonderful, incredible, genius dad, who deserved much more than just being a crammy security night guardー, at least what happened at Axion Labs all those years ago had given her two things: the gear necessary to become Amity Park’s most powerful ghost hunter, and the purpose to eliminate all bodiless apparitions from the face of the Earth.

Starting by Danny Phantom.

Valerie could only scoff at some people’s stupidity. Although most citizens had half the brains necessary to figure out Danny Phantom was a threat, there were still some who revered him as some kind of hero.

Oh, it was true. He saved the town from falling into that Ghost King’s claws, but didn’t anybody remember what happened afterwards? Because she did. Not even a week after ‘saving’ everyone from a fate worse than deathーand causing her some injuries and for her dad to both find out about her ghost-hunting escapades and forbid her from ever touching her equipment again, to add insult to injuryー, he ascended as the next Ghost King.

And people still celebrated him? Were they blind?!

It was clear that Phantom only ever fought the Ghost King, not to protect Amity Park, or whatever nonsense he kept trying to feed the public, but to dethrone him himself! He wanted that psycho’s position for himself, so he could keep terrorising the town with even less opposition than before!

“Hero my ass…” Valerie scoffed in disbelieving disgust.

But, apparently, only Valerie and the Fentons had any common sense on the matter. “Wow. Never thought I’d have anything in common with the Fentons…” she mused aloud. As much as she’d liked Danny when they were fourteen, his family was a whole different thing.

When she finally made out her apartment complex in the distance, the armored girl couldn’t help but carefully glide near their living room window, where she could see her father sleeping soundly on the couch after a long nightーtoo tired to even go to bed.

Carefully resting her gloved hand against the window glass, worriedly looking at the man who’d been her only source of comfort for as long as she could remember, her heart broke. “Don’t worry, Dad. I promise, one day Phantom’ll be mine. And then we’ll finally cash in that reward and leave this shit hole once and for all.”

With renewed determination, she went around her floor until she was right beside her own room. Due to her always leaving her bedroom window open, all she had to do was squeeze herself inside. Now standing in her room, she deactivated her suit, which disappeared in a swirl of electricity. Walking over her mirror, Valerie picked up a quasi-new set of clothes that were lying on her chair. “But first, let’s pay that college tuition. It won’t look good if I’m late on my first day.”

............

Phasing through the walls, Danny stumbled into his sister’s room. He would’ve fallen face-first on the floor hadn’t it been for his hands instinctively stopping the fall.

Her head snapping to the distinctive sound of a ‘thud’, Jazz immediately swirled around on her computer chair. “A little help?” Danny grunted tiredly.

Gasping at the state her little brother was in, the redhead all but threw herself at him in order to inspect any possible wounds, only to recoil in disgust when she caught a sniff of him, pinching her nose. “Ew! What happened to you to smell that horridly?! What did you do, die for real?”

“I phased through the floor and into the sewers.” The black-haired boy dryly corrected, not appreciating his sister’s skewed priorities. “Now, if you would be so kind as to help me out...”

Jazz at least had the decency to blush. Offering a hand to her brother, she helped him stand up before guiding him to her bed. Then she lowered him on top of it and resumed her previous inspection of him. She jumped back in surprise at Danny’s sudden, sharp inhale of breath when she accidentally grazed his left shoulder.

In an instant, she was basically in his face, fussing over him. “Danny? Are you okay? Is there anything wrong with your shoulder?”

“Everything’s fiー”, he stopped short when he registered her worried look. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I saw Valerie today.”

“Oh, no.” The eldest Fenton kid lamented, knowing where the conversation was headed.

“Yeah...I tried losing her, but in the meantime she landed a few mean punches on me...figuratively speaking, of course.”

“So I’m guessing your shoulder cushioned a nasty one?”

He nodded, barely turning his head to look at her. “Ecto-grenade.” He said simply, and Jazz cringed in sympathy. “Yeah. I numbed the pain a little by applying some cold with my powers, but a few real painkillers might do me some good until it’s properly healed.”

“Sure.” With a nod, Jazz got up from the bed and crossed over to the other side of the room, where her closet was located. Opening the door and standing on her tiptoes to reach the higher shelf, she grabbed her hidden first aid kit before setting it down on her desk. “Any other injuries I should know about?” She asked as she rummaged through her supplies, taking a small plastic jar with Ibuprofen from it.

“Just a superficial cut on my arm. It’s almost completely healed now, but putting a band-aid on it just in case wouldn’t hurt.”

Flopping herself down next to her baby brother again, medical supplies in hand, Jazz helped Danny out of his t-shirt. When she saw the burns on his shoulder, though, she couldn’t help but wince. “Are you sure you don’t want me to put some bandages on it, Danny? It looks pretty bad…”

The halfa sighed. He knew his sister would fuss over his health; she always did. “It’ll heal, Jazz. It always does.” Then he caught her expression from the corner of his eye. “...but if it’ll make you feel better, I suppose a few bandages just in case don’t so bad.”

Nodding readily, the aqua-eyed woman went to quickly retrieve some of the aforementioned bandages from her kit. Then she proceeded to wrap them around her brother’s left shoulder and pectorals. When Danny sent her a questioning look, she just shrugged and said, “Just in case.”

With his shoulder taken care of, Danny, almost begrudgingly, stretched his arm out to her, letting her inspect his cut. Even though he was right and it was just a flesh wound, it was still important to clean it. Pouring some disinfectant on a bunch of cotton balls, with the help of tweezers she gently dubbed the cotton against his skin, prompting Danny to wince in displeasure.

She rolled her eyes at his childishness, annoyed. “Oh, come on! You literally just faced a ghost huntress, walked around the sewers for who knows how long, and this is something to complain about? Don’t be such a baby!”

“Hey, you have no right to complain about me complaining! You’re not the one who’s routinely going through some kind of medical procedure.” And he’d never want her to go through one; not even a simple check up.

“Whatever,” she said as she put the band-aid on. She dusted her hands off before smiling proudly at him. “All done. Now, go get some rest before it’s time to go and you have to shower.”

Danny pouted. “Do we still have to go? Jazz, I’m injured…” He tried to bargain with his best sad, puppy-dog look.

Jazz wasn’t buying, though. “Should’ve thought about that before you assured me your wounds would heal soon. Come on, Danny, you know I’ve been dying to try this place out and you promised to take me.”

“Can’t you take Tucker with you while I rest, instead?”

“No, because,” she lifted three fingers up, ready to count her options off, “one, he’s not my brother, and I’d like to go with my brother. Two, if you turn your head to my nightstand ever so slightly, you’ll see it’s only 12:30 PM on a Saturday; we’re leaving at sevenーyou’ll have plenty of time to rest. And three...can you really imagine Tucker stepping foot in that sort of place even if I bribed him with $1000?”

Danny visibly deflated at that. “No…”

“Then it’s settled.” Jazz declared. “Go to your room and rest. I’ll tell Mum and Dad you came while they were working on the lab and that you’re tired from an all-nighter of working on an assignment.”

“You’d think they’d be surprised I’m not getting straight A’s with all the times we’ve used the studying excuse on them…” Danny muttered as he left his sister's room.

Standing against the door, Jazz shrugged. “Mum thinks spending so many nights awake studying is actually counter-productive, so…”

Danny chuckled before standing in front of his room’s door. Before going in, however, he called out to her. “Uh, Jazz?”

“Hm?”

“You’re the best.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back. “Anytime, Baby Brother.”

..............

A deafening roar echoed throughout the manor. Her heart pounding, Sam ran as fast as she could along the corridors, barely registering where she was going. She took so many turns around the halls she lost count, all portraits and decorations merging together so it’d look like she was running through the same, never ending hallway. But she didn’t care. All that mattered was getting to the origin of the noise.

When she finally arrived before the gates guarding the bloodcurdling sounds, she skidded to a halt so abruptly she almost gave herself whiplash. Now that she was closer to the source, Sam could also make out the sound of screaming coming from inside the room. And when she noticed just where the roaring and screaming was coming from, her heart all but stopped.

The training room.

The place where the younger members of the clan practiced and perfected their magic. Whatever happened there now had a group of kids trapped!

She had to do something!

But, being the queen and therefore not being able to afford anything happening to her in fear of unleashing a civil war, she’d promised she’d wait for Wilhelmina to arrive, or at the very least, for Paulina and Star to support her.

Anxiously, her eyes kept darting back and forth in all directions, hoping against hope that someone, anyone, would soon come to help. They couldn’t risk their kids’ lives like that. Suddenly, the roars and screams only got louder, accompanied by the sounds of thrashing and the crunching of wood being broken.

Whatever it was that was going on, it was mayhem!

The minutes felt like hours and there was still no sight of her Minister of War or her handmaidens. Fear gripping at her heart, terrified for the sake of the students trapped behind those doors, Sam threw all caution to the wind. Willing her mind to clear so she could establish a proper connection with her anima, the Witch Queen cupped her hands together in front of her chest, taking advantage of the extra dose of adrenaline to fuel her essence. As soon as she felt the familiar pull of power, she opened her now blazing, violet eyes and shouted, “Aries!”

From her open palms a host of purple light began to take form. In the blink of an eye, the spell solidified, shooting forwards to the gates and effectively crushing them by sheer force. As the dust resulting from the impact cleared, allowing Sam to finally see what was going on, all she could do was gasp.

Standing tall and imposing in the middle of the room, surrounded by a group of terrified students who were hiding from it in the furthest corner of the classroom behind a row of desks, a gigantic iguana, the size of that dragon ghost that sometimes haunted the town, roared as it shoved tables out of its wayーtheir now spilled contents cluttered the floor.

When the giant reptile’s eye landed on her, obviously taking notice of the explosion of light, Sam felt her blood run cold. And yet, in spite of the danger, she preferred having the beast targeting her than causing harm to the girls. As the creature threateningly stomped in the direction she was in, the young queen formulated a plan.

If she could just keep the iguana distracted long enough until Wilhelmina came, she could win enough time to allow the kids to escape. But she’d have to tell them her plan as well.

“And I know how.” She mused aloud with a smirk on her face. She was just glad she was currently wearing pants instead of an extravagant dress.

As she waited for the reptile to get closer to her, biding her time, Sam intertwined her fingers save for her indexes and thumbs, which were in contact with each other. Then, just as the iguana’s claw was about to strike, she mimicked the action of a gun shooting with her arms. “Ignis!” She cried out.

From her fingertips she kept shooting energy beams at the monster as she ran in the direction the girls were in. When one of her beams hit the iguana in the eye, causing it to cry out in pain and, most importantly, to be distracted, Sam quickly slid down to behind the remaining desksーwhere the girls were.

“Girls, are you okay?!” She whispered-shouted as soon as she caught sight of them. They were a small group, six girls around the ages of 10-12.

One of them, a brunette with green eyesーViolet, if Sam wasn’t wrongー, spoke up on behalf of her friends. “Your Majesty! Oh, thank Goodness...Yeah, we’re fine. As soon as that thing appeared we ran and hid here.”

The violet-eyed witch sighed in relief. “Thank God. Alright, Violet, right?” The girl nodded, the smile on her face was so wide due to the Queen remembering her name, one would almost forget they were all in danger. “Right. I need you to tell me how this happened. And why are you guys all alone, shouldn’t an adult be with you at all times?”

Lola, a shy girl with black hair and glasses, and a distant relative of Paulina, answered instead. “Uh, well, we-we weren’t alone, your Highness.”

She’d have to tell them some other time that title was for princes and princesses, not queens. But first, saving their lives. “What do you mean, Lola? Who was with you?”

“Wilhelmina.”

“Wilhelmina?!” she repeated, a little too loudly. Wincing at the realisation, she hushed the girls in case the iguana had heard them. Whimpering in fright, the kids got closer to her, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around them. After a few minutes and no response from the monster, Sam let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Okay. Girls, can you explain to me why Wilhelmina isn’t here? It’s not like her to leave students unsupervised.”

“Class was ending, anyway.” Violet explained. “She said she had something to do and that she trusted us to clean everything up before we left.”

Sam did not like where this was going. “And the giant iguana?”

“We don’t know.” Lola said, then she pointed at one of her friends, a blonde named Tamara. “We were talking about the familiars we’d like to have when we completed our Rite of Passage while we were finishing brewing today’s potion when Tammy said she’d wish to have an iguana. And, boom!”

“Is that true, Tammy?” Sam questioned the girl.

Tammy nodded, tearing up. “Y-yes…I-I said...I-I’d like...a-an iguana and...and then...the p-potion...started b-boiling...and o-out of n-nowhere...that...that monster appeared!” She admitted between cries.

Panicking, both because of the little girl crying and the potential danger of being discovered, Sam scooted closer to her, wiping her tears away with her hands. “Shh, shh! It’s okay, Tammy. It’s not your faultーthese things happen!”

“R-really?”

The queen nodded, smiling reassuringly at her. “Really. This sort of thing happens all the time. You’ll learn what it is soon enough.”

“So I’m not in trouble?”

“No, you’re not.”

Before Sam could so much as blink, the girl threw her arms at her, hugging her. The raven-haired witch stiffened at the contact, not used to dealing with physical affection...or kids. After a minute, though, she relaxed and returned the embrace. Tammy needed comfort at the moment.

“What do we do now, your Majesty?” Violet asked, bringing her queen back to Earth.

“Is that thing going to eat us?” Lola insisted, looking positively spooked.

“No, no. None of that!” Sam assured them, letting go of Tammy. “Because I have a plan.” She motioned with her hands for the girls to get closer to her before continuing. “First of all, don’t worry. Iguanas are herbivores; they don’t eat meat, let alone humans! So listen closely, any minute now Wilhelmina, my ladies-in-waiting, and whoever else they’d called for help will appear through that door. I’ll share my plan with them and while we keep the iguana busy, you’ll run away from here. Understood?”

The group nodded readily. “Good.”

“Your Majesty, where are you?!” A familiar voice called out to her.

Crawling quietly, Sam dedicated one last look at the younger witches. “Remember, don’t move until I tell you to go, got it?”

“Got it.” The six of them said in unison.

With a nod of her own, Sam crawled out of her hiding place before standing up and breaking into a full run to the direction the voice came fromーapparently, it was Susan who’d called out to her, accompanying her mentor. The latter, as well as Star and Paulina, were blocking the reptile’s exit.

“Ignis!” repeating her actions from earlier, she shot another energy beam at the beast, before standing beside her subjects.

“What is that thing!?” Paulina asked, looking completely revolted.

“It’s the result of a spell gone awry.” The Witch Queen answered. “A girl got distracted while brewing a potion and this is the result.”

“What kind of distraction?” Star raised an eyebrow.

“What do you think?” Sam replied as if that was all the answer she needed.

Apparently, it was, because nobody else said a word until Wilhelmina’s hoarse voice broke the silence. “Your Majesty! What are you doing here!? You’re supposed to wait for help to come!”

The Goth couldn’t be bothered to pretend she cared about the protocol right now, especially not after discovering her fellow Council member had left a group of witches in-training completely unsupervised. “Not now, Wilhelmina! The kids are still here; we’ve gotta help them escape!”

“And how are we going to do that?” Star let out, trying to hold down the barrier of fiery, orange energy she’d created to prevent the beast from leaving the training room.

“I have a plan.” Sam turned her attention to the potion-maker in-training. “Susan! Do you have one of your Minisize Me potions on you?”

The Asian teenager reached for her bandolier and grabbed a spherical jar in her hand. “Always, your Majesty!”

“Good! While Star holds the barrier down, Wilhelmina, Paulina, and I will try to restrain our little friend long enough for the girls to escape. As soon as the last girl has left the room, you have to throw the potion at the monster. It’s the only way to take care of it!” She then turned to her lady-in-waiting. “Star, the moment this thing’s all tied up, you let your barrier go so the girls can leave, got it?”

“Yes, my Queen!” Both girls exclaimed in unison, readying themselves.

“Very well. Wilhelmina, Paulina,” she called out to them, “you take care of binding the reptile with me. Wilhelmina, since you’ve got the potions, you take care of its hind legs and tail; Paulina, you tie its left paw down. Ready?” Getting twin nods from her fellow witches, they all charged against the monster.

As Sam and Paulina projected their respective animas in the form of a lasso with a scream of “Conjunctionis ligaveris!”, Wilhelmina used her own essence to propel herself above the beast, landing nimbly behind it. While the young queen and the Latina struggled to keep the reptile in place, their purple and soft pink animas tied tightly around its front paws, the potion-maker rummaged through her trusty bag, looking for her BubbleBomb potion. At the same time as she tried to dodge the animal’s large tail.

Maybe Susan was right and she did need to organise her collection in a pair of twin bandoliers, just like her apprentice.

Just as she was beginning to get frustrated, her finger brushed against a sticky substance. A familiar, sticky substance. Crying out in triumph, she got the jar with the sticky, pink slime from inside of her bag, just in time to be lifted up in the air by the force behind the collision of the iguana’s tail hitting the ground. Using her momentum, Wilhelmina smashed the bottle against the floor, which then exploded in a bubble of pink slime, effectively restraining the giant reptile’s movements.

“Girls, now!” Sam cried out, struggling to keep her focus long enough to keep the iguana down for much longer.

The kids didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as their queen gave the order, they got out from their hiding spot and ran towards the door, where Star was waiting for them. Upon seeing them, she lowered her barrier, exhaling in between pants due to the physical exertion, thus allowing the group of kids to leave the room safe and sound.

Smiling at their retrieving forms, Star cupped a hand around her mouth to call out to the, now, youngest witch in the room. “Susan, it’s all up to you now!”

Determined to not let her queen and mentor down, Susan ran towards the closest wall before leaping in the air feet-first towards it. The moment her feet came into contact with its surface, the teenager propelled herself to rise high above the ginormous beast. As soon as she was within optimal range, she hurled the spherical jar at it, which broke against the iguana’s hard-as-steel scales. In an instant, a cloud of turquoise, twinkling smoke enveloped the beast.

Coughing and clearing the air around her with a wave of her hand, Sam dared look up to the direction the large creature once stood at. To her immense relief, she saw nothing. So willing her magic to deactivate, she walked over to where the, now, normal-sized iguana was.

Smiling, she picked the lizard up. “You gave us quite the scare, right, little guy?”

“What do you intend to do with it, your Majesty?” Susan asked as soon as she nimbly landed on her feet the same way a professional gymnast would.

“Why don’t you keep it? I believe you’ve mentioned Duke Scalynton needed a friend a few times now.” She suggested as she handed the iguana to the potion-maker in-training.

Looking down at the iguana in her hands, she turned to her mentor. “Would that be alright, Ms. Redring?”

“Perfectly so, Susan. Don’t worry.” Wilhelmina assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You did well today.”

Susan smiled brightly at that. Sam, on the contrary, could only frown at her. “Wilhelmina, the kids told me you were supposed to be looking after them, but you left them to clean everything by themselves before classes were officially over.”

The Minister of War remained impassive. “My apologies, your Majesty. I had other matters to attend to that required my immediate attention, and since today’s potion was rather simple, I supposed they’d be fine on their own for a few minutes.”

“So because you had better things to do you completely ignored one of our most important rules and risked the lives of six little girls in the process?” Sam seethed, arms crossed, her eyes blazing a dangerous, dark violet for a second.

Wilhelmina narrowed her own eyes on her. “Careful, your Majesty. I don’t believe you’re in any position to say anything. Seeing as how often you completely disregard protocol; or have you already forgotten that you should have waited for back up before facing off against the threat yourself, hm?”

Sam balled her hands into fists at her sides, knowing, and hating, that she had her there. Turning around to leave the room, she spat. “Just, don’t let it happen again.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, my Queen.” The brunette let out, almost sinisterly.

Susan was petting her new pet when she noticed a shadow casted over her. Looking up, she almost gasped. “You did well today, girl. Just, do me a favour and keep that thing away from me.” Paulina told her with a smile, keeping a respectable distance between herself and the iguana in the teenager’s arms.

Susan’s mind, other times sharp and focused, was suddenly completely blank. Mouth hanging open and eyes blinking at random intervals, she was sure she was gaping at the beautiful woman before her. “Uh...I...I mean…,” she stammered, “y-you look good, too! I-I mean! You did good, too. Obviously. Ah! Not like you don’t look good, too! You always look good! Just...you know, yeah…” She finished lamely.

Oh, why couldn’t the iguana have eaten her before she spouted all that nonsense?!

“Okay…” The Latina drawled. “Well, I gotta go. See ya.”

“Yeah, see ya…” The teenage girl sighed dreamily, before realising what she was doing and facepalming herself.

Now that they were outside of the training room and accompanying Sam to her quarters, for they had to help her get ready, Paulina eyed her best friend’s knowing grin in distaste. “What?” She snapped.

“Somebody’s got a crush on you!” The blonde teased in a sing-song voice, the shit-eating grin never leaving her face.

But the Latina just huffed. “Please! And who doesn’t? I’ve had my fair share of admirers since we were in ninth grade, Star. Don’t make such a big deal out of it.”

“That may be true,” Star conceded, “but I think this is the first time a younger girl’s crushing on you and you’re actually nice to her. The Pauli from back in Senior year would’ve crushed her dreams in a heartbeat.” She commented offhandedly, ignoring the look of pure horror flashing through their Queen’s face.

The blue-eyed beauty just rolled her eyes. Since she wasn’t used to being on the receiving end, she often forgot how ruthless her best friend could be when she was met with some quality gossip. “I’m not eighteen anymore, Star! And Susan’s a good kid, of course I’m not going to be a bitch to her.”

“So you like her back?” The blonde asked, now feeling apprehensive.

“Are you crazy?!” Paulina snapped at her, turning her face in her direction so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “First of all, she’s seventeen! I might like to party, but I’d never date a minor.” She sniffed in displeasure. Seriously, what was this girl thinking?!

Her fellow handmaiden sighed in relief. “Thank Goodness, I was actually worried for a second. Just...try letting her down gently, okay?”

“Who do you take me for? Besides, even if she were our age, which, again, she’s not, I just don’t swing that way.”

Star let out a hollow laugh. “Don’t try selling me the ‘I don’t swing that way excuse’, I’ve seen you throw your principles out of the window for the sake of screwing people over. And about letting her down gently, admit it Pauli, you can be a bit of a bitch.”

Sam, not daring to say a word, could only furrow her brow at what her subjects were saying. “What the Hell?”

Ignoring their queen’s silent judgement, Paulina gasped in surprise. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

Rather than backing off given her friend’s reaction, Star only snorted. “Oh, come on. Don’t pretend you don’t remember that one time in ninth grade that you agreed to go to homecoming with a complete loser just so Dash could play a joke on him.” Then, she turned pensive. “Hm, now that I think about it, we never did pull the prank on him...I wonder why.” She muttered to herself.

Paulina’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape at the reminder. “Oooooh, that’s right! Yes, I did totally do that. Such a shame the guy was a total loser; he at least had decent taste in jewelry.”

The two kept chattering away until they noticed their queen’s appalled expression, her jaw hanging low. Giggling sheepishly, Paulina tried to save some face, Star nodding with a forced smile beside her. “That was a long time ago. We’ve grown up, we promise.”

Blinking slowly at them, Sam forced her mouth shut. Doing a dusting-her-hands-off motion, she symbolically separated herself from anything having to do with their high school lives. “Something tells me we wouldn’t have got along growing up.”

“Then isn’t it great we only met outside of high school?” Star offered.

“I think I’d much rather you just talk to me either about things going on inside the manor, or whatever crazy shit you’re up to at college.” The violet-eyed witch insisted as she turned her doorknob to let them in. For that day’s appointment she wanted to spice things up a little, but she still wanted a simple look that matched with her usual self, hence why she needed the girls’ help.

“Oh. My. God!” Paulina exclaimed, raising her palms up as she entered the room. “You will not believe the drama that’s stirring at APU right now!”

Star, who was already seated on one of Sam’s chairs, made a sound of appreciation. “Ooooh! Do tell.”

As Sam went over to her closet and began to randomly pick up different clothes to ask the girl’s opinion onーt-shirts, jeans, skirts, dresses even…ーPaulina went on with her retelling, she and Star sporadically putting a stop on their conversation to give their queen some feedback. “Remember Tiffany? That two-faced, bitchy classmate of mine who’s been totally jealous of me since, like, forever?”

“Tiffany is a rather stereotypically bitchy name.” Sam commented, her focus on two different t-shirts. “As in, high school queen bee, cheerleader captain kind of bitchy.”

“I was a high school queen bee, cheerleader captain, Sam.” Paulina deadpanned.

“Oh!” Sam faulted, biting her lip in embarrassment as she wondered how she’d fix that one. “Well, your name is not stereotypically bitchy...Tiffany is. I mean, how many high school chick flick villains are dumb blondes called Brittany, or Tiffany, or Cassidy…?”

“She does have a point.” Star conceded, propping her elbow against the chair’s back.

With her index and thumb cupping her chin, the Latina ‘hmmed’ in acknowledgement. “Fair enough. Anyway, Sandra told me that Luka told her that Eliza told him that Tiffany’s out to get me ‘cause she’s so jealous it’s ripping her apart.”

As her ladies-in-waiting turned down her latest outfit, Sam arched an eyebrow, not following the conversation. “But didn’t you just say she’s always been jealous of you? What’s new about that?”

“What’s new is that now she’s jealous of me because Brad Carmichael, her ex-boyfriend with whom she broke up because he was dating a girl from Elmerton University behind her backーnot like she’s been a model girlfriend herself, if you know what I meanー, is apparently into me. And she can’t stand it.”

“But are you into Brad?” Star questioned, while Sam was busier wondering how she even managed to keep track of what Paulina was talking about in the first place. She’d already forgotten the guy’s name was Brad, for fuck’s sake! Her best guess was that keeping up with the latest gossip was some sort of ‘popular girl’ superpower.

Paulina let herself flop down on Sam’s bed with a noncommittal sound coming from her throat. “I mean, Brad’s cute, but I’m sort of seeing Matthew at the moment you know?”

“Sort of seeing?” Sam echoed.

“Yeah, he wants us to go steady but, like, I don’t know if I want to tie myself down to anyone right now, you know? I just don’t think I’m ready to be ‘Matthew’s girlfriend.’ But I know that if I tell him that, he’ll think I want to stop going out altogether, when I just don’t want to rush to label what we have. That’s all.”

“Why do you even have to become ‘Matthew’s girlfriend’? Why can’t he be ‘Paulina’s boyfriend’?” For a moment there, Sam worried the feminist inside her had ruined the conversation, if their silence was any indication, until Paulina, almost automatically, moved to a sitting position, looking like she’d just had a spiritual awakening.

“OMG, you’re so right! “ She exclaimed. “If Matthew can’t accept being labeled my boyfriend, then he’s not worthy of my time. Period. Thanks for the advice, Sam.”

“Uh, you’re welcome?” Sam said, feeling unsure. “Now, could you guys please help me get ready? ‘Cause I still don’t know what to wear…”

Both ladies-in-waiting exchanged a glance, before shrugging. Star was the one who voiced their opinion. “The clothes you have in your hands right now are fine. Just combine them with your usual look and you’ve got your casual, yet original, outfit.”

Looking down at the items in hand, Sam had to admit, they really seemed perfect. “Thanks, girls. You two are the best.”

“We know.” They said in unison.

............

The Verde Que te Quiero Verde was the latest rage in vegetarian restaurants. The establishment was owned by a couple of elderly Mexican immigrants who, per their grandson’s suggestion, had given the typical Tex-Mex food a vegan spin.

All websites reviewing the place gave nothing but praise to the meals and service, and about half of the comments recommended asking for their nachos with guacamole and vegan cheese. Its prices were also known for being very reasonable.

‘Lowly’ Mexican food turned vegan and exorbitant-prices free, the kind of place Pamela Manson would rather die than step foot in.

Which was why Sam was so thankful that Saturday night it was just her dad and her, for her mother was busy background checking anyone who wanted to rent the manor for the upcoming Halloween.

Her dad and her were already seated and looking over the menus, but she couldn’t help being distracted by her surroundings. Despite the more modern take, the Verde Que te Quiero Verde resembled the typical Mexican hacienda, with its white-chalk walls, the red tile roofs, its arches… The restaurant was even a two-story building whose second floor, which held even more tables, had balconies offering a nice view of the fountain in the middle of the room and tables surrounding it below.

It was positively lovely.

And yet...Sam couldn’t quite enjoy it as much as she’d like.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was definitely off with Wilhelmina. Leaving a group of inexperienced, little girls at their mercy while they performed magic? What was she thinking?! She had no idea how lucky she was, had anything happened to any of the girls and she would’ve been put to trial, leading to losing her position as Council member, at best, or to being expelled from the coven altogether, at worst.

Subconsciously, Sam gripped her menu a little tighter. Wilhelmina was already around when she was a kid and Grandma Ida was still queen. Back then, she remembered, she gave off this strict and stern vibe, even more so than Margaret with her by-the-book nature. But ever since she ascended to the throne, her strictiness had turned into outright arrogance.

Back when she was fourteen and had just volunteered herself as the next queen, Wilhelmina seemed the less willing to give in. She was the quickest to point out her age and inexperience, and Margaret and the, then, newly appointed Delilah miraculously managed to get their fellow member to give her a chance. If just barely.

Even know, after seven years of devout sacrifice in the name of the Amity Park Clan, that frustrating pain in the butt still hadn’t let go of her reservations towards her; often making snide comments that casted doubts on her leadershipーlike the one from earlier…ー, or looking over her shoulder with an air of superiority.

All that, Sam could, begrudgingly, put up with. But putting innocent kids in harm’s way and then having the gall to act all smug on her?! What if Phantom had been right? What if there really were witches up to no good right under her nose? What if…?

“Sammy?” Her dad’s voice cut through her thoughts like a knife cut through butter.

“Huh?” She responded, oh, so eloquently.

“Are you okay? I’ve been calling you for a while now and you haven’t answered until now. Also, it looks like you’ve tried to strangle your menu over some sort of terrible crime…” He pointed at the crumbled piece of paper in her hands to demonstrate his point.

Looking down and noticing the mess she’d made of the poor aforementioned piece of paper, she set it down gently with a sheepish smile on her face, “I’m fine, Dad. Just...thinking.”

“About what?”

“Stuff.” At her dad’s questioning, raised eyebrow she elaborated. “Frustrating stuff.”

“Kiddo, please, enter a literary contest; you’re so eloquent and articulate.” Jeremy deadpanned, setting his own menu down and propping his chin on his intertwined hands.

Sam rolled her eyes, letting out a hollow laugh. “Hilarious, Dad. Aren’t you supposed to be the preppy and optimistic one of the two?”

“I am.” He agreed. “But I’m also a Manson and your Grandma’s son. So you could say snarking runs in the family.”

Parents looking as smug and self-satisfied as her dad did at that moment should be illegal. Crossing her arms with a scowl, Sam slouched on her seat. “Whatever.”

Jeremy just shook his head fondly at his daughter. “You’re lucky your mother isn’t here right now, young lady. Otherwise, she would scold you on your posture.”

The mere mention of her mother made her straighten up, reflexively.

“But now seriously, kiddo. What’s the matter? You know you can talk to your old man about anything.” He offered her an encouraging smile.

Unfortunately, his readiness to be there for her only made her heart sank. No, I can’t, she wanted to say, but instead opted for, “I’m...having trouble with a...with a classmate.” She lied, hating herself for it. “I was elected as team leader, but she’s never quite been able to accept it. Maybe she wanted the position herself, maybe she just doesn’t think I’m good for the job...I don’t know. All I know is that she makes no effort in hiding her displeasure.

“Which, okay. I can take it, I guess. I mean, one more person who doesn’t like me! Boy is that old news...But she’s made a mistake recently and she didn’t even apologise; she just rubbed my own mistakes in my face. And I...I don’t know what to do, Dad.”

Jeremy stayed quiet for a minute, just observing his daughter with a keen eye. Maybe saying he and Sam were close was a little far-fetched; Pamela and, surprisingly enough, his mother had always insisted on signing her up for a million extracurricular activities growing upーironic, when one took the fact that she’d also been homeschooled for most of her life into consideration. But he’d learned long ago to not question it, after all, their Sammy had turned out okay and very capable in the end.

He had to admit, he didn’t always understand her, either. Like her interest in the occult, her love for loud, unsavory bands with questionable taste in names, or her insistence on being identified as a Goth since she was twelve. As a man used to making his wife happy with diamonds the size of strawberries, giving his daughter spiked collars for her birthday left him feeling a little queasy. But, hey, if it made her happy… As long as she didn’t join a cult he was golden.

But there were still moments when even Sam, his strong-willed, independent, confident baby girl, felt vulnerable against the cruel world she lived in. And it was in those moments when he had to take the lead and be the responsible authority figure in the relationship. Moments like now.

Reaching across the table, he rested his hand atop of hers, directing her attention to him. “Sometimes people will try to make our lives difficult, but we mustn’t let that stop us from doing what we think it’s right. So your friend doesn’t think you’re doing a good job leading the team? Then let her think that! If it’s only one person who feels that way, then she’s probably just trying to mess with you.

“But if the other people in your group feel the same way, then maybe you should take a moment to reevaluate things. Don’t be afraid to ask this girl about her opinion. Who knows? Maybe she does have something valuable to contribute.”

Alright, this was all great advice for actual teamwork, but it didn’t apply to her problem. She was trying to rule a coven, not decorate the gym for the upcoming prom. “What are you trying to say, Dad?”

“I just think you shouldn’t take everything on by yourself, Sammy.” He said as he patted her hand, then he leaned back on his chair at the same time as he picked his forgotten menu up. “Now, do you know what you want to eat, or should we wait a few more minutes?”

Sam couldn’t help sending her dad a small smile, even if it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was about to answer when she caught sight of something over his shoulder that made her breath hitch. “Holy shit!”

Jeremy’s head shot up at that. “Samantha, language!”

Uh, oh. He used her full name. “Uh, sorry about that, Dad.” She apologised sheepishly, before standing up and pointing behind him, much to Jeremy’s horror. What was up with this girl’s manners today!? “It’s just that I know the person who’s just entered the restaurant.”

Turning around much more discreetly than Sam, Jeremy raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “You mean the people talking to the maître d’?”

Completely unaware of the fact that they were the focus of the conversation of two of the restaurant’s patrons, Jazz and Danny stood at the entrance, talking to the maître d’. Well, Jazz was talking to the maître d’, looking almost unhinged, Danny was just praying they wouldn’t be kicked out just because his sister had chosen now, of all times, to act as unreasonable as their dad.

“What do you mean there’s no table available?!” She screeched, causing a few customers to turn around to look at her and her brother to look away in embarrassment. “I made the reservation almost two weeks ago! Fenton, Jazz Fenton. Come on, I highly doubt there’s many more Fentons in Amity Park.”

The man tending to them had to be the most patient person on the planet, Danny figured. Or the most emotionless. “My apologies, Miss. But there really is no reservation under a Jazz Fenton.”

“Maybe you put it under another member of the family?” Danny offered before addressing the headwaiter himself. “How about under Danny Fenton?”

The employee looked through his agenda before shaking his head.

“And Maddie Fenton?” Jazz tried.

Again, the man shook his head no.

“Jack Fenton?” She was starting to grow desperate now.

And, again, no such luck.

Watching as Jazz’s eye started twitching, Danny genuinely feared he’d have to restrain his sister from doing something crazy when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught everyone’s attention. Looking at the direction the sound came from, the Fenton siblings could only gape at the sight of a middle-aged man with perfectly coiffed, blond hair, dark blue eyes, and sharply dressed with a crochet vest, light, khaki pants, and black dress shoes standing before them.

The mysterious man turned to the maître d’. “It’s quite alright, my good sir. They’re with us.”

The emotionless man suddenly developed a personality, for he smiled brightly at the other man. “Oh, I see! Would you like some extra chairs, sir?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“Of course, we’ll bring some extra chairs, utensils, and menus to your table momentarily.” And with that the waiter left them alone.

The blond turned to them, a welcoming smile on his face. “Don’t be shy, you two. Come sit with us.” And, by some sort of spell, they followed after him.

In the meantime, brother and sister shared a questioning glance. They were both obviously curious as to who these ‘us’ were. Clearing his throat, Danny ventured. “Um, excuse me sir, but do we know you?”

The mystery, well-dressed man just laughed cordially. “Oh, no. You certainly don’t. As a matter of fact, I don’t know you, either. But my daughter seems to know you, young man.”

Before Danny could so much as ask what he was even talking about, the man stopped beside a table, motioning with his hand to his companion. The halfa almost fell flat on his butt in astonishment.

Getting up from her chair was Sam. Although she had a different outfit than usual, her style was still mostly casual, as opposed to her companion’s preppy clothes.

She was wearing a simple black t-shirt with a drawing of a purple rose on it (why was it so familiar?); a neon green skirt with a spiderweb pattern; a spiked collar with a purple pendant was around her neck; and she wore fingerless, black fishnet gloves. Other than that she looked the same as always. She still had her trademark combat boots and thigh-length, purple stockings on, and her hair was still long and black on one side, while the other was shaved with purple undertones; a green ponytail in a purple scrunchie sticking up.

“Sam, is that you?” He breathed out.

The girl in question could barely believe her eyes. Right in front of her was Danny. She was almost stunned she could recognise him practically anywhere. But then she rationalised; of course she’d recognise him! He looked practically the same as always! With his messy, jet-black hair falling down his face; a pair of blue jeans, his favourite red sneakers...The only thing different about him was the hoodie he was wearing, really. It was mostly white, except for its red cuffs, zipper, draw strings, and the circle it had plastered on its front.

...well, the only thing that was different was his hoodie and the girl beside him, now that she took a better look.

She was around her height, but she seemed slightly older. She was a redhead sporting a cute pixie cut, with a lovely face and striking, aqua eyes. The girl was wearing a square, teal plaid dress over a white, long-sleeved shirt, and black tights with white boots. Her outfit was perfectly coordinated, except for a brown, leather shoulder bag that seemed oddly out of place.

Sam was sure she had never seen her before, but she was just so familiar…

Noticing she was up and Danny was still waiting for her answer, she hurriedly went over to him to shake his and his companion’s hands. “Yes! Yes, it’s me, Danny. And...I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but you are…?”

“Oh, I’m Jazz!” The mysterious girl perked up. “I’m Danny’s sister.”

“Oh, she’s just his sister,” Sam thought to herself, relieved. Wait, relieved? What did she have to be worried about? She thought best to shake those feelings off and stow them for later. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sam, a friend of Danny’s.”

Jazz’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Oh, so you’re Sam! Danny’s told me about you.”

“He has?” Both Mansons asked, but for completely different reasons. And only one of them knew exactly why they asked.

Just as they were introducing themselves, the restaurant’s staff came and set the two extra chairs and items down. His senses tinglingーonly it wasn’t his Ghost Sense, but a sense of danger he couldn’t quite put his finger onー, Danny focused his attention on the other man at the table, who seemed to be glaring daggers at him, for some reason. He swallowed the uncomfortable lump in his throat. “I’m sorry, sir. But I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

The blond plastered a smile on his face as they finally sat down. To anyone else, it would’ve seemed friendly, but to Danny it looked oddly sinister. “Oh, my bad. I’m Jeremy, Jeremy Manson. I’m Sam’s father.”

While a primal fear clutched Danny’s heart in an iron grip, Jazz audibly gasped. “Wait, Jeremy Manson? As in, the Mansons?”

His sister’s astonished expression, as well as Sam’s mortified one, enabled him to ignore his sudden worries for a minute in favour of his curiosity. “You know them?” He asked his sister.

In turn, Jazz just scoffed, looking away from him in exasperation. Of course not only would Danny have no idea who he hung out with, he also had to embarrass them right in front of the two people in question. “Danny, I think you’re literally the only person in all of Amity Park who doesn’t know them. Ironically…” Seeing as he still didn’t get the hint, she gave up. “The Mansons are the descendants of Izzy Manson, the inventor of the machine that wraps cellophane around chopsticks, and therefore, they oversee the patent.”

“So, you’re saying…”

Ugh, somebody put her out of her misery, goddamnit! “She’s saying we’re rich, Danny. Very. Stinking. Rich.” Sam deadpanned. Well, there went that little piece of information she didn’t like her friends finding out about. Although, a part of her was about to burst out laughing at the way the boy’s eyes all but popped out of their sockets.

Danny, on his part, didn’t know what was more shocking. The fact that Sam came from a wealthy family, or the fact that she, a cynical, brooding, activism-oriented girl, was related to classy, perky, sunny Jeremy Manson. They literally had nothing in common! Not even facial features! Unless Sam was just a carbon copy of her mother, those were some weird genetics.

Danny’s prolonged silence made her grow anxious, so Sam quickly changed topics. “So...what are you doing here? You know this place serves vegetables, right?” She just hoped their usual teasing dynamics would save them from the awkwardness.

Luckily for her, it did. The halfa countered her teasing tone with an easy grin. “Yeah, I know. But Jazz was really looking forward to coming to this place and, since convincing our fudge-loving father to take her would have been impossible, she played the older sister card on me.”

Jazz just huffed in response. “Oh, shut up. Just be thankful this is a vegan, Mexican restaurant; you’re bound to find something you like.”

“Yeah, I can always just stuff my face on nachos with guacamole.” He quipped back.

The hazel-eyed student turned her focus to the older girl, her face lighting up. “Oh! You’re vegan?”

“Oh, no. I’m not. I’m just much more willing to eat healthy food than my brother, who I still don’t understand how he could’ve grown so much given his atrocious diet!” She finished pointedly.

“Hey!” Danny protested. “My diet’s not ‘atrocious’! So what if I’m not actively looking for vegan restaurants? I still eat everything I need.”

“I once saw you eat nothing but oreos and soda for two weeks when you were sixteen.” His sister pointed out, without missing a beat.

That made him wince, not appreciating the reminder. “Okay, so maybe that wasn’t my best moment. But, the soda gave me the liquids and sugar I needed and the oreos gave me carbohydrates and proteinーmaybe, if they’re baked with milk…”

“Oreos are actually vegan.” Sam pointed out.

Although her comment was meant to annul his point, it seemed to validate it, instead, for he sent a smug look at Jazz. “Ha! You heard that? Turns out I’m healthier than you, Daisy Green.”

“Oh, just shut up.” His sister grunted, exasperated.

The father-daughter duo just exchanged glances, not used to this sort of family interactions. After a beat, Jeremy spoke up. “How about we order, huh?”

Picking up his own menu, Danny’s face morphed itself in confusion. “Uh...I have literally no idea what to ask for. Sam, you’re the expert, what do you recommend?”

By his side, Jazz perked up. “That’s right! You’re vegan aren’t you?”

“Ultra-recyclo-vegetarian.” She corrected, although she wasn’t sure why; nobody ever really got the difference.

And, lo and behold, neither did Jazz. “Pardon?”

Sam was about to tell her to let it go, when Danny beat her to it. “Sam doesn’t just avoid eating anything with a face, she also eats everything on her plate.”

When he sent her a wink and a friendly smile, Sam almost puddled. She soon regained her senses, though. Alright, so it was touching that he retained that piece of information when most people tended to forget all about it, but that still wasn’t grounds to make a fool out of herself. Finally, she opted for pushing those feelings aside. “This is my first time here, too. But as the only experienced veggie-eater at the table, I’d suggest that if you’re not feeling up to experimenting with new things, then just stick to what you’d usually order from a regular Taco Bell.”

She lowered her menu for them to see as she pointed at certain meals. “For example, Danny, you could try ordering the Burrito Vegano. Judging by its ingredients, it's exactly the same as your usual burrito except for the lack of meat. So you shouldn’t miss much.

“If any of you feels more adventurous, then you could try the vegan Quesadillas, just keep in mind that rather than being exactly the same as the regular ones but with vegetables, instead of cheese they have humus.”

“What about snacks?” Jeremy asked, as enthralled in her explanation as their impromptu guests.

“Oh, I’m definitely ordering their famous nachos with guacamole and vegan nacho cheese. Everyone recommends it.”

“What’s vegan nacho cheese even made of?” Danny scrunched his face up in disgust. “Is it even edible?”

Sam scoffed. Typical carnivore response. “Not any less than the barely passable-for-human-consumption, acrylic orange paint that is the usual nacho cheese. And to answer your question, it’s made of carrots and peppers.”

“Wow.” Danny breathed, impressed once again by Sam’s ability to monologue without the need for breath. “You really have a strong opinion on nacho cheese.”

“Oh, you don’t even know half of the things she has a strong opinion on.” Jeremy muttered.

Before Sam could so much as protest at her dad’s familiar exasperation at her altruistic ways, a waiter, notepad and pen in hand, appeared behind her. “Have the ladies and gentlemen made their decision yet?”

Looking over the table and receiving nods in confirmation, the Manson patriarch took the lead. “I believe we have.”

“Excellent.” The waiter said. “What do you want to drink?”

“Well, I’d normally ask for a bottle of your best wine, but I’m driving tonight, so I’ll have a Mr. Pepper.”

“Of course, sir. And everyone else?”

“I’m driving too, so I’ll have a Lemon Nestea, please.” Jazz said.

It was Danny’s turn. “I’m not driving. I’ll have a beer.”

“We serve Coronita, is that alright with you, sir?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Finally, he turned to Sam. “And you, Miss?”

“Another beer’s fine.”

The waiter wrote everything down. “Alright, so that’s a Mr. Pepper, a Lemon Nestea, and two beers; is that right?” At the sounds of agreement, he went on. “Alright. Have you decided on your food yet, or do you need more time?”

It was Sam’s turn to perk up. “We’ll have some nachos with guacamole and vegan cheese to share. I’ll have the Tofu Tacos; You make them yourself once they’re served, right?” The waiter nodded. “Then, yes. The tacos.” Then she pointed at her dad. “And my Dad’ll have the fajitas.”

As their waiter wrote everything down, she directed her attention at the siblings. “And you guys…?”

“Hm, I think I’ll have the vegan quesadillas.” Jazz said. “I gotta admit, when you said they have humus I’d already made up my mind! And you, Danny?”

Danny kept frantically scanning his menu. He didn’t know what half of those things were! All he knew was that it was Mexican food with extra vegetables. “Uh...I...I’ll have the Burrito Vegano?” He just hoped Sam was right and it’d be similar to the regular thing.

“An excellent choice.” The waiter commented before taking their menus away. “Your drinks and nachos will be out shortly.”

After the waiter left, they kept on chattering idly about everything and nothing. How Sam and Danny knew each other, why Jeremy had, completely out of the blue, decided to let them have dinner with them, what their parents’ did for a living… That’s when things got a little awkward. Although Mr. Manson was trying his hardest to remain neutralーSam’s constant glares served as a good incentiveーit was plain to see he didn’t think highly of their parents and their job.

Danny and Jazz would be lying if they said they weren’t already used to it, or even understood his concerns.

Just as their drinks were being served, Mr. Manson’s cell phone started ringing. He took a quick glance at the caller and immediately winced, which didn’t go unnoticed by his daughter. “Dad…? Is everything okay?”

“What? Oh! Oh, yes. Everything’s fine, kiddo. I just have to take this real quick.” He explained as he got up from his chair, about to make his way to a less crowded area of the restaurant. “I’ll be right back.”

“Is he okay?” Jazz asked, slightly concerned.

Sam could only shrug in response. “He says so.” Noticing the sudden rise in tension, she chose to change topics instead. “Um, I don’t really have any siblings to know better but, you two are close, right? I know my fair share of families who wouldn’t spend any non-essential time together otherwise.” Like mine, was what she didn’t say.

“You could say that.” Jazz replied, almost enigmatically.

Normally, Danny wouldn’t go into detail as to why he and Jazz were so closeーthree guesses why and the first two didn’t countーbut there was something about Sam that told him she would understand. Granted, he couldn’t tell her everything, let alone in the middle of a relatively crowded restaurant, but he could shed some light over her queries. He guessed he felt the need to be open and share things with her because the other day she opened up to him and Tucker.

“Well,” he started, “if I’m being honest, I’ve always been closer to my older sister than my parents…”

"How so?" Sam couldn't believe she had the nerve to ask him that when her own relationship with her parents was, most of the time, rocky, at best.

Did she really have to put him on the spot like that? “No, Danny,” he scolded himself, “you wanted to be honest with her yourself. Don’t blame it on her.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to explain as best as he could while revealing as little as possible. “Uh... it's just...my parents are ghosthunters, as you know, so ghosts have always been present in my house, making things incredibly difficult for Jazz and me growing up.” Like eating savage, ecto-wieners for dinner, having every single personal problem compared to some ghost-hunting analogy, or being mortified and ostracised by his peers as a result. “And things...things only got even more complicated when I was a teenager.”

That was the part he couldn’t go in detail about. Mainly because what truly made things more complicated was the fact that all deep conversations, honesty, and family bonds were tattered the moment he became the very half-ghost whose dissection his parents often fantasized about. “As a result, I guess you could say Jazz and I ganged up together. The Fenton siblings against the world when our parents were too busy with their job.” When he felt Jazz’s warm hand on his cold one, he couldn't help but meet her concerned face with a small smile in thanks for everything she’d ever done for him.

A wave of sympathy washed over Sam at Danny and Jazz's predicament. It was easy to forget Amity Park didn't even know ghosts existed until seven years ago, when Phantom and his putrid kind appeared out of the blue, because witches never forgot their existence in the first place. She could understand being overlooked in favour of creatures of dubious existence must've caused them great pain growing up.

Noticing her heartbroken look, Danny immediately tried to lighten up the mood. “Don’t worry, though. We might not be as close to our parents as we were when we were little, but we still all love each other.”

“Yeah,” Jazz assured her, “no need to feel bad for us, Sam. It’s still nice to see a daughter being close to her dad like you two are.” Her words were meant to bring the hazel-eyed Goth comfort, but her brows knitted together in concern at the look on her face.

Albeit Sam was smiling, it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Lowering her head, almost hiding her face from view, she shook it, sadly.

After a minute or two of silence Danny was about to ask her if she was alright when she spoke. “Don’t let appearances fool you; my Dad and I aren’t exactly close, either.”

“But...but you two seem to get along so well…” Jazz started, but was cut off by Sam.

“We get along,” she confirmed, “but we’ve never been close. My parents are the complete opposite of me, and it showsーthey’ve never been able to understand me, my Grandma did.”

Danny almost regretted having to ask. “Is your Grandma…?”

The Goth just nodded. “She passed away when I was fourteen. She was the only person to ever understand me and accept me for who I am. You could say I’ve been on my own ever since, although in a psychological/spiritual sense.”

“Is that the reason why you’re Goth?” Jazz couldn’t hold herself back from asking, her psychologist instincts taking the reins of the situation. Shocked at her behaviour, Danny kicked her gently on her shin from under the table.

He ignored her glare in favour of distracting Sam from her question. “What about your mother, aren’t you two close?”

The harsh laugh she let out startled them both. “I might not be close to my Dad, but compared to my relationship with my mother, I’m practically a daddy’s girl.”

A shadow casted over her hazel eyes, other times so full of fire and mischief, and Danny didn’t like it one bit. Reaching over to grab her hand in his, making her gasp in surprise, he sent her a gentle smile. “Thank you for sharing that about yourself with us.”

She returned the smile. “Thank you for sharing that about your parents with me.”

They kept staring into each other’s eyes, not caring about anything around them, until the clatter of the nacho plate being set down on their table broke them out of their thoughts. While Danny chose to ignore her sister’s annoying smirk, Sam thanked the waiter. Then, she turned to the siblings. “Well? What are you waiting for? Dig in!”

They did as they were told, and their faces split in matching grins. Hmming in appreciation, the black-haired half-ghost dipped another tortilla chip into the vegan cheese. “This ain’t half bad!”

Sam just chuckled. “Told you.”

After a, surprisingly, rather pleasant dinner between the two different families, it was time to say goodbye. Since they were the ones driving them home, Jazz and Mr. Manson left first to look for their respective cars, leaving Danny and Sam some extra time to talk.

“Well, that was a pleasant surprise.” Danny commented, putting his hands inside his hoodie’s pocket.

“Yeah, it really was.” Sam smiled when, suddenly, a cold breeze whooshed by, making her shiver.

Noticing her hugging herself from the corner of his eyes, he immediately took action. “Here, let me help. It’s starting to get cold.” He said, even when his cryokinesis made him immune to cold years ago.

“Danny, I’m fineー” she began, but was interrupted by Danny slipping his hoodie on over her shoulders. As he lent her his jacket, their eyes locked. For a moment, time stopped. The Earth stopped moving. Nothing else mattered but each other’s eyes; Danny’s precious baby blue, and Sam’s vibrant hazel. Then, the sound of a not-so-distant honk broke the spell, causing them to quickly avert their eyes, a hint of pink dusting their cheeks.

Sam wasn’t cold anymore.

As Jazz opened the door for Danny, he waved her goodbye, which Sam returned. Now that she was alone with her thoughtsーand Danny’s hoodieーwaiting for her Dad to appear with his own car, she couldn’t stop herself from sniffing the garment. It smelled like wood and freshly rained soil, but there was something else. Something...familiar she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Whatever it was, she liked it.

It smelled like Danny.

#Danny Phantom #DP #dp fanfic #your heart #my fic #danny fenton #sam manson #valerie gray #jazz fenton #jeremy manson #paulina sanchez #dp star #oc #ghost king! danny #ghost king au #witch queen! sam #witch queen au #enemies to friends to lovers

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