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Chapter Text

Sunlight streamed through the cracks of the closed curtain, casting unique patterns of light onto the carpet. Muffled commotion could be heard from outside over the cheerful chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The teenager shifted under the blankets. He didn't want to get up yet. He was exhausted for some reason, and snippets of the strangest dream were still present in his memory...

Blue eyes slowly blinked open. The smell of pancakes wafted into the room from downstairs. His favorite.

Why was his mother making pancakes? Usually they were reserved for special occasions like birthdays or holidays.

With a grunt, he sat up in the bed and let out a yawn. With a glance at the clock, he noted that it was after ten o'clock in the morning. He rarely slept in this late; either the need to attend school or his ghost sense would wake him before the sun rose.

He reclined back in the bed and picked up his phone, scrolling through some missed messages and notifications. His friends had been texting him, asking how he was. Even some classmates that hadn't contacted him in years had spammed him with calls and texts.

The boy frowned. Everything about this morning seemed odd. What was he forgetting?

A muffled yell from outside startled him. At that moment he realized the strangeness of the noises from outside his house. Usually people were afraid to even approach FentonWorks, for a multitude of reasons. But now, it sounded like the whole town was out there.

He turned intangible and floated out of bed, flickering into invisibility before he stuck his head through his closed curtain.

Danny gasped at how many people were scattered around his yard. Reporters speaking in front of cameras, excited teenagers wearing black shirts with his logo on them, various members of Amity Park, unfamiliar strangers. There was a crowd of all sorts of people, all with their collective sights on his house.

He shakily retreated back into the comfort of his room. Parts of his 'dream' came back to him in a blur. Purposely losing his powers, that weird ghost asteroid, going to Antarctica to turn the entire earth intangible, revealing his secret in front of the crowd... in front of the cameras. The smiles of his family and friends. And Vlad abandoned in space..? That part sounded too good to be true. But the rest? Not so much.

The vividness of the memories and the weird events of this morning were proof that something had happened. It all had to be true.

He slowly let himself drop to the floor. Shock and nausea hit him like a wave. He was exposed. The government would be coming any minute. Everyone hated him. He put his family through this.

It was all his fault.

A knock on the door startled him. He was stricken with shock. His family knew. His parents must hate him. He had to run, he had to escape before—

"Danny?"

He blew out a silent breath of relief. It was Jazz. He didn't have to face them yet. He could still run.

Shaking, he stood up from the floor. He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

Silence. His doorknob turned, and he stepped back into the corner furthest from the door. Maybe his parents were with her. He couldn't be too careful.

She peeked in before entering and quietly shutting the door behind her. She smiled sympathetically. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

He remained silent and didn't move from his corner. The shouting from the front yard wasn't helping to calm his nerves. His flight instinct was practically screaming at him to leave. He couldn't deal with this. He just couldn't.

Jazz must have noticed his spiraling expression. "Hey... Danny, it's going to be okay. We'll get through this, I promise."

He swallowed, daring to ask the question he didn't want to know the answer to. "D-do I need to leave?"

Her expression morphed into surprise and a hint of pity. "What? No, of course not."

Danny wasn't convinced. The fear that his parents would hate him—did hate him— still lingered. It had been there ever since his accident, and now it was stronger than ever.

He must have spaced out, because the next thing he was aware of was his sister hugging him. Swallowing back the lump in his throat, he melted into her embrace. He hated how he was still shaking, how she pitied him. He was stronger than this.

Wasn't he?

"Oh, Danny..." She whispered. "They love you so much. In fact, they're afraid that you hate them since they've put you through hell and back."

He took a shaky breath. Did they really think that? He never hated them. It wasn't their fault, not really. They didn't know... they couldn't have known.

"They want to see you, to know that you're okay." She ruffled his hair. "Mom even made pancakes. Don't worry, I made sure that they're not contaminated." There was humor in her voice, but the concern remained.

Apprehension gnawed at his stomach. The thought of even approaching the steps to go downstairs made him feel sick.

But he couldn't keep hiding from this forever.

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Just let me change clothes."

She smiled warmly at him and gave him one final squeeze. "I'll go make sure that the alarms are turned off."

He couldn't help but snort. He could only imagine the awkwardness if he set off the Fenton alarm as they were about to have a serious emotional conversation. It had happened before, but back then they had no idea why it was set off.

He took a few calming breaths before moving to his closet.

The phone rang for the millionth time that morning. Maddie Fenton groaned at the ear-splitting noise, continuing to flip the pancakes. It seemed like everyone and their grandmothers were calling to get a chance to talk to the world's new hero.

She heard her husband approach the phone just to unplug it. "People just won't stop calling, will they?" He joked. "If only all of them wanted to buy our inventions! Then I would answer every single call!"

She smiled in the man's direction. "Who knows, dear, maybe this will end up increasing our business. But we have other priorities right now."

He hummed in agreement, sitting back down at the table and picking up the newspaper. It already had events about the previous day all over the front cover. Their son was all over the front cover.

The mother sighed quietly and returned her gaze to the pancakes. Some of them were blueberry, which had been Danny's favorite since childhood. The thought made her think back to those days that she still cherished, when her children had been young.

Some things never change.

But some things do change, she thought with a tired smile. Ever since the prior afternoon, things had been crazy. Well, things had been crazy for several weeks, as the response to the asteroid was being planned.

Then her old college friend had revealed himself as a ghost and tried to take over the world.

She still remembered the horror she had felt when he threatened the Earth. All this time, he had been tricking everyone, manipulating everyone, behind even the noses of her and Jack, two of the world's best ghost hunters.

Well, maybe not the best after all, she thought humorlessly. A ghost had been literally living under their roof for over a year, and they had no idea until the day before.

She sighed and started a new batch of pancakes. A few minutes before, Jazz had left the room to go check on Danny. He had been so exhausted after saving the world that he fell asleep before the return plane even took off. He had been too tired to explain anything yet, which made everything even more of a mystery. Jazz had also kept quiet, insisting that he should be the one to let them in on everything they had missed.

It pained her to think about it. All this time, her son had been out fighting ghosts and getting hurt and dealing with Vlad, and she and Jack never knew, never even suspected anything. All of their ghost inventions went off around him, and they still didn't even think to question it.

They had been blind. Blinded by their hatred for ghosts. Blinded by their hatred of Phantom.

The stairs creaked. She whipped her head around to see her daughter returning.

"He's coming."

Her heart seemed to stop. She was going to see her son again and apologize for everything. Everything that she had done that hurt him.

"Took him long enough." Jack joked half-heartedly, also clearly nervous. He wasn't his usual boisterous self after everything that had happened. It turned out that Vlad, who he considered a best friend, had hated him all along. And who knew what the wicked man had done to Danny, from the way their son had always seemed to despise him.

Maddie brought their late breakfast to the table, squeezing her husband's shoulder reassuringly.

"Before he comes down, I just want to tell you something." Jazz sighed. "I know that you're afraid that he hates you after everything that happened, but that's far from the truth. He thinks you hate him."

"What?" Maddie answered sadly. "We would never—" Her words died in her throat. Of course they would never willingly hurt their son, but they did that without knowing. Ignorance was no excuse.

Her daughter smiled sadly. "Just know that he's terrified to face you. He's been terrified this whole time that you wouldn't love him anymore. That's part of the reason that you didn't know until now."

Silence filled the kitchen. Tears prickled in Maddie's eyes.

"Well, we're going to have to prove him wrong, then." The father answered, smiling slightly. "He's our son, no matter what." The woman smiled in agreement at her husband's statement.

The stairs creaked. Three heads turned to see Danny frozen in place with eyes as wide as a deer's in the headlights.

"I knew I should I flown down..." he muttered to himself, and then his expression dropped when realized what he just said. "I-I mean... uhh... what's for breakfast?"

Jazz couldn't help but giggle, and soon the laugh was contagious.

"Here he is, my dork of a brother." He blushed at his sister's statement, still frozen in the stairway, as she served herself some hot pancakes. "Let's eat. I'm starving."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Jack grinned and took a huge stack for himself.

Silent as a ghost, Danny shyly approached the table and sat down, clearly relieved when no one gave him a second glance.

For now, it was a normal family meal, and no one could be more grateful.

Chapter Text

The family sat down comfortably in the living room, waiting in silence. Maddie and Jack had ditched their hazmat suits and ghostly weapons for obvious reasons. The sight of their family looking so... normal was strange. It was just another of the many things that had changed since the day before.

Danny bit his lip nervously, his mind in turmoil. There was so much that his parents didn't know... and he didn't want to tell them in the slightest. Maybe it would change their view of him. Maybe it would change their minds about loving him despite his ghost half. Maybe...

No. He couldn't keep doing this. They loved him.

Still, the very thought of telling them about some of his worst fears made his heart race. He couldn't tell them yet. He wasn't ready. Maybe he never would be.

He took a deep breath, silently reassuring himself. Dan isn't my future anymore. I won't become anything like him. I promised myself and I promised my family. But... I can't tell them. I just can't.

He looked at Jazz, who shot him a calm and urging smile. He blushed when he saw his three family members looking at him. They'd probably been doing that for a while. Crap.

"So..." He muttered, crossing his legs nervously. "I should probably start from the beginning, right?"

"That would probably be best." His sister commented dryly, her mouth twitching up as a reaction to his glare.

"Okay. I, uh, I never told you this. And you're probably going to be mad that I didn't." His family gave him concerned looks, and he sighed as he continued. "So, you remember when you were first building the portal, right?"

"Yes, of course!" Jack answered excitedly. "We almost gave up on the darn thing, but then we miraculously got it to work!"

"Heh, yeah, about that..." The teenage boy rubbed his neck. "I saw that you were upset about it, so I wanted to help. Uh, well... did you ever wonder where the on and off buttons went?"

Maddie frowned. "I vaguely remember misplacing them. Jack, dear, do you remember what happened?"

The man shook his head. "I thought I installed them, but later I couldn't find where they were. Turns out they weren't needed anyway, though!"

"Well... they were inside the portal." The boy informed them. "And I found them. And pressed them."

Maddie practically turned into a mother hen, obsessing over something that happened more almost a year prior. "You did what?! You went inside the—do you have any idea how dangerous that was?! How could you even think of doing something like that?!"

He blushed at the thought that Sam had technically been the cause of it. He definitely wasn't going to mention that. "That's not important. Long story short, it turned me into... this." He awkwardly gestured to himself. "At first it was horrifying. I had no control over anything, and I was phasing through walls and floating randomly for like a month. On top of that, I was too scared to tell you. Sam and Tucker were there when it happened, and for months they were the only ones who knew."

He went through some of the most noteworthy stories of his past, including skirmishes with Walker and Skulker and Frostbite and some of the other familiar ghosts he knew, both enemies and allies. Every so often someone would chime in with a question or comment, and for the most part it was a positive family discussion. The Fenton parents were enthralled by his experiences, especially curious about the Ghost Zone and the true properties of ghosts.

After the conversation seemed to wind down, comfortable silence filled the living room again (except for the constant noise from outside, of course. They would be hearing that for days.).

"What about Vlad?"

The boy froze at the uncomfortable topic. "Oh... you, uh, want to know more about him?"

"We just want to know what he put you through." Jack answered gruffly. Danny frowned, feeling guilty about the situation and sorry for his father. It must have been hard to all-of-the-sudden be exposed to the old college friend's betrayal and hate.

Maddie took over. "We're so sorry that we let him anywhere near—"

"It's okay. Really. You couldn't have known." The halfa sighed. "I'm just glad he never tried to hurt any of you. He... excuse my language, but he's a manipulative, self-righteous asshole."

"Yeah." Jazz muttered. "That about explains it."

Danny stared at the ground as his family looked at him with a mix of concern and expectancy for a larger explanation. The thought of Vlad made the teenager feel sick. He had dealt with the man's taunting and manipulation for a long time, and talking about it would just get him worked up. "I... don't want to talk about it." He said quietly. They elapsed into silence. The two parents met eyes before looking back sadly at their son. "Do you think he's really gone for good?" The boy asked with an even smaller voice. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. What if Vlad did return? The possibility made him horrified for both his family and the rest of the world.

"I hope so, honey." The female ghost hunter said reassuringly. "You've been dealing with this on your own for too long. Whatever happens, we'll be right by your side." She gave him a loving smile.

"We won't let him hurt you again." The man added, even smiling a bit at the youngest Fenton. "Not on my watch, Danno."

The boy smiled, tears prickling at his eyes. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that." His voice was stained with emotion. He mentally cursed; he promised himself that he wouldn't cry over this.

Heroes didn't cry, after all.

He snapped back to reality when he felt his mother sit close beside him. He didn't hesitate to bury his head in her chest, barely holding back a sob. Her arms wrapped around him, and she pressed a light kiss to the top of his head.

He felt safe.

It had been way too long since he had talked to his best friends, even though he had just seen them yesterday. A lot had changed since then.

Danny collapsed in his desk chair and started a group call. He needed to hear their voices again, maybe even fly over to see them later.

"Hey." Sam was the first to pick up. "How are you doing?" She asked sincerely. The line clicked as Tucker was added to the call.

"Heyo." The geek greeted, oblivious to the girl's previous question.

"Hey, guys. I'm doing okay, considering the circumstances." The half-ghost replied. "What about you two?"

"Fine. We would come over, but the mob around your house is kind of intimidating." Tucker said sheepishly. "Plus, my parents are debating whether to ground me or not for knowingly putting myself in danger since the beginning of freshman year." The trio would be sophomores in the fall. Luckily they still had the rest of summer vacation to get used to the revealed secrets and their new fame.

"My parents are livid, but I couldn't care less." Sam said cheerfully. Her two friends chuckled at her characteristic statement. "I can come over if you want me to. I bet I could get the crowd to move."

"Oh, I don't doubt that." Danny muttered, imagining his best friend, now girlfriend, intimidating dozens of people in order to get to his door. That reminded him, he still had to talk with her about what their relationship was now. Mentally making a note of it, he continued talking. "I could also fly over to pick you up, you know. That would save the trouble of mentally scarring hordes of people."

"Where's the fun in that?" She sounded disappointed, and the half-ghost found it concerning that he couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or not.

"I would suggest we get a bite at the Nasty Burger, but I think we would probably get mobbed." The techno-geek commented in amusement. "Don't get me wrong, I'm loving my new status as a savior of the world. It's a great way to seduce the ladies. But there are definitely times when it gets out of hand."

Sam snorted at the boy's flirtatious statement. "All right, Romeo. I'm sure there are tons of girls who would date you just to meet Danny."

"I hate to say it, but she's probably right." The halfa answered, not quite managing to suppress a smile. "I'm being overwhelmed with emails and social media mentions. I even got an offer to go on that talk show on channel five, you know, the one hosted by Amanda Greene?"

Earlier he had decided to check his email, which he later found was a mistake. He probably shouldn't have been surprised when he saw his inbox being overwhelmed by thousands and thousands of messages. Emails from fans, haters, paranormal scientists, concerned parents, and even a few companies trying to get an endorsement or an appearance in an ad.

His few social media accounts weren't any better. The few people that knew his usernames must have spread them across the internet like wildfire. He had gone from having nine followers to twenty three thousand in a matter of days. And the number was still rising at a surprising rate.

Dumbfounded, he had scrolled through his mentions. Thousands and thousands of them. He came across a message from a talk show hosted by Amanda Greene, a well known celebrity, on channel five. 'Contact us if you'd be interested in having a platform to address the public with,' it read. 'We can schedule an interview any time! Whatever you decide, we're rooting for you!'

"Wow! Really?" Tucker said excitedly, jolting the youngest Fenton out of his flashback. "That's awesome! If you did that, you'd probably become even more famous than you already are!"

"That's the problem..." The blue-eyed boy muttered under his breath. "What do you think, Sam?"

"Well, you don't owe an explanation to anyone. I just want to make sure you know that." She replied with a level tone. "Personally, I wouldn't do it, but it's your choice."

"It would be a good way to reassure some of the less enthused people that you're not a threat." The African-American boy argued. "I know they're an extreme minority, but even just a few angry people can do a lot of damage if they try."

"Plus the government." Danny piped in tiredly. "They're probably waiting for me to screw up so they can arrest me with a justification. Maybe this could be a way to prevent that, and explain my side of the story."

"If you want some backup, we can go with you." Tucker suggested, wanting to help his friend but probably also wanting to be on TV. "Just putting that out there."

"Shut up, Tuck." Sam replied, seeing through the guise and causing Danny to grin at her reply. "But Danny, if you don't want to go alone, he's right. We could be there as moral support in case things go downhill."

"Thanks for the offer." He said gratefully. "I'll talk to my parents before I make a decision. But either way, I want to let things simmer down for a few days."

"Hey, on the bright side, Vlad isn't here anymore." Tucker stated, changing the subject. "Did you hear they're having an emergency election for a new mayor? You know, since our old one is in space... and don't forget a crazy evil mastermind."

"That's good. The faster we get a sane person in the position, the better." The goth muttered, clearly sharing the younger halfa's hatred for the man.

"Let's hope that whoever it is, they're on my side this time." The blue-eyed boy added. "I can use all the support I can get."

Before Danny knew it, it was dinner time. Since it was impossible to exit or enter the house, ordering pizza or going out to eat was out of the question. Instead, Maddie Fenton made macaroni and cheese and meatloaf, some family favorites.

"Guess what? There's a petition going around to put up a statue in honor of you saving the world, little brother." Jazz said excitedly soon after the family started eating. "And by the looks of it, almost everyone is in favor of it."

"Are you serious?" He stared at her in disbelief. "Why?"

"You saved the world, silly. People are grateful." She reached across the table to ruffle his hair. He dodged her hand in annoyance.

"In other news, Amanda Greene wants me on her talk show." He shared, laughing at the startled reactions he got.

"That's great, son!" Jack bellowed, shaking the table, causing the family to laugh again.

"We're so proud of you, Danny!" The mother said, happy tears coming to her eyes. "You're growing up so fast."

"How soon does she want you on?" His sister asked.

"I haven't agreed to anything yet. I wanted to get your opinions first." He said with a shrug. "Do you think I should do it?"

"I don't know, honey. I know you're not a big fan of being the center of attention." Maddie said, then chuckled when she processed her statement. "Maybe not anymore, though. You're a world celebrity now, after all."

"You think I wanted this? That's hilarious." He asked, laughing nervously. "The thought of being on live TV in front of millions of people scares me. But maybe it would be a good way to share my point of view and experiences, and to let people know that they can trust me."

"I agree. It's a good opportunity." Jazz piped in before taking a bite of meatloaf.

Danny looked to his father, who had yet to say anything. "Dad?"

"Do it!" He answered with a grin. "My sons going to be on TV! I've gotta call up Ma and the rest of the family! This is amazing!"

The halfa smiled nervously and took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll tell them I'm interested." The other three Fenton's cheered, and the celebratory noise managed to cover up the shouting from outside, if only briefly.

Chapter Text

The light shined blindingly onto him from above, the warmth and nervousness causing sweat to appear on his forehead. A brush danced across his face, and all the powder flying around gave him the urge to sneeze. All around him, people were straightening his suit and tying his tie and combing out his hair. He felt claustrophobic. And the glaring GIW agents scattered around definitely didn’t help.

People from the stage shouted the amount of time left. Five minutes. Three minutes. One minute. Thirty seconds.

Next to him, his two friends were getting similar treatment, though Sam was getting more makeup attention than the two boys. Danny couldn’t help but smile at her appearance; she looked beautiful in her purple and black dress, paired with black tights and light eyeshadow and lipstick. The confidence and fearlessness in her expression somehow made her even more attractive.

“You’ll do great, honey.” He heard his mom say reassuringly, stepping into his view. “Remember what we talked about.”

Right. He and his friends and family had all discussed the extent of what they would say. Obviously the only explanation for his altered DNA and powers would be a vague “lab accident.” They wouldn’t mention Vlad unless someone brought him up first, and they would minimize that discussion as best as they could. Definitely no mention of anything Danny refused to tell his parents yet. And no mention of any classmates or teachers by name for legal reasons.

They would be fine.

He had to believe it, since some lady had just yelled that there was ten seconds left and people were pushing them towards the curtain. He felt Sam squeeze his hand, and he shot her a thankful look.

They were about to be on air, on national television. He could barely believe it. 

Once he had agreed to the offer, things went even more haywire than they already were. It was advertised almost immediately: Danny Fenton and his friends, the world’s newest celebrities, would be appearing on the Amanda Greene Show at 6 pm this Saturday. The crowd around their house had somehow grown even more after that. They even had to get the police’s assistance to leave their driveway. They traveled by RV to New York City, since taking a public plane would have been pure madness.

The boy had never been to the city before. It was huge. Skyscrapers and people and neon lights and construction and noise and cars... it was too hectic for him, especially now.

He was startled out of his memory when he heard the opening music blaring from the set. He heard Amanda say a few opening remarks as his stomach did a few flips.

Too soon, they were cued on. 

They filed onto the stage, immediately greeted with several cameras and overhead stage lights and a packed, cheering audience. 

Danny sighed a breath of relief as he plopped down on the couch, glad he didn’t trip over his own feet on live TV like he expected to.

“Welcome everyone! We have quite a show for you tonight,” Amanda started in her cheery and enticing manner, and the crowd finally quieted down. “As I’m sure everyone is aware, unless you live under a massive rock– or better yet, an asteroid,“ the audience erupted in laughs, “we had quite an eventful few weeks.” She looked at the guests with a sympathetic smile. “I’m honored that you three made time to come on the show.”

“N-no, thank you,” Danny responded nervously. “I can’t believe I’m here right now, oh my god.” He stared out at the audience of dozens and the blinking TV cameras. The in house audience whooped and waved at him. Danny felt the most awkward he had felt in his entire life… minus a few moments.

“I’m interested to hear your story. But first, do you want to introduce yourselves?” Amanda asked kindly.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Danny stuttered, tearing his eyes away from the countless faces all watching him. “I’m Danny… wait, you probably already know that…”

“Yes,” Amanda giggled.

Danny stiffened and then relaxed when he felt Sam’s hand land on his shoulder. He could do this. “I’m Danny Fenton. I’m about to go into tenth grade… and I’m also known to some as Phantom.” Screams erupted, causing him to flinch back with a chuckle. “And these are my two best friends, Sam and Tucker.”

“Tucker Foley, at your service. And ladies, TF stands for—“

“Tucker, shut up,” Sam interrupted, causing a string of giggles to come from the crowd.

Tucker shrugged. “Some people just don’t appreciate my charm. Anyway, I’ve known Danny for literally since kindergarten, so you know I have a lot of blackmail on him.”

“Hey!” Danny protested, and Sam snorted. Meanwhile, Tucker made finger guns at the crowd as they erupted in cheers and laughter.

In her own chair, Amanda looked amused at the unfolding conversation. “We may come back to you later for some of that, Tucker,” she said with a wink.

“That’ll be good,” Sam teased, smirking when Danny shot her a look. “Anyway, I’m Sam Manson. Also going into tenth grade. Ultra-recyclo-vegetarian—“

“She basically means vegetarian with extra steps,” Tucker piped in.

“—and the one who keeps these dorks in line.” Sam finished, shooting the boys a sidelong look. “Somebody has to do it. Combined they have about three brain cells.”

“I think we have at least ten, Sam,” Danny argued.

“Three.” Sam repeated, quickly cut off by laughter. 

Tucker simply shrugged. “I’d argue, but it’s true.”

“What a charming bunch,” Amanda responded, looking back at the cameras. “I suppose you three are pretty popular in your school, right?”

Danny and Tucker started laughing, while Sam just looked amused. The audience joined in laughing at their reaction.

“Uh, sorry. The answer is no.” Danny answered sheepishly.

“We’re like, the lowest tier of the school hierarchy.” Tucker added, wiggling his eyebrows at the audience.

“School hierarchy?” The talk show host questioned, causing the audience to chuckle. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“For some reason, people in our school are really judgmental about that sort of thing.” Sam piped in. “Your reputation is dependent on how much money you have, your grades, your hobbies, and even your appearance.”

“We informally call the highest group the ‘A-Listers,’ Tucker began to explain. “They’re basically the popular kids in the school who are known to be snobby and mean to everyone who isn’t in their group.” He paused briefly. “Then in the middle, there’s the average kids. They’re just... normal.”

“And at the bottom are the nerds and the geeks and the weird kids. And us, of course.” Danny finished. “We’re sort of a sub-group, at the very bottom.” He comically pointed at the floor, and the audience laughed.

“I’m guessing that will change come September, huh?” Amanda joked, and the trio frowned at the thought.

“Don’t remind me.” Danny said nervously. 

“Is it not a good thing?” the host asked, causing the trio to shake their heads.

“Too much drama.” Sam replied matter of factly.

“We have plenty of that already outside of school, believe me,” Tucker continued.

”Speaking of drama outside of school,” Amanda drawled, peering at them curiously. “Is there a story there that you can tell?” The audience quieted in anticipation.

The trio looked at each other, before Danny started. “There is quite a story there, I can’t lie.”

“That’s an understatement,” Sam muttered.

“If you’re willing, could you give us a rundown?” Amanda asked cautiously.

“Well…” Danny petered off. “There was an accident.”

“An accident?”

“An accident,” the three teenagers parroted back in union.

“And it made me like this,” Danny said. “Wait, I forgot you don’t know the context. My parents are inventors: Jack and Maddie Fenton.” The crowd remained silent, indicating no recognition.

“Inventors of what?” Amanda finally asked.

“Ghost related technology,” Danny replied. “Have been ever since I was born. It made for an interesting childhood.”

“I can only imagine,” Amanda chuckled. “Yet knowing what we know now, their profession sounds a lot less crazy.”

“After the accident, I gained new supernatural abilities,” Danny sheepishly explained. “Flying, turning invisible, stuff like that.”

“And combine that with starting high school,” Sam piped in. “The first few weeks were… crazy.”

“I’m pretty sure all of it was crazy, Sam,” Tucker muttered, causing laughs to erupt from the audience.

Chants from the crowd began to meet their ears. “Show us! Show us!”

”Quiet down,” Amanda requested, and the crowd hushed. “Well, how about it, Danny? Only if you’re comfortable.”

“No,” Sam answered firmly for him before he could even open his mouth. “Let’s move on.” Danny breathed out a sigh of relief. Sam to the rescue. He already felt enough like a zoo animal, without being asked to do tricks.

“Getting back to our conversation—what happened next?” Amanda asked, clearly enthralled. “What led up to the events from the past weeks?”

“A lot of ghost hunting,” Danny replied, still shaking off the awkwardness.

“Our hometown Amity Park got extremely haunted,” Sam spoke again, taking the attention of the room once more. “Ghosts started showing up left and right, and we were some of the only ones who knew what was happening.”

”So the three of us became Team Phantom,” Tucker announced, making a peace sign with one hand. “AKA, the best ghost fighting team to ever exist, and you all know it.” Cheers filled the room.

“You’re laying it on pretty thick, Tuck,” Danny teased.

“I try.”

“How interesting,” Amanda commented. “So, about ghosts… What are they? Where did they come from? And why have they been such a legend for so long?”

“Honestly, my parents would be able to give you better answers to that,” Danny said with a shrug, “but I can share what I know.”

Murmurs of interest met his ears. It seemed everyone was wondering the same thing.

“At a high level, ghosts basically come from another dimension that is connected to ours,“ Danny started to explain. “Dimension, plane of existence, however you want to word it.”

“Have you been to this other dimension?” Amanda asked, sounding shocked to hear this information.

“We all have several times,” Tucker responded, causing surprise to ripple throughout the room. “It’s... interesting, that’s for sure.”

“Charming in a creepy way,” Sam added helpfully.

“You answered one question but created so many others,” Amanda said with a laugh.

“That’s pretty typical for us,” Danny said amusedly. ”As for what ghosts are, it really stems from how they form. To generally explain it, ghosts form from a combination of emotional imprints and unfinished business, or obsession.”

“That’s why they’re so interconnected with earth and humanity,” Sam tacked on. “Ghosts form because of us.”

“So, unfinished business… does that mean that ghosts are indeed spirits of those who have passed on?” Amanda asked. The room hushed to silence and anticipation.

“The simple answer is yes and no,” Danny finally replied. “From my understanding, some ghosts were formerly alive, but some weren’t.”

“Very interesting,” Amanda said, clearly deep in thought. “Who knew that this other world existed alongside ours, and we had no idea?”

“As for how ghosts have existed without our knowledge, they tend to stay in their own dimension most of the time… until recently.” Danny continued. 

“And also there’s the part where they’re literally invisible,” Tucker added, causing a burst of laughter.

“That, too,” Danny agreed with a shrug.

”I believe the show is coming to a close. In our last few minutes, I’d love to hear from you three about your favorite experiences in the past year.”

”I can start,” Sam offered in the pause. “I personally have loved learning more about ghosts and unlearning society’s biases against them. Really, humans and ghosts are much more similar than you’d think.” Sam shot a smile at Danny as she finished. God, he loved his girlfriend. Some scattered applause followed.

“That sounds amazing, Sam,” Amanda responded. “I think we all could take that lesson to heart however it applies.”

“Me next,” Tucker piped in. “I really liked getting to practice and improve my epic hacking skills against the more technologically inclined ghosts. Skulker for instance? A piece of cake! And don’t even get me started on Technus.”

“Tucker’s PDA always comes through for us,” Danny commented amusedly.

“Thank you!” Tucker exclaimed, putting his fist out for a fist bump. Danny simply had to oblige.

“Where did you learn to hack, may I ask?” Amanda asked.

“A master never tells,” Tucker said with a shrug, setting off laughter. 

“Looks like you’re the last one, Danny,” Amanda moved on. “Anything that stands out to you?”

“It has to be going to space, no contest.” Danny sat back on the couch as excited chatter filled the room. “And piloting a space shuttle.”

“And almost crashing and killing us all?” Sam asked in a deadpan voice.

“Come on Sam, where’s your sense of adventure?” Tucker complained as the room laughed.

“There’s a lot to unpack here! You’ve been to space?”

“Actually, I’ve been there a few times.” There was a collective gasp from the audience.

“Really? Would you mind telling us what it was like?”

“Cold.” The audience laughed. “It was amazing, though, and peaceful.”

“Wow! That must make you the youngest person in space, I’d imagine!”

“Heck yeah I am!” Danny turned to the cameras, looking the most excited he had all interview. “NASA, feel free to hit me up.” The audience laughed. “You laugh, but that’s not a joke. I’ve wanted to be an astronaut for my whole life.”

”I can only imagine the impressive resumes you three will have in a few years.” The audience laughed at Amanda’s lighthearted joke. “Well everyone, our time tonight is wrapping up-“

“Um, can I just say one more thing?” Danny interrupted sheepishly.

“Of course! A closing statement from our guest, everyone.”

Silence stretched on, and sweat began to bead on his forehead. Anxiety made his heart beat faster. Maybe this had been a mistake. But he promised himself that he would do this. 

He took a shaky breath before starting. “I just want to say… I know there are probably people out there who don’t know what to think of all of this. What happened the past few weeks was a shock to everyone, and I’m sure a lot of fear is going around right now...” Danny eyed the GIW agents spotted throughout the room, ecto-guns in hand. “I guess I just wanted a chance to say my piece and reassure people that I’m just a normal guy, you know?”

“As normal as Danny can get,” Tucker muttered, causing Sam to kick him.

“Exactly, Tuck. Anyway… I guess, try to keep an open mind? Like Sam said, most ghosts aren’t all that bad. In fact, I’ve met some that I consider close friends.” Danny finished awkwardly.

“Inspiring words from Phantom, the world’s savior,” Amanda announced proudly. Applause thundered through the room as the last seconds counted by. “Good night and thanks for tuning in!” Soon, the theme song was blaring from the speakers as the cameras whizzed backwards. 

As quickly as it had started, the lights blinked off. The live show was over. Danny heard his own breathing loudly in his ears as he looked around. People standing up, leaving the seating area, technicians rushing around the set. 

In a whirlwind, he was ushered off stage. When he emerged behind the curtains, his family was there waiting for him, along with Sam‘s and Tucker’s.

“Great job, son!” his dad bellowed, wrapping him in a bear hug.

“You three did great!” his mom praised.

“Seconded!” Jazz piped in, joining the hug with Jack and Danny. “I’m so proud of you.”

”I have to agree. Our son on the biggest talk show in the states?” Maurice, Tucker’s dad, blubbered. “Incredible!”

“Thanks, dad,” Tucker said with a grin. “Being in front of that many people was insane!” Meanwhile, his mom Angela wrapped him in a tight hug, clearly emotionally moved.

“Never again,” Danny groaned, causing some of the others to chuckle.

“I think we did good,” Sam assured confidently. Standing distanced from her, her parents looked less than thrilled. Their distrustful looks towards Danny made his skin prickle.

Out of all of them, Pamala and Jeremy Manson had been the most reluctant to accept the latest turn of events. It was obvious that they had had their share of arguments with Sam after the fiasco, but their headstrong daughter couldn’t be stopped from hardly anything.

But Danny couldn’t exactly blame them. Every day, he had his own worries about bringing his friends so close to danger. He would never forgive themself if one of them got seriously hurt, or worse…

In the awkward silence, Maddie finally spoke up. “Well, we have a dinner reservation to get to. Is everyone ready?” Most responded with affirmatives, and the group set off.

Chapter Text

The next week passed in a whirlwind. It almost felt like a dream. His prior months on end spent looking over his shoulder in his own house made him jumpy and cautious. It was… strange, not having to hide anymore.

There hadn’t been a single ghost appearance since the asteroid. Instead of flying around town on constant alert, Danny spent all of his time in his house. He was getting so stir crazy, he was starting to miss the ghosts. 

The Fenton house had morphed into something oddly domestic. No more half-baked inventions on the dinner table, no more whirring of power tools. Danny tried not to think about why the sudden change had come about. They had had a handful of emotional conversations, but not anything so uncomfortable as the elephant in the room. But judging from Jazz’s subtle expressions and secret talks she was probably (definitely) having with their parents, it was bound to come up sometime.

Danny looked up from his handheld game as footsteps approached. It was his mom, smiling at him from across the room.

“Hey, honey,” she greeted, eyebags hanging under her eyes. “Almost ready for lunch?”

Danny nodded. Within a few minutes, the silence was broken by more footsteps. Jazz and his dad emerged from other parts of the house. 

“Come to the table for sandwiches,” his mom called. Soon they were assembled at the table, absentminded conversation filling the air.

Scarcely a few minutes into the meal, Danny was startled by a chill. He almost choked on his food as a breath of frigid air forced its way out of his lungs.

“A ghost?” Jazz stated curiously.

Every other time this had happened, he could easily slip away with a sloppy excuse with his parents left none the wiser. This time though, they had their full attention on him.

“A ghost? Where?” his mom asked, immediately getting down to business.

“Are we in danger?” his dad asked, standing up from the table abruptly.

Danny stood up, but soon his mind short circuited. What was he supposed to do? Usually he would slink off and transform without anyone knowing, but fat chance of that now. Was it proper to do it in front of them? Something about the idea of it made his skin itch.

“I’m just gonna… check that out,” he finally said, pointing his thumb behind him. His feet were already moving, carrying him away from the table as his thoughts raced.

“Alone?” his mom worried.

“Relax, mom. He can handle it.”

“Are you sure?”

“To think, that all this time…”

“I know, Dad. I know.”

He (mostly) tuned out the voices behind him as he grabbed a stray thermos and ducked into the hallway. It wasn’t the first time he had overheard these kinds of conversations. He almost wished he hadn’t.

Things had been really great with his family since his identity was revealed, much better than he was expecting. But something made him nervous about doing anything ghostly in front of them, or in front of anybody for that matter. He had seen the looks Phantom had gotten from the townspeople of discomfort and fear. Ghosts inherently seemed to invoke that reaction. 

The last thing he wanted was to see his parents look at him like that again… especially now that they knew.

He took a deep breath. He was alone, now, away from prying eyes and judgement. For the first time in days, he allowed the cold to wash over him, making him feel weightless and charged up. The feeling of transforming after so long felt like a breath of fresh air. To his relief, no alarms went off and no weapons buzzed to life. 

Now, to find the ghost. He zipped upwards, through the familiar floors and ceilings and into the summer air. Habit took over, and soon he was following the subtle pull of ectoplasm.

Soon a familiar warehouse came into view. It was a dead giveaway (pun absolutely intended). Box Ghost frequented here. In the beginning he had been annoying, but most of the time the cube-obsessed ghost was harmless. Lately, Danny had even taken to giving him spare boxes to keep him occupied and away from trouble.

Now, though? There was too much going on. There were newcomers in town on the hunt for ghosts, and Box Ghost was an easy target. His worst crime was being annoying sometimes. That didn’t deserve being captured by people with questionable morals and even worse intentions.

He phased into the wide warehouse. Inside, it was dark besides the light cast down from a few small windows. Dust fluttered in the air, and boxes of various sizes were strewn everywhere.

“Boxy,” he called, his voice echoing off the metal walls.

The blue-skinned ghost popped up from behind a pile of boxes. “Who goes there?” he called, tilting his head at the sight of Phantom. “New boxes?”

“You shouldn’t be here,” the half ghost warned. “There are a lot of hunters in town.”

“But can they measure up to my mighty power?” the ghost flaunted, sending a few of them bouncing across the floor.

“I’m serious, you need to go back to the Ghost Zone.”

“But my boxes…” the ghost sounded so forlorn, Danny almost felt bad.

“I’ll watch over your boxes,” Phantom offered with a sigh. This warehouse had been abandoned for years. It wasn’t like anyone was planning on coming in anytime soon. Besides, he already tasked himself with watching over the rest of town, so what was one more thing?

“Box Ghost will be in your debt,” the ghost promised seriously.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. Tell everyone else to stay away, will you?”

With that, the short ghost disappeared out of sight. Danny could no longer sense him, indicating he had already found his way back. He didn’t quite understand the Box Ghost’s ability to travel through boxes (or something?), but he supposed it worked out well this time.

Hm… usually his interactions with ghosts went a lot worse, or another one would appear nearby. But apparently not this time.

The blaring of sirens caught his attention, muffled through the walls. Now that the ghost problem was alleviated, he could check that out. Occasionally, he would find something he could help the local authorities out with.

He zipped back through the warehouse’s roof, soaring weightlessly through the air and honing in to the flash of red lights. With sharp eyes, he watched as multiple firemen and women were rushing into a nearby high-rise. On the street, an ambulance and several police cars were parked. He didn’t immediately notice anything off or dangerous, but there had to be a reason they were there. 

Shrugging, he lowered himself down to street level. Might as well figure out what was going on.

”-affirmative. Dispatch, what’s the ETA on the gas technicians?” he heard a nearby police officer say.

“On the way, sergeant,” his radio buzzed. “Should be there within a few minutes.”

“Serg, we found the source of the leak,” a female voice crackled over the radio next. “Evacuations ongoing.”

“Understood,” the sergeant responded, before finally noticing the presence nearby. He jumped slightly before recognition flickered in his eyes.

“What’s going on, sir?” Danny asked, criss-crossing his legs as he floated in midair. He didn’t miss how the officer looked at him, his eyes wide and scared. It stung, but he was used to it.

“Oh… Phantom,” the man simply said, mostly covering up the quiver in his voice. “Gas leak. We’re evacuating everyone in the building until we get it patched up.”

“Phantom?” Another voice repeated. Danny looked around to see a paramedic from the nearby ambulance looking their way, clearly ready to look over any evacuees. “I’m surprised to see you out and about.” 

“I was just in the area and wondering what was going on,” he explained briefly. He was regretting this decision already. It felt… different than before. “I can help with evacuations, if you want.”

“No need,” the police Sergeant finally said, meeting eyes with a few other authorities around them. Danny could tell that they were having some sort of silent conversation. “No one is in critical danger at the moment.”

“All this time, he’s just been a kid…” a low voice murmured. Another paramedic had joined the other, and the new face was looking at him with more sympathy than fear. Uncomfortable tingles went down his body. Perhaps they didn’t realize that he could hear that.

He thought back to his dozen or so prior interactions with the local police and fire squads. Before, there had been a lot of suspicion and mistrust. Everyone had their guards up around him, even when he was helping people alongside them. And that made sense, considering the ghost thing. 

But now? Some of that suspicion was gone and replaced by pity. It was as though they no longer saw him as a local ghost who helped out, and instead a creepy kid who was meddling in adult business. While that was technically true, he had hoped he would keep some of the respect he had before. 

With the screech of some tires, a truck pulled up. Lettering on the side branded it as the local natural gas provider. A few men stepped out, toting toolboxes.

“We have this under control, son,” the police officer told Danny resolutely, avoiding eye contact. “You stay safe out there, yeah?”

Danny was increasingly nervous with the way multiple people were looking at him now. Twitching his toes in his boots, he propelled himself up a few feet. He felt no need to stay there under the blanket of their stares and doing no good anyway.

Before he could get far, he heard the telltale screech of tires once more. He peered over to see familiar white vans on a fast track towards him. Helicopter blades spun in the distance, also painted bright white. He shivered in fear. That was his cue to leave.

He flickered into invisibility before shooting up towards the clouds. His mind ran a mile a minute, quickly setting up a plan to get to safety. They had infrared sensors, so invisibility didn’t help him all too much. They also had ecto-energy sensors, and transforming back was his best defense against those. He had been through this routine before, but a new level of fear shook him to his core. They knew he was still partly human, yet they were still pursuing him…

Flying around sporadically, he took the long way home. By the time he got there, he had finally gotten them off his tail… though, they knew he would end up here, anyway. 

The thought made him shudder.

The evening was just as uneventful as the morning had been. Danny spent his time holed up in his room, trying not to think about the imminent danger just outside.

Luckily, his best friends were always there to cheer him up. In their group text chat, Tucker had been absolutely spamming him with tweets and memes people had come up with. Some included funny moments from the Amanda Greene interview, others had old grainy photos of Phantom with silly captions, and multiple GIFs and videos had been spread like wildfire. 

To his ire, Tucker had even edited together a complication of every time a camera had caught Phantom crashing through walls. Suffice to say the video was almost 10 minutes long. He had to get Tucker back for that someday.

Danny had to admit most of the posts were hilarious, even if he was often the butt of the joke. It would have been a crime if he hadn’t retweeted them to his now tens of thousands of followers. He had to say, Twitter fame had its perks.

The muffled sound of the doorbell startled his eyes away from his phone screen. Who could that be at this hour? Did the GIW finally get their papers in order to be able to legally arrest him? Was it an especially brave fan outside who ignored the police’s continuous warnings about harassment?

Danny sat completely still and listened to the footsteps below him. It seemed his dad opted to answer the door this time. He strained his ears to hear the mystery guest begin to talk.

…Was that Valerie’s voice?

“Danny, your friend is at the door!” a shout made the floor rumble. Uh oh.

Anxiety nibbled at his insides. He didn’t know where he stood with Valerie… for all he knew she could be here to give him a piece of her mind. Or, he could be haunted for weeks by the fear in her eyes. He would much rather curl up in his bed and pretend he didn’t exist.

“Danny!” A louder shout quickly dismissed that idea.

Sighing, he peeled himself off of the bed and started the trek downstairs. He tip-toed down the stairs and looked around the corner to see familiar curly black hair. Her eyes met his, but her expression was hard to decipher.

“Danny,” she finally greeted. Oddly, there was relief in her voice.

“Val? Uh, what brings you here?” he asked awkwardly as he slowly approached the door. 

“You didn’t answer my calls,” she simply said.

Calls? Oh, right, his phone had been so blown up that he had changed his number and only shared his new one with his closest circle. “Oh, yeah, sorry, I uh, changed my number,” he stuttered. “…Honestly, I wasn’t so sure you’d want to talk to me anyway.”

“Don’t start with me, Fenton,” she sighed. Her voice didn’t have the usual edge to it. She was… different.

He didn’t know what to say. “I-I’m sorry, I-“

She threw a hand up to stop him. “Don’t apologize. I didn’t exactly give you a reason to trust me, did I?” A sad smile rose to her face. Danny was speechless… why wasn’t she angry? Or even scared of him? “We can talk after things have simmered down. Relax.”

“But–“

She shushed him. Rude. “Later. There’s someone you probably want to see.” Suddenly, Danny realized that there was a smaller figure hidden partially behind Valerie, drowned in an oversized hoodie. 

The moment he looked at her, Dani looked up with a tired grin. Shock made Danny’s veins turn to ice. “Dani?”

“Cuz!” The girl finally burst forward and jumped into Danny’s arms. He buried his head in her dark hair. It had been months since he had heard from her. But why was she here?

“What are you doing here?” He finally managed. “It’s not safe! Have you seen how many hunters are slinking around?”

Dani was silent as he hugged her tightly. Danny looked back at Valerie, who had a sad look in her eyes.

“Did they catch you?” He managed to utter, horror making his throat close up.

“Only for a second,” the younger girl finally answered against his chest, her voice shaking slightly. “But… a friend helped me out.”

Danny looked back at Valerie, tears springing to his eyes. “Val,” his voice broke with emotion. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me ,” she simply responded with a pointed look at his dad. Right, secret identity and all that. He missed those days. “I’ve got to get back. See you around?”

Danny nodded speechlessly, trying his best to convey his gratitude. As quickly as she had come, she was gone.

He felt his dad’s eyes on him, confused beyond belief. Right… this threw a wrench in things. He didn’t expect to have to explain this so soon. But he supposed Dani was better off here than out on her own. 

“Who was at the door?” Another familiar voice asked. His mom and Jazz emerged, freezing when they saw the additional person in the room.

“Can I stay here?” Dani whispered. “Is it safe?”

“Yeah, it’s safe,” Danny responded, patting her head as she finally let go of him. He met eyes with Jazz first. She had never met Dani, but had heard about her. His parents on the other hand? He needed to figure out how to explain this in the least upsetting way possible.

”Who…” his dad finally muttered, much quieter than his usual tone.

“What’s going on?” Maddie asked softly.

“Why don’t we all sit down,” Jazz proposed, smiling at Dani tiredly. 

Dani remained glued to Danny’s side as they migrated to the family room. In the process, her hood had fallen down, revealing a familiar mop of messy black hair and blue eyes. 

“Mom, Dad, Jazz, this is Dani… with an i,” Danny started tentatively.

“Actually, I’ve been going by Ellie. Makes things less confusing,” the younger girl piped up. Slowly but surely, she was regaining her usual spunk. 

“Good call,” Danny agreed amusedly. He could only imagine how quickly it would get confusing otherwise.

“What… who…” his mom trailed off.

“Are you related?” Jack finally asked, speaking aloud the question they were both wondering.

“You could say so!” Ellie responded cheerily. “He hasn’t told you about me yet?”

“Eh…” Danny nervously laughed. Dani—no, Ellie—had remained on his list of things to tell them about eventually . It was a lot to throw on them in the span of a few days. Not that putting it off indefinitely was any better, but that didn’t matter now.

“I’m his clone!” Ellie continued, making the room freeze in silence. “But we like to say cousin instead.”

“Right… so, I was going to tell you—“ Danny butted in, making up his explanation on the fly.

“Clone…? What—How?” Maddie interrupted, looking between the two of them with a dazed look in her eyes.

“So that’s the part—“

“A weird crazed-up fruitloop created me,” Ellie explained with absolutely no care in the world. With every word, Danny was blanching more and more. “He wanted the perfect son and he couldn’t get Danny on his side. I’m the only clone that was stable enough to exist. All the other ones melted into goo.“

The silence was deafening. Ellie, however, was completely oblivious to the mounting whiplash.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to meet you. You’re the closest thing to parents I have,” she rambled, looking at the two adults with wide eyes. “Vlad totally doesn’t count.”

“…Yeah, he’s definitely more the creepy uncle type,” Danny finally responded, sighing as he resigned himself to his fate. Ellie was blissfully ignorant of how messed up her creation story was, and she didn’t need more things to worry about. 

“So obviously this is a lot…” Jazz finally broke the silence.

Danny took a cautious breath. Here went nothing. “I guess the immediate question is… can she stay? It’s not safe for her out there.” He truly didn’t know what he would do if they said no.

“O-of course,” Maddie stuttered after meeting eyes with her husband. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she smiled at Ellie. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

“Really?” The girl broke out in a grin. Danny could only imagine the state had been living in for the past months for her to look this excited to live in his wacky house.

Meanwhile, Jack was uncharacteristically silent. His eyes glimmered with sympathy and concern. He was already having a hard time coming to terms with the situation as it was, and a spontaneous kid thrown in the mix couldn’t be helping. Danny shot a reassuring smile at him, which he returned.

“You’re probably exhausted,” Jazz broke the silence again, talking kindly to the youngest half ghost. “Why don’t we go upstairs and find you some fresh clothes?”

”Okay,” Ellie agreed. She moved to stand up, but hesitated and looked back at Danny with her big blue eyes. Despite her brave face, he could tell she was still shaken up. He felt sick thinking about what could have happened to her if Valerie hadn’t been there.

“I can come with,” he finally offered, causing some of the tension to melt off of Ellie. 

As the three of them filed upstairs, he could tell that there was a new kind of tension in the air. He was so not looking forward to continuing that conversation.

Chapter Text

The dice clacked together before spilling out on the table. Two sixes.

“Woo!” Ellie cheered as she moved her piece across the board. “This is fun!”

“How are you so good at this?” Danny wondered aloud. Ellie was in the lead, and he was in dead last. 

“It’s all luck, little bro,” Jazz responded teasingly. “Something you aren’t known to have much of.”

“Ditto.”

“My turn?” his dad confirmed before picking up the dice. A three and a four.

“Not bad, dad,” Jazz commented as he moved his piece. “You’re catching up to Ellie.”

“Not on my watch!” the youngest girl giggled.

Danny smiled. To his relief, his family had accepted Ellie as one of their own. Over the past few days, they had gotten to know her more. 

There were a lot of things she had never done before. Sleep in a bed, for one. That had made Danny’s heart break. Every night, she had cuddled up with him in his bed, too afraid to be apart from him. One of her biggest fears was being alone, he learned. He was glad that she didn’t have to do that anymore.

Next up was playing board games. They had been collecting dust in a closet for years, completely forgotten about. But what better way to have fun as a family? Ellie had caught on fast. She was very smart… Danny envied that.

Quiet chatter from the TV caught his attention. The newscaster was reporting on local events. An emergency election was to occur tomorrow to elect a new mayor. A few good candidates had been proposed, and most people seemed happy with them. Anyone was better than Vlad, honestly.

Another segment came on. Danny leaned forward upon seeing the relevancy. There would be a school board town hall meeting tonight at Casper High regarding all of the county’s public schools. 

“We should go to that,” his mom responded, frowning in thought. “What could it be about?”

“I can think of something…” Danny muttered, wrapping his arms around himself. He had known it was coming; school was starting in less than two weeks, after all. But that didn’t mean he wanted to hear how much people didn’t trust him.

“A school meeting? What’s that about?” Ellie asked, tilting her head like a puppy.

“Basically a gathering to inform parents and citizens about recent developments involving the schools,” Jazz responded. She looked a bit nervous, too, though she was always nervous these days.

“Hmm… can I go to school?”

“You’d have to go to kindergarten,” Danny teased, messing up Ellie’s hair. “Maybe even preschool.”

“I don’t know what those are, Cuz.”

“School for babies.”

“Hey!” she squawked. ”I’m not a baby!”

“Settle down, kids,” Jack said, smiling softly before remembering the issue at hand. “We need to go to that meeting. Could learn some relevant information.”

Danny silently agreed.

“Can I go too?” Ellie asked. The other half ghost looked at her before shaking his head.

“No... GIW guys will be swarming the place, for sure,” he sighed. “You’ll be safer here.”

“I can stay with her,” Jazz offered. “Just fill me in afterwards.”

He wished he could stay there, too.

Danny felt sick, and this time it wasn’t because of his dad’s driving.

The Fenton RV rumbled to a stop. Outside, the muffled sound of car doors shutting and scattered chatter made him shudder. As expected, there was a large turnout.

In the front of the RV, his parents were conversing in hushed tones. He wasn’t going to be the only one in the spotlight. Since he was a minor, his parents would likely face the brunt of the backlash. Just one more thing for him to feel guilty about.

Jazz’s empty seat made him feel cold. They bickered sometimes, but he felt safer when she was there. She always seemed to know when he was feeling down.

Way too soon, it was time to get out. It was five minutes until the start of the meeting… though it wouldn’t start anyway without the ghost-crazy family in question.

From the moment he got out of the RV, he could feel eyes on him from around the parking lot. The oversized hoodie he had thrown on did little to hide him. He wondered if it would be socially acceptable to turn invisible for the next few hours.

It only got worse as they walked in. People backed away from the four of them like they had the plague. Conversation reduced to uncomfortable whispers. Figures dressed in pristine white glared at him from behind tinted glasses, tightening their grips on their ecto-weapons. 

Finally they reached the large conference room. In the front, a few prominent figures sat behind tables of cluttered papers. Principal Ishiyama , Vice Principal Lancer, a few school board officers, and most chillingly, a woman in white who had the obvious marks of a top GIW agent.

The rest of the room was packed with folding chairs, most of them already being occupied. Danny kept his head down, but from what he could see in his peripherals, dozens of classmates and their parents were here. Ironically, this meeting might have had more turnout than any other school event in years.

He jumped with someone brushed against him, but was immediately relieved to see Sam and Tucker. Tucker‘s mom and dad stood behind them, nodding at him in support. Unsurprisingly, Sam’s parents were sitting across the room in the front row, pointedly not looking at their rebellious daughter. 

The seven of them sat in some empty seats, quickly causing nearby attendees to move away. Jeez, dramatic much?

A tap on the microphone caused the room to quiet. A man from the school board began talking.

“Thank you all for coming. We are always pleased to see participation from the local community.”

Quiet mutters.

“My name is Brian Jones. I am on the school board for Pleasant County, along with a few of my colleagues here. As you all know, this town hall style meeting was scheduled in response to… some recent concerns.”

That was one way to put it.

“Before we begin, I’ll let everyone else up here introduce themselves.”

As each panelist announced their name and position, Danny was instead fully focused on not throwing up.

“Principal, why don’t you begin?” Brian gave up the floor. Hara Ishiyama looked out at the crowd, meeting eyes with every student and parent one by one. Some of the teachers and staff might have been tough to deal with, but Danny liked Principal Ishiyama. He hoped she didn’t think too lowly of him now.

“Thank you for coming,” she began. “First of all, I want to make it clear that our top priority is maintaining a safe environment for all or our students and staff. We welcome any and all feedback.”

All students and staff? A smidgen of hope blossomed in his chest.

“I have an announcement to make. Due to recent local regulations, the GIW—Ghost Investigation Ward—has been appointed to protect the school and other public areas from supernatural threats.” 

There went the hope.

“Ghost appearances aren’t new,” one voice piped up from the crowd. “Why didn’t this happen before?”

“Ah… good question,” the principal answered. “It’s true that we in Amity aren’t new to ghost appearances. The sudden changes now are a result of wider knowledge about the matter, especially among the higher ups.” The few members of the school board nodded at this statement. “Really, this is something that should have been done months ago to assure safety for those under our roof.”

“Is this something we really need?” a young voice rose above the whispers. “The ghosts are already being taken care of.”

A few dissenting voices responded, soon overshadowed by a new member of the panel: the associate of the GIW. “As proven by the many… incidents reported on school grounds, the issue is not being taken care of.“ Another round of chatter almost rose to the volume of the panelist’s voice. The interruption did not deter the woman in white. “Vigilantes are not to be allowed on public property going forward. Infractions will result in prosecution to the highest extent of the law.”

The room erupted in noise, making Danny’s ears ring. He felt like he was underwater. Like hell he was going to let the GIW have free reign in all of town… his town. But what choice did he have?

“Quiet down,” Principal Ishiyama’s commanding voice rose over the noise. Eventually, the audience settled down to whispers. “Please raise any questions or concerns, one at a time. That’s why we’re here today.”

”What will be done to protect the school?” a parent’s words rang out.

“The building will be fortified with our latest anti-ghost technology,” the woman in white responded. “In addition, security will be stationed during school hours to ensure safety in the case of any breaches.”

“Is the technology you’re referring to tested and safe?” another person asked. “I don’t like the idea of any weapons being in school.”

“Yes, all technology is harmless to humans and animals. Rest assured that our anti-ghost products only affect entities that possess ectoplasmic energy.”

Unsettled murmurs broke the silence. Danny kept his head down. He could only imagine what that tech would do to him …

“What about the threats that could come from… other students?” a new sharp voice asked. It was obvious what, or who, she was referring to.

The panel looked between each other before a member of the school board interjected. “Safety is our top priority. Our new rules dictate that no unauthorized students or staff may possess anything that could be classified as a weapon on school property.” He sent a pointed look towards where the Fentons were sitting. 

“What does that mean for the Fenton boy?” He was startled to recognize the speaker as Sam’s mother. “I’d say that definitely poses a danger.”

The panel grew silent again. The school board met eyes, while the principal and vice principal shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Danny dreaded what they were about to say next.

Finally, Brian broke the tense silence. “Due to… unique circumstances, additional measures as deemed appropriate will be put in place to keep everyone safe.”

“We have devised a solution that will allow any… ecto-contaminated subjects to enter the building without posing potential harm to those around them,” the GIW official elaborated.

He shuddered. That didn’t sound good…

“What kind of solution?” someone dared to ask.

“Our experts developed an arm cuff of sorts that prevents the wearer from expelling ecto-energy,” she responded. “This is the main measure that will protect students and staff from exposure.”

“An arm cuff… like some sort of shock collar? A leash? Prison chains?” Someone stood up in the audience. To Danny’s shock, it was Valerie, visibly fuming. “This isn’t right. No moral person would be okay with this.”

Chatter filled the room. People looked uneasily between each other. Beside him, Sam was clenching his hand so tight he was worried that it would break. If he knew anything about Sam, she wanted to stand up and join the dissent, but doing so would draw attention in his direction. And that was the last thing he wanted right now…

With the scoot of a chair, Jack Fenton stood up, towering above the audience. “It’s obvious that you’re talking about my son. He deserves to learn in peace just like every other student. Treating him any differently is blatant discrimination.” 

Well… so much for not drawing attention. He had never heard his dad sound so pissed off before, not even when a ghost had stolen his fudge.

With that, Sam shoved herself up from her chair. Danny put his head in his hands. All hell was about to break loose.

“This is insane. This is how you treat someone who’s dedicated his life to protecting you?” Sam seethed. “Literally the one who saved the world from destruction a few weeks ago, in case you forgot! And now you’re talking about cuffing him like a criminal? Absolutely not!”

“Sam…” Tucker whispered, but it was no use.

“Calm down,” Brian announced. On the contrary, the room was getting increasingly heated. People argued amongst each other. Some scattered people stood up alongside Valerie and the others to protest, but a sizable number staunchly argued in favor of the GIW’s proposal.

“We appreciate the concerns that are being raised,” Principal Ishiyama’s words made the audience quiet down some. “Internal discussions of the same sort have been happening among us, believe me.”

“But the decision has been made,” Brian interrupted. “The GIW is highly qualified in their expertise. They are presenting the best solution considering the circumstances.”

Another round of arguments made Danny’s ears ring. Uncomfortable tingles ran down his back. So this was happening… he was going to be singled out and forced to wear some sort of cuff to attend school. Honestly, part of him expected worse, but another part had hoped for better.

It took several minutes to restore a semblance of order. Danny felt numb as the meeting continued with a dozen additional questions. He remained spaced out until it crawled to a close and people began filing out.

All he could think about was the first day of school, creeping up on him in less than a week… now with a whole new plethora of obstacles.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Danny needed to remember, it was that things could always get worse.

Quicker than he could prepare for, the first week of school was upon him. The rules remained firm. To attend, he had to wear a special… “bracelet” created by the GIW.

A few days before school started, it arrived at the Fenton house in a suspiciously bare white package. It was a simple thing, looking almost like one side of a handcuff. The comparison didn’t help matters, especially since it had an electronic key that only the staff at the school would carry on them. The idea of having something stuck on him all day, and actively dampening his ghost energy at that, was worrying at best.

The morning of the first day of school, Danny was running on exactly zero hours of sleep. His mom and dad insisted on driving him and Jazz to school, which had never been a common occurrence. To be fair, none of this was.

Sam and Tucker met him outside of the school. Together the three of them hid out in the courtyard until the bell rang, obscured from arriving students by trees. The bracelet was heavy in his pocket. 

Way too soon, time was up. They approached the school doors. The fortifications courtesy of the GIW were hardly noticeable, only visible by scattered white devices planted to the walls. A force field, probably. That could also be a problem.

“I can’t believe they actually got the school board to agree to this,” Sam grumbled. “It’s so inhumane.”

“There’s still time for me to break it, dude,” Tucker said softly.

“What if they check if it’s working or not? Then I’d be in even deeper trouble,” Danny muttered, staring down at the cold metal in his hands. He felt a bit too much like an animal that had to be chained up… and it wasn’t a good feeling.

“Or we could skip school,” Sam added helpfully.

“Tempting, but we’d pay for it later,” he sighed. 

Well, here went nothing. He hadn’t put on the bracelet yet, holding onto meager hope that the rule would be repealed. But he was never that lucky.

Bracing for impact, he snapped the bracket on. Nothing immediately felt different. “Huh…That was anticlimactic.”

“Feel anything?” Tucker asked curiously. “Maybe their tech is a fluke.”

Danny rotated his wrist experimentally. “Not yet…”

“I don’t trust it,” Sam responded, anger making her voice low. “The minute it hurts you, we have to go to the nurse. She’s an angel, she would take it off for you.”

Danny wrapped one arm around Sam in thanks. It was touching how much she cared and defended him.

The first bell rang, making the trio grimace. Now, time for the second battle: entering the school.

Danny held his breath as he stepped through the door. Unlike with the cold bracelet, something rippled within him as if he just stepped into water. It was uncomfortable…  but not painful, exactly.

“You okay?” Tucker checked on him again.

“Yeah…” Danny said tiredly. Well, two battles over with, and plenty more to come.

As expected, he hated the bracelet.

It started off okay, but most things did. By second period, there was an itch he couldn’t place. By third, it felt like there was a weight on his chest constricting his lungs.

On the bright side, the experience had been better than expected so far. No one had bothered him, in fact the opposite. Mr. Lancer acted the same as usual, with perhaps a few extra sympathetic looks towards him. Mr. Falluca was visibly nervous for all of class, but perhaps the multiple men with ecto-guns stationed around the school had something to do with it.

And then there was Ms. Davis. Danny didn’t know her all too well, since she had just been hired the previous year. But from the minute he stepped into her classroom, he could feel the tension. As she taught, her sharp eyes always found their way to him. And combined with feeling suffocated, it did not make history class a very pleasant experience.

Danny counted down the seconds until the lunch bell rang. As students scattered from their desks, he was right there with them. He had to get away as fast as possible.

He made his way through the halls easily. After all, the crowd parted like the Red Sea wherever he went. When he got to his locker, most of the crowd had disappeared to the lunch room. The friendly faces of Sam and Tucker greeted him.

“Hey!” His best friend patted him on the back.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked, ever the worrier. “Is it just me or does he look pale, Tuck?”

“Uh… hm, maybe,” Tucker agreed with a frown.

“I’m okay,” Danny assured to deaf ears.

“Like hell you are. Ugh, I knew this would happen…” Sam paced angrily. “What can we even do? No one will listen.”

“Lancer might… he seems the most lenient,” Tucker proposed helpfully.

“No, really, I don’t want to make a fuss,” Danny pleaded. He just wanted this day to be over. But how many more did he have to endure after this?

“I’m guessing the cafeteria is a no,” Tucker guessed. Danny nodded. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to be in the spotlight again.

“We can just chill here,” Sam proposed. “Halls are empty.” That was agreeable. The three of them took out their packed lunches and sat against the lockers, quietly conversing as they ate. Danny, however, felt sick just looking at his food.

In his peripherals, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar blonde quarterback standing there. That in mind, it was odd that he wasn't being kicked into the lockers yet.

“Can we take a rain check today? I’m not really in the mood,” Danny said with an annoyed sigh. With feeling suffocated and dizzy and a million other bad things from that dreaded bracelet, he had enough on his plate.

“Yeah, get lost, Baxter,” Sam hissed upon seeing him. Uncharacteristically, the taller boy remained silent, and almost looked nervous as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the hall, a dozen feet away from them.

“Uh… I, uh…” Dash muttered. Danny did a second take. It was like he was a different person. Come to think of it, there had been a surprising lack of taunts in the hallways that morning.

“Uh, sorry, I shouldn’t have come in that hot. It’s been a long day… week… month… something like that,” Danny muttered, rubbing his face tiredly. He couldn’t keep track anymore.

In response, Dash’s face went red and he anxiously rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know why you’re saying sorry to me …”

Danny looked at Sam and Tucker in confusion. They looked as surprised as he did.

“Why are you here, exactly?” Tucker asked, sounding disinterested. Danny had the same question. 

“I… I just…” the quarterback sighed, his face still bright red. “I’m… sorry, for the way I’ve treated you. All of you.”

Sam laughed mockingly. “Ha! That’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all week. Thanks for the laugh, Dash .” Her expression morphed from amused to angry at the last word. 

Danny was lost for words, and only some of it was a result of how weird he felt. Dash… apologizing? It had to be because he wanted to save face, right? Or maybe he was genuinely scared of what Danny could do to him?

“I don’t understand,” Danny finally said, unable to keep his confusion out of his voice.

”Not cool, dude. You’re clearly trying to suck up to him now that you know who he is,” Tucker shot back.

“No, I’m not—I mean—” Dash floundered. “That’s not it. I just… I’ve been thinking about how terribly I’ve acted...”

“ Riiight ,” Sam drawled. “How convenient.”

”Wait, Sam,” Danny interrupted, trying to shake himself out of his daze. While part of him wanted to follow suit and give Dash a piece of his mind after years of torment, something made him pause. Was it a trick of the light, or was Dash actually being serious? 

“I’m sorry. That’s all I wanted to say,” the blond finished awkwardly. “I know I’ll never be able to make it up to the three of you… but this is the least I could do.” He began to back away.”

“You can make it up to me,” Danny said, causing Dash to freeze and turn back around in surprise.

“No, I couldn’t—“

“All you have to do is apologize to everyone else you tormented,” the half ghost continued. “Mikey, Nathan, all of them. Then we’ll be good. Don’t give me special treatment.”

“I need to do that anyway… you’re right,” the quarterback admitted softly. “But I don’t expect—there’s no way—I was terrible to you. Why aren’t you mad?“

A laugh bubbled out of Danny. “A few years ago I would have been, but honestly, it’s not a big deal. I’ve lost sleep over a lot of things, but you weren’t one of them.”

Dash was speechless. It was almost funny how his mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“That’s true, actually,” Tucker piped in. “We had way bigger things to worry about than some petty bully.”

“Whatever,” Sam growled, roughly stirring her salad. “This changes nothing. You’re still the same a-hole you’ve always been, only now you’re stooping to a new low. Groveling in front of your supposed hero for pity points.”

Danny put a hand on her shoulder. “Sam, really, it’s okay. It’s not worth being mad over, honestly.”

“Yes it is! He hurt you!” Sam yelled, her voice echoing off of the hallway walls. She slammed her bowl on the floor with a clack. “I don’t believe he’s actually sorry for one second.”

“He never really hurt me, except for those times I was already hurt,” Danny thought aloud. “…Which was kind of often, actually.”

“Yeah, dude, you've got to have a world record for that,” Tucker snickered.

“Shut up, Tucker,” Danny muttered, jabbing the other boy in the arm.

“Really… that happened?” Dash asked in a small voice.

“Yeah,” Danny waved him off. “Not your fault. Ghosts are not known for being gentle, that’s for sure.”

“Plus there’s all of the broken walls… Dash, now that you’re chill I have a video to show you—“

“Tucker, I swear,” Danny grumbled exasperatedly. “Take that video down.”

“It’s almost to a million! You’d deprive me of that?” The techno-geek whined. Danny simply glared at him the best he could while feeling like he got run over.

“You two are saints for believing him,” Sam finally said, sounding resigned. “I don’t forgive you, and I probably never will. If you really do want to change, then show me.”

Dash nodded. “You got it, Manson… I mean, Sam.”

The trio watched in surprise as their former bully walked off, hunched over and completely unlike his usual self.

“Dang… what happened to him?” Tucker wondered aloud.

“Sounds like he got a reality check,” Danny muttered. “Wasn’t in my bingo card, that’s for sure.”

The bell rang. Danny groaned.

He felt worse from there. Lightheaded and dizzy, he could barely comprehend the information about the syllabus that each teacher was harping on. When gym class came around, it was a true miracle that they were starting with the health portion.

During last period, he had resorted to resting his head on his desk, praying it would be over soon. A tap on his desk startled him. Mrs. Edwards smiled down at him kindly. He had to be grateful it was her class that he ended the day with.

“I just got a call requesting you at the front office,” the brown haired woman informed. On his desk sat a pink hall pass. “They said you should bring all of your things with you.”

“You know why?” Danny questioned. The teacher shook her head. Was he in trouble already?

Shrugging, he stood up from his desk with the slip of paper in hand and backpack straining his shoulders. His next goal was making it to the office in one piece. 

Minutes later of roaming the halls, he found his way to the door. He gingerly pulled it open and shuffled in.

“Ah, Mr. Fenton,” the lady at the front desk greeted. “Principal Ishiyama is in her office waiting for you.”

A solo meeting with the principal? This could go either really well or really badly. Danny nodded in thanks to the receptionist and approached the door labeled with the principal’s title. The door was cracked open.

“Come in,” she said upon hearing him knock. Danny took a deep breath before obliging.

He slowly sat on a nearby chair, facing her desk. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, of course not,” Ishiyama responded. “I meant to talk to you privately earlier, but time got away from me.” She frowned, studying his face. “You don’t look well. Are you feeling sick?”

“Something like that,” Danny agreed. Clearly it was obvious that he was out of it, considering Sam and Tucker’s reaction earlier. “It’s fine. What… did you want to talk about?”

From the look on her face, the woman didn’t quite believe him. “Just checking in to see how you’re doing. I know it couldn’t have been easy to return considering… the circumstances…” she trailed off, eyes landing on his bracelet sympathetically.

“It’s been okay, all things considered,” Danny summarized. “Thanks for asking.”

She leaned in. “Be honest with me. Is that thing hurting you?” She sounded like a concerned mother.

“Hurt is a strong word…”

She sighed, rubbing one hand across her face. “I’m so sorry you’re being treated like this. The GIW wiggled their way into the school board’s heads… I tried to argue, but it got nowhere. Believe me, I’ll keep trying. William and I will not let this continue.”

Danny blinked. It was touching that she wanted to stand up for him. “Thanks… it means a lot.”

“If anything happens…” her eyes darted to the small window adjourning her office door. “… with our… security … You tell me immediately. All right?”

“I will.” This might have been the best news all day. He knew he liked the principal. “Seriously, thank you.”

She glanced at the clock. “The school day is almost over. Let me take that thing off.”

That was the arrangement, that each day after school ended he would have to find a staff member to take off his bracelet. With a sigh of relief, he held his wrist out as she scanned a keycard against it. With a beep, it clicked open. The rush of energy that hit him was like whiplash, and immediately he began to feel more like normal.

“Did that help?” The principal asked, and he could only nod as he took in deep breaths of air. “Great. Feel free to stay here until the final bell rings.”

That was the best news he had heard all day.

Chapter Text

At a snail’s pace, the first week creeped along. 

No one was being mean to him, really. Most people avoided him just as much as freshman year. But to his embarrassment (and gratitude) several people had talked to him about their support. 

Dash had been the first, shockingly so. Valerie caught up with him later in the week, giving him a pat on the back and a meaningful look. As she had in the school board meeting, she was doing everything in her power to make her existence the GIW’s problem. It was… odd how the two most unlikely people now were his biggest advocates. Odd, but welcomed.

A scattering of other students had approached him. Kwan, Mia, Nathan, Mikey. The sudden attention was uncomfortable, considering most hadn’t given him a glance before the whole shebacle.

Which led him to today, midway through history class. His current strategy was to keep his head down and pretend to be studious. So far, it was working out.

A sudden burst of cold in his chest startled him. He felt his heartbeat quicken. A ghost… it seemed the GIW’s defenses were about to be put to the test. He dreaded to know which ghost they would likely capture.

Seconds ticked by achingly slow. Ms. Davis droned on, chalk squeaking as she scribbled on the board. Everyone else seemed none the wiser. And unfortunately, this was one of his few classes without a friend to phone. No Sam, Tucker, or Valerie. He’d even take Jazz at this point.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He was worrying over nothing. The GIW had practically fortified the school; of course they could handle one measly ghost. Plus, he had sent a warning via Box Ghost. He didn’t know how much trust he put in that to spread, but still.

It was fine.

A sound like an explosion shook the floor. The lights flickered, and sounds of ecto-guns shooting disrupted the lesson. Uneasy whispers filled the classroom as everyone looked around anxiously.

“Pay attention, please. Our security will handle it,” Ms. Davis commanded confidently. Danny wished he was that sure.

The fluorescent lights resembled lightning bugs as the seconds crawled by. Resolutely, Danny stood up. He couldn’t just sit around. He had to find out what was happening, or what use was he?

“Uh… Ms. Davis…” he muttered.

The teacher looked less than thrilled at his interruption. “Please sit down, Mr. Fenton.”

“Can I… be excused?”

“No,” was her curt response. The twenty something other students were stunned into silence, flinching as the lights continued to blanket the room in sporadic darkness.

“But—“ he held out his arm helplessly. He felt like week-old garbage that had been microwaved. He was useless with this stupid thing on him, and she had the only key to take it off.

“One more word and it’ll get you detention,” she scolded with a tsk.

The floor shook, causing him to stumble and almost fall. Surely she could see it was an emergency at this point, right?

Most of the class were huddled under their desks, watching the exchange with wide eyes. The rest of the building was no doubt in a similar situation. He thought of Sam and Tucker, weaponless. Heck, he didn’t even have a thermos.

With a final boom , sparks flew from the lights and the room went dark. Complete silence… until a ghostly roar echoed in the halls.

“Oh my god,” he muttered. That ghost did not sound friendly.

Muffled screams made him flinch. This was getting ridiculous. “I need the key, now,” he spat, stalking to the teacher’s desk. With his free hand, he yanked at the hunk of metal stubbornly clinging to his wrist. No give.

Many moments too late, the crabby teacher finally strutted over, rustling around in the darkness as if she didn’t know or care where the stupid keycard was. The screams got closer, and vibrations from the floor indicated whatever ghost was there was huge . 

Whining low in his throat, Danny stared at the door. With a monstrous roar, a glowing green head phased in. And it was not happy.

“Ahhhhh!” everyone said. Danny agreed on a spiritual level.

Well, this was what he was working with. A pissed off ghost (courtesy of the GIW), no powers, a school full of defenseless people, and simultaneously feeling like he got hit by several trucks. Wonderful.

Possibly the only good(?) news was that the ghost seemed to be after him in particular. Its lizard-like head hissed at him, spitting toxic venom that made the floors start to dissolve in the low light.

Steeling himself, he lunged, wrapping his arms around the thing’s neck. It was not pleased with that development, yelling out in fury and trying to buck him off like a deranged bull riding game. If he was dizzy before, this was a whole new level. He felt his body smack against the walls and ceiling. Ow .

The room spun. With all of his effort, he focused on grasping onto intangibility. The bracelet burned in retribution, but he was determined.

Finally, he pulled himself and the ghost into the intangible plane. Together they stumbled through walls, still thrashing about. Danny, having used all of his energy to get the darn thing out of the classroom, fell to the hallway floor like a sack of potatoes. The air rushed out of his lungs on impact, making him gasp and cough. He tasted blood.

This wasn’t good enough. He needed to get it out of the building, but how? He could barely muster the strength to stand up.

A roar and droplets of stinging liquid made him shuffle himself to the side. He narrowly dodged a ferocious bite, the lizard-thing’s teeth snapping shut right next to him. 

His limbs shook like a baby deer’s as he scrambled backwards. A stray thought bubbled into his head. He didn’t have a thermos… but if he was lucky, there might be one stowed away in Sidney’s haunted locker. But getting to it, on the other side of the building, was another matter.

A sudden burst of color blinded him. Through his muddled brain he could make out a voice… a familiar voice.

“Get back!” Valerie yelled, brandishing an ecto-gun. Pink blasts landed across the lizards face, making it retreat. 

“Ugh…” Danny groaned, collapsing on his back onto the cold floor. Darkness creeped into his vision, tempting him. Maybe he could give in… for just a few seconds…

“Stay with me Fenton!” the girl shouted, kneeling down next to him while keeping her glare and gun barrel trained on the hissing ghost. Unusually, she was completely without her suit. “This is so dumb. Those idiots are useless! Completely useless!”

Danny wheezed. “What..?” 

“Tucker thinks the school’s electrical infrastructure couldn’t handle the extra load. Hence, any strain on the equipment was bound to cause a full blackout,” she grumbled. “Never mind that now. I don’t have containment. It was all I could do to smuggle this thing in.” She shot off a few more shots for good measure.

“Locker…” Danny breathed. “Gotta get to it…”

“You aren’t going anywhere,” she lunged forward to roundhouse kick the ghost away, landing a few good shots in its eyes afterwards. “Who’s class were you in, Davis? Figures. She’s such a bitch.”

A sudden roar behind them made Danny’s veins turn to ice. Valerie cursed again, shooting backwards to an identical lizard. “Of course. It has a friend.”

“Val,” he limply held his cuffed hand up, “help.”

“What do I do, shoot it? Won't that hurt you?” She managed to ask, attention torn between fighting off the two ghosts. 

“Do it,” he simply said. With a frown, she sent a few shots in his direction. His arm burned with pain, but upon further inspection the exterior housing of the bracelet was damaged. With a few good pulls, he got it off.

“Ow,” he wheezed as he laid there, energy finally seeping back into him.

“Little help!” she grunted, kicking a lizard while keeping her gun trained on the other. Danny forced himself to his feet, quickly calling upon the cold within him. He felt it expand over his body, turning him weightless. 

Wasting no time, he blasted a lizard back, freezing it into a block of ice.

“Hell yeah,” Valerie cheered.

“Thermos,” Danny repeated before flying off. In no time, he reached Sidney’s locker to find… a dinged up Fenton thermos. Yes! Past him had not let him down.

When he returned, Valerie was making quick work of wearing down the other lizard. With a burst of blue light, they were both safely trapped in the Fenton thermos. 

The hallway dissolved into darkness, besides his own dim glow. The relief made him feel exhausted… but the day wasn’t over. Reality hit him once again. With a sudden hum, the lights flickered back on. Interesting timing.

“You have to get out of here,” he urged. “I’ll cover.”

Her expression soured. “Right, that dumb new rule. But what about you?”

He shrugged helplessly. What could he do, feign ignorance? As if that would work anymore. “I’ll figure something out, just go!”

As she jogged back down the hall, Danny caught his breath. He felt so much better… wait… his arm was bare. That was why.

He cringed upon seeing the smoking bracelet discarded on the floor. It was far too late now to do anything about that. Sighing, he returned to human form. 

Footsteps echoed from down the hallway. Soon blurry white shapes emerged, weapons hot and ready. It seemed reinforcements had arrived a bit too late.

“Agent O reporting in, how close are the ecto-signatures?” one of the men asked into a compact radio.

The radio emitted static before a female voice came through. “No nearby ghosts detected, over.”

“Right… because they’re in here,” Danny said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as he shook his beat up Fenton thermos.

“You’re not authorized to have that,” another agent reprimanded him before noticing the broken cuff forgotten on the floor, still letting out a few stray sparks.

“How did he break out?” another wondered aloud, his shaded glasses hiding his true expression.

“You’re coming with us,” the head agent, supposedly Agent O, told him. His tone left no room for negotiation. To reinforce his statement, the others tightened their grips on their guns. Great.

It was almost laughable, how incompetent these guys were. Danny totally understood why Valerie had been so ticked off.

He had been led to the front office, where he stood silently as a group of about a dozen GIW agents argued amongst themselves. Meanwhile, Vice Principal Lancer and Principal Ishiyama were also in attendance, talking with each other in hushed tones. There were even a few police officers trying to figure out what was going on.

On the bright side, class was totally disrupted. That would have been a good thing, discounting the recurring near death experiences.

“We have evidence that this… student has broken the law,” one agent explained to a police officer. “As of a week ago, vigilantism on school property is to be treated as a class B felony.”

“Okay, sir, help me understand,” the officer responded, looking confusedly between Danny and the agents. “What happened? What did he do?”

“Engaged in fighting with ghosts without authorization, and destroyed government property,” the agent accused, crossing his arms.

“And why was a student left to fight a ghost alone, considering you’re the ones now legally responsible for that?” the officer asked, raising an eyebrow. Danny barely hid a smirk. At least he and Valerie weren’t the only ones who saw the idiocy.

“Are there any injuries reported?” Danny heard Principal Ishiyama ask Mr. Lancer in the background.

“Only a few minor scrapes. They’ve already been sent to the nurse,” the man responded, rubbing his goatee with one hand. “…minus one.” His eyes trailed over to Danny, who immediately looked away and feigned ignorance.

The door swung open as the woman in white from the school board meeting strutted in. From prior conversations, Danny had realized that she was deemed Agent B. “I need a briefing, now . What happened?”

“The incoming electrical service was overwhelmed,” one agent, probably one that had lost a bet, said in the resulting silence. 

The woman’s eyes landed on Danny, making him shiver. “And where is the issued containment bracelet?”

Suddenly all eyes were on him. His words caught on his chest. “People were in danger so… I took it off..? The teacher wouldn’t listen and—“

“He destroyed it, ma’am,” an agent interrupted his excuse to tattle on him. Partially untrue, but he couldn’t refute it.

Agent B scowled. “How? That should have been impossible. From our testing…” she cut herself off. “Never mind that. Everyone needs to complete a post-incident report, stat. And one of you, detain the offender already.”

With that, the agents began filing out of the office, while one who looked to be second in charge walked towards Danny. His heart might have stopped beating in fear.

“No one will be detained,” Principal Ishiyama interjected, fury thinly veiled in her tone. She stood between Danny and the agent. “This will be settled by the appropriate legal means, and that starts with contacting his parents and speaking to witnesses.”

The agent’s expression was unreadable, but finally he nodded. He retreated to the edge of the room, but his eyes didn’t leave Danny. 

After the chaos calmed down, the two principals approached him. 

“Are you all right?” Principal Ishiyama asked. Danny simply nodded. In fact, it was probably the best he had felt at school yet this week, now that his healing had started to kick in.

“Are you certain? You’re bleeding,” Lancer informed, pointing to his face. Startled, Danny put a hand up to investigate. He must have bit his lip or tongue during the fight, which would explain why he tasted blood at some point.

“No, I’m fine, it’s healed,” he told them, trying to scrub off the dried blood. 

The two adults met eyes before requesting that he sit down with them and tell them what happened. Danny obliged. Principal Ishiyama was firmly in his good graces now, and Mr. Lancer was well on his way. He briefly retold the story, leaving out the more sensitive parts.

“Who’s class were you in?” Mr. Lancer asked, his tone betraying his disapproval.

Danny went silent. The last thing he wanted was for Ms. Davis to hate him even more than she already did.

“Never mind that,” the kind principal reassured after a few seconds of silence. “Let me call your parents so you can go home. Clearly, we have some issues to work out here before the school is deemed safe for normal operation.”

“I’ll arrange the buses and write up an announcement to send to parents,” Lancer offered before padding off to the receptionist. A few other times after a ghost fight, school had been let out early, but now there was probably a whole new set of rules and procedures that they had to follow.

Danny sat down as he waited to be picked up, all too aware of the lone GIW agent staring at him from across the room. 

Sam and Tucker were not pleased when he told them what happened.

“I can’t believe they tried to get you arrested,” Sam complained. “For what? If you and Valerie hadn’t stepped in, it could have been a lot worse.”

The three of them plus Ellie were hanging out in his room, splayed across his bed and bean bag. School had been closed for the day, letting teenagers loose across town. 

His parents (and Jazz) had been horrified to hear about what happened. He had been securely placed on house arrest while they figured out what to do. Danny didn’t exactly mind.

“Luckily Ishiyama is on your side,” Tucker muttered. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the internet. There are already some posts and clips circulating.”

“Oh, no…” Dreading what he was about to see, Danny leaned over to look at Tucker’s screen. Beside him, Ellie peeked over as well. To his dismay, a shaky cell phone video of the dark classroom had been posted. He watched for a few seconds as he was shaken around like a rag doll.

“Ouch,” Sam sympathized.

“That’s you?” Ellie asked aloud, squinting at the pixelated video.

“Dang it, I look like an idiot,” Danny complained, flopping back against the bed with a groan.

“A brave one,” Tucker said, elbowing him gently. “People have been sharing their opinions. Seems like the whole school thinks it’s unfair.”

Danny quirked an eyebrow. A few people, he would believe. But the whole school?

Tucker navigated to a local forum that a lot of students frequented. The latest post was titled “ Petition to get the GIW out of our business .” Amen to that. It already had thousands of reactions and hundreds of replies.

“What are people saying?” Sam wondered, laying back on the bean bag to listen.

Tucker scrolled through the comments. “Gripes about what the GIW has done to the school, how they seem to hate Danny for no reason, how rude they always are to the students, the danger they caused today… Wow, people are pissed.”

Sam grinned. “You know what? We should use this discourse to our advantage. I can always get behind a good ol’ protest.”

”Lucky for you, one is already planned. Tomorrow while school is closed, there’s a gathering scheduled in the courtyard,” Tucker informed, showing the others the bolded post about the event.

Danny could hardly believe it. “Really? But what’s the point?”

Ellie hugged his side. “Come on, cuz, they support you! And you’re awesome so I see why!”

“You’re such a dork.” He messed up her hair, causing her to giggle. 

“And wherever did I get that from?” she asked innocently, poking her head in his face.

“She’s got a point,” Sam chipped in. Danny rolled his eyes, but he could never be truly mad at Ellie.

Speaking of Ellie, over the past few days she had continued to gripe about being bored and wanting to go to school. But seeing the current state of his own, Danny was adamantly against that idea. Even if no one knew who she was, the resemblance was obvious. 

He had to think of a better solution, somewhere she would truly be safe. Amity Park did not seem to be that place…

As his friends chatted away about tomorrow’s protest, he laid on the bed in silence. Thoughts lazily drifted through his head.

Did people really care that much about him? Amity citizens naturally had a strong bond, as most had lived there for their whole lives. Everybody knew everybody for the most part. He had had the same classmates since preschool, minus the rare newcomer. 

Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow could make a difference…