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Chapter Text

The principal's office: a place that typically meant nothing good for any student summoned there. Virgil and Richie were sitting outside of said principal's office, wondering what the hell they'd done wrong.

"What the hell did we do?" Richie asked. "We're never normally in trouble."

"It's probably a mix-up," Virgil said. "Or maybe a reward. I was rewarded with the Vanmoor Institute for gifted teens."

Richie looked at Virgil skeptically. "That wasn't much of an award. Wasn't the whole place a giant scam that gave you much more work to do?"

"Yeah, fair point. Just remember, if your folks are in there, it is some kind of big deal."

"Right."

"Mr Foley, Mr Hawkins, come in," the principal said. The two boys came in, hearts sinking and stomachs flipping when they saw their folks waiting.

Shoot.

"Hi, Mom," Richie said, waving awkwardly. "Um . . . am I going to military school or something?"

Every adult in the room burst into laughter. "A vivid imagination, Mr Foley," the principal chuckled, "but that isn't why we called you in here."

"Then, why are we here?" Virgil asked.

"Your academic achievements and general behaviour is incredible, and we feel that you two could be real assets to the school. So, we're sending you away."

"Is this an April Fool's joke come really late?" Virgil asked.

"No. We think you two would be wonderful ambassadors for our student exchange program. Intelligent, personable, good influences. You'll be great fits for our partner school, Casper High in Amity Park."

"That sounds like a long way away," Virgil said. "Do I have to go?"

"It's an option, but not a requirement. We can find other students for such an opportunity," the principal reassured.

"It's OK for Richie to go if he wants to," Mrs Foley said. "It's so good to know that our sons can still excel socially despite all the supervillains around."

"There are superheroes as well," Richie said. "Like Static."

"And his best friend, Gear," Virgil said.

"Still, you could certainly do with a break from such an environment. The exchange program will do you good." The principal looked at the assembled audience imploringly. "All I ask is that you think about it."

The car ride was quiet, but for once, not because anybody was mad. "I'm not sure about this," Virgil said, once he was safely at home. "What if people need help with Hotstreak and Ebon and we're not there? We can't just fly back whenever someone's getting mugged."

"There are other heroes, Virgil. It isn't just you and Richie, nor should it be," Robert said. "Besides, you'll get to have fun. Kids should get to have fun."

"You know about . . . me and Richie," Virgil said, doing his best to choose his words carefully, seeing as Sharon was at home.

"Oh, you two finally bit the bullet and tied the knot? How sweet. Where was my invitation?" Sharon snarked, lazily sloping down the stairs to sneer at her sibling.

"Hey!" Virgil said. "Do you have to be so snippy with me?"

"No, but it is a lot of fun," Sharon admitted.

"Sharon, if you're really going to voice your opinion, then you might as well do so in a slightly more helpful manner." Robert said. "Virgil's worried about an exchange program that sends him and Richie to another school in a different state until summer break arrives."

"Seriously? They never had that when I was going there. I could think of a couple of people I would have shipped out of state," Sharon said.

"Stay on topic," Robert warned.

"Fine. An exchange program will be good for you. This place is hectic with all these villains," Sharon said. "You can clear your head in peace."

"Thank you," Robert said, smiling at his daughter. "Good to know you can act as a source of guidance to your younger brother."

"Thank you." Sharon got up and made her way back upstairs. "I'm done with giving advice for today. See you tomorrow."

Virgil wasn't buying this. "But Dad, are you sure? Should I really be away from home for so long? It's literally from Easter to summer break! How do I even prepare for that?"

"START PACKING, NERD!" Sharon yelled from upstairs.

"Sharon! Don't talk to your brother like that!" Robert scolded. Virgil rolled his eyes.

At least someone is agreed on something, Virgil thought. Maybe this won't be so bad. But I'll only go if Richie does.

Chapter Text

Virgil and Richie walked and talked about it. "We get a host family while this goes on, right?" Richie asked.

"Yep," Virgil said. "Hopefully, they're normal people. Maybe they have a puppy or something. I'd like to live with a puppy for a little while. They're cute."

"And maybe they've got a cool food place to check out! I hope it's better than Burger Fool," Richie daydreamed aloud about food while Virgil rolled his eyes.

"Always food with you," the teen with locs said, smiling at the inanity of it all. "So, you made your mind up yet? Are you going?"

"I'm down. Honestly, could use a break from the crime-fighting," Richie said. "She-Bang and Rubberband Man can cover for us while we're gone. We get a couple of villain-free weeks somewhere where nobody will call us geeks or want us to save them!"

Virgil was beginning to warm up to this idea. "You know what, Rich? Count me in."

Once they were both agreed about going, everything else was pretty easy. She-Bang and Rubberband Man were all too willing to sub in for them while they were gone on 'civilian business'. Sharon even helped Virgil pack to go to Amity Park, albeit a little too happily for his taste.

"If we have a host family to live with, then they probably also have a kid in high school, right?" Richie asked. "I hope they're nice and not too intense."

"That seems doable. Amity Park seems like a chilled-out little place. Not like Dakota at all," Virgil said. "We're gonna actually have some fun while we're there. Make friends and kick our feet up."

"Sounds like a plan, V-Man." The two started to daydream aloud about what they'd do in their free time. "Maybe there's a Pokemon club there!"

"Or a secret role-playing club."

"Maybe there's a comic book store with issues I don't have yet."

"Rich, I've seen your collection. There's no way that's possible."

The boys laughed and got themselves the last Burger Fool meal they'd eat in a while. Amity Park was going to be a cakewalk.

Chapter Text

The night before he and Richie left for the airport, Virgil couldn't sleep. He couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something. A flash of yellow and blue peeked out of his closet, luring him out of his bed.

Something, whether internal or external, was calling for him to put his Static outfit into his suitcase. And for some reason, he was listening to it.

Virgil felt like a zombie and an idiot as he stuffed his outfit into his suitcase. Why can't I leave this stuff alone? he thought to himself. I bet Richie never has this problem.

"Why are you up at such a stupid time?" Sharon asked, coming into Virgil's room without so much as a knock. Virgil continued stuffing his suit into his suitcase.

"Hello? Virgil, are you sleepwalking?" Sharon snapped fingers in Virgil's ears. Just like that, Virgil pretended to come to, groaning as he looked around.

"What's happening?" he yawned.

"You were sleepwalking, and I woke you up," Sharon said.

"Isn't that bad?"

"No! Just . . . go back to sleep. You don't want to miss your flight."

Sharon led Virgil back to bed, and Virgil let her. It felt kind of nice to have her take care of him, and not be the perpetually annoyed older sister that he had grown used to.

He might even miss her while he was gone.

Richie met with him at the airport, pockets bulging full of food he'd bought last minute. "Sweet! We're getting out of here together and we're going to have so much fun! I don't even care we're stuck in economy, we get to travel on a train alone!"

"No, you're not," Sharon said. "I'm going with you, and taking back the kid who's going to be living with us while you're gone."

"What sort of parent would I be if I let two teenagers travel alone?" Robert asked.

"The cool kind," Virgil muttered, as Richie deflated. "We can't exactly get lost on a moving train. We'd have been fine."

"Assuming you two even found the right train," Sharon retorted. "Come on, nerds."

Sharon took Virgil and Richie away from their parents (but not before Maggie insisted on hugging Richie and publicly kissing him, much to his embarrassment) and boarded the train. From there, she found their seats and plugged in earplugs so she wouldn't have to hear Virgil and Richie talking and stuffing their faces with the obscene amounts of candy they brought with them.

"Uh . . . Sharon, want a candy bar?" Richie offered. Sharon shook her head.

"Don't want to get motion sick," she said.

"Oh, well. More for us." Richie shoved the whole thing in his mouth, barely pausing to chew. Virgil leaned in closer to whisper to Richie.

"Dude, did you bring your suit with you?" Virgil asked. He was cursing himself for even asking. Of course Richie never brought his suit. He was actually preparing to have fun.

"Actually . . . yeah. It's crazy, but I just thought I'd need it for some reason. Did you bring yours?"

"Yeah! I can't believe we had the same thought!" The two teenagers giggled like little kids about their shared secrets while eating candy, all while their exhausted guardian blocked out the world right next to them.

They couldn't wait to arrive in Amity Park.

Chapter Text

When they got off the train, Virgil, Richie, and Sharon saw a small family waiting for them at the station. A large white man with black hair and an orange jumpsuit, a woman with brown hair and a turquoise jumpsuit stood in front of this family unit. Next to them, a girl with red hair, a black shirt, jeans, and a blue headband stood with her hands behind her back, as if waiting for someone to use her as a stock image of what a teenage girl looked like. A skinny teenage boy with black hair, jeans, and a mostly white shirt with red sleeve hems and a red sideways oval in the chest stood slightly apart from them, staring at his red lace-up shoes. The parents were holding a sign that said, in bold black letters (much to their embarrassment) RICHARD AND VINCENT.

"They made a sign for you, Vincent," Sharon taunted.

"Sharon, shut up," Virgil hissed.

"No."

"My full first name! I hate it when people call me that!" Richie groaned. "And now it's on a huge sign where people can see it?"

"Go over and say hi. They seem nice," Sharon scolded. Hesitantly, the boys went over to the smiling family.

"Hi, we're the Fentons, your host family!" the father said. "You two must be Vincent and Richard."

"Virgil and Richie," Virgil corrected.

"Kids, introduce yourselves! Danny, these two nice boys are going to go to school with you and live with us in our house!"

"Hi, I'm Danny," the teenaged boy said. He looked like he was tired of his parents' antics. The girl (presumably his sister) also looked rather exasperated, but tried not to look tired for their sake. "We're the Fenton family, and we're going to be helping you acclimate to Amity Park for this exchange program."

"And I'm Jasmine, but I go by Jazz for short." The redheaded teen waved at her. "You'll be staying in my room while I go to your house."

Sharon let out a squeal of joy. "You mean . . . there's going to be a girl in the house? You'll be staying with us? Yes, yes, yes! I've needed to spend time with another girl for ages!"

"Oh, me too, me too!" Jazz squeaked. "I'm going to love spending time with you! What's your name?"

"I'm Sharon," Sharon introduced. "You'll be staying in Virgil's room. It's so nice to spend time with another girl and not just your little brother."

"Do they know we're right here?" Danny asked.

"They do know, they just don't give a damn," Virgil pointed out.

"We need to be sitting together, understand? We have a whole four hours just to talk!" Jazz planned.

"Obviously! It'll be a while, but it'll be so worth it!" Sharon giggled. The two giggled, jumping for joy while the three teenage boys and random strangers looked on in confusion.

"I'm kind of glad I'm an only child," Richie said.

"Lucky," Virgil said.

"Sharon's your sister, right?" Danny asked. "She seems cool."

"That's because you've never heard her yell," Virgil snarked. "Anyway, let's make sure to stick around a little longer."

"Feeling homesick, Virgil?" Mrs Fenton asked.

"I want to make sure Jazz and Sharon get onto the train properly," Virgil said. "Just like Sharon did for me."

"Oh, you are so sweet, Virgil!" Mrs Fenton said. "Danny, would you like to escort your sister onto the train?"

"Not really," Danny said.

"You really should, Danny," Virgil said, nudging him in the ribs. "You won't regret it."

"Sharon, we should get a window seat. I just love the view," Jazz said.

Virgil and Danny had the same look on their faces: mischievous and slightly immature. Richie clocked it immediately. "What are you going to do?"

"See our sisters off," Danny said, as Sharon and Jazz took their seats right where the boys could see them.

Showtime.

"What are they doing?" Sharon asked, as Virgil and Danny waved at them from outside the train.

"Oh, no," Richie groaned.

"Oh, my God!" Jazz shrieked, as Virgil and Danny rolled their eyes in front of them and pulled faces. "Eww, they are so immature!"

"And they know I can't do anything about it from here," Sharon grumbled. "Hopefully, this damn train moves a little faster soon. Younger brothers are practically feral."

Eventually, Danny and Virgil gave up on the faces and focused on racing the train. Richie watched on from the background, slack-jawed.

"Can you believe this?" Richie spluttered.

"No, I can't." Mr Fenton held back tears of pride. "Two boys becoming men before our eyes. We're so lucky."

Richie facepalmed. Mr and Mrs Fenton clearly failed their perception checks a long time ago.

Virgil and Danny staggered back to the jumpsuit-clad parents, giggling up a storm. "Seeing them off was so much fun," Danny giggled.

"Totally," Virgil said.

"Oh, aren't you so sweet," Mrs Fenton said. "You two must be tired after all that running after your sisters. Let's take you home for some food and a bed."

"You had me at food," Richie said.

"You had me at bed," Virgil groaned, feeling how his legs ached from all the running.

"You had me at home," Danny said.

"Come with us, you adorable little duckies," Mrs Fenton said. She and Mr Fenton made loud quacking noises while waddling away, much to Danny's embarrassment and Virgil and Richie's amusement.

"Mom, Dad, do you really expect us to do that?" Danny groaned. "No normal teenager is going to follow you around going 'quack, quack, quack'."

"Quack, quack, quack, quack!" Virgil and Richie waddled past him, giggling the whole way.

"Who am I kidding?" Danny groaned, being the only normal person in the group.

"Virgil, Richie, you should know a few things about us," Mrs Fenton said. "Amity Park is not the nice, normal little town you were expecting."

"Really?" Virgil's stomach flipped and twisted. Please just be lame, please just be lame, he silently prayed.

"Yes, boys. Amity Park is a town riddled with awful . . . horrible . . . ghosts!" Mr Fenton warned. "It's actually the most haunted place in the world!"

The car grew quiet, Virgil and Richie taking this information in. Amity Park, this normal-looking town, was actually mega-haunted?

"Cool!" Virgil and Richie giggled. From there, the boys spouted questions.

"Did you ever meet one?"

"Is there one in your house?"

"Is there a ghost map? Is there some sort of tour where we can see some of the places where they died?"

"There, there, children, we sense your fear," Mr Fenton soothed. "We Fentons are actually a proud family of ghost hunters."

"If a ghost ever bothers you or our sweet little Danny-kins, just tell us and we'll rip it apart!" Mrs Fenton promised.

Danny's face turned beet-red. "Did you have to call me Danny-kins in front of Virgil and Richie? It's embarrassing!"

"We never heard anything," Virgil said. "In fact, we're both asleep right now."

"Definitely asleep," Richie said. "We're just so tired."

Virgil and Richie let out loud, fake snores, making Danny laugh despite himself. "It's a good thing you're funny," Danny admitted.

"You're welcome," Virgil said. "But please don't disturb our sleep."

"We're totally asleep now, saving energy for more sleep," Richie said, eyes closed.

Danny laughed as the car took them home.

"Welcome to the Fenton home!" Mr and Mrs Fenton said. Virgil and Richie smiled appreciatively. Danny rushed to usher them upstairs.

"You guys must be so tired after your journey," Danny said. "Let me help you take your stuff upstairs."

"Thank you," Richie said.

"Well, there's no way we have the energy to make anything, so . . . would you settle for frozen pizza before sending you to bed?" Mrs Fenton asked. "You have school tomorrow, and I wouldn't want you to be overtired for that."

"That's so considerate of you, Mrs F," Virgil said, doing his best to look exhausted.

"We're going to have such a nice time staying with you, ma'am," Richie said.

"Oh, you boys are so sweet! Somebody raised you well!" Mrs Foley gushed. "You two can watch TV while Danny helps me make your food."

"What?" Danny spluttered.

"Can't Danny watch TV with us?" Richie asked.

"No, he's helping get you your food," Mrs Foley said. "If you two can be such polite young men, so can Danny."

Danny nodded and got up. "I'm fine. You guys just make yourselves comfortable."

"Um . . . thank you," Richie said. His voice wavered with uncertainty. Had they been too nice? Were they supposed to be spoiling them this much already?

After they ate, Danny took them upstairs to a remarkably pink bedroom with an air mattress on the floor. "One of you gets the bed, the other one gets the air mattress. Jazz's bed is a twin bed, so you could share, but the air mattress is an option."

"Thanks," Virgil said. "Friendly games of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Rich? Loser sleeps on the air mattress?"

"Deal," Richie said. "Do we go on shoot?"

"Sure."

Arms cocked back, mentally loading with the options that would end the day with a victory for one and a defeat for the other. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" they chorused.

Richie picked rock, and Virgil picked scissors. "Have fun on the floor, V-Man," Richie snarked.

"I will." Virgil made a show of relaxing onto the air mattress. "Have fun sleeping on a giant pink marshmallow."

"I will."

"I'll leave you to it. We'll talk more in school." Danny excused himself hurriedly, leaving the boys alone with each other and their thoughts.

"Well, there goes any chance of getting placed into a normal family. We're living with literal ghost hunters," Richie whispered.

"Hey, they're super nice, though. I bet we'll like it here," Virgil said. "Danny seems cool, too. Wonder who he's friends with."

"Totally cool people," Richie confidently gambled. "Someone like Danny probably rules Casper High."

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Rich, when I said Danny seemed cool, I didn't mean popular. Maybe your mega-brain is suffering from high altitude after spending so much time on that bed."

"Oh, that was a low blow, V! Quite fitting for someone on the floor," Richie snarked. Virgil was already asleep. "Damn it. Goodnight, Virgil."

Virgil smiled in his sleep.

Chapter Text

The next day, Danny walked Virgil and Richie to school. "Get ready for your first day at Casper High!" Danny said. "You're going to like my friends. They're the only good things about my school, if I'm honest."

"I say that about V-Man," Richie said. "Sometimes, school just . . . sucks."

"Yeah, schools everywhere have that problem," Virgil said. "We can handle it."

"If you say so," Danny said. He didn't sound less like he believed them and more like he was humouring them. "Since you're exchange students, you have to go to Principal Ishiyama and Assistant Principal Mr Lancer. Ishiyama's not so bad, but Mr Lancer sucks."

"Good to know," Virgil said.

"You can hang with my friends, Sam and Tucker. We'll show you who and what to avoid in order to survive," Danny said. "The first week will be rough, but you'll get through it."

"Week?" Richie gulped.

"Yep." Danny exhaled, staring at the floor. "When I said my friends were the only good thing about Casper High, I meant it."

"Ouch."

Danny's face lit up when two teenagers met with him just before walking into the school. "Hey, Danny," a black boy in a yellow shirt, red backwards hat, and green jeans said. "Who are these sad-looking tagalongs?"

"Dude, be nice," Danny said. "This is Virgil and Richie. They're exchange students from Dakota. Virgil, Richie, the dude's Tucker, and Sam's the girl in the gothic attire."

"Danny, you really need to work on your geography," the goth girl next to the black boy said. "You should have specified if they're from North or South Dakota."

"Neither. Dakota is a city in Illinois," Virgil said.

"The exchange trip was meant for students showing academic excellence," Danny explained. "Which is why they're here and Jazz is absent."

"That tracks," Sam said. "Jazz is one of the few people with the grades high enough to get into an exchange program like that."

"We take it that academic excellence isn't something people strive for here?" Richie asked.

"Not unless you want to be seen as a nerd," Tucker said.

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Well, that's just dumb. Nerds get much better lives after graduation. I'm cool with being uncool now if it means I get a better life later."

"You're clearly not from here," Sam said. "Most people around these parts don't act like you about . . . not fitting in. Take it from us."

Casper High looked foreboding as Danny led Richie and Virgil through the doors. The two boys stuck close to Danny as he led them to the front office, where Principal Ishiyama and Mr Lancer were waiting for them.

"Oh, these are the academic overachievers your principal waxed lyrical about!" Principal Ishiyama said, getting up to shake hands with the two boys. "I hope you have a good time in Casper High!"

"Thank you, ma'am!" Virgil and Richie chorused.

"If you ever have any questions or concerns, take them to Mr Lancer, and he'll handle them as best he can." Mr Lancer looked like he wanted to do anything other than answer their questions and concerns, but couldn't say it in front of his boss. "Here are your timetables, so you know where to go at the appropriate times."

"Thank you, sir," Virgil said, as Mr Lancer shoved paper copies of timetables into their hands.

"Now, you two boys make friends and make a lasting impression on our students," the optimistic principal said. "Mr Lancer will escort you to your new class and introduce you to the students."

Heavy, hairy hands pressed down onto their shoulders as Mr Lancer 'escorted' them to a classroom as the bell rang.

"Now that the niceties are out of the way, let's get on with the actual rules of Casper High," Mr Lancer said. "As I'm sure you're used to at your school, popular kids are immune to consequences and can do essentially whatever they like to more unpopular students such as yourselves. Due to the status they bring to the school, nobody will lift a finger if one of them decides to torment you."

Virgil and Richie burst out laughing when they heard that. "Good one!" Richie cackled.

"That wasn't a joke, kid," Mr Lancer said. "Here at Casper High, we practice rampant prejudice against unpopular students to keep the rich and powerful happy."

"You can't be serious," Richie stammered. Thoughts of Jimmy and Nick flashed through his mind, how everyone thought Nick was hilarious until Jimmy had enough and brought a gun to school.

"Very serious," Mr Lancer said. "Now, I'm going to introduce you to your classmates. Do your best to go unnoticed."

Before Virgil and Richie had a chance to ask why, they were standing in front of a class of students, who all looked generally uninterested in basically everything. Danny, Sam, and Tucker were the only friendly faces. "Hi," Virgil said, drawing attention his way.

"Class, these are the two exchange students, Virgil and Richie. They're going to be here until summer break on an exchange program for students of academic excellence," Mr Lancer said.

"Ac-a-dem-ic ex-cell-ence?" An Asian student in a letterman jacket sounded the words out slowly.

"Yes, Kwan, academic excellence. They got here due to their stellar grades and behaviour, and now they're here to be a good example to you," Mr Lancer said. Judging from the grumbling sound of the students, they didn't seem too happy with that idea.

"Do we get to introduce ourselves or not?" Virgil asked.

"Seems unnecessary. Permission denied. Find. Some. Seats," Mr Lancer ordered. Richie and Virgil sat next to Sam, Danny, and Tucker.

"Tough crowd," Richie muttered.

"You haven't seen the worst of it yet," Danny said. "Wait until lunch."

"What's so bad about lunch?" Richie asked. "Lunch is my favourite lesson."

"You don't want a Casper High lunch, dude." Tucker said. "It's gross."

"Nothing we can't handle," Virgil bragged. "A lot of schools proudly churn out gross cafeteria food, and I've always had to eat my sister's terrible cooking. How much worse could yours be?"

Virgil and Richie stared down at the foul-smelling vegetarian stew in front of them. "This is much worse than my sister's cooking," Virgil said. "And we have to eat this?"

"So much for all your talk," Tucker smirked. "Reckon you could try . . . half of it?"

"You could if you just ate really fast," Richie said. "Watch and learn." Richie picked up his bowl and drank the stew, downing it like nobody's business. Tucker watched in horror.

"What are you?" he whispered in horror. "How could you stomach something so . . . devoid of meat?"

"Oh, that's because I'm . . . Irish," Richie said. "So this is no issue."

"And after eating my sister's cooking, I'm used to torture," Virgil joked. The table burst out laughing, drawing attention of a certain blond bully.

"Did I just hear torture?" Dash strode over to the nerdy kids. "Hey, you're the kids who got sent here for being geeky, right?"

"We're the exchange students, if that's what you're asking," Virgil said.

"Oh, you are, huh? Well, allow me to tell you who I am. I'm Dash Baxter, king of Casper High! I beat up nerds for breakfast, and I'm going to be your worst nightmare!"

There was an awkward silence, as the two boys took time to process. "Seriously?" Virgil asked.

"Yes, seriously!" Dash snapped. "Look at you dweebs. I'm probably the scariest thing you've ever seen in your geeky little lives, aren't I?"

The out-of-town best friends looked at each other, hopelessly confused. Confused became bemused, which transformed into . . . amusement. After all the superhero adventures they'd gone on, battling Hotstreak, Ebon, and once the Joker, this jerk was going to be their worst nightmare? This was the most ridiculous thing they'd heard all day!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Virgil and Richie howled with laughter, drawing attention to themselves as Danny tried to get them in line.

"What are you two geeks laughing at?" Dash spluttered. "Nobody here laughs at Dash Baxter!"

"They should!" Richie laughed. "Especially with hair like that!"

More kids started laughing, and Danny kicked Virgil and Richie under the table. "You shouldn't be talking like that to Dash! He'll ruin you!" Danny pleaded.

"You should listen to Fen-toad. He has first-hand experience of being thrown into a locker." Dash flexed his fingers and grinned at the boys. "And soon, you will, too. Kwan, little help here?"

"On it," Kwan said. It was the same dude from earlier who was sounding out the words academic excellence earlier, coming to assist in school bullying. Virgil had to do something, fast.

Out of nowhere, Kwan's belt came undone and his jeans kissed the ground. The onlookers howled with laughter at the sight of bright red boxers, something Kwan hurriedly tried to cover up. "Food and a show," Richie said.

"Kwan, you're embarrassing me!" Dash whined. "We have geeks to dominate! Exchange student super-geeks!"

"We're just trying to eat lunch," Virgil said, already having another wicked idea. "You know, you should too."

"Don't tell me what to do, dork! I'm in charge here, not - OW!" Dash was interrupted by a fork hitting him in the back of the head. "Who threw that?"

"I-it just came out of my hand!" a kid stammered. Students gasped as their metal cutlery got up and flew at both Dash and Kwan.

"GHOST!" Dash screamed, running for his life. He didn't get far, as his belt mutinied like Kwan's before it, and the student body of Casper High were treated to the sight of boxer briefs covered in . . . teddy bear faces.

"NERDS!" Dash screamed, as the student body roared with laughter. Mr Lancer looked at the chaos that now embodied the lunchroom.

"Great Expectations, what is happening here?" he yelled. "Did one of you geniuses decide to have a food fight? Tell me what happened here!"

Dash groaned while trying to get back up on his feet. "Ghost attack . . . hit me with forks." Dash looked down and remembered the pants/boxers situation. "And then it pantsed me!"

"Seriously? You expect me to believe that, even with all the ghosts in Amity Park, there's one this childish as to expose your choice of underwear and pelt you with cutlery?" Mr Lancer pinched the space between his eyes and let out a guttural sigh. "Report to detention later today. You too, Kwan."

"Yes, Mr Lancer. Sorry, Mr Lancer," Kwan said.

"Good. Now get up off the floor."

As Dash and Kwan rolled around on the floor trying to get up, Virgil and Richie giggled and high-fived. "Sweet!" Virgil laughed. "From nightmare to nothingburger!"

"I wasn't the only one surprised to see the teddy bear boxers, was I?" Richie asked. "Talk about a soft side."

Sam looked at the best friends with interest. "So . . . you didn't seem too worried about facing off against Dash. Anything we should know about life in Dakota?"

"Uh . . . yeah, there is." The boy with locs coughed a bit before speaking. "In Dakota, a chemical spill was orchestrated by the police to break up a gang fight, but the chemicals gave some of the people exposed to it powers. One of them is a dude calling himself Hotstreak, who has fire powers and terrorises people with them."

"Another dude, Ebon, manipulates darkness, and can live inside of shadows. Real scary," Richie added. "When you've seen things like that, a school bully like Dash is basically a non-event."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker looked at the pair of best friends with horror. "That's insane," Tucker whispered.

"We're used to it," Virgil said, his voice gaining a teasing lilt. "Just how you're all used to ghosts."

"Hey, we're just adapting to the environment we're in," Tucker said. "You're insulting the evolution process, Virgil."

"If we know anything at all, it's that some things should be insulted," Richie said. "Like Stash's hair."

Virgil caught on fast. "Stash isn't his name. It's actually Cash."

"No, it's Crash."

"No, it's Bash."

"No, it's Rash."

"No, it's Lash."

The five teenagers burst out laughing as they came up with new incorrect monikers for Dash Baxter. This was a pretty good day.

"You know what? You guys are fun," Sam said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Virgil said. "You guys aren't too bad, either."

The laughter flowed freely for the rest of the day.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you had some sort of special ghost protection," Danny said. "Those forks came out of nowhere!"

"Hey, Dash deserved it," Richie said. "And does it really have to be ghosts every single time?"

"In the most haunted place on Earth? Pretty much," Danny said.

"You know what, Rich? I think it's time we came clean," Virgil said. "Obviously, I did this to myself by contacting aliens with . . . electrical signals."

"Sure you did, Virgil," Danny said.

"How do you even plan on finding out how it happened? Does every resident of Amity Park have a ouija board in their home or something?" Richie asked. Both boys cracked up, and Danny smirked.

"You know, maybe I'm reading too far into this." Danny fake-yawned and went to bed. "Virgil, have fun with the bed. It's Richie's turn to sleep on the floor."

"What?" Richie spluttered.

"Have fun with the air mattress, Rich," Virgil taunted.

"You suck so much."

"Bye," Danny said, going to his room. A chorus of goodbyes came from his sister's room as Danny closed the door to his room.

"Should I go ghost and ask Sidney? If anyone's going to be a protector of bullied kids against their bullies, it's definitely him," Danny said to nobody in particular. He was about to go ghost, but his own body seemed to disobey him. "Oh, shoot. Guess I'm more tired than I thought. I'll ask when I'm more well-rested."

Danny changed into pyjamas and crashed onto his bed, eyes closing almost immediately.

He'd needed this more than he thought.

Chapter Text

Over at the Hawkins household, Jazz and Sharon were getting on like a house on fire. "Younger brothers can be such a walking chore sometimes!" Sharon laughed, as she drank more of her ice water. "They're all like 'I can handle it' and then you see them not handling anything! It's an older sister's chore to make her younger siblings do any of their chores!"

"I know!" Jazz laughed. "My little brother thinks dishes do themselves, and when I want him to do it because that's not how dishes work, he's run off with his friends and he's out doing who-knows-what!"

Sharon scoffed. "I wish Virgil would go places. Most of the time, he's at home, bugging me and hogging the TV, and he brings Richie with him. Now there are two nerds sitting on a sofa they didn't pay for."

"Sometimes, I feel like he should report to me, since I basically raised him. Mom and Dad are working a lot on their inventions, so I was basically in charge from a really young age."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sharon paused to process. "What sort of inventions are your folks working on, by the way?"

"Ghost-catching equipment."

Sharon froze in place. "What?"

"I'm from Amity Park. It's the most haunted place on earth, and my parents have always have an interest in ghosts. So, yeah. They're always working on a new device that can help them catch ghosts so Amity Park can be a safer place."

"Oh. That's weird, but nice. Are your parents helping anguished ghosts move on into the afterlife?"

Jazz cringed. "Nah. They're more of the 'rip the ghost apart molecule by molecule' sort of ghost hunters. Honestly, I wish they were that understanding."

"I know, right?" Sharon took a long sip of her ice water. "I mean, they're ghosts. So long as they're not malicious or anything, they should be treated with respect. They used to be alive just like us, for Christ's sake!"

"Yeah," Jazz said. "I think one of them still is."

Danny decided to take a little trip to the Ghost Zone to chat with Sidney. "Hey, Danny. What brings you here?" Sidney asked.

"I want to know where you were from 12 to 2 PM yesterday," Danny asked.

"Oh, that's easy! I was with Lunch Lady all of that day," Sidney said. "She can vouch for my whereabouts." A confused look clouded Sidney's face. "Wait, why do you ask?"

"There was a potentially ghost-related incident in the school cafeteria that reminded me of you," Danny said.

Sidney crossed his arms and gave Danny some serious stink-eye action. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"I came here to look for you as it was due to a bullying incident. Two exchange students were being picked on when the bullies' pants were pulled down and cutlery was thrown at one of them." Danny paused to release a long, slow, whistling exhale. "I know how you feel about bullies, so you were the first one I came to about it."

"No, that wasn't me." Sidney shook his head with a smile. "Although I do wish I had thought of doing that; that sounds hilarious. Whoever your culprit it, they've got style."

"Great, so that's you out of the running. Honestly, I don't know who else could have done it. It really sounded like a Sidney thing."

"What about Ghost Writer? Sure, his schemes are less to do with schools, but they can be pretty zany," Sidney suggested. "Also, this took place in the chow hall. Check the Lunch Lady."

"Ghost Writer's a poet. All his stuff rhymes. There was no rhyming with this, just vengeance," Danny said. "It's not his style; I should know. And Lunch Lady doesn't really go for cutlery, but the food itself. That's why I picked you."

"That . . . makes more sense," Sidney admitted. "But if it wasn't me, or Ghost Writer, then who was messing around with those bullies at Casper High?"

"I don't know, but I'll keep looking," Danny promised. "Thank you for your cooperation. Phantom out."

Danny returned to his bedroom with more questions on his mind. "How did that happen if none of the ghosts are responsible? Are there new ghosts around? Or did something else target Dash that day?"

But who else could he talk to about this? Virgil and Richie didn't know anything about having a secret identity and battling bad guys, so it couldn't be them. His parents were out of the question. So, he had no choice but to dial a certain number.

"Danny?" Jazz asked, yawning. "What's happening? How are you? Is everything OK?"

"I'm fine, everything and everyone is fine," Danny said. "How are you, Jazz? Meet any supervillains yet?"

"No, not yet, but I have heard some pretty cool stories," Jazz admitted. "Did you know that Virgil's sister is dating Rubberband Man?"

"Rubberband Man?" Danny echoed. "There's a dude honestly calling himself Rubberband Man?"

"You superhero name and your civilian name are nearly identical, Danny," Jazz reminded him. "You have no room to talk."

"Fine," Danny said. "Weird stuff's been happening at school."

"So the ghosts are giving you more trouble than usual? Just give Sam and Tucker a Fenton Thermos and get on with things," Jazz said.

"No, Jazz, that's the weird thing. This time, it wasn't a ghost. It was . . . something else."

Jazz sat up. "Well, that's interesting," she said. "How do you know that it's not a ghost?"

"I asked them," Danny said, nonplussed. "Something not of ghostly origin is messing with Casper High, and I'm going to find out what it is."

"Cool. Anything I can do?"

"Not from another state. Just stay out of trouble. Especially don't go near that Hot Grease guy that Virgil told me about."

"You mean Hotstreak, Danny, and I will," Jazz corrected. "I appreciate you looking out for me. Right now, you need to look after Virgil and Richie. They're a pair of fish out of water, not to mention defenceless. It'll be difficult to defend Amity Park from ghosts and keep your identity secret from two people while you're right under their noses, but you've already pulled off truly incredible feats under worse conditions. Just know that all this way away, I believe in you."

Danny smiled. "Thank you, Jazz."

"You're welcome. Just keep being the awesome ghostly protector that Amity Park has, but doesn't deserve. I'll be back to bug you before you know it."

"And until then, I'll just jump on your bed and have Bearbert Einstein act out all my favourite movie scenes."

Jazz let out an unearthly shriek. "Oh, you little jerk! If you harm a single blue tuft on Bearbert Einstein's body, I will ruin your life and your death!"

Danny laughed. "Jazz, I can't do anything to Bearbert Einstein. You took him with you to Dakota."

Jazz covered her mouth, her face burning with embarrassment. "Oh. Right."

"Probably still going to jump on your bed, though."

"Don't you dare!" Jazz warned, but the only response that greeted her ears was a dull drone of a dial tone.

"What was that yelling about?" Sharon said. Her pigtails were concealed by a bonnet, and her eyes looked tired.

"Sorry, Sharon. It was a, um . . . a misunderstanding. I misheard something my brother said." Jazz looked down at the floor, face redder than her hair.

"Oh. Well, go to bed, Jazz! We all need beauty sleep and we're not getting it like this!"

Jazz burst into embarrassed, yet appreciative laughter. It was great that Sharon was so understanding.

Ghost Writer sat at his keyboard, plotting. Word about Danny Phantom visiting the Ghost Zone to see who had pulled off the most recent haunting at the cafeteria of Casper High had reached his ears, and now his fingers were itching to type something. "So, the great Danny Phantom thinks he knows how I play?" he sneered. "I'll give him something that'll blow him away."

Chapter Text

Virgil and Richie were settling in just fine until 'Mr Foley' needed to go to the principal's office to settle an issue.

"Mr Foley, go to the office immediately," a voice said over the tannoy said. Richie and Tucker got up immediately.

"What are you doing?" Mr Lancer asked.

"The loudspeaker said Mr Foley," Richie and Tucker said. Virgil, Danny, and Sam looked at each other with the same dawning, hilarious realisation.

These two idiots have the same last name and we're only finding out about it now.

"Well, I go to school here, and I have a pretty solid track record for mischief," Tucker bragged.

"I'm the exchange student. Maybe this is a check-in of some kind," Richie countered.

"If it was a check-in, your buddy would be going with you."

"Ladies, ladies, you're both desirable. Now, will Mr Foley finally figure out who he is and get out of my sight?" Mr Lancer groaned, the rest of the class using their giggles as background noise.

"Yes, sir," Richie and Tucker said, both going for the door. That was the straw that broke the camels' backs. Danny, Virgil, and Sam were howling with laughter. This was just too perfect.

"They suck so much," Richie muttered, as he squeezed out of the door.

"Agreed," Tucker said.

"Ah, Mr Foley," Principal Ishiyama said. "It's a delight to finally - why are there two of you?"

"You said Mr Foley over the loudspeaker and both of us have the surname Foley," Tucker said.

Principal Ishiyama looked at Richie, then Tucker, then Richie again. "Really?"

"Yes," both boys chorused.

"Great. Exactly what I needed." The principal looked between the two boys, trying to word this in the least offensive manner. "I was trying to talk to the exchange student Foley."

Tucker breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. For a moment, I thought you were calling me in over the loitering I was doing near the girls bathroom."

"I had no idea about that." Principal Ishiyama fixed Tucker with a glare. "But now that you mention it, I think you ought to stay here, too. I'll talk to you when I'm done assessing Richard."

"I prefer Richie," Richie pointed out.

"Ah, right. My apologies." Tucker dutifully filed out, letting the two talk. "So, Richie, how are you settling into Casper High?"

"Pretty well. I'm rather confused about the bullying policy, though. Mr Lancer said that there was a certain . . . policy allowing certain students . . . privileges."

"Oh, yes, that is familiar to me. It's an archaic rule that was established ages ago when Casper High was going through some pretty dire straits. Rich and influential families offered to pay for the school's expenses in exchange for their children receiving no consequences for anything."

"Seriously?"

"Yes." Principal Ishiyama seemed ashamed to admit this. "I've been trying to get this rule overturned, but it keeps being blocked."

"But who wouldn't want the kids of rich and influential people to face - oh." Richie felt the lightbulb click on far too late.

"You see why this rule has been in place for so long, Richie." She flicked through files to retrieve one with Richie's name on it. "If I remember correctly, you and Virgil are living with the Fenton family during your exchange placement?"

"Yeah. They're really nice. Are they really the resident ghost hunters of Amity Park?"

"Yes, that is true. You know, if either of you want a way out, we can set you up with a different host family."

"No, no, we're both fine," Richie said. "We both like it here."

"If you say so." Principal Ishiyama said, although she sounded skeptical at best. "If you have any complaints about kids who are unpopular or whose parents aren't rich, then feel free to tell us. If one of our school's A-listers tries anything with you, our hands are basically tied and so are yours."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Richie walked out to see Tucker twiddling his thumbs while leaning against a wall.

"How much trouble are you in?"

"I'm not in trouble." Richie shrugged as he walked out. "How much trouble are you in?"

"Tucker Foley, get in here!" Principal Ishiyama yelled from inside her office.

"I regret nothing," Tucker hissed, as he trudged inside.

"I regret everything," Richie moaned, as Virgil, Danny, and Sam teased them endlessly for sharing a surname.

"Reckon they're somehow distant relatives?" Sam asked.

"Doubt it," Tucker said. "No offense, Richie, but we look nothing alike."

"I think it's the glasses," Virgil said.

"You can't inherit glasses," Richie pointed out.

Danny jumped in gleefully. "But you can inherit bad eyesight."

"You will not leave this alone, will you?" Tucker put his hat over his face, shielding his likeness from the shame.

"Oh, come on, we're just teasing," Sam said. "We're not trying to be mean, we promise. Think you could come with us to get burgers?"

Eyes widened. The hopeless expressions on their faces vanished. "Burgers?" they chorused.

"Yes," Sam promised, as Danny and Virgil burst out laughing at the synchronised response. "You two are getting burgers."

"This name is throwing me off," Richie said, as the kids arrived at the Nasty Burger. "Who names a place Nasty Burger?"

"We have a fast food chain called Burger Fool in Dakota," Virgil pointed out. "Companies just want to be weird about names to draw customers in."

"Food's great, though," Tucker said. "You really should try the Quadruple-Stacked Burger. Four burger patties in one burger."

Richie's eyes sparkled. "That's a real thing? Where has it been all my life?"

"Don't worry, you have it now," Tucker soothed.

Each Foley ordered identical mounds of food and carefully brought them over to their table. Both took the time to gaze slowly at the mountain of food they had assembled, as if paying respect to the caloric majesty of it all. Then, at the exact same second, they began to eat.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sam asked.

"That these two should be spherical-shaped with how much they eat?" Virgil muttered.

"Right on the money."

"Are they even breathing?" Danny asked.

"I doubt it," Virgil said, as the pile of food shrank before their eyes.

Both boys leaned back and belched, patting their stomachs. "That was good," Richie said.

"That is how lunch is supposed to look and feel," Tucker explained. "I'd do this every day if I had the cash."

"Agreed," Richie groaned.

"How do they eat that much and not . . . explode?" Sam asked.

"Willpower," Virgil answered.

"Experience," Danny replied. "So, who's getting the forklift for them?"

"You and me help Richie. Sam, you could call Tucker's parents."

This irked something in Sam. "Do you think I can't do this on my own or something?"

Virgil smoothed the situation over. "That's not it, Sam. You could entirely do this on your own. But you shouldn't have to."

"Oh." Sam turned slightly red. "Thanks."

"Great. Now, get to a phone and start dialling." Virgil looked at the two with horror tinged with despair. "I'm not moving these two teenaged beached whales."

"We can hear you," Richie groaned.

"Yeah, sure, Rich. Take it up with me after you've digested your meal."

Richie, for some reason, was super tired when Virgil and Danny dragged him home. He draped himself over Virgil and hugged him tightly. "We should share Jazz's bed," he yawned. "I'm cold and you're warm."

"Whatever you want, Rich," Virgil said.

"It's not fair that you stay on the floor. You're not a peasant."

"Richie, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were drunk," Danny said.

"Not drunk. Full of food. Good food."

Virgil giggled. His best friend Richie Foley, also known as Gear, was food-drunk. A feat only Richie could pull off. More accurately, it was a feat only a Foley could pull off.

"You should change, Richie," Danny advised. "These are going to be uncomfortable to sleep in."

"Fine," Richie huffed. "I'll change."

"Good. That's an improvement," Danny said. Richie laughed throatily, cutting himself off with a groan.

"I'd like to go to bed now," Richie moaned, clutching his stomach. "And I want more fries."

"Absolutely not, dude," Virgil said.

Richie clumsily dressed himself for bed and dragged Virgil towards Jazz's bed. "You're sleeping with me now," Richie said, hugging him tightly.

Virgil chuckled uneasily. "I don't have much of a choice in the matter, do I?"

"Nuh-uh," Richie said, hugging Virgil tighter. "Thank you so much, Virgil."

"And thank you so much, Richie," Danny said. He stood in the doorframe of his sister's room, aiming a camera at the boys. "This should be pretty useful as blackmail material."

Chapter Text

Saturday had arrived, and Virgil and Richie were planning to make the most of it as soon as they could. "Where can a guy go to have some fun around here?" Richie asked. "Is there a comic book store? Please say yes."

"We're just walking around seeing if there's anything fun to do," Virgil said.

"Oh, right, fair point." Richie grabbed Virgil and dragged him down streets for the sake of 'exploring'. "I knew it! There is a book store for us to go into!"

"And I had no doubt that you would find it," Virgil said, letting out a yelp as his blond-haired friend dragged him inside.

The store they went into, like Doctor Who's Tardis, was bigger on the inside. The fantasy section beckoned to them, bright colours shimmering under a sad fluorescent light. The classics stood tall and proud, waiting for someone to take them home. The comics section . . . was nonexistent.

"What?" Richie spluttered. "How are there no comic books here? Where's the manga when you need it?"

"Richie, maybe you can try reading something that's outside of your comfort zone," Virgil gently suggested. "Like maybe some of this . . . classical poetry?" His voice couldn't contain his confusion.

"Virgil, I am not reading that stuff. We only have to do that in English class, and even then it's lame," Richie groused. "Honestly, old books really bite."

"I guess you do have a point about that," Virgil admitted, slotting the book haphazardly into the shelves so they could continue to browse.

That was all Ghost Writer needed to appear before them. Boring beige linoleum floors were taken over by a sickening green portal as Ghost Writer extracted himself from the ground. His circular keyboard surrounded him like one of Saturn's rings as his fingers flexed and twitched above the keys.

"Who dares mock the Ghost Writer's work?" he roared. Virgil and Richie's eyes widened in horror as the man with a keyboard glared at them. If looks could kill, Virgil and Richie would have been ghosts alongside him. "Foolish enough to tread where I may lurk." His fingers raced to tap out his new narrative. "You scoffed at my writings and discarded it like trash! But I will make you wish you had not acted so rash!"

"Oh, shoot, an actual ghost!" Virgil squeaked. "And he's going to rip and devour!"

Richie moaned so loud, he sounded like a ghost himself. "This is truly our darkest hour!"

The boys looked at each other in a serious double take. "Why are we speaking in rhyme?"

Ghost Writer smirked. "A little ghost power I bring to the table. Rhyme schemes are bestowed when speech is enabled."

"When speech is enabled?" Richie questioned. "Virg, what exactly does he mean?"

Virgil shushed him. "Shut up and let him set the scene."

"Smart thinking, little boy, letting me explain." Ghost Writer's chest swelled with pride. "My keyboard is what truly brings the pain. My words shape reality into what I want and think, making my victims' hearts sink and sink."

Richie screamed. His scream would not have been out of place on a little girl. "We'll be eaten like one of his dinners! Then we'll go to Hell with the rest of the sinners!"

Ghost Writer scoffed at the blond. "You won't be eaten, and this isn't your end. This is simply a writer's revenge."

Ghost Writer started typing, but Virgil couldn't resist saying something. "Wait . . . you're going to write stuff about us, and it'll come true?" Virgil spluttered. "Like a fanfiction writer for those close to you?"

Ghost Writer's fingers completely stopped. "Fanfiction writer? Don't be so crass! You share your friend's impulse for words that are rash!"

"But you are a fanfiction writer! The description fits like a glove! You write stories about real people doing the things that you love!" Richie and Virgil shared looks of glee.

If ghosts could die, Ghost Writer would already be dead of embarrassment. His pale complexion flushed red. "Why does that phrase make my face burn brighter? How dare you brats call me a fanfiction writer!"

Both boys did their best to placate the ethereal writer. "Don't be shy! It clearly makes you rejoice!" Richie said.

Virgil tossed his two cents into the ring. "I happen to like reading fanfiction. It's a personal choice!"

"FANFICTION IS NOT WHAT I WRITE!" Ghost Writer screamed. "WHY CAN'T YOU GET IT RIGHT? I WRITE TORMENT AND TRAGEDIES, NOT INSIPID FANTASIES!" His voice grew low as a smirk grew across his face. "And everything I write comes true. Which is horribly unlucky for you."

This time, Ghost Writer did not speak as he typed. Virgil and Richie were about to ask what he was playing at when the books on the shelves came alive. They rustled as they edged themselves off the shelves, falling onto the floor like rappelling mountain climbers. Pairs of beady eyes, all of them now trained on Virgil and Richie, balanced on the edges of their spines. Where their pages once were retreated within the covers as rows of sharp teeth materialised.

Sharp teeth that wanted to bite.

"I bet you regret saying that old books bite! Let's see if you last through the night!" Ghost Writer laughed, as the two hapless boys screamed and ran for the exit.

"Those books are snapping at our heels! We must each be worth fifty meals!" Richie panicked.

"Ghost Writer, hands off those boys! Human beings are not your toys!" Danny Phantom said. Virgil and Richie gasped as the ghost of a white teenage boy with silver hair, green eyes and a black and silver bodysuit flew through the wall to rescue them.

"Danny Phantom, old buddy, haven't seen you in a while!" Ghost Writer'slips curled into a cruel smile as Virgil and Richie tried to climb walls to get away from the rabid poetry section. "How good of you to come and see me when you know my style."

"This is unfair, Ghost Writer!" Danny Phantom yelled. "People have the right to criticise!"

"Maybe so," Ghost Writer smirked, "but I have the right to terrorise. Let's see what you can do when glued to a chair, and these tasteless boys are little dolls with ribbons in their hair."

Reality shifted to suit Ghost Writer's words. Danny Phantom found himself literally being glued to a chair, while Virgil and Richie's clothes shifted into pastel pink, frilly dresses. Ribbons appeared out of nowhere to fix themselves to their hair, much to their humiliation and horror.

Richie looked down at himself and screamed in horror. "I can't be seen like this, it's embarrassing!"

"Please let us go; we'll do anything!" Virgil begged.

Ghost Writer, ever the sadist, howled with laughter. "They thought there was nothing worse than looking like a girl. But that was before they began to twirl."

As the boys were forced to dance a demented ballerina's twirl that got faster and faster with every rotation, Danny was doing his own jig. Swinging the chair he was glued to, he slowly shifted towards the all-important keyboard. Two words, six letters, and this nightmare could finally be over.

Richie looked close to tears. "Please let us out! I take back what I said!"

"Not likely!" Ghost Writer sneered. "At this rate, you'll twirl till you're dead!"

Danny Phantom had to do something. He was getting so close to the keyboard, and he had one hand free. Standing up, he typed the all-important letters one by one.

THE END.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Ghost Writer wailed, as the effects of his haunting disintegrated. Virgil and Richie collapsed, normal clothes reappearing while their ribbons left. The books that had been trying to bite chunks out of them turned back into normal books that now laid haphazardly across the floor. Finally, they were safe.

"Thank you, Danny Phantom," Virgil said. "I was getting kind of sick of rhyming."

"Thank you, Vi-er virtuous citizens." Danny stammered. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you around before. Amity Park is a small place. Who are you?"

"I'm Virgil, and this is Richie. We're exchange students, not citizens," Virgil corrected.

"We didn't think we'd get to meet actual ghosts," Richie said. "Especially not a heroic ghost."

"Well, believe it," Danny said. "Like it or not, I'm here to keep Amity Park safe! It's the right thing to do, no matter what people think of me for it. Now, would you like me to take you home?"

"We can make it, but thank you. Mr and Mrs Fenton are probably worried sick," Richie said.

"Of course, the . . . ghost hunters. You got placed with them." The air between them grew awkward, but Danny's smile relaxed them. "Listen, if they ask you if you saw Danny Phantom, tell them you did, but he got away and didn't hurt you."

"Saw Danny Phantom? Who's Danny Phantom?" Richie asked.

"I'm Danny Pha-oh." Danny grinned at Richie. "I like your style, kid. You'd be a fine hero if you ever wanted to be." Danny waved and flew off.

"There are good ghosts," Richie said. "And he thinks I'm cool."

"It's the only good thing that your mouth has done for us all day." Virgil punched Richie in the shoulder. "You got the ghost's attention that was mad about his poetry."

"You were no better, V-Man! You called him a fanfiction writer with me!"

"I can't believe that your Bang Baby brain let you rile up a ghost that much!"

"I can't believe you didn't zap me to shut me up!"

"Maybe I can make up for that." Virgil's fingers crackled with electricity. Richie giggled nervously, backing away.

"Virgil, I was kidding, OK? Totally kidding. You can take those electric shocks away now." Richie whimpered. "Besides, people might see you."

"No thanks. I want to see if those girly screams were a one-off." Virgil smirked. "And there's nobody here to witness it."

"Why couldn't I have asked Danny to take us home?" Richie wailed, as Virgil chased him with finger-sized lightning bolts to the Fenton house. "Virgil, please! Stop! EEEEEEK!"

"Well, I guess that answers that question! Fear the great and terrible revenge of Virgil Hawkins, who shall haunt you forevermore!"

Girly screams and teenaged laughter echoed through the quiet streets of Amity Park.

Chapter Text

After their first Danny Phantom encounter, Virgil and Richie couldn't stop thinking about him. "Amity Park has a legit ghostly protector?" Richie asked. "This place just gets cooler and cooler."

"So long as I never get taken by another ghost, I'm good," Virgil groaned. "And why does Danny Fenton look like Danny Phantom?"

"Maybe Danny Phantom is some distant ancestor of the Fentons," Richie theorised. "It explains the face."

"If Danny Phantom is a dead ancestor of Danny Fenton, then why do they have the same haircut? Only those two have it. It's not exactly a staple of the 19th century . . . unless Danny Phantom never was from the 19th century."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton are one and the same."

Virgil's eyes widened. "But how can a ghost turn himself human and . . . alive again? Danny's clearly alive and not . . . ghost-like."

"That's for us to find out. But there's honestly nobody else it could be. Danny Phantom's clothes look positively futuristic compared to recorded photos of historical clothing. Honestly, how could nobody notice something so obvious?"

"Like that picture of Mr Lancer's 'sister' he keeps on his deak that's clearly just him in a wig and dress?"

"Yeah, fair point. Amity Park doesn't exactly boast being home to the most clued-in and observant people."

"Luckily, Amity Park isn't our home. And if they can't notice that Fenton and Phantom are the same person, then I guess nobody will notice a couple of our . . . shenanigans."

"Superhero-related or superpower-related?"

Richie smirked. "Both."

"Why are you holding a giant box of doughnuts?" Tucker asked. "Can I have some?"

"If they aren't all mysteriously eaten," Virgil said. That got the attention of Dash Baxter, who walked over and stole the baked goods with glee.

"Eating without me, geeks?" he snickered, shoving a doughnut into his mouth while barely chewing.

Danny made a grab for the box. "Hey, those are supposed to be-"

"Ours, Fen-twerp. They've been repossessed."

"Such wonderful doughnuts . . . taken by such horrible people," Tucker moaned, watching the doughnuts get taken away and greedily gobbled by the Casper High A-listers.

"There, there, fellow Foley. It's not so bad," Richie did his best to pacify the horribly upset nerd.

"What are you talking about?" Sam said. "You're just as food-obsessed as Tucker is."

"See for yourself," Virgil said.

The gang of nerdy misfits did their best not to watch the A-listers too obviously as they chewed and swallowed down what should have been their doughnuts. It seemed like a pointless exercise of self-flagellation . . . until they heard spluttering.

"What the heck?" Dash spluttered, as his face turned as red as his letterman jacket. Kwan, Paulina, and the other A-listers were also suffering the effects of excessive chilli consumption. The five kids sitting at the loser table watched with glee as they rushed for water.

"Damn, you kids are brutal," Sam said appreciatively. "What did you put in those doughnuts?"

"Sriracha sauce, spicy tomato sauce, and ketchup to pad it out," Virgil said. "Man, I'm glad I listened in food tech."

"It always was my favourite," Richie said. "I just wish you could have added ghost peppers."

Danny sat up with fright. "Ghost peppers aren't real, and I'm not Danny Phantom," he stammered.

"We never said you were," Virgil said. "Although it would be nice to get an autograph of him. Maybe you and him could get a photograph together."

"Uhh . . . I bet everyone would like an autograph with Danny Phantom," Danny said.

Richie tried to explain. "We'd just like to thank him for saving us from that crazy Ghost Writer. He really got there in the nick of time for us. Swooping in like a superhero even when the odds were against him."

"He kind of has the same haircut as you, too," Virgil added.

Danny was in shambles. They were figuring it out. Two teenagers from out of town were closer to figuring out his secret than anybody else. This couldn't be allowed to continue.

"How convenient," Sam said, a forced grin stretching over her face. "But we have to go. Danny is having . . . an allergic reaction. Yeah, and someone else has to be there to jab him with the . . . epi pen. See ya!" With that, she grabbed Danny and dragged him away.

"And I have to, uh . . . time contractions!" Tucker raced after them, leaving them scratching their heads.

"They do know that timing contractions is for childbirth, right?" Richie asked.

"No. But clearly, nobody else does," Virgil said. "We should let them think that they've fooled us and then do our own reconnaisance the moment we get a chance to slip away from the house."

Richie nodded. "Sounds like a plan, V. That'll make plenty of time to see how he turns and turns back."

Any chance of them watching Fenton become Phantom were scrapped once they saw what Mr and Mrs Fenton had planned for them. "Boys, why did we hear about you two being with Danny Phantom?" Mr Fenton asked. "Did he kipnap you?"

"No, he saved us from this other ghost," Richie said. "He left once he made sure we were safe."

"That's a shame." Mr Fenton grabbed a thermos as if it was a weapon. "I was hoping to get you acclimated to the Fenton Thermos."

"It looks like a regular thermos," Richie commented.

Mrs Fenton giggled. "Oh, that's the beauty of it. Jack, tell them."

Jack's eyes gleamed with pride and a sort of creative frenzy that only a creator can have for their creation. "The Fenton Thermos is a little something that I made for capturing ghosts. Just open it and point at the offending phantom."

"But how does it capture ghosts?" Virgil asked. "Is there bait within?"

"No, it's more like a very small, very powerful vacuum suction device." Jack turned over the Fenton Thermos as he spoke. "Just drags those vile ghosts right inside."

"Does it hurt them?" Richie asked.

"We've never gotten a chance to use it," Mrs Fenton said. "We've been trying to capture a ghost for years, namely Danny Phantom, Ghost Enemy #1."

"What did he do to earn that title?"

"He brings evil, harmful ghosts to Amity Park and fights them! His presence puts us all in danger!" Maddie said. "Honestly, if I could just capture him-"

"Yes, we know the drill, you'll dissect him for science," Danny said. He looked even more on edge than he had in school.

"What would you do if one of the ghosts turned out to be someone you loved?" Virgil asked. "Would you still dissect them, like any other ghost?"

That made them pause. "Of course not, we love them," Mr Fenton said. "We'd never dissect a loved one."

"So, there are limits," Richie noted.

"Of course. We've just never been in the situation where we've had to exercise caution," Mrs Fenton said. "When an innocent person becomes a ghost, we'll come up with a new plan."

"Thank goodness. I was wondering what you would have done to me if I became a ghost," Virgil said.

Maddie and Jack burst out laughing. "You're a riot, Virgil!" Jack laughed. "Trust me, if there was anything not normal about you, we'd have sensed it!"

"Good to know," Virgil said, feeling hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. He turned to look at Richie, who was oblivious to it all. His eyes were gemstones that only sparkled for inventions. Then he turned to look for Danny.

Danny wasn't there. He'd slipped out of sight like a shadow in sunlight.

As silent as a ghost.

Not to be outdone by something as subtly ridiculous as fate, Virgil and Richie endeavoured to catch Danny Fenton become Danny Phantom any way they could. Richie took the first shot of it, taking the Fenton Thermos to Danny's bedroom to 'recap how it worked'.

"Honestly, I can't believe that there are inventions specifically meant for catching ghosts," Richie said, 'absent-mindedly' switching it on. "What's it like having cool inventor parents?"

"Honestly, they're really not that cool," Danny said. "They can be super embarrassing at times, and my dad honestly only wears that orange jumpsuit. Everything else breaks him out in a horrible rash if it touches his skin."

"Really? But I just saw him knitting?"

"He does that recreationally. Apparently, he picked it up when he was-"

"Oh, no!" Richie accidentally set off the Fenton Thermos, and Danny hurriedly shut it off. But Richie could see Danny's flesh turn towards the thermos. "I'm so sorry!"

"You need to be more careful," Danny said. But as Richie left, Danny watched them with a critical eye.

He was going to find out what was up with those boys. Clearly, there was more to them than just exchange students.

He saw Virgil and Richie researching ghosts to 'see if Danny Phantom had a legacy behind him'. It got to a point where Sam and Tucker started noticing it.

"What's up with them?" Tucker asked.

"They're researching ghosts," Danny said. "They've shown a lot of interest in Mom and Dad's ghost-catching stuff, too."

"OK, I never thought I'd say this about another Foley, but they might be evil," Tucker said.

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked. "You can't exactly ship them back."

Danny hummed as he played with his food. "I have a plan, but it might not work. Just promise me that if I need you to beat them up, beat them up."

"Oh, totally." Sam chuckled, cracking her knuckles. "Always time to crack some heads."

"I'll hold one of them down or something," Tucker hesitantly volunteered.

"Thanks," Danny said. "That's all I needed to hear."

"Still, no objections here to kicking a few heads in," Sam said.

Both boys shivered. "Good to know," they whimpered.

Virgil and Richie were walking home from the Nasty Burger when Danny grabbed them. Nobody noticed two teenage boys being snatched off the street in broad daylight by a third teenage boy (again, Amity Park wasn't home to the most observant people) so the two off-duty superheroes were basically helpless as Danny dragged them into a conveniently-placed alleyway.

"OK, out-of-town brats, what's your deal?" he growled.

"This . . . is a lot more hostile than our initial meeting," Virgil said.

"Damn right it is." Sam cracked her knuckles ominously close to Virgil's and Richie's faces. "Now tell us why you're focusing on Danny so much or you'll be sent back to your homes in jars labelled 'nerd mush'!"

"OK, OK, fine!" Virgil said. "It's because we know that you're Danny Phantom and we're trying to figure out how nobody else figured it out!"

"How did you know?" Tucker spluttered. "I-I mean, uh . . . why would you think that?"

"Good going, genius," Sam deadpanned.

"Great, now they know," Danny said. "What do we do with them now?"

"Well, it's kind of obvious," Richie said. "You look just like him with different hair colour and eyes. You didn't even cover your face!"

"That's how you figured it out?" Danny looked at the freshly kidnapped friends with shock and a rising amount of fear. "Wow, that is really easy. I really thought that just changing my hair and going ghost would do it."

"What's . . . going ghost?" Virgil asked.

"It's the process of me going from human to ghost. I am half-ghost, AKA a halfa, after an accident involving me and my parents' ghost portal. I do it at will and until now, it has completely protected my true identity." He glared at Virgil and Richie, who chuckled nervously. "But that's enough about me. How did you two know how to tell if a kid had a secret heroic identity?"

Virgil rubbed his hands together until he had a solid electrical charge going, then zapped the Amity Park teenagers. "Just take our word for it that we've lived that life and the lies that come with it."

"You guys are heroes too? And you're here?" Sam's eyes were bulging out of her head. "What is happening? Is the exchange program even real?"

"Oh, that's real," Richie reassured. "We can't make that up. We brought our stuff with us because we couldn't shake the feeling that we'd need it, somehow. But even with the encounter with Ghost Writer, I still have no idea what we could need it for."

Danny looked at the two teenagers in a new light. They weren't defenceless out-of-town kids or nuisances; they were fellow heroes who could hold their own.

Exactly what Amity Park would need.

"Well," Danny said, looking them up and down, "if you guys are really the heroes you claim to be, then you should come with me on patrol."

Richie and Virgil looked at Danny like he'd handed them a winning lottery ticket. "Seriously?"

Sam looked at Danny like he'd lost his mind. "Seriously?" Sam whisper-yelled. "You don't even know if they can be trusted."

"They showed us their powers and told us voluntarily," Danny pointed out.

"Technically, we kidnapped them and dragged them into a convenient alley," Tucker pointed out.

"And technically, we're still here!" Richie squeaked. "Honestly, what is up with you? Don't you notice us?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Danny chuckled nervously. "Tomorrow night, open the big window in Jazz's room and meet me over Casper High. I'll show you how I handle things."

"Deal," Virgil and Richie chorused. Danny nodded and led his friends out of the alleyway.

"Oh, look, those geeks are coming out of nowhere!" Dash gleefully shrieked, as he led a pack of A-listers through Amity Park. "What are you doing in there, losers? I could use the inspiration."

"Want me to shock them out of it?" Virgil asked.

"Nah, it's my turn," Richie said. He stretched like an athlete warming up before approaching Dash. Beckoning him forwards, he whispered into his ear, before returning to the gang. The A-listers desperately tried to snap Dash out of the petrified state Richie had put him in.

"Dude, what did you say to him?" Danny asked.

"You don't want to know," Richie said. "Let's go before they decide to give us a beating for our troubles. Or call the police."

Dash let out an anguished wail that made Danny's stomach drop. "Yeah, maybe getting out of here would be nice," the halfa agreed.

Chapter Text

Virgil and Richie spent a lot of time making their beds. "You really don't have to do that," Danny said. "Really, Mom and Dad don't check on us too often. You'll be fine."

"Better safe than sorry," Richie said. "And I'm not taking any chances."

"I've already made a looping audio of quiet snoring so they don't freak out about our room being 'too quiet'," Virgil said. "I'm taking cues from Richie about this."

"OK, suit yourselves," Danny said. "But it's really unnecessary."

Danny stayed up while Virgil and Richie took a quick power nap. "They must be new at this," he muttered, going ghost while phasing out of a window.

Virgil and Richie woke up and got ready in relative peace. Gear looked OK, but Static's uniform had an extra piece added to it. A piece of cloth wrapped around the face. "What is that?" Richie asked.

"A scarf . . . with a built-in voice modulator." Virgil flipped it inside-out, showing his friend his handiwork. "Cool, right?"

"Seems unnecessary."

"You were talking about how it was better being safe than sorry. I'm keeping it."

"We are standing in the middle of Amity Park, the most unobservant place in America. You're fine."

"I'm still taking it."

"Suit yourself, V."

The window slid up and the boys left. "This is a better setup than my own room," Gear muttered.

"You could probably launch the Bat-signal out of Jazz's window," Static said, as he tugged Gear out of the window. "You need to lay off the Nasty Burger, dude."

"Very funny."

Static and Gear took in the view from above as they surveyed Amity Park. "All of these buildings are totally haunted," Gear said.

"Be nice," Static chided.

"Gotham is less creepy than this."

"Gear, stop that."

"Reckon there's a ghost haunting Casper High? With all the bullying we've seen, it would make complete sense. Maybe it's a nerdy ghost who haunts the locker they got stuffed in too many times."

"Oh, that's ridiculous!"

"What's ridiculous?" Danny Phantom asked. Static and Gear screamed with terror.

"Where did you come from?" Static yelled.

"I've been waiting for you guys, of course. Don't tell me that girly scream was yours, Richie," Danny taunted. Gear's mask flushed slightly pink under the green mask, not that you could tell.

"No," he croaked. Static sniggered.

"Oh, I hope villains don't hear that scream. Wouldn't want them finding out your identity," the half-ghost taunted.

"Both of you suck," Gear pouted. Static and Danny Phantom laughed.

"Sorry, wouldn't have clocked that such a girly scream would have come from a non-girly source," Danny cackled. "Anyway, let's roll. Try to keep up."

"We won't need to try," Static said, matching Danny for pace. Gear sped ahead of both of them, pulling faces at the pair.

"Rocket shoes beat ghost powers and static saucer! Hahaha!" Gear taunted the pair, backflipping over them with ease. "So, where are we going?"

"I had a quick aerial tour planned first, and then we'll be looping back to the most action-filled spots we've got," Danny said. "Civilian crime has lowered pretty significantly thanks to the ghosts. Nobody wants to get possessed while pickpocketing."

"Makes sense . . . in a weird way," Static said. "Are there also regular ghosts, by the way?"

"Well, there is Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, and then there's," Danny listed. "Box Ghost is harmless, but very persistent."

Static shoved a hand over his mouth. "Box Ghost? There is a ghost of boxes?"

"Yes, he haunts pretty much any box he can get his hands on." Danny rolled his eyes as he talked. "May or may not have a copyright on yelling the word 'BEWARE!' You'll recognise him soon enough."

"OK," Gear said. "But even after meeting Ghost Writer, I can't help but think that some really big villain is going to be arriving, soon. It's just . . . a weird itch, I guess."

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Danny blurted out. "You had a gut feeling that you'd need your super-stuff for this. Nobody is that good at premonitions! Heck, even Clockwork isn't that good!"

"What clockwork?" Static asked.

"Do not mock my abilities, Danny Phantom," a voice boomed. "Especially in front of others."

"W-what was that?" Static stammered.

"Clockwork," Danny answered.

"Clockwork's a person?"

"A ghost, but yes," Danny said, as Clockwork beckoned them downwards. "More specifically, a time-themed ghost."

"Cool. So, does he haunt clocks or something?" Static crossed his arms, unimpressed. "You know, since Box Ghost haunts boxes."

"Very funny, Virgil," Clockwork boomed. "We can discuss ghostly themes later. Right now, I need you, Danny, and your friend Richie to come with me."

The portal screamed into life, green and gaping. Danny led them towards a giant clock tower that Clockwork clearly used as his base.

"OK, I got some serious questions. How do you know our names? Where are we?" Gear asked.

"You're in the Ghost Zone, Gear. My particular corner." Clockwork's voice purred with a self-assuredness that only comes with knowing all the answers. "Here, we are exempt from the passage of time. I have brought you three here because your biggest foes are soon to join forces."

"What biggest foes?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, which ones? We have a couple," Static said. "Ebon's our best bet, along with generally the Meta-Breed, but Hotstreak is nothing to sniff at."

"You have more than one big-deal enemy?" Danny spluttered. "And I've been dealing with wannabe villains-of-the-week ghosts this whole time! What is a Meta-Breed and who is Ebon?"

"Ebon is a Bang Baby that can control shadows. The Meta-Breed is a group of other Bang Babies that hang with Ebon and commit crimes to get by," Gear explained.

"That's good to know, but what the heck is a Bang Baby?"

"The police released chemicals into a gang fight to break it up, but it gave a whole bunch of people powers as a result. I was there and my clothes has residue of the chemicals when I came into contact with Richie, which explains where he gets his brains from."

Clockwork surveyed the two with interest. "Like our friend Danny, you did not choose to be heroes," Clockwork said. "Nevertheless, you are heroes, and you are needed. You will meet one of the villains here first, before they decide to form a twisted coalition."

"Hey, Clockwork. Since you see everything that has happened and everything that could potentially happen, you mind giving names?" Danny snapped.

"Static's nemeses, Hotstreak and Ebon, are soon to join forces with Vlad Masters." Clockwork looked annoyed and relieved at the same time as he explained the situation. "Only you will be able to stop them, and you have to stop them here."

"Why here? Do they know that I'm here?" Static started to pace up and down the corridor he was standing on. "Did Ebon deduce my secret identity? Did Hotstreak? What's going to happen to my family?"

"This can be averted, so long as you play your cards correctly while Vlad Masters is here," Clockwork said. "I cannot tell you anything more, I'm afraid. The number of timelines that splinter off from that event are nearly infinite and would drive you insane if you knew fully. I did all I could while standing at this point in time."

"Understood. Thank you, Clockwork," Danny said. "Honestly, I don't know who Vlad Masters is, but he clearly means business. Could we please leave now? We should be out of the Ghost Zone if we plan on doing anything about this."

"Of course." Clockwork opened a portal for them to go through. "Play your hands wildly. Small moves can make large impacts."

"I'll keep that in mind," Static said. "Thank you for all your help, Clockwork."

"Of course, boys," Clockwork said. His voice vibrated with something benevolent and yet simultaneously smug. Then again, if you could see the past, the present, and the future, you'd probably be rather smug too.

The boys left feeling self-assured and yet twisted with guilt. They could save so many people . . . but how?

"Well, we're going to get what we thought would happen," Richie said. "Big villain fight and all. Now if only we knew what to do."

"We can only cross that bridge when we get to it," Virgil said. "Vlad Masters has no idea who we are and we won't tell him. If he implies something, act confused. If he mentions Bang Babies, don't give too many details and talk more about the villains. We've got this."

"OK. We've got this." Richie's voice settled down. "We've got this."

Over in Manhattan, Vlad Masters plotted his long-overdue revenge on Jack Fenton for stealing the woman of his dreams. "That oaf really thinks he can have my Maddie forever just because he married her and their vows say 'till death do us part'? Well, he's wrong. Very, very wrong. I'll win her over to me soon enough."

Chapter Text

"Kids, kids, wake up!" Jack burst into Virgil and Richie's room like an overexcited Great Dane. "Someone incredible will be coming here! Someone incredible, a billionaire, and my best friend!"

"That's three people, Dad," Danny said.

"No, no, just one! Vlad Masters, my friend from college!" Jack said. "Oh, it's just been so long! He must have gotten over the ecto-acne!"

"Ecto-acne?" Virgil and Richie stammered.

"A horrible accident happened when we were in college with a ghost portal. His hair turned white, his face exploded in ecto-acne, and his social life basically keeled over dead. If he's coming here, then he must have forgiven me! All water under the bridge! Oh, I'm so happy!" Jack bounded around the house with glee, while Virgil, Richie, and Danny looked at each other skeptically.

"Call me a pessimist if you want, but I doubt that Vlad Masters has actually gotten over it," Richie said.

"I'll be pessimistic right along with you," Virgil said. "This has bad news all over it."

They sat down to eat waffles, while Jack and Maddie talked to each other about Vlad as if they weren't there. "Oh, I wonder how Vlad's been doing since college. Maybe he's got his eye on a pretty lady!"

"I wonder if he ever got over that college crush he had on that 'unnamed person'," Jack said, stacking waffles into a latticed, buttery tower.

"Oh, I know." Maddie searched for raspberry jam as he talked. "Honestly, he has good taste, but awful timing. We were already dating when that little infatuation blossommed."

"Mrs Fenton, are you saying that Vlad Masters had a crush on you?" Virgil asked. Richie snickered into his breakfast.

Maddie laughed. "Close, but no. Vlad Masters had a crush on Jack here."

The three boys choked. "It's flattering that someone could see me like that, but I saw him as a friend," Jack said, nonchalantly. "Nevertheless, I hope he stops over. I want him to finally be the uncle our sweet boy has never had before."

"Honestly, I'm good," Danny said. "Don't sweat over it."

"Oh, you are so sweet," Maddie gushed, as she and Jack helped make more waffles.

"So much villain origin stuff right here," Richie said. "This guy has 'supervillain' written all over him."

"I think the real villain origin is naming the guy Vlad," Virgil said.

"Yeah, my parents both rolled 1 for perception and 20 for trust," Danny groaned.

"I never thought a D'n'D reference would be so fitting here, but it is," Richie said.

"Anyway, you might see him at school, so make sure to say hi and ask him to stay over with his old college buddies, Jack and Maddie!" Maddie said.

"We'll do that if he comes over to us," Virgil said.

"That's a good lad. Have fun there!" Jack said, as the boys went to get their stuff for school.

Danny monologued on the way to school. "So, Vlad Masters, billionaire with a grudge, is going to be coming to Amity Park and probably Casper High. And if he's going to go to Casper High, he's probably going to be talking to us. Great."

Richie's eyebrow twitched in skeptical confusion. "That's pretty unlikely. We don't stick out too much."

"You kind of do. You're the exchange students," Danny pointed out. "This is a small town. There are people that still stare when you walk past because you're a pair of new faces."

"Oh, shoot," Richie murmured.

"We can only stay calm and try not to freak out. It's our only hope," Danny said.

The blond shrugged. "It conceals our alter egos, at least," Richie muttered.

"Be a pair of clueless exchange students." Virgil's breath left his mouth in a loud huff. "Sounds like a plan."

The students of Casper High were treated to the sight of Mr. Vlad Masters patrolling the corridors with an incredibly anxious Mr Lancer. "The brown-nosing is strong with this one," Virgil muttered in a Darth Vader voice.

"I sense your lack of backbone disturbing," Richie mimicked back.

Just then, Mr Lancer noticed them and steered Vlad towards them. "Mr Masters, you might want to meet these bright students here from Dakota," he said, sounding nearly breathless.

Vlad looked confused. "North or South?"

"Dakota, Illinois," Virgil answered.

Vlad let out an uncomfortable hiss. "Oh, I've been hearing about that place. Horrible what happened to it. All those supervillains appearing out of nowhere."

"Yeah, it's terrible. It used to just be gangs, now it's gangs of people with powers." Virgil made sure to look at floor as he talked. "One minute, you're eating. Next minute, you're being robbed or set on fire or both."

"Oh, you poor boys!" Vlad gasped. "How could this even happen?"

"The government sprayed a bunch of gang members with a type of chemical to break up a fight," Richie said. "That's what I heard, anyway."

"Oh, how awful," Vlad said. "I wish you nothing but the best while you're here escaping your home environment."

"It's really not so bad," Richie said. "We have heroes, too. One of them's named Static, and he flies around fighting crime . . ."

As Richie entertained the class with the urban legends of Static, Gear, She-Bang, and Rubberband Man, Vlad blended into the walls and decided to think.

These people gained powers after exposure from a toxic gas? That was something he would have to get a hold of.

After that little encounter, Virgil and Richie relaxed and ate lunch. "I think that crisis has been averted, folks," Richie said. Virgil, Danny, Tucker, and Sam punched him in the shoulder, in that order. "OW! What the heck was that for?"

"Jinxing it," Tucker said. "According to the rules of luck, whenever you say something bad won't happen, it'll happen."

"That's a little immature, don't you think?"

The four teenagers pretended to think about it for all of four seconds. "Nah," they chorused, going right back to messing with Richie.

"I had to ask," Richie groaned.

Just as Jack predicted, Vlad swung by the Fenton house for a little check-in. "Oh, Vincent and Robert. Fancy seeing you here," he said.

"The Fentons are our host family," Virgil said. "And it's Virgil, by the way."

"And I'm Richie, but who cares about that?" Richie muttered darkly into his burgers.

"So, Vlad, it's so good to see you," Jack said, nearly crushing Vlad in a hug. The three boys noted with amusement that Vlad sank into Jack like one sinks into a memory foam mattress.

"Vlad, you came!" Maddie said, taking Vlad away from her husband so she could hug him. "Oh, we've been wondering and worrying about you! Life at the top must be so lonely; you should visit more often!"

"I certainly should," Vlad said, staring at Maddie in a way that could only be described as lustful.

"So, uh, Vlad, what did you think of my parents in college?" Danny asked. "Anything that drew you to them?"

"Well, I met your mother first, to be fair," Vlad said, trying to remain calm in front of three teenagers, his worst enemy, and the love of his life. "And I just had to stay where she was."

"And what did you think of me? After all, we were best friends!" Jack said.

"Were," Vlad snarled. "I never got over that ecto-acne you inflicted onto me, by the by."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that!" Jack said. "Some wounds just never heal. I never forgave myself for ignoring the giant crush you had on me. I should have let you down gently at the time."

Vlad's pale face turned a light shade of pink. Virgil choked on his drink. Richie fell off his chair. Danny tried to keep from laughing. Maddie was oblivious to pretty much everything going on around her.

"I-you-we . . ." Vlad looked horrified at the very thought. "NO, YOU IDIOT!"

"There, there, it's OK," Jack said. "I'm honestly flattered. I'm a highly attractive man. Maddie always said so!"

"ARGH!" Vlad screamed. "I HAVE TO GO! YOU HAVE ENRAGED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, JACK FENTON!"

He got up and stormed out of the Fenton house, puce with humiliation. Danny, Virgil, and Richie watched on with rising horror.

"Well, that did it," Richie said.

Danny groaned. "Yeah, it certainly did."

Chapter Text

Something had to take the edge off of the humiliation that Vlad Masters had endured at the Fenton household. How could that moronic jumpsuit-clad oaf Jack honestly think that Vlad was in love with him? And how could Maddie believe that? How could Maddie believe that he could ever love anyone that wasn't her? Jack had set him up to fail years ago, and he had no idea until now. Assuming that Jack Fenton had done this on purpose, he was somewhat smarter than he'd given him credit for.

But Vlad Masters was still better.

He chartered a course to Dakota, Illinois the moment that he had gotten a hold of his pilot. If random thugs could get powers from a vapour, why couldn't he? Not that this would be easy; he'd need to recreate the vapour and gather allies. Best case would be a person or group that wasn't too smart and could easily be bought.

Somebody like the gangs Virgil and Richie mentioned.

Obtaining the formula for the Bang Baby gas was easy. Well, easy for a billionaire with connections. A few empty promises about using a more refined version of the gas to give police officers and soldiers superpowers so they could better assist in fighting gang members, and they were practically begging to hand it over to him.

"We trust that you'll do righteous things with it, Mr Masters," a grovelling government official said.

Righteous things, indeed.

He spent ages perfecting the formula, before eventually deciding to turn it into an injectable liquid. He was soon to have ghost powers and superpowers. Maddie wouldn't be able to resist him. And Jack Fenton, stupid oafish Jack Fenton that stole his Maddie's heart, would be weeping bitter tears. Assuming that Jack was even alive by the time Vlad was done with him.

Vlad winced as the purple liquid made itself at home underneath his skin. It was burning him, almost. But no matter. He would be invincible soon enough. What powers would he get? Hopefully something that wasn't already covered by his ghost powers, like mind-reading. But it would just have to be a wait-and-see sort of thing.

In order to get a hold of the villain known as Ebon, Vlad did what no rich person should ever do: go somewhere shady in the middle of the night, make yourself into a sitting duck and prepare to inevitably be robbed.

They saw him from a mile away, and he saw them, too. A purple-haired man cornered him, eyes shining with opportunity. "Hey, old man. Nice watch," he said. "Looks awful heavy, though. Mind if I take it off your hands?"

"I think I can handle the weight, thank you very much," Vlad said, throwing him to the other side of the street.

More came to avenge their fallen friend, a girl covered in feathers and a boy with an alarmingly elongated snout. "What are you playing at, old man?" the girl screamed.

Vlad took them all out with ease. "You've misread things, dear girl. I'm not playing at all!"

The shadows approached Vlad menacingly, peeling themselves off the wall and taking the shape of a man. "You'd better have a good explanation for taking out my crew."

"I assure you, Ebon, I do," Vlad said.

Ebon, for once, was taken aback. "How do you know my name?"

"I have my sources and my ways. The point is, I have an offer for you and your crew." Vlad opened his suitcase, the many eyes of Benjamin Franklin staring back. "We both have enemies, I have learned. You have Static, and I have Danny Phantom to deal with. You help me, and I help you."

Ebon poked the suitcase, barely daring to dream that it was real. "How much is this?" he eventually asked.

"A cool million. But if you help me with this, and it's successful, you can have ten million each."

Ebon grinned. "You've got yourself a deal. Now, what exactly do we need to do for you?"

Chapter Text

Vlad awoke the next day feeling like his mouth was full of sharp rocks. More accurately, it reminded him of the time he got his wisdom teeth removed and he had gauze in his mouth that made it feel uncomfortably full. Getting out of bed (without the usual groans and creaks of pain that came with such an activity) he went to the mirror and opened wide. He shut his mouth with shock when he saw what the problem was.

He had fangs.

He.

Had.

Fangs.

As in, actual vampire fangs. Sharp, long, and hanging down like stalactites and stalagmites in a cave. His eyes looked different too. Were his pupils . . . ovals?

"It's working. It's WORKING!" Vlad cheered. Giddily, he twirled towards the window and let shaky hands throw the curtains open. "Hello, new - AAAAH!"

Sunlight seared him. He could see his skin peel off him, red spots that wept blood opening up where the sunlight hit. He shut the curtains and retreated into the dark spots of his home.

"OK, new strengths and weaknesses. Strengths: none so far, unless you count the fangs. Weaknesses: I look like a vampire and I can't be in the sun in case I burn to death. There had better be an upside to this."

This was a bad idea. Vlad saw that now. Going ghost gave him so many more powers than being metahuman. Intangibility, invisibility, flight, possessing people, super-strength, durability, healing, stamina, endurance, agility, reflexes, spectral body manipulation, duplication, teleportation, not to mention everything he could do with ecto-energy. He'd made himself into a freak for no payoff.

He closed the curtains and blocked off all the windows. If sunlight burned his skin, he couldn't risk getting it on him. He ordered clothing with long, thick sleeves, SPF 100 sun protection, and dark sunglasses so nobody saw his newly inhuman eyes. He was just like a vampire, which wasn't going to help his reputation as 'approachable billionaire philanthropist'.

"What do I do? Bang Babies are only found in Dakota, not Amity Park!" he moaned, flopping onto the $10,000 sofa he'd bought on a whim. That pathetic, impulsive act meant he sat on the remote, which turned on the TV.

"And our resident ghost boy Danny Phantom has just foiled a robbery, along with two visiting heroes called Static and Gear," an Amity Park newscaster announced. "It seems like there are good teen heroes after all."

Vlad threw the remote through the TV, smashing it beyond repair. "Flaunting it in my face, the little twerps," he growled. "I wish there was something that could knock you off your perch."

The TV died, reflecting his monstrous appearance. He had claws, now, shockingly enough, thick and growing into points. The liquidised Bang Baby gas was turning him into a monster.

The perfect monster for a couple of inexperienced, overconfident teen wannabe heroes to fight.

Chapter Text

Now Vlad could only comfortably go out at night, he decided to have some fun with it. He wouldn't need the Meta-Breed for this part, just the darkness of night and some really gullible townsfolk.

And he could easily find both of those things in Amity Park.

He set his sights on a vapid young couple making out in a park. "Those two will be good for building up the lore of the Amity Park vampire," he thought to himself. Sneaking up on the oblivious couple, he let out a roar as he ripped the bench they were sitting on from the ground and lifted it into the air.

"You two will make a very good meal!" Vlad laughed.

"VAMPIRE!" the girl screamed, carrying her boyfriend and racing off.

Vlad half-heartedly chased after them before giving up and laughing. A few more of this, and the legend of the Amity Park vampire would be solidified.

Sure enough, the Amity Park vampire was all anyone would or could talk about after a few days. "Ha! Amity Park has a freaking vampire on the loose! I knew our town was coolers than yours, exchange student geeks!" Dash bragged. "What do you have to day to that, huh?"

"Just because your town is known for being freaky, doesn't mean you have to celebrate when you have a vampire preying on the population," Richie said. "Also, we thought you guys were used to this stuff. We didn't think this would bother you."

"This is a new thing for us! Normally, the only thing in dark, gross clothes around here is Sam," Paulina chimed in, and the popular clique laughed. Virgil waved a few fingers under the table, and the table of food drifted away. "Hey! Get back here with my diet smoothie!" Paulina wailed. No dice, as the table led them on a wild goose chase around the cafeteria. They crashed into other students eating, not caring about the chaos they caused.

"Hey!"

"Watch it!"

"Oh, come on! I was eating that!"

The jig stopped when the table crashed into Mr Lancer's gut, sending a tidal wave of food crashing over him. "Baxter, Sanchez, Kwan!" Mr Lancer yelled. Everyone froze.

"Sorry, sir. Ghosts hassling us again," Dash said. "You know how it is, right?"

"I do know how it is. I happen to live and work here. However, I do not care, and I am especially unhappy with how you are making us look in front of the exchange students," Mr Lancer said. "Principal's office. NOW."

The A-listers trudged away, much to the teens' glee. "That should keep them busy for a few minutes," Virgil said. "So, any of you guys feel like being irresponsible kids and trapping a vampire?"

"I'm in," Tucker said. "I've got nowhere to be and nothing better to do."

"Same here," Sam said. "And it's about time these out-of-town kids saw how Danny Phantom handled things."

"I'll take that action," Virgil said. "Let's go catch the Amity Park vampire."

Chapter Text

"Richie, you did it!" Maddie Fenton gasped as she looked at the king-sized Fenton Thermos he'd created. "You made a larger Fenton Thermos out of scraps!"

"I don't think this can be called a Fenton Thermos. This is a Fenton Barrel," Virgil said.

"This is the Foley Barrel, Virgil," Jack said. "We would never take the credit for Richie's invention."

"Honestly, you deserve some credit. I made this using the Fenton Thermos as a guide," Richie said. "This net gun, however, I made on my own."

"Oh, you are so sweet." Maddie ruffled Richie's hair. "Would you mind if I became your adoptive mother?"

"My mother might. I'm an only child," Richie admitted.

"Oh. Well, it was worth a shot. Danny did mention wanting a brother when he was younger and this seemed like a good opportunity," Maddie offhandedly mentioned. Danny turned firetruck red.

"You can't just keep an exchange student here based off something I said when I was five!" Danny spluttered. Virgil and Richie burst out laughing.

"Yeah, his mother would freak out," Virgil helpfully told them. "And go on a crusade for her sweet baby boy."

"Virgil!" Richie hissed.

"I can see it now. She'd be on the news with it. There'd be a picture of him now and then a separate picture next to that one of him as a baby to drum up sympathy for the cause," Danny added.

"You both suck," Richie hissed.

As the boys laughed, a crash was heard from the back of the house. A vampire crashed into the room, setting his sights on Maddie.

"MINE!" he roared, Maddie in his sights. Jack bull-rushed over to the vampire, knocking him down.

"Nobody touches my Maddie!" Jack screamed, grabbing a chair and hitting the vampire over the head with it.

"MY MADDIE!" the vampire screamed. As Jack and the vampire engaged in a fight to the death, Maddie took the boys and ran off out of the house.

"That freakish vampire is beating my husband. You two get help while I get a good gun. Danny, I love you, and I need you to keep Virgil and Richie safe."

"On it," Danny said, taking Virgil and Richie into an alleyway to 'lay low'.

"Damn, your town is weird. And this is coming from someone who has a guy on fire robbing people," Richie said.

"Don't want to hear it. I'll go ghost and get your gear, and we'll handle Count Ripoff from there." Rings surrounded Danny, taking him from meek Danny Fenton to kickass Danny Phantom. "Back in a sec."

"Wait! Get the net gun, too," Richie added. "We'll need it."

"You can get that yourself," Virgil said.

"Fine," Richie huffed.

When Danny Phantom, Static, and Gear arrived at the Fenton household, it looked like it had been ripped apart. Furniture was smashed into splinters, and the TV needed a funeral. Jack was tiring fast, while the vampire looked like it was about to bite a chunk out of him.

"Get away from my husband!" Maddie screamed, as she smashed a bat into the vampire's head. The vampire dropped Jack and roared, pouncing on her. A bolt of electricity from Static left him twitching on the floor.

"Now, um . . . Mrs Fenton, let's get you and your husband out of here," Gear said.

"BRATS!" the vampire screamed, dragging himself up onto his feet.

"Great. He's healed himself."

"What do we do?" Static asked.

"We give him a target!" Gear produced a megaphone and yelled into it. "Hey, Nosferatu! Come get a drink of blood to go!"

The vampire screeched and lunged for Richie, who ran for his life for all of five seconds before letting his rocket skates come into play. Static gulped.

"Gear's put his life on the line for us. Let's make it count." Danny grabbed the net gun and ran out of the house, Static in tow on his static saucer.

"Are we going to have to unmask the vampire afterwards?" Static asked.

Danny Phantom scoffed. "No, of course not. We're not detectives and we don't even get paid for this."

"Are Sam and Tucker going to actually help us?"

"Oh, yeah. They should be saving Gear's bacon any . . . second . . . now."

A car slammed in front of the vampire, letting Gear escape while the vampire ran right into the side of the van and laid on the ground. Sam, still at the wheel, shrugged. "Is anybody going to punish me for almost running over a vampire?" she asked.

"Nah," everyone chorused.

Virgil cocked the gun and aimed at the vampire. "So, Count Von Count, who are you?"

This roused the vampire off of the ground. "I am the person who should have won Maddie's heart," he growled. "I am the man she should have fallen for, not that oaf Jack that ruined my life. I am VLAD. MASTERS!"

"Totally called it," Danny whispered to Static.

"And YOU are the super-powered little brats that are rubbing your heroic acts in my face!" Vlad screamed. "I'm going to get you, you brats!"

"Shut your mouth before I throw this garlic in your face!" Tucker ordered.

"I'm not going to collapse because of garlic," Vlad scoffed. "I'm not a vampire."

"Then why do you have fangs?" Sam asked.

"I used a liquidised version of Dakota's Bang Baby gas and mutated myself," Vlad admitted.

"And why are you creeping around at night?" Static demanded to know.

"Sunlight burns me now. It's turned me into a monster."

"Honestly, I think you always were a monster," Danny said. "Only difference between then and now is that now, you look like one."

Vlad gritted his newly sharp teeth. Clearly, he did need the Meta-Breed for this. "I will get my revenge on you little brats," Vlad hissed. "It shall be both great and terrible."

"Save it for another time," Static snarked, electrocuting him a second time. "Gear, help secure the wannabe vampire. Tucker, call the cops."

"On it," both Foleys said.

Ebon rolled his eyes at the sight of their 'benefactor', Vlad Masters, getting locked up being splashed over a newspaper. It was on the front page, seeing as how he was the richest man alive. "Exactly as I thought. If you want something done right, you do it yourself." He threw the newspaper over his shoulder, hitting Shiv over the head.

"Whoa, who turned the lights out?" Shiv asked, groping around for the light switch.

"Nobody did, you idiot." Ebon rolled his eyes at the stupidity of his henchman. "Grab your others and pack your stuff. We're going on a bit of a surprise road trip."

"Where to, boss?"

"Amity Park. Wherever the hell that is."

Chapter Text

When Ebon took the Meta-Breed to Amity Park, he had a plan. The plan was as follows:

• Go to Amity Park

• Break Vlad Masters out of jail

• Take over Amity Park, and then the world

• Destroy anyone in their way

They weren't exactly sure about how they were going to do any of that, but taking over the world had to start somewhere, and Amity Park was as good a place as any to conquer.

"Did you know that Amity Park is apparently the most haunted place in the world?" Shiv said, reading a brochure he had picked up from somewhere.

"I don't care if it's haunted. It's going to be mine," Ebon said. "Vlad Masters may not be useful for much besides financing our needs, but we still need him. And that is why we'll be breaking him out of wherever they are keeping him."

"I kind of figured he'd bail himself out. You know, seeing as how he's the richest man in the world," Kangorr said.

"He's being held without bail."

"Ah," Shiv and Kangorr said.

"And Shiv, forget about the stupid ghosts. What are they going to do, unite and beat us up?"

The three villains laughed as they advanced to Amity Park.

Meanwhile, Danny was preparing Sam, Tucker, Virgil, and Richie for the inevitable team-up. "Clockwork told us that Ebon and Vlad would be teaming up, but that doesn't mean that we can't prepare for it," Danny said. "Richie, what sort of gadgets can Sam and Tucker use?"

"The Foley Barrel, the Zap Caps Mark 2, some new glue grenades, extension cords, and these giant flashlights," Richie said.

"What do we need flashlights for?" Tucker asked.

"Ebon hates lights. It weakens him," Virgil explained.

"I have some fairy lights I got from my parents in an attempt to un-goth me. We can make this place light up like a Christmas tree in no time," Sam said.

"Good." Virgil looked around. "How many entrances and exits does this town have?"

"Two," Danny said.

"If we split up and take those two exits, we can stop this before it even starts." Richie grabbed a box of gadgets and lights. "We've got a pretty good chance of winning this fight."

As the teenagers celebrated and made plans to defend a town too small to show up on a map, nobody noticed a slight rattling sound coming from the box.

Chapter Text

Ebon rolled into Amity Park feeling confident. Amity Park was a nothing place. Something like him would be the only thing that would put it on the map. "Where are we supposed to start?" Kangorr asked.

"Search for the person named Danny Phantom. Until then, we'll get our bearings," Ebon said. "Kangorr, get a look around this place."

The goon nodded, stomping off and away from his boss. That was his first mistake.

First of all, the stomping alerted Sam, Tucker, and Virgil to his presence. "What's making that noise?" Sam asked, looking around from their hiding spot.

"That's Kangorr, one of Ebon's goons." Virgil, now wearing his Static uniform, grimaced at the sight of the villainous Bang Baby. "Causes seismis waves using those big feet of his."

"Tell us when to set the trap," Tucker hissed, as Kangorr stomped closer.

"Who left this dumb box here?" he spluttered. "Does nobody pick up after themselves around here?"

The irony of a criminal who trashed places for fun complaining about a trashed box would have been laughable. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to laugh. Not Sam Manson, not Tucker Foley, not Static, and certainly not Box Ghost.

Box Ghost was a ghost that was used to getting next to no respect. The other ghosts thought he was lame, Danny Phantom thought that he was a non-event, and the human occupants of Amity Park didn't think he was scary in the slightest. Honestly, if it wasn't for his love, Lunch Lady, and his little girl, Box Lunch, he'd have given up haunting altogether.

This, however, put some energy back into him. This guy was from out of town, and he'd started by crushing a box underneath his giant foot. Now, that just wouldn't fly. Nobody disrespected Box Ghost on his own turf!

Kangorr, thanks to the effect that the Bang Baby gas had on him, was someone who got used to having a literal stomping area. He was loud, he broke stuff, he took what he wanted, and he liked it. But when that cardboard box wrapped itself around him, covering his mouth so he couldn't yell for help, he went down quietly. He rolled around on the floor in a cardboard cocoon, as if an ugly butterfly was due to emerge from it at any moment.

"What happened?" Sam asked.

"It's me, Box Ghost!" Box Ghost puffed out his chest with pride. "I saved us!"

"Wait, you can do that?" Static's jaw dropped. "Also, who exactly are you? I'm new here."

"I am the Box Ghost, with an ethereal hold over all boxes and containers." Box Ghost took on his typical haunting pose. "Beware! BEWARE!"

"Dude, we've got more important things to worry about being scared by you," Tucker groaned. "So, you're telling me that you can telepathically control boxes and use them as weapons against people?"

"Yes!" Box Ghost crowed. "I have also taken over control of all your boxes and the weapons you have kept within them!"

"Really?" Static mused. "Hey, Box Ghost, would you like to be part of a coalition with me, them, my buddy Gear, and Danny Phantom?"

"What?" Box Ghost asked.

"What?" Sam and Tucker exclaimed.

"We're kind of short on numbers. And Box Ghost could help us against the supervillains that have just travelled to Amity Park," Static explained.

"How do we know he won't turn on us?"

"I won't turn on you guys, I promise!" Box Ghost looked at the three teenagers with pleading eyes. "I just want to haunt people that will actually be scared of me! And they're out-of-town jerks! They're mine!"

Sam and Tucker looked at Box Ghost, then each other. "You know what, fine." Sam threw up her hands in exasperation. "But someone's going to have to tell Gear and Danny Phantom so they don't try and fight you."

"I can deal with that," Box Ghost said. "I can also deal with that stuff you're keeping in all those boxes. It feels like weaponry. It's fuelling me."

"Is that how you came here? Your bond with boxes and what's inside them is how you found us?" Static asked.

"Yep! Pretty cool, huh?" Box Ghost looked so proud of himself.

Static grinned. "Very cool."

"I'm going to die of stress and haunt that idiot if this plan fails," Sam said.

"I'll haunt him with you," Tucker said.

Meanwhile, Richie (as Gear) and Danny were watching from the strong boughs of a tree as Shiv caused aimless damage. "He looks like a video game character that ran into a wall," Danny said.

"I know," Richie said.

"What do we do?"

"Let me handle it. One Zap Cap, coming up." Gear reached into his pocket, pulled out a Zap Cap, and threw it in Shiv's direction.

It missed him.

"What the heck was that?" Danny snapped.

Gear chuckled nervously. "Uh . . . did I mention I didn't make the baseball team?"

"What the heck was that?" Shiv looked up and spotted the teen vigilantes. "You two, in the tree! What the hell are you doing?"

"Uh . . . birdwatching?" Gear said.

"Bullcrap! I know who you are, Gear! Get over here!" Shiv's blades swiped at the tree, and the boys bailed.

"Well, this is going horribly wrong," Gear said. "Any bright ideas, Danny?"

"Uhh . . . yeah!" Danny turned invisible and possessed Shiv. The small-time crook froze before suddenly, and without warning, he began punching himself in the head. It took almost ten tries before he passed out on the floor, groaning.

"That was fast," Gear noted. "And unexpected."

"I know," Danny said. "But enough about that. Let's get back to the others."

The teens met up in front of Casper High, along with Box Ghost. "Why is he here?" Danny Phantom asked.

"He's helping us. He took down one of Ebon's guys for us," Static said.

Danny gestured to Box Ghost with exasperation. "And you think it's wise to trust a ghost?"

"We trust you," Static said.

"Fair point," Sam acknowledged.

"We need to find Ebon and Vlad. They're the masterminds and they're planning something big," Gear said. "Vlad's being held without bail. We need to get over to the jail and stop Ebon from getting to his new best friend."

"Sam, go with me. My Static Saucer has just enough room for two," Static offered. "Gear, take Tucker. Danny Phantom, Box Ghost, lead the way. We have no time to waste."

"On it," Danny said, flying off. The world's most toxic partnership was about to happen right in Amity Park, and the only thing preventing it was five teenagers (three of which were superheroes) and one ghost.

Great.