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#Small note I hope you’re having a good day Ecto
vgl-official · 1 year
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Two strange doodles for a strange lad.
@ecto-hazard
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sunnys567 · 11 months
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Friends in Strange Places Ch. 4 Pt 1
What if Vlad was good instead of evil? Link to chapter 1:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/39040329/chapters/97656390
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"...And these ghost candies have been in your pocket for how long?" Sam asked.
"Well, I got them in Colorado..."
"So, for about two weeks." Tucker raised an eyebrow. Him and Sam were looking at the green candies in Danny's hand like they were dead bugs.
"They seem fine to me." Danny shrugged. He decided Sam and Tucker didn't need to know that they'd probably been through the wash at least twice.
"Danny they're glowing."
"And you got them from a ghost, dude."
"Her name was Bernie, and she was very nice. C'mon, aren't you guys at least a little curious?"
"This seems like a bad idea," Tucker said, taking a candy "But I'll admit I am."
"Welp, we might as well all die together." Sam shrugged, taking a candy herself.
The three of them unwrapped the candies and popped them into their mouth.
Sam and Tucker immediately began spluttering and spit their candies out.
"That was the worst thing I've ever tasted!" Sam said.
"Agreed." Tucker nodded. "And the bar for stuff I'll eat is real low."
"How was it bitter and sour at the same time?"
"Maybe you guys are tasting the ectoplasm." Danny said. "I guess they are ghost candies."
"Danny, how are you eating that?" Sam gaped.
"Dude, those things taste like they hate you."
"It tastes kinda sweet." Danny shrugged. "It's not really a specific flavour, but it tastes like something I can't really describe. Kind of reminds me of Amity Park Park on a sunny day?"
"Ectoplasm tastes sweet to you?" Tucker asked, his face a mix of intrigue and disgust.
"Huh? Oh no, I think I just started noticing the taste of ectoplasm less when I became half-ghost."
"Danny." Sam put her hands together. "Why do you know what ectoplasm tastes like before and after the accident."
"I get blasted in the face with ecto-based attacks on a regular basis. Some of it ends up in my mouth." Danny raised his hands defensively.
"And before?" Tucker asked.
"Sometimes you're seven, and you dare your sister to eat some, but she'll only do it if you do too. Or you're three, and it a bright colour, and three-year-olds like putting bright colours in their mouth, or..." Danny trailed off when he noticed Tucker and Sam's horrified expressions. "Look, I was raised by two ghost hunters. It happens."
"How are you not dead?" Sam asked.
"I probably should be dead for, like, twenty different reasons, but eating ectoplasm isn't one of them. It's not poisonous, turns out."
"On that note," Tucker stood up "I have to go home and eat literally anything that isn't ectoplasm."
"What time is it?" Sam checked her watch. "5:47? Already? Jeez, it's almost my supper time too."
"Aw, why do you guys eat so early?" Danny winded as he followed them out of his room and down the stairs.
"Danny, most people have supper before 8:00. You're the weirdo here." Tucker said.
"Okay, first off, we eat before 8:00-"
"7:30's not much better dude."
"And second, I'm not weird!"
"Danny," Sam said, opening the door "You eat ectoplasm."
"You're misconstruing what I said! I do not eat-"
The door shut before Danny could finish his sentence. Danny grumbled to himself before sitting down on the living room couch.
Danny rolled the candy around with his tongue. He still hadn't figured out what the weird flavour was.
Whatever it was, it was bringing up old memories; like going fishing with Dad, Mom taking him to the park, and daring Jazz to eat ectoplasm.
As Danny got lost in his memories, the candy steadily got smaller and smaller. Eventually it disappeared entirely, leaving Danny with a strange empty feeling.
Danny was suddenly filled with the urge to go to the kitchen. His mind had drifted there a lot while he was sucking on the candy.
He hoped someone would be sitting there.
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Sure enough, Dad and Jazz were both sitting at the table. Jazz was writing on a some papers, surrounded by a small pile of books. His dad had gutted some small device and was examining some of the wires.
Danny just stood in the doorframe and watched them for a bit. It was kind of nice how normal the scene looked. Well, Danny supposed most people's parents didn't wear neon jumpsuits at the kitchen table, but it was normal for the Fentons. There was a comfort in their special kind of normal that Danny hadn't really thought about much.
"Danny!" Jack beamed once he'd noticed Danny's arrival. "You're just in time! I need some help with this."
"Oh." Danny immediately tensed. "Um, what exactly is 'this'?"
Danny prepared for his father to tell him in great detail what horrors this new device could potentially afflict on him.
"He's just fixing the toaster." Jazz said. "No dangerous weapons, or anything that's designed to cause any harm to humans or ghosts in any way whatsoever. Theoretically, anyway."
Oh.
Danny felt himself relax again. It would be nice to not tense up every time his parents were working on something new. Especially since, being professional inventors, they were working on something new very often.
It would be a huge relief, a voice in his head said.
Then again, the only way to remedy that situation might cause his parents to start making new things specifically to destroy him, which would not be a huge relief.  
"I need you to go to the basement and get me a screwdriver." His dad's voice snapped Danny out of his thoughts. "The one I had earlier is missing."
"Why can't Jazz do it?"
"Because Jazz is working on an important essay on the long term effects of suppression." Jazz turned a page in the book she was reading. "While Danny is standing there not doing anything particularly important right now."
Danny stuck his tongue out at Jazz.
"Love you too little brother." she said, not looking up from her book.
"That's the third misplaced screwdriver this week!" Danny said, turning back to his dad. "How do you keep losing them?"
"I'm not losing them, they're being taken."
"By who?"
"The rats!"
"Why would rats-"
"Ghost rats!"
"Ah, there we go."
"I don't know what those little creeps are up to," Jack narrowed his eyes at some point in the distance "But I just know it's something nefarious!"
"Right, right. I'm going to the lab now."
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Danny grumbled as he dug through piles of tools and machine scraps. This lab was a  absolute disaster! His parents could have made an effort to keep things at least semi-organized, but nope! The tables and shelves were filled with piles that all held new surprises every time you looked through them. Some of those surprises bit, too.
Finally, after at least ten minutes of searching (and no biting, luckily), Danny found a pile that contained a screwdriver.
"Ah hah!" he cried, triumphantly thrusting it over his head.
That was when his ghost sense went off.
"Seriously?!"
Danny quickly turned turned towards the portal, transformed, and floated into a battle position.
A familiar bird head popped out of the portal.
"Hey fellas!" He cried "It vorked!"
Two more bird heads popped out beside him.
"Really?" the one with the glasses said.
"Amazing!" the raspy voiced one said "Ve can finally get out of da stupid Ghost Zone!"
The vultures suddenly noticed Danny.
"Ay, ghost kid!" The leader greeted him as the birds entered the lab the rest of the way.
"How on earth did you three get here?"
"Good to see you too kid, tanks for asking."
"Ve've been vorking on finding your portal for months." The raspy-voiced vulture said.
"Oh yeah," Danny had completely forgotten about Vlad saying that he'd try to find a route. "Does that mean Vlad's with you?"
"Sorry kid, he's off on a business trip."
"Oh." That meant Vlad wouldn't even be at his house. That was a shame becasue Danny really wanted to talk about their conversation at the cabin. He still felt bad about that.
"If you see him, do you think you could tell Vlad I'm sorry about what happened at the cabin?"
"Eh, I don't tink you got anything to apologize for." the lead vulture said. "In my opinion, you seem to have done some good for Plasmius. He's finally dragged himself out of the lab and back to terapy like I've been telling him to do for veeks."
"Wait, he's gone back to therapy? What for?"
"For da whole friendship situation." the leader turned to the other two "Not the brightest, dis one, eh?"
"So, has the therapist been helping?" Danny asked, deciding to ignore that comment.
"It's a process." the lead vulture shrugged. "He seems to tink Vlad should stop hiding and just tell his friends vhat's going on. Of course, he doesn't know exactly vhat it is Vlad's hiding, but Vlad seems to think that he's talking sense."
"Wait, you mean Vlad's thinking about telling my parents he's half-ghost?"
"Aie," the vulture with the glasses frowned "You probably shouldn't have mentioned dat. You know Vlad's still figuring things out."  
"Eh, da kid vas going to find out anyvay."
"Danny!" his father called down from the top of the stairs. "Did you find that screwdriver, son?"
"Sounds like dat's our cue." the lead vulture said as the three of them turned towards the portal. "Don't forget to change before you go up, yea?"
With that the birds flew back into the portal and Danny was left alone in the lab.
Vlad was going to tell them.
Danny stood there staring at the portal. After a few seconds, a wave of anger rose up in Danny.
For twenty years, Vlad had been too much of a coward to even speak to his parents, and now he was just going to risk it all and tell them everything?
Vlad had spent his time as a ghost hidden safely away in his stupid mansion. Danny was the one who'd risked his neck living under the roof of ghost hunters every day. What right did Vlad have to put them at risk like that? How could he-
"Danny?"
"Yup!" Danny transformed out of his ghost form. "I'm coming Dad!"
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"I found a screwdriver." Danny said as he emerged from the basement. He hoped it wasn't obvious how perturbed he was.
"Excellent!" his father said, taking the screwdriver.
Good, it wasn't obvious. Or maybe his dad just didn't notice.
"When I'm done, this baby'll work better than ever before!"
"Great."
Danny glared at the toaster. For the past few months he'd had to tiptoe around countless of his parent's rogue inventions. Vlad had been to their house one time and decided that was all just too hard, apparently.
"You okay, Danno? You seem kind of off."
Jazz's eyes flicked up from her textbook at Jack's words.
"Oh, I'm fine, I just, uh..." Danny forgot how unreliable his dad's denseness could be. He needed to switch the topic to anything. "What are you doing to the toaster anyway?"
Jazz did something weird with her lips, then went back to reading.
"Well son, your mother was complaining about it not working properly earlier. I'm fixing it up to surprise her. Done!" Jack held up the toaster triumphantly. "Not only is it fixed, but I've implemented our new experimental ecto-based energy generator, so the toaster creates its own power! You don't even need to plug it in anymore! Now we just need to test it out."
Jack slid two sliced of bread into the toaster and pushed the handle down.
"Uh, are you sure that's a good id-"
The toaster began shaking violently.
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"-and that's how I spent my evening fighting an evil toaster." Danny concluded.
Tucker was trying very hard not to choke on his sloppy joe. Sam was barely hiding a grin.
"And how long did it take you to subdue the toaster?" she asked.
"About an hour." Danny grumbled. He didn't think the situation was that funny.
"So it was just you, your dad, and Jazz running around your house for an hour trying to subdue a sentient toaster?" Sam covered her mouth with her hand "Because that is a very entertaining image."
"Pretty much."
Tucker and Sam burst out laughing.
It could've been faster if Dad and Jazz knew about your powers. A voice in Danny's head said. He pushed the thought away.
He'd had thoughts like that ever since the accident but, after Colorado, they were becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
Luckily, Danny's ghost sense going off provided a convenient distraction.
Danny stood up, but a flash of red out the window made him sit back down.
"Huntress on this one?" Sam asked.
"Yup." Danny said.
"You don't have to look so grumpy." Tucker said. "She's kind of doing you a favour."
"No, she's just moving the problem down the line." Danny said. "For some reason she doesn't capture the ghosts she fights, so that just means I have and deal with them later."
"At least they're not bothering you in school." Sam said. "I'm not sure your grades could take that."
"Hey! I'm making mostly A's these days."
"Your last report card was mostly B's, Danny."
"There were some A's on there!"
"You know, it might be worth just trying to talk to her." Tucker said. "Maybe she's friendly."
"And just how many ghost hunters have we met that have been willing to give a ghost a chance?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but it's not like we know that many ghost hunters." Tucker pointed out.
"Even so, I'm with Sam." Danny said. "The odds on 'friendly ghost hunter' are not great, and I have enough trouble in my life as it is, so I'd like to keep off of her radar for as long as possible."
The lunch bell rang. Danny realized he'd gotten distracted by The Red Huntress and had forgotten to tell Sam and Tucker about his conversation with the vultures.
He'd just have to tell them after school.
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Valerie waited around the corner. She'd bumped into Tucker alone here after lunch on another Thursday, so maybe that would happen again.
"Bingo." she smiled as she saw him walking down the hall by himself, absorbed in his PDA.
"Hey Foley." she said, stepping around the corner.
"Oh, hey Valerie." Tucker looked up from his device. "What's up?"
"You're good with weird tech stuff, right?"
"The very best." Tucker beamed proudly.
"Right. And how good are you at keeping secrets?"
"I am also pretty good at that. Why?"
"I need a favour."
"What kind of a favour?"
"First," Valerie swung her backpack around and grabbed the zipper "You've got to swear you won't tell anyone about this."
Valerie narrowed her eyes at Tucker in a way that made his skin crawl.
"Y-yeah, sure. No problem. My lips are sealed."
"Good." Valerie's face morphed back into a smile as she unzipped and dug through her bag. "So is there anyway you'd be able to make this part of a glove?" Valerie pulled out a small green device.
"A Fenton Hand shield?" Tucker took the device from Valerie's hand. "Where'd you get one of these?"
"Where do you think?" Valerie raised an eyebrow. "Not like it was hard. The Fentons will literally just give them out to anyone who shows up at their door. I didn't even ask them for it."
"That's...not actually that surprising. But what were you doing at their door in the first place?"
"Yeah...now's not really the best time for questions. Fourth period starting soon and all." Valerie said, glancing at her watch. "Wanna meet up after school?"
Tucker looked at the hand shield. Something about this whole situation seemed kind of off. Then again, there was only one way to find out more about what was going on.
Besides, it was just Valerie. How much trouble could she possibly be getting into?
"Yeah, alright. I'll meet you out front after school."
"Great!" Valerie beamed.
Tucker didn't know how, but Valerie seemed to mould the environment around her with her facial expression. The world scarier wen she was mad at you, but also brighter when she smiled.
"See you then! Don't want to be late." Valerie waved, heading off to her next class.
"See ya!" Tucker waved back as she disappeared around the corner.
Tucker looked at the hand shield. He'd never wired electronics into clothing before, but the hand shield was a pretty simple device, so it'd probably be doable with a little online help...
The sound of the bell snapped Tucker out of his thoughts.
"Right! Class!" Tucker stuffed the hand shield into his pocket and sprinted off to class.
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"Welp, see you guys later." Tucker waved to Danny and Sam as they exited the school building.
"Wait, where are you going?" Sam asked.
"I'm meeting up with Valerie. We're going to my house to, uh... work on a bio project."
Sam narrowed her eyes at Tucker.
"Oh, okay." Danny said. "See you later then."
"See ya!" Tucker waved.
Sam kept her eyes on Tucker as he walked away.
"He's hiding something." She said to Danny as they began walking home.
"Yeah?" Danny asked distractedly.
Sam raised an eyebrow at Danny.
"Clearly he's not the only one."
"What do you mean?"
"C'mon Danny, I've been your friend for long enough to be able to tell that something's on your mind."
Danny sighed.
"I was talking to Vlad's vultures yesterday, and-"
"Wait, his what?"
"I didn't tell you about the vultures?"
"No. No you did not."
"Well, anyway, he has these three vultures that work for him, and-"
"Vlad has ghosts that work for him? Does he pay them? And why vultures? I have so many questions about this situation."
"Sam!"
"Right, sorry, what were you saying?"
"They said that Vlad might be planning on telling my parents he's half-ghost."
Sam's eyes briefly widened before narrowing in anger.
"Seriously? I hope you told them what a stupid idea that is. Ugh, that's so selfish of him. Doesn't he care about the danger that puts himself and you in?"
"Yeah, it's just that, I've been thinking...maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if my parents knew."
Sam stopped walking and gawked at Danny.
"Okay," she pinched the bridge of her nose and resumed walking "Is there some kind of brain-scrambling disease going around that only affects half-ghosts or something?"
"I know it sound crazy, Sam. It's just...sometimes it feels like there's this gap between me and my family. Not to mention there's a lot of situations where it would have been really convienent if they knew."
"Danny, keeping your ghost powers a secret is the best option. Best case scenario, your parents turn into pests that fuss over you every time you fight a ghost. And worst case scenario, they try to tear you apart molecule by molecule."
They stopped walking as they reached Fenton Works.
"I get having to tiptoe around them is annoying, but if you tell them, they probably wouldn't really get it, and it'd just be a huge hassle for you to deal with. It's just not worth it."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Danny said as he ascended the steps. "It was a stupid idea. I'll see you tomorrow."
He shut the door before he Sam could reply.
"Hello?" Danny called. No one answered. His parents were probably in the basement, and Jazz had probably decided to stop at the library before coming home.
Danny wished he could talk to Jazz about, well, everything. As much as he hated to admit it, Jazz understood his feelings better than even he did sometimes.
But if he told Jazz everything, she might think there was something wrong with him. She meant well, but Danny couldn't risk her worrying and going to Mom and Dad.
And...maybe it would hurt a little if his sister thought he was a messed up freak. Danny never really felt like a freak, but it would still hurt if the people he loved thought of him that way.
Danny sighed to himself and swung his backpack off of his shoulder. It had barely touched the ground before he felt his ghost sense go off.
"Seriously?" He groaned before transforming. He grabbed The Fenton Thermos out of his backpack and flew through the door. He floated above the house and looked around.
"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"
"Oh come on!" Danny shouted at the sky as the ghost flew up to his level.
"TREMBLE AT THE CAPACITY OF MY CORRUGATED CAPABILITIES!"
"Alright," Danny's fists lit up green "Let's just get this over with."
Before Danny could do anything, a pink beam blasted the box ghost from the side.
Danny looked over and saw the Red Huntress a few meters away on her hoverboard. She looked ready to shoot the box ghost again, but then she turned to look at Danny.
Uh oh.
"Don't shoot!" Danny raised his hands in the air. "I'm not with him! I swear!"
The Huntress laughed.
"Relax." she said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"You're not?" Danny cautiously lowered his arms. "But aren't you a ghost hunter?"
"Yeah, but I know you're one of the good ones. Danny Phantom, right?"
"You know me?"
"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"
Without looking way from The Huntress, Danny raised his Fenton Thermos and sucked The Box Ghost into it.
"Woah!" The Huntress exclaimed "What on earth is that?"
"Uh-"
"Hey, wait a minute," The Huntress's visor almost seemed to squint "Is that The Fenton Works logo?"
"Um..." Danny instincitively his the thermos behind his back. "No?"
"Do you steal the Fenton's ghost hunting equipment?"
"Hey! Why are you jumping right to 'steal'?"
"Please. Like those two would willingly help a ghost in any way."
"Okay, fair point, but I need this to catch ghosts. It's the only way to contain them and get them back to The Ghost Zone."
"Contain them, eh? You know, I could use something like that."
"What?"
"Something to contain ghosts. At this point I've just been scaring them away, hoping that that deters them from messing with anyone."
"Wait, you don't actually have a way to contain ghosts?" Danny rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Oh my gosh. You clearly aren't prepared for this at all. What made you think hunting ghosts was a good idea in the first place?"
"You, actually."
"Me?"
"Yeah. I wanted to fight evil ghosts and keep people safe, like you do. You kind of inspired me when you saved me from Axiom."
"Axiom?"
"Yeah. When that ghost dog showed up, I lost everything. I was angry and scared for a while, but now I can channel those things into something useful. My life may have been destroyed that day, but I've been given the chance to build a better one, and I'm going to take it!"
Oh no.
Danny knew that voice.
"Valerie!?"
"Didn't know you knew my name." Valerie casually remarked. "I'm flattered you remember me. Hey, I know technically I owe you one for saving me and my dad's life, but any chance you could hook me up with one of those thermoses? It would really be-"
"No way! This is the only one, and I need it."
"Oh. Well, maybe we could-"
"Sorry, I gotta go." Danny's head was swimming from the discovery he'd just made. "See ya."
"But, wait! I just-"
But Danny had already turned invisible and zoomed off.
"Man," Valerie said to herself "He was certainly in a hurry."
She checked the screen of her ghost radar, but there was no ecto-signature on it.
"Weird..." Valerie muttered to herself.
Maybe Phantom had just flown off really fast? He'd have to be going pretty fast to get out of her radar's range that quickly, but-
"Oh no!" Valerie was suddenly snapped from her musings "Tucker!"
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Danny flew through his window and stopped above his bed. He transformed and let himself drop out of the air onto his mattress.
Valerie was The Red Huntress.
Danny pulled his pillow over his face and groaned.
Why'd it to be Valerie. Why couldn't it have been someone he didn't see in school everyday?
Danny reached for his cell phone, but changed his mind halfway through dialing Tucker's number. Tucker was studying with Valerie tonight.
"You could've picked anyone to be your bio partner, Tuck." Danny rubbed his face.
He thought about calling Sam but...
Yeah, Danny didn't really want to talk with Sam alone right now. He'd just have to tell them tomorrow. This would be a better conversation to have in person anyway.
Of course that left Danny all on his own to ruminate on this new information. As well as the whole Vlad situation. And the voice in his head telling him how much easier it would be if he just told his parents-
Danny tossed his cell phone back on his night stand. Why was his life so complicated?
He dug his Game Boy out of his nightstand. He just a break from drama and ghosts.
There was already a game cartridge in the slot. Danny pulled it out. It was Pac-Man Collection, his go-to game since elementary school.
Danny reopened his nightstand drawer. He was more in the mood for Tetris right now.
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passerine-writes · 8 months
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Silent Sparks - Volt 54
Warnings: Mentions of medication use, AFTER THE DASH LINE there is heavy talk of past attempts, s/h, depression and stalking Word count: 5330
Notes: Italics - Tsukare signing Bold italics - Family member/friend signing 'Italics with apostrophes' - Thoughts
Masterlist
Volt 53 | Volt 55
The first night at the dorms, I got no sleep. I ended up giving up and hanging out with my brother after a while, the two of us staying up and playing games together or simply just talking.
"Tsukababes, what happened to getting sleep last night?" I shrugged and took a sip of my coffee.
"Didn't happen." Mina sighed and plopped her head on the table. "You look exhausted though, Mina." She hummed and sat back up, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night." I jumped in my seat when someone ruffled my hair from behind me. I looked back and saw a guilty looking Sero, I gave him a look to let him know it's okay, and he moved to sit across from Mina. My brother sat across from me and Kiri sat on my left, Denki sitting across from him.
Classes weren't starting back up yet but we were still told to meet at our home rooms. I think it's about our ultimate moves and I was exhausted, but a distraction could be a good thing. At least, I hope it is.
I walked with my brother, Izuku, Todoroki, Uraraka and Iida to campus, completely tuning out the bubbly girls enthusiasm. I didn't have enough energy to even try and keep up. My brother poked my arm and gave me a look but I nodded my head. We walked down into the classroom and I took my seat right away.
"I believe I mentioned this already, but your main focus this summer is obtaining provisional hero licenses." We all agreed with Dads statement. "Do not take this lightly. A hero license means that you're responsible for human lives You can imagine that the exam to receive one is very difficult. Only fifty percent of students pass the tests required for these permits each year."
"It's that hard to get a provisional license?" Denki asked from beside me.
"In order to prepare, today you'll concentrate on creating something new." Dad said whilst glaring us down. The door opened to reveal Auntie Nem, Uncle Ken and Uncle Plasm. "Two ultimate moves."
"Ultimate moves?" Kiri and Denks exclaimed together.
"An exam is a normal school thing!" Denki and Mina stated.
"But this is total hero work!" Sero and Kiri cheered together. I stifled my laughter with my hand.
"When we say 'ultimate', we mean a move that will ensure you win against your opponent." Uncle Ecto stated.
"An action so unique to your identity that no other person can hope to copy it. Simply put, you must learn to lean into your strengths." Uncle Ken clarified.
"Your moves represent who you are. These days, most pros have an ultimate move. Those who don't are fools." Auntie Nem stated while posing.. oddly.
"This may sound abstract, but we'll explain more as the day goes on. For now, change into your costumes and meet in Gym Gamma."
We rushed off to the locker rooms and got changed into our suits. I rushed through changing outside of the stall, trying to work on baby steps to being more comfortable with my body.
We met in the gym and I looked around, forgetting just how big it was in here until now.
"Gym Gamma, also known at the Academy as the 'Training Dining Land,' or TDL." I tried to stifle my laughter at Nedzu's attempts at slightly confusing the students.
I watched as Uncle Ken made a small cluster of pillars out of the concrete.
"This facility was my idea." He said. "We can prepare unique terrains and obstacles for each student here. Here you will learn to serve up justice, hence the name." I nodded at what Uncle Ken was saying.
"Please allow me a question." Iida hollered, his hand shooting up. "What is the advantage of having ultimate moves for our provisional exam? May we know your reasoning?" My eyes widened at his energy and intensity.
"That's two questions. Calm down." Dad said in a monotone voice and I tried not to laugh. "The job of a hero is to save people for all sorts of dangers. Crime, accidents and natural or man-made disasters. Of course, the licensing exam analyzes how well you're able to deal with such things. It won't just be fighting. Your ability to gather information and make quick decisions will be judged. In addition to how well you communicate, cooperate and lead others. Every year a new test is used to evaluate these qualities."
"One thing is especially important. If you want to be a pro hero, you must be able to prevail in battle. If you're prepared, you won't have to worry. And those of you with an ultimate move will have stronger results." Auntie Nem told us.
"Your circumstances should not dictate the results of your future battles. Learn to be consistent and you will be a great asset on the front lines." Uncle Ken said before walking away to build the terrain.
The door slid open and a familiar voice from my past rang through my ears.
"Hey Eraser! Hope I'm not too late to help out today. I got caught up talking with Nedzu on my way here." I turned around so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.
"Yoru?" I whispered and he sent me a soft smile.
"Hey Onryo." He whispered back and I ran over to him, jumping into his arms and holding him close. "Oh my gods, you've gotten so big." He huffed out as I crashed into him.
"Who is that?"
"How does Tsukare know him?"
"He's a little too old to be his friend, maybe another hero relative?" My classmates mused their questions in joined confusion until Midoriya answered some of them.
"That's pro-hero Vine Mind! He can emit vines from any part of his body and control them almost telepathically! He's not a super high ranking hero but he's in top hundred!" Oribuko held me closer and rubbed my back.
"C'mon kiddo, you gotta get to training." I nodded and let go, making my way back to the group. He walked around and stood beside Dad. "As some of you know, my pro hero name is Vine Mind, it plays off of the term 'Hive Mind'. Eraser Head was my student teacher when I went here, and then my homeroom teacher for my third year. I like to help out with these whenever I can, really help elaborate on the expanses of my quirk and how you can expand on your own and, even adjustments you can make to your costume. My favorite one to show off every year is this," he rummaged through his bag and pulled out an identical pair of boots to the pair he was wearing, "now these boots look normal, but they're modified to help with my quirk. Little holes are in the bottom so I can extend my vines and tangle them together. It's a small addition, but something that small can change how a fight ends. Now before I start rambling, are there any questions you guys have for me?" A plethora of hands shot up. "Okay, whoever I pick on, please tell me your names and your hero names so I don't go calling out nicknames. Red hair!"
"Kirishima Eijirou! Also known as The Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!" I chuckled at his enthusiasm.
"Red Riot? Alright, I can get behind paying back to Crimson. What's your question?"
"How do you know Tsukare?" A lot of hands shot down after that.
"Wow, I see where a lot of your curiosities were. Onryo and I grew up in the same foster center. It's been a while since I saw him last, but to me, he's still my little brother." He sent me a small smile and a large one came on my face. "Uh, let's see, broccoli head!" I started cackling, patting Izuku on the shoulder as he blanked, registering whether or not that was an insult.
"Uh, m-my name is Midoriya Izuku! And my hero name is Deku!" Yoru got a perplexed look on his face but slowly nodded.
"Alright then, I guess. What's your question."
"Midoriya. Limit it to one question." Midoriya thought for a moment at Dad's request.
"Since you grew up with Onryo, do you also know sign language?" This piqued a few different people's attention.
"I do, I actually learned so I could communicate with him. Mr. Aizawa told me that a few of you also know sign language, so if you have a preference for that, feel free to use it. Any questions having to do with heroics?" Yoru asked, hands clasped together in front of him. "You with the split dye."
"My name is Todoroki Shoto. My hero name is Shoto. I have two questions, one of which is about heroics."
"Kay, lay 'em on me."
"First, you seem to personally know Tsukare quite well, but you've yet to mention Shinsou. Did you not grow up with him as well?" Yoru looked confused.
"This is Shinsou Hitoshi." I gestured to him. "He's my brother."
"Wow, we have a lot of catching up to do. So to answer that, no, we didn't grow up in the same foster home as him. What's your second question?"
"Has an ultimate move ever failed on you?" Yoru got an uncommon, sad look on his face.
"Yeah, my vines are actually very flammable. So when I'm up against someone like say, Endeavor, he's most likely going to win by exhausting my main weakness. It's not impossible, but that's why we have back ups, other heroes to help, and tools with us if needed. Another example is, I don't do as well when it's cloudy or it's night time, photosynthesis and things, so I can still use my quirk, but larger scale moves will drain me quicker." We all nodded, understanding limitations. "Okay, last one, pink haired girl."
"Hi! My name is Ashido Mina, my hero name is Pinky. So what's your role in like, helping out with our lesson today?" Mina asked with a finger against her chin.
"So the teachers are going to be doing all of their parts. For example, Cementoss is providing the platforms and walls for some of you to break through. Ectoplasm is providing clones of himself for students to spar as they come up with moves. I'm going to be helping those of you who have quirks that extend from your bodies. Eraser, do you mind if I take those students off to a general area instead of having them all spread out?" Dad nodded once and Yoru gave him a thumbs up. "Alright kids, raise your hand if you have a quirk like that, same thing as earlier, I'm gonna call on you, so tell me your name, hero name and quirk this time. If you aren't sure, raise your hand anyways. I'll ask about specifics later. Tall guy with the mask."
"Shoji Mezo. Hero name is Tentacole, my quirk is dupliarms." Shoji said with a small mouth coming off one of his duplicates.
"Cool cool. Purple hair girl."
"My name is Jirou Kyoka, my hero name is Earphone Jack, that's also the name of my quirk." Yoru gave a thumbs up.
"Very fitting. Tape head."
"My name is Sero Hanta, my hero names Cellophane. And my quirk is tape, it let's me shoot it out of my elbows." Yoru nodded and rubbed his chin.
"I'll bring you over with me. Girl with the ponytail."
"My name is Yaoyorozu Momo, hero name Creati. I'm not sure if my quirk constitutes, in some cases I suppose it can, my quirk is creation." He thought for a moment before nodding.
"I'll bring you over too. Tailman."
"Ojiro Mashirao, sir, and uh, my hero name is Tailman, actually, that's my quirk.." He trailed off awkwardly.
"Perfect, anyone else? Uhh, Kirishima, was it?"
"Yes sir! My quirk is hardening, it applies to my whole body!" He said while clashing his fists together.
"I'll take you over to my side. And uh, bird man."
"My name is Tokoyami Fumikage, my hero name is Tsukoyomi. My quirk is Dark Shadow." He said, the shadow bird peaking its head out and waving.
"Sweet, this is a new type of quirk for me. Eraser, is it okay if I bring Onryo as well?"
"Do what you want, I'd rather be taking a nap."
"Remember, your ultimate move doesn't necessarily have to be an attack." Uncle Ecto stated. "Take Iida's Reciproburst or Onryo tearing up the ground, for examples. This sort of temporary boost in speed and change in the field is the exact levels of excellence we're looking for."
"You mean I've been doing an ultimate move all along?" Iida said in shock while clutching a hand to his chest.
"I honestly didn't think that'd count as an ultimate move but I'll take it."
"So, it's basically our secret weapon. Something that gives us the edge so we can win no matter who or what we're facing." Sato said, silently looking for clarification.
"There's a smart boy. For example, how Kamui Woods is able to use his Lacquered Chain Prison to capture opponents in an instant. That's exactly what we want to see." I let out a strong breath at Auntie Nem's comparison, it was a lot to live up to.
"The training camp was interrupted. But the practice you did get to develop your quirks was part of the process needed to create these defining abilities. Now that you're caught up... you'll be working hard to develop powerful moves of your own for the next ten days or so. This is how you will spend the remainder of your summer vacation. Prepare for intensive training. In addition, you should think about how you can improve your costumes, especially now that you have a better understanding of your quirks. I expect each of you to go Plus Ultra. Do you have it in you?"
"Yes, sir!" We all announced at once.
"I am so charged up for this!" I giggled at Denki's enthusiastic statement and he smiled back at me.
"Hey Dad!" He looked over at me. "I just thought about it, with my sound quirk and now my extended range and strength for it, would it be safe for me to train it inside yet? It's just, the only thing I can think about happening is breaking a wrong part of the cement and causing a landslide or breaking the glass like at the USJ." Dad crouched down in front of me and I nervously looked at him.
"As your Dad, I want to tell you to not do it if you feel uneasy about it. As your teacher, I have to tell you something different." I nodded, waiting for his teacher response. "As a hero, broken windows can be replaced, lives can't. As for the potential of a landslide, there are several pro's here in case that happens. Don't limit yourself mentally until you know a definitive outcome."
"Okay. Uncle Ken?" Cementoss walked over to me.
"Yes, Onryo?"
"I have an idea and I need to run it by you. I want to try and pin point my sound waves more to make direct breaks or weakening cracks in obstacles. Could you make me a wall with two reinforcement pillars on the ends?" He put his hands on the ground and looked up at me.
"Consider it done." I let out a breath at the wall before me.
"Thank you." He gave me a curt nod and walked back to the side.
"So what're you working on?" Yoru asked after I walked a considerable distance away.
"Well I'm not exactly concerned with being a limelight hero, whatever happens, happens I guess. And with missions, raids, alleyways etcetera, a direct route might not always be possible. So I'm trying something new. My Pops had these glasses made with my suit so I can see all around for up to four hundred meters, I can fiddle with one of the arms and change what I see and zoom in on it. I'm hoping to be able to pin point my sound waves and break a designated spot." He hummed in delight as he watched me mess with my glasses.
I rolled my eyes as I saw All Might come in, still trying to break the small spot in the concrete until eventually, the whole thing crumbled.
"I did it! Holy shit, I actually, woah!" I cheered to myself, even though it took twenty minutes to figure out, I was still proud. "Uncle Ken! Can I get a thicker wall yet?"
"Not yet, Onryo. Let's work on your timing for this level first before anything else and don't forget about working on names." I gave him a thumbs up.
By the end of the day, I got my timing down to twenty five seconds. Still not quick enough but considering I just found out I could do it, I was happy. Plus, cement is thicker and sturdier then what most things are built out of.
I quickly changed in the locker room again and ran out to meet Dad like asked. Hitoshi and I looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what it could be about but we went anyways. I gave Yoru another hug, thinking it was to say goodbye but Dad caught us by surprise.
"Oribuko is coming over for dinner to make up for some lost time. Mostly, I'm asking you, Hitoshi, if you'd like to or not seeing as I already know your brothers answer." Hitoshi looked at me and shrugged.
"Sure. Onryo, let's head back to the dorms to get changed into more comfortable clothes and so you can put your hearing aids on the charger." Yoru sent me a curious look and I nodded.
"Wow I've missed a lot. Alright, I'll see ya in a bit squirt." I rolled my eyes at the old nickname but nodded.
We got back quickly and I rushed to change into a loose t-shirt and a pair of joggers. Staring at my arms judgmentally until Hitoshi knocked on my door and dragged me out of my room.
"So, you two were in the same foster center?" Hitoshi asked, everyone signing as they spoke at the dinner table.
"Yeah, I was at a foster home when Onryo first showed up but I always did my best to keep him safe and make sure he knew he was loved." My brother hummed, a certain yet small look of disdain in his eyes. "So I'm curious as to how this happened? When did you two adopt Onryo and Hitoshi?"
"Sho called me one night on patrol asking how I would feel if he brought a kid home, I said I've always wanted a kid and we got custody of him the next day. He found Onryo on a park bench just after his eighth birthday."
"On a park bench? What were you doing... you ran away again?" I awkwardly nodded. "So when did you bring Hitoshi into your care?"
"Well six months after we brought Onryo home, I found that little listener walking around the streets and I had a bad feeling. He was in a bad foster home so I talked to Sho and Onryo and he's been with us ever since. We legally adopted Ryo a little after he turned nine and and Hitoshi when he turned ten."
"Wow. I'm glad Eraser found you that night and not someone else."
"Me too."
"So what else have I missed in the last few years? And don't think I didn't hear about your debut. Sonus, huh?" He asked as we cleaned up, moving to the living room.
"Yeah, Toshi actually helped me come up with it." My brother smirked at my comment and I made a mental note to talk to him later.
"Nice pick. I saw it on the news. But tell me what I missed, I have a few years to catch up on."
So we told him about my first fight, the shock evident on his face. Followed by the loss of my hearing, his features dropping is slight dismay. Then Pops showed him videos of me playing instruments throughout the years, his face lighting up once more in adoration.
"Wow. You really know how to play dude. Do you play any instruments Hitoshi?" My brother looked caught off guard at the question.
"No, not really. It's not my cup of coffee." Yoru chortled out a laugh before Pops pulled out the video of us 'singing' and bouncing around the living from when the social worker, or I guess my aunt, came and visited.
"Your english is amazing guys, I wish mine was that good when I was your age."
"Well we have a pretty good teacher." Pops smiled at my comment and ruffled my hair.
"I actually went to the adoption center a few years ago, you would've been eleven. There was a new lady and she told me you were adopted. I'm just glad it was you two that adopted him." He took a sip of his water and set the glass down. "I heard that Nakami got into Shiketsu. Do you two keep in touch?" I tugged my lip between my teeth and solemnly shook my head.
"No, the day he got adopted is the day I ran off and Dad found me." He slowly nodded, not expecting that answer at all.
"So what's going on between you and blondie? I saw those looks today." I blushed, not expecting him to notice.
"He's just a friend... that I have a crush on."
"Boringgg. I thought you were about to tell me that you had a boyfriend." He mockingly shook his head. "Ah, Mr. Aizawa, is it alright if I steal you for a moment? I just remembered I wanted to go over something with you." Dad nodded once and stood up.
"Let's talk in my office." They walked off and as soon as we saw the door shut, Pops, Hitoshi and I ran over and sat outside to eavesdrop. Well, they were eavesdropping and Toshi was interpreting for me.
"I assume you know this isn't a business matter, rather it's more of a personal one." Yoru said.
"I was hoping I would be wrong with that assumption. Let's make this brief."
"It's about Onryo. Are those scars what I'm thinking they're from?" My eyes narrowed, not enjoying the secrecy that Yoru was making this into.
"Most likely. He went through a rough patch a few years ago. I'm not going to answer anything else on that, if you have questions, you can ask him yourself." There was a pause for a while after Dad said his piece.
"Can you tell me what happened in Kamino?" My blood ran cold as I waited for Dad's response.
"He was kidnapped and further traumatized. If it were up to him, he wouldn't have even allowed us to know what happened."
"Please Eraser. Just, gimme something to work with. I'm worried about him. I don't care about legal stuff or blood relations, he's still my little brother. Even if he doesn't consider me his big brother anymore, he's still one to me. So please, just gimme something." Even though I couldn't hear him, I could only imagine the desperation in his voice.
"I'm not breaking his trust. I can tell you professional details, but nothing about what happened to him. I can tell you things you already know, such as the league holding a special interest in him or that they tried and failed at recruiting him. But I will not be giving you private details that he relayed to the police in his statement that is being kept confidential for now because of his age. I understand the importance you hold in each others lives, which is why I'm being professional about this. But if you were anyone else, you would be out of my house and lectured on your unprofessional attempt of obtaining knowledge. So I will say it one last time. If you wish to know, you can ask my son yourself. But you will not push him to talk about it if he doesn't want to. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
We couldn't move before the door opened, Dad and Yoru staring down at us as we sat in the hallway. Hitoshi and Pops sat across from me, all of us trying to give them an innocent smile.
"Why am I not surprised." Dad sighed and kept walking.
"You never changed, still pulling the same tricks." Yoru chuckled, reaching down quickly to rub my head but my mind processed it differently. I flinched away, guilt consuming me as his face fell. Slower this time, he reached down and ruffled my hair gently, giving me a soft yet sad smile. "So you heard all of it?" I nodded, slowly standing up. "Do you wanna fill me in on any of it?" I could feel everyone's eyes on me and it made my skin crawl. I started scratching my wrist, yanking it back without thinking when Dad grabbed it.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to." His face softened and he gave me a small nod.
"I know. You don't have to apologize for a reflex. I should've thought about it before I did it." I took a shaky breath and ran a hand through my hair.
Do you have any of my meds here?
All of them.
Where are they?
The cabinet above and to the right of the kitchen sink.
I quickly walked to the kitchen and shuffled through the multiple bottles until I found the right ones, downing two tablets dry and resting my forearms against the marble counter top. I focused on my breathing and keeping it under control. I turned finally and saw Dad and Yoru waiting at the doorway. Pops and Hitoshi visible in the living room.
Feeling better?
Yeah, sorry I don't know why that happened.
It's alright. Kid, how much sleep did you get last night?
Couldn't sleep.
I think you two have some talking to do. Remember, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'll be out in the living room making sure those two don't eavesdrop.
I nodded and swallowed back the lump in my throat.
———————————
"So, do you want to fill me in?"
You know what the scars are from, you're a pro hero Yoru.
"What happened?" He pleaded, wanting to know the horrific details.
Life? I didn't have the most standard upbringing until I was adopted. My birth mother turned out to be a psycho who keeps trying to stalk me and kidnap me. So yeah, I got some unhealthy coping mechanisms out of it.
"Onryo, that's not healthy. Or safe."
I know.
"Then why are you doing that?" He asked me, by the look on his face I could tell he was grasping for straws.
"I've been clean for three years now." I mumbled out, just wanting this discussion to be over.
"Why, Onryo? Why would you mutilate yourself like that?!" One word in the whole sentence, and it finally made me snap.
"I tried to fucking kill myself! Happy? There, I said it! I was tired of being the cause for every fucking problem going on, a burden on everyone's shoulders. I was at my lowest point and figured I should just do everyone a favor and end it all. I had to have my fucking stomach pumped and flown off of a twenty story building and guess what? My birth donor still showed up at the damn hospital! So thank you for voicing my thoughts on how I've mutilated my body. I'm reminded of it every time I wear a short sleeve, look in the mirror, look down, even scratching my damn arm. I asked Chiyo if she would heal them and she said no. The only reason I've been trying to wear short sleeves more is because it makes my family stop worrying that I relapsed, because it makes me feel a little more comfortable in my own body cause it's exposure therapy. I have to take medication to feel normal. So don't come in here lecturing me about it when you haven't gone through it yourself." He stared at me in shock, never having seen me even remotely close to snapping.
He sat down at the table and I stayed in my place standing, still trying to calm myself down after snapping.
"I'm sorry for what I said. You're right, I didn't go through that level of depression. I shouldn't have said it." I slowly nodded, still coming back down to earth. "Can't believe you still wear the bracelet I gave you." I looked down and fiddled with the small, string bracelet.
"Yeah, I only take it off for hero training and showers. Still got the trading card, too." He gave me a small smile, pleased that I have the items he gifted me all those years ago.
"So what happened in Kamino?" I shook my head. "Onryo, it's not healthy to bottle it up. You know that."
"Yeah and I don't want to talk about it. I want to act like it never happened. But my birth mother was still there, for the whole thing."
"That's why she was arrested?" I shrugged, trying to avoid him asking more questions.
"Part of it."
"C'mon, gimme something to work with here. Stop shutting me out." I shook my head again, arms crossed over my chest.
"I don't want to talk about it. If you feel like you need to know then you can ask my parents but I'm not talking about it again." I followed him into the living room, my parents visibly pissed about the words that were exchanged.
"I told you not to push. So why did you?" Dad asked, glaring at Yoru.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done so."
"Why?" Yoru looked at him with wide eyes, unprepared for him to persist.
"He flinched. Even when we were in the foster home, he never flinched around me. And in the hallway, he did." Dad went to stand but Pops placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay, little listener?" I nodded and tucked my head down.
"I think I'm gonna head back to the dorms. I told him that you could talk about what happened and I just— I need some fresh air." Everyone stood, Pops and Dad giving us hugs goodbye and Yoru stood off to the side awkwardly. Slowly, I walked over and gave him a hug, his arms wrapping around me gently and he bid me goodbye as well.
Meanwhile After Tsukare and Shinsou leave
Aizawa and Mic explained the atrocities of Kamino, watching as Oribuko came close to tears.
"Wait, Onryo knows someone else in the league?" Aizawa nodded in response.
"Unfortunately, even though that was years ago that they met, it puts him at higher suspicion for who the mole might be. We know it isn't him but we have to rule everyone out fairly." Aizawa drawled out, despising that his own kids and husband were suspects.
"Plus the league has a special interest in him. Again, I'm sorry for pushing with Onryo, please understand where I'm coming from." Yoru apologized, still feeling guilty about how he reacted.
"Then please understand where I'm coming from when I tell you, that if you ever make one of our children uncomfortable or push when you don't need to, ever again, I will be using you as my demonstration partner for how to break the limbs of villains." Aizawa said with a sadistic look in his eyes.
"Yes, sir!"
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Just for a Minute
Summary: The reader gets Egon to sleep after a hard day
Author’s Note: This is definitely not as good as it could be, but I know that if I don’t post it now I never will. Sorry if there are any dumb errors, hopefully some of you will still like it 💜
Word Count: ~950
     You’re alone at the firehouse, sitting in Egon’s bed and waiting for the guys to get back. The ghost described over the phone sounded pretty tough, so all of them went to deal with it, leaving the building strangely quiet and empty. Janine has already gone home for the night as it’s getting pretty late. Luckily, she gave you a book to borrow before she left so that you wouldn’t get too bored while waiting. It isn’t the type of book that you would usually read, but you’re thankful that there’s something to distract you from the almost creepy silence you’re surrounded by. You can feel yourself getting a bit restless from waiting, and you really hope that everyone is already on their way back.
     Soon enough, you hear the familiar sound of large doors opening, and the Ecto-1 driving in. You quickly drop your book and rush down to greet everyone. You watch your friends get out of the car one at a time, all looking extremely tired and disheveled. Egon is the last to get out, and he is completely covered in slime. You feel a little bit bad wondering how long it’s going to take Ray to clean out the car, but you know that he’s going to insist on doing it himself. 
     “Hi (y/n),” Egon says, walking up to you. “I got slimed.” Even though he looks absolutely exhausted, he has a faint smile on his face as he watches you try very hard not to laugh.
     “Why don’t you go take a shower?” you suggest, gesturing to the slime that is now puddling around his feet. “I’ll get you some clothes for you while you get cleaned up.”
     “Thank you, I appreciate it,” Egon says before making his way to the showers. He doesn’t always like accepting help from others, so it’s meaningful that he accepts your offer.
     You know how hard Egon has been working lately, but it’s clear how busy he’s been when you see the mess inside of his locker. He generally likes things to be organized, so maybe he’ll let you help him do some laundry. Hoping that Egon will get some much needed sleep tonight, you decide to pick out some comfortable clothes for him. It takes a few minutes to sort through all of his button-ups, sweater vests, and dress pants, but eventually you find a simple T-shirt and some sweatpants.
     You carry Egon’s clean clothes to the showers and smile when you hear him humming a song to himself. Not wanting to invade his privacy, you shout just loud enough to be heard over the water, “Egon, I’m leaving your clothes over here. I’ll be in bed whenever you’re done.”
     “Okay, I’ll be there soon,” he shouts back before he resumes his humming. 
     You return to the sleeping area and find that Ray has already fallen asleep. It must have been really a tough job, because he didn’t even bother getting under the covers. You aren’t sure where the other two ghostbusters have gone, so you sigh before stealing a blanket off of Peter’s bed and tucking it in around Ray. Even though you know he’s a deep sleeper, you still get back into Egon’s bed as quietly as possible. 
     Egon doesn’t take very long showers, so you only have to wait a few minutes before he joins you. “You’re always taking care of people,” he says, gesturing to Ray. “I like that about you.” He sits down at the foot of the bed and gives you a small smile. 
     It’s not very often that Egon wears such casual clothes, and you can’t help but notice how cute he looks with his hair still damp. “You look really nice,” you tell him. You catch his smile getting bigger before he looks down at his lap shyly. He’s never been very good at receiving compliments, especially about his looks. “Come lay down next to me,” you offer, “it is your bed after all.” 
     He takes a second to think before responding. “Okay, but just for a minute,” he says as he takes off his glasses. When he sees a small frown spread across your face, he adds, “there are some things I wanted to finish up, and I’m not very tired yet.”
     All of the beds at the fire station are pretty small, but the two of you fit pretty comfortably as long as you stay cuddled together. Tonight you end up laying on your back while Egon is on his side. His arms and legs are gently wrapped around you, and his head is laying on your chest. Listening to your heartbeat always helps him relax, and you can smell his freshly cleaned hair when you breathe in.
     Despite his claims to not be tired, Egon yawns deeply. You begin to run your fingers through his hair in the way that always puts him to sleep. You expect him to object and say that he still has work to do, but he doesn’t. “Your hair is so soft,” you say, and he just replies with a low hum. 
     Egon would never admit it, but he really is tired. He thinks it probably wouldn’t hurt to get just a few minutes of sleep, so he nuzzles his face deeper into your chest. You feel his grasp around you relax slightly as his arms become heavy. “I love you,” he whispers just as he’s drifting off to sleep.
     You’re quite proud that you were able to get Egon to sleep tonight, so you take a minute to just lay there smiling quietly. Eventually, you whisper back, “I love you too.” You quickly feel your body start to settle, and before you know it, you fall asleep too.
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apinklion01 · 2 years
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Trailing Along the Dark
Day Twenty-Five: Boo!
A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34214308/chapters/86513419
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No warnings this chapter. TMNT 2012 crossover.
Despite all odds, speeding away in a modified retro subway van outside of New York was surprisingly easy. Donnie managed to map a route on a train track that went up all the way to Amity Park, Illinois, a far cry from the Big Apple that they called home.
Leo couldn’t help but feel nervous as they came upon the edge of the city. The only thing that they had to guide themselves through the city were some sewage system plans that Donnie dug up and a map of all the places above. Master Splinter advised them to stick tightly to the shadows.
“You cannot let anyone notice you, unless you wish to gain a potential new enemy,” their sensei spoke.
He gave a glance at the others. Donnie was busy keeping an eye for the Foot Clan after he successfully hacked into the city’s traffic cams. Raph was at the wheel since Leo’s arms were exhausted after driving for 7 hours. Mikey was in the back with April. Both were racing each other in Mario Kart on their DS.
Least they’re having fun, he thought. Not sure how long it’ll last after we get there.
“Yes, I win!” April shouted.
“Aw man, I was so sure I’d beat you that time, I even had Yoshi,” His younger brother complained. “Best 25 out of 30?”
“Oh you’re on.”
“So Donnie, anything about this place we should know?” Raph asked
Donnie glanced up from the screen. “Hmm? Oh, nothing much. Apparently Amity Park’s more concerned with defense systems against the supernatural and anything in ectocology.”
“Ecto-what?”
“Ectocology, the study of anything that’s considered spectral in appearance. Y’know, Banshees, haunted houses, ghosts.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Well you never know when you might need to use the word.”
“Right, like there’s anything like ghosts that exist.”
“Well if you don’t believe in ghosts, then you might want to check again. In the last year and a half, Amity Park suddenly had a spike in ghost activity. Bank robberies, fights in broad daylight, even some amateur recordings of them appearing in the mirrors at a high school.”
“Oh big deal,” Raph scoffed. “Next thing you’ll tell me is that they have the ghost version of Superman.”
“...How did you guess I was going to say that?”
Now Leo was intrigued. “What’s the hero’s name?”
“Sources vary on the answer,” Donnie replied. “The wide consensus is that his name is Inviso-Bill, but a few others state his name is Danny Phantom. Supposedly he’s a teen ghost in a black jumpsuit, snow white hair, and glowing green eyes.”
“Inviso-Bill’s a lame name, I’m calling him Danny Phantom if, and that’s a huge if, we see him,” Raph insisted.
“Hey Donnie, any good pizza places we can go to after we stop the Foot from getting the mutagen out of here?” Mikey shouted from the back.
“I can check in a bit Mikey,” the purple masked turtle answered just as a small alarm beeped. “And speaking of the Foot, a cam just spotted them.”
“Where to?” Raph asked.
“Head toward 333 Main Street, it’s just after driving down that street.”
“On it.” The van’s wheels screeched as the van flung off the railways and onto the asphalt. Leo hoped that no police spotted them as he was certain that Raph was breaking the speed limit by ten miles.
April and Mikey put away their DS and jolted in their seats as the turn was made. The red hair teen tightened her seatbelt.
“When I get my driver’s permit, I’ll definitely try taking the wheel for a less extreme spin,” She noted.
“Lucky, Leo and Ralph never let me drive,” Mikey said.
“You did one time, but we ended up in some sewage water,” Leo pointed out.
“Oh yeah, I did, good times!”
The vehicle shuddered again as it went on a wider road.
“Oh, we’re almost there, pull into that alley,” Donnie said.
Raph made one more harsh swerve before the Shell Raiser eased inside the alley. There were some rags they could use to hide it.
“You have your T-Phones ready?” Leo asked the group. All of them gave a nod. “Okay, let’s go.”
There was certainly a difference between New York City and Amity Park. For one, it wasn’t as crowded, or loud. For another, he couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that something, or someone, was watching over them.
Something rustled in a garbage bin, and all five gathered in a fighting position as it grew louder. It turn out to be-
A raccoon. Who just batted an eye and scurried along as if it wasn’t scared by them at all.
‘Weird…’
“...Donnie, are you sure you didn’t make up that stuff about this place being haunted?” Raph asked, the first to break the silence. “Yes, I’m 75% certain.”
“So that means there’s more chances we’ll get to see one?!” Mikey asked, excitedly clutching onto his nunchucks.
“Only after we deal with the Foot guys,” Leo reminded them. “We better head over to where they are right now. Donnie?”
His taller brother nodded as he glanced at his T-Phone before taking point. The others followed his lead, though Leo followed near the back to help April go up the fire escape and onto the rooftops.
He was impressed that she managed to keep up longer than last time. Before, she was a teen who was afraid of dealing with the Foot, much less the Krang. But after the invasion, she asked Splinter to train her, and it seemed like it was starting to pay off.
A shiver went down Leo’s shell, and he stopped in his tracks. He glanced around at the empty dark night sky.
“What’s up,” April said, panting from a leap on a neighboring rooftop.
“... I don't know, something’s off about this place. Let’s just catch up with the guys.”
A block or two later, Donnie slowed down and motioned them to stay silent. They crept over and looked down at the place called Vladco. Leo’s eyes narrowed as he spotted some Foot Clan henchmen carrying boxes labeled with ‘FRAGILE’ onto a truck.
“Vladco? I thought that place specialized in ghost hunting equipment,” Donnie muttered quietly.
“Maybe it’s a coverup?” April suggested.
“Put your backs into it,” A gruff voice spoke. The squad went silent before a large dog-like mutant appeared in front of the facility.
He growled at a slow moving Foot Clan member who panicked and went back inside the facility to retrieve another box. “NO breaks for any of you! We need to have the shipment leave for New York before dawn.”
“Whatever’s the case, we can’t let them leave town,” Leo pointed out. But before he could even give the signal, the temperature dropped, and the squad shivered.
“What the hell,” Raph whispered.
Donnie gave a glance at his T-Phone which had a glitched out screen. “Something must be interfering with the connection.”
“Guys, look,” April called to them.
Below the street lights were acting up as well. Dogpound and the Foot Clan soldiers all paused as they watched the bulbs go out one by one.
“Whoever’s out there, show yourself!” The mutant roared. “Unless you wish to be bested by the Foot.”
“The Foot?” A voice called out from nowhere. “That’s a funny name. Almost as much as Vladco. But as much as I’d like to let you go with whatever’s in those boxes, I can’t cause I’m not sure you guys are nice.”
Bright green laser beams blasted at a few unfortunate soldiers before a warning blast hit right between Dogpound’s feet. The mutant growled, but then started to shiver.
“Wait a minute,” Donnie said. “A significant temperature drop, interference in electronic and electrical devices, a voice calling out of nowhere… Guys, I think we’re about to see-”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Dogpound punched the air only for the sound of a hit landing to be heard. Something struck a fire hydrant, which started leaking water.
“Ouch, didn’t think you’d be smart enough to smell me under your dog breath,” The stranger said in a strained but mocking voice to the mutant. “You definitely remind me of a ghost that chases my ass every week.”
The water started to show two footprints nearby before freezing. The air wavered as a teenager in a dark black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, and hair was revealed. A logo in the shape of a D was on the teen’s chest. His eyes opened to show some startling bright yellow-green eyes.
“So let’s see what you got,” Danny Phantom said with a smirk before rushing in to punch Dogpound, who was too stunned to move.
All chaos broke loose. Foot soldiers were already attempting to assist Dogpound, and others began bringing out more boxes as the fight commenced.
“We gotta stop the Foot,” April shouted.
“Donnie, April, take care of the mutagen. Mikey, Raph, help me with Dogpound,” Leo ordered the team.
“BOOYAKASHA,” His younger brother cried as they leaped down the apartment and onto the street.
“The Turtles are here too? I thought we wouldn’t have to deal with them,” Dogpound said, wiping some blood from his nose. “After them!”
Danny turned around and gave an almost comical stare as the turtles approached. A plume of purple smoke struck right between a cluster of Foot soldiers, and Leo took that moment to take them down with a few swift swings of his katanas.
“Just so you know, we’re not enemies, we’re friends,” Leo said to him.
“So we’re not going to kill you,” Raph added from behind as he used his shuriken to strike a Foot soldier.
“Oh, uhhh… Okay,” the ghost answered before getting punched again by Dogpound.
“Shit,” He muttered under his breath as he dodged another strike. Taking on the huge mutant was never easy. He not only had a size advantage, but fighting experience, and it was hard to guess how many Foot soldiers he brought along.
“You’re not done with me yet, fluffy,” Danny called out as he joined Leo and Raph in the fight, landing a hit on the mutant’s jaw.
Dogpound stumbled back, a snap was heard as he flexed his mouth. “Now that’s more like it,” He growled.
Danny, Raph, and Leo took turns taking hits. The blue masked turtle realized that a few moves resembled what Master Splinter taught them when they started to get used to the basics of fighting like a ninja.
‘That means he’s had formal training,’ It dawned on him. ‘So we might have a bit more of an advantage than I thought.’
A hit from Dogpound’s fist knocked him to the side. He found himself thanking that he was a mutant turtle otherwise it would’ve hurt a lot more than it did.
“Yikes, those blades are real!” A new voice called out.
From the corner of his eyes, Leo spotted two humans: one with dark skin, glasses, and a baseball bat, and the other with black hair, purple lipstick, and some sort of wrist ray.
“If ghosts are real, I’m not surprised that evil ninjas are either,” the girl retorted as a beam hit a Foot soldier on their chest.
“And good ninjas like me!” Mikey said behind them. The one with the baseball bat took a swing at Mikey who got knocked in the head.
“Man, you’ve got real good aim,” His brother said and then dropped to the floor.
“What the hell did you do that for?” Raph called out as he went to grab his unconscious brother.
“Tucker, I think they’re with us, so try not to hurt them,” Danny said. Leo turned around and saw that the teen was barely holding back Dogpound’s jaws with his bare hands, drool dripping down. “And phew, have you ever heard of toothpaste?”
Leo took that moment to run and kick the mutant in the face. The mutt howled in pain, shaking his head side to side.
“We took care of the mutagen,” April hollered to Leo. “Let’s go!”
“Later Dogpound,” Raph grunted angrily before grabbing a smoke bomb from Mikey’s hand covering their tracks.
They drove the truck back to the alleyway and started putting the boxes of the dangerous chemicals back into the Shell Raiser.
“As soon as we get home, I’m making sure the mutagen gets disposed of safely,” Donnie said.
“Mutagen?” A familiar voice called. The air shimmered as Danny, Tucker, and the goth dressed girl appeared.
“That’s a new one on me,” Tucker confirmed. “Also, sorry about hitting one of your guys, we’re just used to unfamiliar faces wanting to hit Danny first.”
“What are you anyways?” The goth asked. “Some mutant ninja turtles?”
The turtles and April stared at each other before shrugging in agreement.
“Yeah, I guess,” Donnie answered.
“I’m Leo, this is my brother Donnie, Raph, the one that’s unconscious is Mikey, and this is our friend April. You’re Danny Phantom, right?” Leo asked.
“Oh, thank the ancients you used that name and not Inviso-Bill,” the ghost sighed. “I still don’t get why people use it, it’s so-”
“Lame?” Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Exactly!”
“What about your friends?” April asked.
“Oh, the one with the bat is Tucker, and the other is Sam,” Danny replied. “What’s the deal with mutagen anyways?”
“A guy that we deal with, Shredder, uses the mutagen to transform people or animals into mutants for his army, the Foot Clan,” Donnie explained.
“He gives us hell,” Raph pointed out.
“If any of this stuff leaked out, you guys would be dealing with a whole new problem of rogue mutants,” Leo added. “That’s why we had to come here.” “Shit,” Danny muttered, scratching his head uneasily. “And I thought our job was hard.”
A growl escaped from Tucker’s stomach. “Heh, sorry, forgot I didn’t eat dinner before we came to the fight,” He apologized.
“Pretty sure the nearest Nasty Burger is like two blocks away from here,” Sam pointed out.
“You guys like eating burgers?” Danny asked.
“Yeah I’m down,” April said.
“Wait what’s a burger,” Raph asked.
The ghost trio glanced at each other before looking at April.
“It’s only been a few months since they started exploring outside of the sewers of New York,” the redhead teen explained.
“Well then we’d be happy to show you what they are!” Tucker exclaimed.
“Any of you guys vegan or have any food allergies?” Sam asked.
“Oh, I don’t mind trying the vegan menu,” Donnie quipped.
14 notes · View notes
summerssixecho · 3 years
Text
Sweeter Reunions (Phic Phight 2021)
Summary: Danny knows Vlad can be redeemed. He saw it in the future. Now, the past might be holding the answer to saving the older half-ghost from losing his humanity. And Harriet Chin might just be the key.
Prompts: @ecto-american (Prompt 01): Vlad and Harriet reconnect at the reunion and begin to date. // @danny-fenton-is-trans (Prompt 08): After finding out that Harriet Chin and Vlad used to date briefly in college, Danny decides to push the two together in hopes that Vlad would finally leave his mom alone. // @mr-lancers-english-class (Prompt 39): Bitter Reunions AU: Vlad doesn't know Danny is Phantom, but Danny is very aware Vlad is Plasmius. Hijinks ensue as Danny has to work extra-hard at damage control without revealing his hand.
Word Count: 7,047
Also available on FFN [Link] and AO3 [Link]
“Pleeeease? I promise I won’t break the timeline again,” the teen insists, clasping two white-gloved hands in a pleading gesture in front of his face, a pathetic image for someone perceived in his future as powerful and regal as Phantom.
The Master of Time only responds with silence, the expression on his now elderly appearance still stoic but bordering on mildly annoyed. For some reason, his ward has the tendency of treating time as something malleable and at his constant disposition. But he still couldn’t understand how even between parallel timelines there was something intricate but perfect, playing in harmony. Thousands of possible pasts, presents, and futures were at the reach of his fingertips, like chords he could play by memory in a cosmic harp, each string dancing without getting tangled with the other in perfect balance. He has navigated so many times through these melodies, he no longer discerns the past from the future since it’s there all at once mingled with the present. He knows he will (or already did) allow the boy to meddle with the flow of time. He’s aware of the outcome and the valuable lessons that would later be forgotten (or already were).
The purple-clad ghost, now donning a younger appearance, has tried to make it easier for Danny to understand, using every kind of analogy possible: from musical instruments, video games, rivers, constellations, and whatever resource he had at hand to explain the fragility of time to a mere mortal (even if said mortal had ghost powers). He has already explained in several points of Danny’s lifespan, past and future, but none have worked as efficiently to drive the point home as allowing the half-ghost to experience first-hand his own failures and the loss that followed. To paraphrase Confucius, experience is one of the three methods to acquire wisdom, but also the bitterest. And Danny had many masochistic traits.
The request seems very innocuous for the teenager: he wants to go back to his parents’ college reunion in Wisconsin so he can learn more about Vlad Masters’ earlier days in college. Somehow, the boy is trying to find other ways to save the older hybrid from falling further into his current downward spiral. This was motivated after another cloning experiment gone awry and the subsequent battle with Plasmius, from what Clockwork could recall. He also cited meeting Vlad in the future as his main motivation, though he believed there had to be another way to trigger his redemption before it was too late for everyone. His reasoning for choosing the reunion is meant to be some kind of bargain on his part, where he thinks he can learn more from the past without having to travel so far into the ‘70s or ‘80s, therefore keeping the timeline intact.
Of course, that’s not how it would work, not to mention the paradox it would create having two Dannys in the same place and time. But as everything goes with his young visitor, there’s no amount of explaining that would deter him from trying, which could potentially unleash even more chaos into the timestream. So he allows the visit, a controlled experiment, a valuable lesson to be forgotten. He already knows how it will go. After all, he has played this melody on countless occasions. The crescendo gets him every time.
———————————
Danny woke up with a start inside the Fenton GAV, seated in the back row next to his sister. For a moment, he felt like those times he dozed off when they traveled on the road for hours to visit some relative far away. Wait, they were doing just that, right? The visit to Wisconsin, the college reunion, his pleading with Clockwork…
The trip through time immediately brought vertigo and he felt disoriented in as many ways as the concept allowed. He tried breathing slowly while closing his eyes, droning out whatever conversation his parents were having. He was in his slightly younger body, then. Or in his place at least. Where had the Danny from this period gone?
“If you need to throw up, please use the bag,” Jazz spoke closer to him as she set something almost weightless on his lap, most likely the aforementioned bag.
The boy ventured to open his eyes to see the object now in his hands, but he refused to barf what little he had been able to eat at their last stop on their way to Wisconsin. No need to recall that much information from his trip to the past. Instead, he rolled his eyes, figuring it wouldn’t be uncharacteristic of his two-year-younger self. At least he didn’t try to open the window this time. Who said he couldn’t learn from old mistakes?
He noticed neither parent paid any attention to the small exchange between siblings, and they continued talking about… whatever it was.
“Oh, you’re right, how could I have forgotten about the time you both dyed your hair as skunks,” his mom’s amused voice interrupted whatever his dad was trying to say.
The man’s hearty laugh was almost contagious. “We sure had a lot of fun together back in the day.”
Danny couldn’t remember this part of the conversation in his original experience. He tried to focus on his current mission, putting his uneasiness aside. There were bigger things to worry about and he didn’t know how long he would be allowed to stay. He was here to get information, to gain valuable knowledge. But he had to be very careful with how in-depth he went, unless he wanted the reunion to go differently due to some random memory his dad tried to relive with Vlad. Knowing how enthusiastic his old man was, they were likely to be kicked out before Vlad’s attack could even happen.
Clockwork would no doubt chew him out for skewing the original events with something as dumb as that.
Thinking of subtle ways to get his parents talking without going overboard, he timidly cleared his throat. “So, uh… you’ve known this Vlad Masters guy for a long time?”
Jazz perked up at the mention of the name, her turquoise eyes wide with surprise. “Wait, wait, wait. Masters? As in The Vlad Masters? Who was named Affluence Magazine's Billionaire of the Year? That’s the Vlad you’ve been talking about all this time?"
Jack Fenton beamed and looked at his kids through the rearview mirror, the almost empty road ahead forgotten for what felt like a very long and dangerous moment. “That’s the guy! How did you know, Danno?”
Crap. “Oh… uh, you mentioned it one time when I was actually paying attention?” Danny nervously tried to recover. “But I don’t remember how long you’ve known each other. Pretty sure you mentioned it before.”
Jack shrugged his previous questions away in favor of replying to his son. “Ah, yes, we first met in our last year of high school.”
“Your dad and Vlad, that is,” Maddie corrected.
“Oh, right, we met you later in college,” Jack amended as the memory came back to him.
“But, yes, son. We go way back. We became roommates, lab partners, and best friends in college. We did everything together. We probably have a lot of embarrassing stories to share, too. He wasn’t always this ultra-rich and handsome bachelor in magazine covers, y’know?”
This piqued Danny’s interest, sensing there could also be some heartwarming stories there that could help him break Vlad’s evil mastermind mode. Even Jazz had become very interested at the mention of the older billionaire’s past, no doubt trying to find something to analyze about his upbringing. Before either of the Fenton siblings could ask anything on that note, Maddie snorted.
“Right, because he was such a charmer,” she said with no veiled tinge of sarcasm, surprising both teens.
Thankfully, Jazz intervened first. “What do you mean? He wasn’t good looking back then?” Danny would never let future-Jazz live down just how much she was fawning over his arch-nemesis.
Maddie turned around to face her children. The smug smile and mischievous glint in her violet eyes seemed to come from some memory capable of destroying Vlad’s entire reputation if she dared to share it. Danny wasn’t sure that’s what he needed for his mission but it probably wouldn’t hurt either. “Oh, that wasn’t the real issue,” she replied. “He wasn’t completely unattractive. He just lacked… people skills.”
Or maybe Danny could work with this after all. “So he didn’t socialize well?” he ventured to ask.
Jack released a heavy sigh. “Vladdie didn’t have many friends,” he revealed. “That’s how we met. No one liked him enough to sit with him at lunch. So I joined him one day and we started hanging out. He’s… oh, I dunno… too uptight? Grouchy? We always told him to take a chill pill when he was stressed. It’s not that he doesn’t like people. It’s just that he didn’t know how to start a conversation and always wound up ranting about whatever the topic was.”
Huh… so he had always been a lonely and bitter dude. Was that why he was so cocky now? Because he gained power in many ways despite not playing well with others? Yeah, maybe getting Jazz to psychoanalyze him would be more helpful.
“You know…” Maddie mused out loud, “come to think about it, maybe that’s why he clicked with Harriet, then.”
Wait… what? Vlad had clicked with someone? If his mom knew about it, could it have been in college? He needed to find out more. Maybe reigniting the fire with this old flame was the answer to all his problems. But, how would he get the full scoop without getting his parents hyper-fixated on the topic?
Once again, Jazz came to the rescue. “Ooh, so he had a college sweetheart? Do you think she’ll be there?”
Maddie shook her head. “Even if she was, I’m not sure she would want to talk about it.”
“What do you mean?” Danny asked.
“Well…” the mother of two turned around once again to meet their eyes. Who knew she would spill the tea on Vlad in more than one way? “We all met Harriet in college, while she was majoring in Journalism. Despite the completely different career interests and calling us crackpots, she was fascinated with paranormal things, so she would usually come to the lab where we worked on our ghost research and try to ask millions of things.”
“Oh, I get it,” Jazz interrupted. “Vlad would go on and on talking about your research and Harriet would always ask for more information. It makes so much sense.” Danny couldn’t agree more.
Maddie visibly cringed. “Not exactly,” she replied. “She usually got on his nerves because she wouldn’t let him concentrate. We didn’t mind the company-“
“And I loved blathering on and on about ghosts,” Jack interjected.
“Right, there was also that,” Maddie conceded with a fond smile. “But Vlad preferred his privacy. Something Harriet disregarded on every opportunity. But when you think about it, that’s where they were similar. Neither knew how to socialize well, despite Harriet’s perky attitude.”
The young half-ghost wasn’t sure if this would help at all. Getting Vlad to recover some humanity by using his lack of socialization and bad temper? Yeah, no, that wasn’t it.
“Okay, but then… how did they end up together? And was there a nasty break-up? Will there be any tense issues to resolve while we’re at the reunion?” Jazz asked each question in rapid succession. There was a bright spark in her eye and Danny was sure her psychologist brain was working in overdrive.
Jack chuckled. “Hold your horses, Jazzerincess. They only dated briefly. We don’t even know how exactly they got together, but we sure know how the downfall went.”
Okay, so maybe using an old college girlfriend was definitely not the way to go, Danny noted. Back to square 1.
Before either teen could ask about it, Maddie spoke again. “They got together in secret, so we don’t know for sure how brief their relationship was. We believe his family didn’t want him to date someone unfit for their son, so that’s why they didn’t say anything. The Masters family had their wealth and reputation, though not as impressive as Vlad’s current status, that’s for sure. And one day someone caught them making out in a… compromising setting. His parents found out and they decided to call it quits after a nasty fight about the difference between being discreet and being ashamed to share their relationship.”
Ouch…
“Hold on,” Danny couldn’t help voicing his disbelief this time. “So you’re saying they did like each other?”
Maddie shrugged. “Well… yes, I suppose. But the way they treated each other afterward wasn’t so friendly.”
“Oh, I remember now!” Jack interjected proudly. “That’s why we invented the Harry Chin nickname! To show Vlad some support after the breakup.”
His wife sighed. “You came up with that name on your own, honey. Probably brought her some bad childhood memories, after all the bullying she told us she went through.”
Danny had to give his dad some credit for actually showing some remorse. “Oh, hadn’t thought about it that way, Mads.”
The woman smiled warmly as she patted his shoulder. “Anyway,” she continued. “I don’t know if Vlad’s aware, but she even went to visit him at the hospital after his accident. His parents were also there, so I’m guessing they didn’t say anything.”
The mere thought of Vlad having parents somehow hadn’t crossed Danny’s mind. Learning how they had messed up his overly entitled son so badly, he guessed the family route was a no-go on his journey to redeem Vlad’s humanity. But maybe Harriet was. And he knew for sure she would be at the reunion, going after the scoop of the strange haunting while sitting inside the Fenton GAV. Who knew? Maybe that way Vlad would also stop going after his mom.
The Fentons then continued talking about Vlad’s accident and how Jack had made the wrong calculations that time, but not aware of what the cause had been. Danny wouldn’t get into this risky topic, opting instead of thinking up a plan that could work without breaking the future.
He wondered if Clockwork would be too mad if he just pushed some small things in the right direction…
————————————-
So far his visit had gone just as he remembered with Vlad: barely concealed hatred towards his dad, nauseating advances on his mom, and an indifferent Jazz trying to not get involved at all. So what if he piqued his sister’s interest enough this time to want to interact with Harriet or Vlad during the reunion? To get them to consider talking to each other enough to start rethinking their relationship. Maybe confess the hospital visits or something like that.
Dropping an innocent “it’s too bad Mr. Masters probably never found out about Harriet’s visits when he was sick,” did all the trick to get Jazz inadvertently on board with his plan. Which, he had to remember constantly, he couldn’t tell her about because she didn’t know his secret yet.
So that left him wondering during their first night at Vlad’s castle about what to do about his ghost sense going off in a few minutes. He couldn’t let the ghosts go attack his dad and he didn’t know if he’d be able to beat the fruit loop. Even if he had a vague memory of what the older half-ghost would do, he couldn’t risk letting the fight get out of hand and having his parents involved.
Figuring he couldn’t make such a drastic change in the timeline, he followed the vultures when they triggered his ghost sense and caught them swiftly in his thermos before they reached his dad (that had gone like that, right?). He braced himself for Vlad’s taunting on his heroics while he floated back in the same hallway. Now that he thought about it, he was surprised that Skulker hadn’t revealed his identity before or given any clues about the existence of another half-ghost.
“My vultures were supposed to bring the big idiot to me, but you'll do!” The venomous voice sneered. The teen turned around to face his older foe, who was going for smug and intimidating just like the first time. “Danny Phantom, right?”
Danny rolled his eyes. He only had two options and he hated both equally: leave before the fight even started (like a coward) or make the same pathetic attempts to attack Vlad before passing out (like an idiot). The worst part was he didn’t even remember the full battle; only the gist of it. Like, what had been the right sequence here? What had they said? He knew he wouldn’t be able to keep things faithful to the original fight. He only remembered the taunting and the way Vlad showed off his powers before blasting him through the wall. It was boring, he now realized, without their more direct jabs to one another, like taunting Plasmius about his need to get a cat, or about his loneliness—
Oh. Now he understood why it stung Vlad so much.
“Aren't you going to try to shove me into your ridiculous thermos?”
Danny had been distracted enough to miss the banter and the moment Vlad made three duplicates of himself to surround him. After a triumphant smirk, the older hybrid landed an effective blow against the boy, sending him crashing through the wall. Rinse and repeat?
Or maybe not, because at the last minute Danny’s instincts had kicked in and he covered himself in a ghost shield, reducing the damage he had originally received… and thus, not fainting and changing back in the hallway like he did the first time. Crap…
Before Vlad could phase through the wall after him, just like before, the boy sprinted invisibly to his room and changed back under his covers, hoping he hadn’t been seen or followed by Vlad. If he had stayed, there was a good chance his parents could wake up, making things much more complicated than they already were.
After a few minutes of waiting and no signs of his ghost sense, he figured the older ghost had gone back to whatever scheming he had in mind. Hopefully, none that involved attacking his dad, now that his vultures were locked inside the thermos.
Had he really avoided revealing his secret to Vlad?
Yep, he had screwed up big time.
------------
Danny had half hoped the Master of Time would pull him back to his own timeline any moment now. Yet, when he woke up he was still stuck in Wisconsin two years in the past. That probably meant he hadn’t changed the timeline as much as he thought (meaning Vlad could still learn his secret before the trip was over). Or, he had messed up enough that it was beyond repair and there was no way to get back.
Nah, that wasn’t like Clockwork.
The morning was filled with movement from caterers, decorators, florists, and such. He didn’t remember this morning being as busy. Then again, the first time he overslept after trying to recover from the beating he got from Vlad. Speaking of which…
He noticed the man almost cornered by Jazz in the main hallway, staring at the girl as if he were two seconds away from sending his ghost animals to attack her. Danny took it as his cue to intervene and save his sister from a murderous half-ghost. He could hear only fragments of her one-sided conversation and it looked like she was talking about the importance of building strong relationships based on trust. Yeah, that was definitely his cue.
“Hey, uh, Jazz?” Danny interrupted, earning an annoyed scowl from the older man and his sister as well (both for very different reasons, he was sure). “Do you think it’ll be safe for dad to carry his Fenton Xtractor around during the party?” At the first mention of the ghost hunting device that almost ruined her hair a couple of months back, the girl’s eye twitched. “I’m not so sure the other guests would mind looking at their inventions, but—”
“Ugh, why can’t they try being normal for once?” she muttered as she left the room almost stomping her feet.
Danny chuckled but soon noticed Vlad’s attention on him. His future arch-rival had something close to a sinister smile on his face. With all the history between them back in the present, he had learned it never meant anything good. “Well played, little badger,” the old man spoke without the usual malice reserved for the younger thorn on his side. “I believe I’m indebted to you, hmm?”
The teen gaped, waiting for the other shoe to drop at any moment. “Uh, no, no prob, Vlad. I mean… Mr. Masters. My sister has wanted to be a psychologist since she learned what the word meant, so I know how overbearing she can get when she’s targeting someone new.”
Vlad hummed to himself. “Do you know perhaps what your imprudent father said to make her think I need to ‘open up’ more?” he asked with a look of utter annoyance as he air-quoted the term.
This was uncharted territory for Danny. He couldn’t remember the last normal conversation he had with Vlad, if any. “Uh, well, you see… She just… wants you to be happy.”
The billionaire quirked his eyebrow. “Oh? Now, why would she think I’m not?”
The teen shrugged. Winging it was really not the brightest idea, but he had no other option now. Besides, if Clockwork hadn’t taken him back over Vlad not knowing his secret, why would he do it now? For all he knew, he was stuck until he had learned a valuable lesson or whatever. Might as well make it a worthy (and fun) one while at it. “We heard you were in love with someone back in college, and how hard it was for her when you were at the hospital all those years ago.”
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it: Vlad was at a loss of words, his mouth resembling a fish. Following his expressions closely, his face told Danny half the story. Vlad thought this could be about his beloved Maddie Fenton, for sure, but there was a part of him that knew she wouldn’t confess something like that to her children. So it had to be someone else. And now the confused man had no idea who would have cared that much about him. He seemed completely out of the loop.
“You might have the wrong story, son,” Vlad replied instead. He was trying to get more information, so at least he took the bait.
“No, no… I’m pretty sure it was like that. We heard the names ‘Harriet’ and ‘Vlad’ enough to remember how the story went,” the teenager answered.
Vlad’s eyes widened in an almost comic manner. This sole interaction was well worth the trip to the past. “You mean… Harry? She… went to see me?”
Did he call her Harry? Wasn’t that supposed to be a bad nickname associated with childhood trauma or something?
Dispelling those thoughts, he realized he was now doing his sister’s role as a matchmaker in the plan. And considering he already screwed up the timeline from what he could tell, maybe he could keep changing some things a little? If only to see how much of an impact it could have later on when taking this route with the future Vlad.
“Yeah, she went to visit so many times, your folks apparently threatened with a restraining order.” Okay so maybe this was not true, but he was already altering past events before this small lie. “Or something like that. Mom wasn’t very clear on the details.”
It was such a delight to see the all-powerful Vlad Masters deep in concentration as millions of scenes played in his head. He looked troubled, probably trying to decide what to do with this information. After all, it had been 20 years since he last saw anyone from college.
“I…see,” the older half-ghost replied softly before he composed himself, tugging at his cufflinks. “I appreciate your help, my boy. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a gathering to prepare.”
With that, Vlad left his previous spot to scold someone for setting the wrong flower arrangement by the entrance. From that distance, anyone could think he was back to his usual self. Danny knew better after two years of getting into each other’s heads. If anything, the older hybrid was distracted by the innocent revelation.
For someone as reserved and bitter as Vlad, knowing someone cared enough about him despite how bad things had been, probably meant more than he would dare to admit out loud.
Now, to see if the fireworks would happen.
————————————-
That night the reunion had been flowing well and there were still no signs of the time-keeping ghost. Folks in their forties were talking to each other about their numerous achievements, growing families, as well as other life events; taking their old-fashioned moves to the dance floor, drinking, and overall having a blast. Danny only hoped the last part didn’t become literal. He still wasn’t sure if Vlad had a change of heart after their conversation or if he would go through with overshadowing his dad to try to get his mom back. Either way, he had to stay alert in case there was anything suspicious going on.
How was the fruit loop’s original plan supposed to work, anyway? As if his mom wouldn’t figure out his dad was overshadowed or that there was some ghost involved. And even if she didn’t, then what? Would Vlad have to keep his ghostly nature hidden from her all the time to avoid suspicion? That didn’t seem remotely healthy for either of them. Even without Danny’s intervention, the plan didn’t seem that good, now that he thought about it. “Retrospective clairvoyance”, Clockwork would mockingly call it.
There were also so many differences to take into account this time around. Aside from still having his ghost powers hidden from Vlad, Jazz had decided to grace them with her presence during the party, if only to meet the now-famous Harriet Chin out of sheer curiosity. His dad, on the other hand, tried to avoid mentioning the journalist’s nickname to keep the bad memories it caused her out of the way.
Harriet, still as sharp as Danny recalled from the first version of the reunion, noticed the effort and didn’t cringe with his dad’s greetings as obviously as then. “Maddie, Jack, so glad to see you after all these years.”
“Danny, Jazz, meet Harriet Chin. She's a big-shot reporter for the Milwaukee Journal now.” Once again, his dad avoided the old nickname completely. Danny was very proud of him.
“Oh, please, call me Har, no need to be so formal about it,” the woman replied, waving at the two teens in front of her.
“Nice to meet you!” Jazz said enthusiastically. “We’ve heard so many stories, you probably had a great time back in college.” Danny was sure his sister was baiting her into showing some hint of emotion to latch on. That side of her had always been a bit scary. And he was supposed to be the spooky kid…
Contrary to their beliefs, Har only laughed. “Oh, do I have any? Did you know your parents tried to make a ghost portal back in college?”
Jack’s face switched to a triumphant grin as he opened his mouth to respond, probably about how they had managed to complete the portal after all these years. However, Jazz beat him to the answer. “Ah, that’s right, with Vlad, wasn’t it?”
Har seemed taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected a direct mention of her ex-boyfriend’s name. “Right…” she replied with a pensive look followed by a quick shrug, the indifference not reaching her eyes. “I’m so glad he turned out all right after his accident. I mean, billionaire? What are the odds, right?”
Jazz had apparently found what she was looking for as she gave her best fangirl performance (not that she needed that much practice). “Wouldn’t it be neat to have an exclusive interview?”
At this, Harriet deflated a bit, a mixture of bitterness and hurt evident in her furrowed brow. “Yeah… I’m not so sure he’d like to see me. I’m surprised he even invited me in the first place.”
This took everyone by surprise, but this time Maddie was the first to voice her concern and confusion. “Oh, sweetie, why would you think that?”
Harriet turned around to grab something from the table, the punch being her closest distraction to avoid their eyes. “His parents were very clear the last time I went to visit him at the hospital,” she replied in the most casual tone she could muster, which didn’t convince anyone. “He woke up and refused to see me, saying he didn’t want any kind of stress while he was recovering.”
Danny, who was now committed to giving Vlad a healthier relationship to avoid his evil shenanigans, took a step in front of Harriet to meet her eyes. “Sorry to say this, but they lied,” he said. He was glad he wasn’t facing his parents as he spoke or their surprised looks would’ve been too distracting. “He didn’t even know you went to visit!”
The reporter’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”
Yeah, he was going to die on this hill until Clockwork took his corpse back to his timeline. “And I know for a fact he still has a crush from his days in college,” he added. Of course, he didn’t mention that said crush was Maddie Fenton…
This time three other voices from the Fenton family joined Harriet in unison. “What?”
“How do you know that?” he heard his mom ask incredulously.
Harriet was at a loss after Maddie’s intervention, realizing there was no way this kid knew more than his parents about what was going on. So she eyed him skeptically. But before she could argue with him, Danny crossed his arms with a smug expression. “Trust me,” he continued. “I know for a fact that’s why he went out of his way to host the college reunion.” Technically, not a lie.
“He… did?” Har asked confused.
“Besides,” Danny added for his grand finale, “haven’t you noticed he barely interacts with anyone?”
The way Harriet immediately went from being indifferent to searching for the billionaire frantically was almost worth the half-lies he said. There was now a tiny bit of chance they would both at least talk, which would distract Vlad enough to get him to forget his attack during the reunion. Which, to be honest, didn’t mean it would make him stop from trying to murder his dad and marry his mom in the future. Besides, there was like a 99 percent chance the timeline would be reset again before the night was over. So, yeah, he was going to see how far his attempt went if only to see if it would hold when he went back to the future.
And there, after a few seconds, Vlad and Harriet stared at each other from opposite sides of the large room. Their wide eyes and slightly open mouth revealed something Danny hadn’t seen in his ego-centric rival in a long time: hope.
He guessed it wouldn’t hurt to have an invisible ear nearby. He wasn’t about to let this ship sink now that he was made aware of its existence.
—————
After excusing themselves from their respective companions, Vlad and Harriet met in the middle of the room, where people continued pogo-dancing obliviously around them to a cover of “Take on Me”. It took them a moment to recover their composure, going from awestruck teens to casual adults once they were standing face to face.
“Harry,” Vlad greeted with no hint of emotion, something he had to get used to after years of mastering his unique abilities.
“Vladdy,” she replied with a playful grin, earning a cringe from the host of the reunion. The teasing woman knew he hated that nickname more than she hated hers.
“Fair enough,” the man replied as he adjusted the lapels of his black jacket. “It’s… nice to see you here.”
Harriet, feeling with the upper hand after her initial win, changed into an unimpressed expression. “You say that as if you hadn’t expected me here.”
Vlad huffed. “You know that’s not what I meant,” he replied.
“C’mon, Vlad...” she continued in the same tone as she folded her arms in front of her. “You and I both know it ended ugly between us. We haven’t even talked in twenty years. But, hey, no need to hold any hard feelings over something that happened so long ago, right? So why don’t we catch up?”
“I…” the half-ghost, mastermind of complex strategies and evil schemes, was caught off guard. How did she manage to make it sound so nonchalant? He knew he had to go straight to the point before they got carried away in their usual banter. “I know you went to visit.”
Harry shrugged as if it wasn’t remotely relevant now. It certainly wasn’t news that he knew, but she wasn’t willing to admit it made a difference to learn when he found out. “Yeah, well, that was a long time ago, too.”
Vlad seemed exasperated as he grabbed her hand and led her away from the dance floor. Once they stood away from the large crowd, he sighed and collected his thoughts again. “You don’t understand… all these years, I thought… I was told Maddie had been the only one to visit. I never saw anyone, but that alone changed everything.”
The reporter snorted. “What, you thought Maddie was there to be your Florence Nightingale?”
She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but that confession alone hurt. She knew Vlad had a thing for Maddie before they started dating. She even teased him about it countless times until they ended up dating one day just to prove he would be a lousy boyfriend. He wasn’t. Despite all the playful fights, the awful nicknames, and constant bickering, they had a lot of fun together. He was smart, well-spoken, knew about many different topics despite his odd choice of paranormal studies, and always had some witty comeback when you least expected it. He was a man full of surprises.
Vlad, knowing well he shouldn’t focus the conversation on Maddie, ignored the question and shifted gears to voice his main conundrum. “Why did you do it?” he asked. “I can’t, for the life of me, think of a good reason you would have to care about me, after everything that happened. You had made it quite clear you never wanted to see me again.”
If something was eating him up after his conversation with the young Fenton boy, was the fact that there was someone else who had felt concerned enough about him to visit the hospital. He asked a ghost who owed him a favor and was well-acquainted with books, libraries, and records to search for the hospital archives from those exact dates. The documents revealed there were dozens of visits at the hospital’s entrance from one Harriet J. Chin. There were also some from Maddie and Jack, who had gone together. None of which ended in an actual visit to his room. His parents, who had already passed away several years ago, wouldn’t be able to answer why they only told him about Maddie. Or why they never let him have any visitors, despite how many times he expressed feeling lost and alone. He tried to keep out of his head the long nights in the solitude of his hospital bed dealing with the aftermath of the accident, of the ecto-acne, of his newly-acquired powers. But most of all, he wanted to avoid addressing the drastic change in his life as it all collapsed in front of his eyes. His health, his career, his friends, his dreams… everything.
He came back to reality when Harry punched him in the arm, the hit surprising him more than it hurt. “Because I cared about you, lamebrain. You were the only person I could annoy with questions who actually tried to answer politely instead of telling me to buzz off. You even inspired me to go to Rumakistan, did you know that? There was so much ambition in your eyes, a hunger to conquer the world in a way that would change it for the better, even if it was by creating renewable energy through ghostly dimensions or whatever. It made me feel like I could do anything, too. So I knew you needed company when you were bedridden. You needed someone to banter with until you had no choice but to recover just to spite them. To fight back. To thrive. So, yeah… that’s why.”
Vlad stared at her, the fiery passion still burning in her eyes as she spoke. There was that lack of formalities he adored. The challenge of trying to not be outsmarted by her. When he remembered his time with Harry, he had felt so… free. Like he could be no one but himself, even with his flaws, his short temper, and his awkwardness. None of that ever mattered when he was with her. And he had forgotten all about that just because of a lie he fed himself from misleading information during twenty long years.
He made a silent vow to make things right. Suddenly, he felt like he had a second chance. A chance to reassess his priorities, his… obsession. It was never about being with Maddie. It was always about not being alone. That’s why he always hired others to do things he could handle on his own. Or why he allowed that annoying Dairy King to roam within his newly-bought castle. He craved for company, one way or the other.
But now… now he was able to willingly share that company, instead of crafting overly complicated plans to get back at Jack and win Maddie over.
Now he could be free again.
Vlad smiled, a genuine smile this time. Something Harry had found rare and precious back in the day. “I guess we’ll have to see how that appetite to devour the world holds over dinner.”
Harry smiled as well, a smug and playful smile. Something Vlad understood was meant to keep the game going, just like nothing had happened in those twenty lost years. “I hope you know I don’t impress as easily after all I’ve traveled. You better have something out of this world planned.”
There was an eerie, red glint in his eyes. Probably a lighting trick, she thought. “Oh, I can think of a few surprises you would find fascinating,” he replied in a mischievous tone she had never heard from him.
The two reunited lovers felt a rush of excitement, eager to see what the future would hold for them now.
———————
“Hey, what gives?” Danny exclaimed as he blinked and suddenly appeared in Clockwork’s tower. The dizziness that followed his time travels came again at full force. His ghost form was now visible after being a silent eavesdropper during the exchange between Vlad and Harriet. And just when he was getting to the good part…
So, this probably meant he had learned all he needed to get back and help Vlad become a more decent half-human being. That was likely why the Master of Time finally restored the timeline. Oh, well… at least he had very valuable information now. Way more insight than he had first expected and something made him feel bad about the old man. All those lies he was fed, all those years lost…
“So I guess that’s it, huh?” the half-ghost asked without expecting a real answer, his disappointed tone betraying the gratitude expressed afterward. “Thanks for the ride back in time. I’m glad there’s a way to help Vlad now.”
An adult-shaped Clockwork stared at something beyond Danny, remembering the wonderful sound of this particular melody. A round-shaped screen played the events following Danny’s departure. After getting the boy back to the Ghost Zone, though not exactly back to when he expected.
The half-ghost’s brow furrowed and he turned around to look at what had caught his guardian’s attention. He was still nauseous, and now added a new layer of dread as he grew confused, disoriented, and overwhelmed all at once. “Is that…?”
“Some people need a second chance to keep the world from being destroyed. Some might get it when the time is just right,” Clockwork cryptically replied as he shifted to his older self. “Care to see what you missed in your new timeline?”
The implications behind his words punched Danny in the gut. He felt terrified of what had changed and how much he would have to learn from scratch. Would he have to re-learn to use his powers? Did that mean he never met Frostbite or befriended Valerie? Had Pariah even returned? New memories began to emerge and Danny understood where his vertigo was finally coming from. His old timeline began to fade until it remained like a very weird dream. The two-year backlog was going to be exhausting to sort through. Wasn’t he supposed to forget it all? Wait, no, that’s why he remembered the Nasty Burger incident even when the future changed, right? Ugh, he was only fueling his headache further.
Clockwork shifted to an older man, his grey beard giving him something to focus on other than the swirling screens in front of him. “Take your time, Danny. You already did your part.”
The teen got a flash of a new memory: Uncle Vlad was very excited, sharing some important news with his newly reacquainted friends. That’s when he confirmed he had fulfilled his original mission. But at what cost? That was still a mystery. Wait… “Uncle Vlad?” he groaned and tried with all his might not to barf into the clock tower’s floor. “Are you kidding me?”
The time guardian smirked. The bastard actually dared to smirk as if the experience had been too amusing for him. “As I said, take your time.”
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oboenotclarinet · 3 years
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IT BORTHDAY
That's right, today is my very best friend's birthday, so everybody give a big ole "Happy 293847923 years!" to @ectolights!
And of course no birthday is complete without a present, so I made something for you allllllll by myself!
Enjoy my little concoction under the break!
“Goodnight, Ryan!”
“Shut up!”
Shane snickered to himself as he left Ryan alone in a dingy, crusty room of an even dingier, crustier hospital. It was supposed to be haunted. So far, Shane was not impressed. Ryan, on the other hand, was still convinced, and Shane could hear the occasional string of babble as the other man tried to keep himself calm. To Ryan’s credit, the North Mercy Hospital did look pretty creepy. Shane had even made a joke about how the dilapidated sign out front read “No Mercy” after losing some of its letters. The place had been abandoned for years, and was recommended to them by a ghost-hunter couple from an interview earlier in the day.
“I really don’t get what the problem is here,” Shane said casually into his camera. He turned down another dark hallway, pointing his flashlight into the gloom. “I mean, really the only spooky thing here is how nobody cleaned up all this mold. This whole hallway is a health code violation!”
His laugh echoed through the building. Eventually, he reached the room that he’d elected to stay in: the operating room. He unrolled his sleeping bag with a flick and settled into it, setting his camera on the floor beside him. Of course, there would be another camera already set up somewhere else in the room, more focused on ghost activity than whatever nonsense he got up to. Shane zipped up his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. A few times, he heard a little creak or pop as the building settled around him. No doubt Ryan would be rattled by every small noise.
Right on the verge of falling asleep, Shane felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. He brushed at the spot, dismissing it as a stray spider. The prickling returned, slowly spreading along his spine until he was fully awake. Rubbing his face, Shane sat up. He shivered. The air in the operating room was considerably colder now.
“Can’t a man get a good night’s rest in this old, creepy abandoned hospital?” Shane asked the empty room.
There was no response.
“Come on, then ghosts! Kill me!”
Silence.
“Yeah, I thought so.” Shane was halfway down to settle back in his sleeping bag when he heard the inklings of a disembodied whisper.
The words were just too soft to make out, until the voice rose into an annoyed, “Then I’ll take care of it.”
Shane watched as a ragged green portal ripped open on the wall across from him. A casual “huh” was all the commentary he gave. He briefly checked the cameras in the room. Red lights off. Shane shrugged and disentangled himself from his sleeping bag, abandoning his dead handheld camera and walking straight into the portal.
On the other side, he found himself standing on a floating chunk of rock, with dark greenish-black grass growing out of it. All around him were a few more rock chunk islands, and beyond that, a swarm of violet doors in a sea of endless, swirling dark green.
Shane put his hands on his hips. “Well this isn’t Ohio.��
“No,” a young voice said. “It’s not.”
Shane looked up to see a lean figure floating out above the island. It was a teenage boy, sitting criss-crossed in the air. Totally normal, except for the stark white shock of hair on his head. As he got closer, Shane could see hollow, glowing green eyes staring out from the boy’s face. A ghost. Probably.
“Howdy!” Shane said.
“Don’t ‘howdy’ me,” the kid snapped. “What are you? And what are you doing here?”
“My name’s Shane and I walked through a portal.”
“Yeah, obviously. I mean what are you doing in Amity Park. And I didn’t ask who you are. I asked what you are.” The ghost kid touched down on the island, barely disturbing the grass. He couldn’t have been older than fourteen.
Shane smiled, hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels. “I am a bonafide man.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Come again?”
“You’re not human. And you’re definitely not a ghost. So what are you?”
The kid was closer to Shane now, and the height difference between them was becoming more and more apparent, almost as if Shane were growing taller as the boy approached.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” Shane offered.
Crossing his arms, the kid thought for a moment. “Fine. I’m Phantom, and I’m a ghost.”
Shane burst into laughter. “Phantom? What did you die, wake up a ghost, and go ‘Hey, I should pick something thematically relevant’?”
Phantom scowled. “Whatever, dude. It’s your turn.”
“I am a professional ghost skepticist,” Shane said with a note of pride. “My buddy Ryan and I have a show where we explore supposedly haunted places, and my job is to make fun of him when he hears weird noises.”
“You- what?”
“I’m the guy that insists ghosts aren’t real every episode.”
“Must be pretty hard to do that standing in the spirit world talking to a ghost.”
“Well, to be fair, this is the first real ghost encounter I’ve ever had.”
Phantom raised an eyebrow. “You have a show about ghosts and you’ve never actually met one?”
“Yep!” Shane was now toeing black rocks with his sock-foot.
“Then you guys must be the unluckiest ghost hunters in Amity Park. People here– uh, there, see ghosts every other day.”
Shane kicked a pebble, sending it bouncing over the edge of the island. Instead of falling, it dipped and then shot upwards into the void. “Who said anything about luck?”
Turning away from where the pebble had floated off, Phantom looked at Shane. The man was just a bit too tall now. Limbs too lanky. Fingers too long. But only just so, to the point that Phantom thought maybe it was his imagination. Shane was staring him straight in the eyes now, with the same half-lidded, smug expression he’d been wearing the whole time. The dim light of the ghost zone glimmered in his pupils.
“How do you know,” Shane began in his laid-back tone, “that the ghosts and ghouls and demons weren’t just too scared to face me?”
Phantom kicked off the ground as anxious energy rippled across his nerves like an electric pulse. “Get out.”
Shane grinned. He had too many teeth. “Or what? You’ll kill me? Come on, do it. Kill me! Rip my heart out!”
“Get OUT!” Phantom was humming with ghostly energy, toxic eyes blazing and death-white hair wisping up from his face. Ectoplasmic energy coursed up his arms from his hands, and cold, blue breath misted out from both corners of his mouth. Shane could see a neon green crown-like shape shimmering into form over Phantom’s head, flickering like flame.
Shane held up his hands. “Alright, I’m leaving.” He stuffed his hands back into his pockets and casually turned back towards the portal. “I can’t give Ryan the satisfaction of dying in Ghost Land anyway.”
Phantom watched, still on guard, as Shane disappeared through the portal. It shut with a sort of backwards zwoop! sound, and Shane was gone. Phantom breathed out his energy, still feeling the man’s presence grating against his instincts.
“Kio diable estes tio?”
Phantom turned towards the voice, landing on the island again. Two pointed, black ears and a pair of round, green eyes peered at him over a black boulder.
“I don’t know, Wulf. I hope we never see him– it – again.” Phantom said grimly.
-------
The next morning, Shane knocked on the open door to Ryan’s room and leaned into the frame. “Didja sleep well?”
“Man, screw you,” Ryan grumbled. “I swear these places only creak and groan where I’m staying.”
“See any ghosts?”
“No. Did you?”
“Nope! I slept like a baby.”
“Of course you did.”
They ran a final check to make sure they had packed up all their equipment.
Ryan shouldered a backpack. “Maybe we’ll find something on the tapes.”
“I doubt it,” Shane replied.
They discussed the previous day and night on the way out to the van, and as they left the North Mercy hospital, neither of them noticed the burning green eyes watching them from a second-story window.
-------
Ta-da! Happy birthday, Ecto! <3 <3 <3
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Out of Time (11)
First/Last Read on AO3 Word Count: 7411
Previously: Danny and Sam narrowly escape Dan - but not before a large blast hit its target.
Now: The fallout.
Link to the next chapter will be in the replies once posted. As always - please let me know what you think!
"Of course she did," Jazz said, sighing through the Fenton Phones. Tucker imagined Jazz's frustrated face, pinching the bridge of her nose. He fidgeted in his chair, looking at snack and energy drink covered console as he waited for them to say anything else.
"When was the last time you spoke with her Tucker?" Maddie asked worriedly.
Tucker frowned, looking at the time. It was Noon. "A few hours ago," he said, scanning the radar again. No Fenton Phone in range outside of the city. "She went out of range about a mile out. She was supposed to be back by now."
"And you're sure you had found Danny? Sam wasn't going in blind?" Jack confirmed; his voice tight.
Tucker glanced at Clockwork who still stared at the screens intently, eyes darting through each screen but staying expressionless as ever. He waited, hoping for some clue that they were okay, that he hadn't let Sam walk into a trap before responding. "Yeah, there's no question."
Jack sighed tiredly. "Danny's shield is still up," he said matter-of-factly. "And Sam is a capable girl. Between the two of them, they'll look out for each other. We're needed here - once we get rid of these Shadow Copies then we'll head out after them."
"Dad," Jazz started worriedly. "What if Sam was right? How can you be so sure they'll be okay?"
"Because we have to Jazzy," he replied simply, his normally booming voice quiet and reserved. "We have to believe it."
Tucker bit his lip nervously in the silence that followed. "Another thing," Tucker added uncomfortably, his hand twitching above the keyboard. "I think I figured it out."
"Tucker - that's great!" Jazz exclaimed.
"I knew you were good Foley!" Jack boomed.
"Except…" Tucker started worriedly. "It's not exact." He pulled up the ecto-signature code he had been working on all morning, looking at again with a thoughtful frown. "If I'm wrong and Danny's still out there, we'll strand him. Worse - if he's injured or hurt, he'll be a sitting target."
The line went silent. Tucker let out a deep shuddering breath, hands shaking as he ran them over his face.
"How sure are you?" Maddie asked him. He couldn't tell from her voice what she was feeling.
"Eighty percent," Tucker admitted bitterly. He glared at the screen. "Eighty-five if I'm optimistic." The line went silent again. The implied "what do I do?" hung in the quiet.
"Tucker," Maddie said gently. He heard her let out a shuddering breath of her own. "Danny trusts you. We trust you," she told him. "Whatever decision you need to make, do it."
"But-" he started.
"She's right," Jack agreed softly. "We'll stand by it. It needs to be you."
"He's your son!" Tucker blurted out anxiously. "I'm just-"
"His best friend," Jazz told him smoothly, trying to get him to calm down. "One of two people he trusted from day one. You have as much right as any of us. Tucker, you've been working on this straight for three days - taking everything into consideration. You are the best person to make that call."
Tucker swallowed nervously, staring at the button to launch the shield. He was silent for a few minutes before he answered. "Danny's shield is still up. I'll keep working on the code. Unless we know for sure that this will work, I won't use it." He looked at the radar again, shaking hands curling into fists. "Mr. Fenton's right, let's keep at those Shadows in case Dan shows his face in the city. I'll keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."
Tucker disconnected the line, rubbing his temples. He was starting to crash. "Did I make the right decision?" he asked conversationally to the ghost beside him. Clockwork, again, stayed quiet, making Tucker sigh again. "Come on, you must know something!"
"Even if I did," Clockwork replied with a hint of annoyance. "It wouldn't be much help."
"But slipping the Ecto-Enhancers to Sam is fine?" Tucker shot back with an eyebrow raised. When Sam had told him she took the enhancers and there was a note on them, he kept thinking how she would know where they were… until he remembered who suggested the lab bench to begin with.
"I did nothing," Clockwork replied, turning slightly. "I reminded her to arm herself in battle. What she decides to take with her is her choice. As this is yours."
Tucker sighed, annoyed. "Sure." They were silent again, Tucker looking hopefully at the radar again. "Anything interesting?"
Clockwork's frail hand pointed to one of the screens close to the school. "Another crack," he said with a frown. "Perhaps we need to contact the human in charge of that evacuation housing area."
Tucker frowned, looking at the list Mrs. Fenton left him and groaned. "That's Mr. Lancer. I'll-"
Clockwork gripped his staff tightly, falling to ground as a desperate piercing scream echoed through his mind. He gasped as the world slowed violently around him, feeling it fraying the fabric of time. "Tucker," the Time Master called urgently. When he got no response, he looked up with wide eyes. Tucker was moving slowly, the Time Medallion reflecting the lights of the console in front of him. The Time Master gasped as time shifted again, returning it to normal and left him out of breath on the ground.
"I'll tell - Clockwork!" Tucker exclaimed, jumping out of his seat over to the Time ghost. "What happened?"
Clockwork's eyes narrowed, mind racing. "Time just slowed." Tucker looked at him, down to the medallion around his neck and back at Clockwork. "I'm aware of that, yes" the ghost snapped irritably, before Tucker could comment. "Whoever just manipulated time also managed to affect anyone wearing the Time Medallions."
Tucker's eyes widened as he helped Clockwork up, the latter barely able to stay floating without his staff. "I thought you were the only who can stop and start time. Master and all that."
Clockwork's intense red eyes found the young teen's. "I am," he replied worried.
Tucker swallowed, looking at the screen and back to the ghost in front of him.
Clockwork waved him off. "I'll be fine," he assured, wincing slightly. "We need to warn the others. Quickly."
Tucker nodded, heading back to the console just as Ethelwulf and Frostbite came through the portal.
"Clockwork!" Frostbite cried, running to the Time Ghost, Ethelwulf at his heels.
"I'm fine," he dismissed, frowning at both of the ghosts. "We have bigger problems to deal with."
"That's why we're here," Ethelwulf replied grimly. Frostbite nodded vigorously, grabbing Clockwork's chest and helped steady him. "All of those Shadow Creatures just disappeared from my shield."
"What!?" Tucker exclaimed, looking at the wolf ghost before he looked back at the screens. "Why would-" Tucker paled, watching more of the shadows appear toward the East part of the shield. "Oh no…" he stood frozen for a second before switching the line of the Fenton Phones on again.
"We've got incoming!" Tucker told them urgently. "Those Shadows are concentrating on one point of the shield - they're trying to break through."
"Ethelwulf," Clockwork called, getting his attention again. Ethelwulf whipped his head around, yellow eyes trying to figure out what was wrong with his friend. "Sam went after Danny; if that shield breaks-"
His eyes widened briefly. "Ancients," he swore, looking at Frostbite. "Frostbite-" The Yeti leader nodded.
"You must go," Frostbite told him. "I can tend to the wounded in your absence - the Great One will need you more."
The ground rumbled under their feet as alarms sounded. Tucker gasped, staring at the various monitors. "The shield," he said quietly as they watched part of it explode and various shadows came into Amity Park. "Danny…"
:-=-:
Danny and Sam landed with a thud, skidding across the earth. With a small groan, Danny pushed himself up slightly, blurrily looking for his friend. His whole body burned in protest as he moved. "Sam," he murmured, coughing.
His blood ran cold when his eyes found her; she was sprawled across the ground, unmoving. No. "Sam!" Danny called hoarsely, coughing at the rawness of his throat. No response. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach as he called out again. His vision swam, making him groan as he pushed away anything he was feeling. Please let her be breathing. He managed to pull himself across the ground, letting out small cries of pain as he made his way over to her. "Sam, wake up!"
With extreme effort, Danny reached her, hovering in the air slightly as he looked her over. She was covered with scrapes and bruises but nothing too serious. In fact, the worst injury she seemed to have was the large hand sized bruise on her wrist from where Dan held her captive. "Come on," he whispered desperately, shaking her gently. Eventually, he saw her chest rise and relief washed over him. Danny let out a small laugh; she was alive – the blast didn't hit her.
Relishing in his relief a little more, Danny looked around their new surroundings. He could dimly see the town from where they were in the forest, a little further away from where they were previously. Or maybe they were closer - he could make out some of the buildings now. Thankfully, the shield was still intact but Dan was still out there.
And currently, they were sitting ducks.
Danny turned back to Sam with a frown, before landing and pushing himself upright, ignoring the sharp pains going up and down his body. Focus. Find cover. He managed to grab Sam under her arms and dragged the both of them to a small cover of trees. Finally reaching a suitable spot under a large oak tree, Danny collapsed with a grunt of pain, sending both teens to the ground. Worriedly, he looked over at his best friend as he gasped for air; she was still out cold. He pushed himself up from the ground, arms shaking in strain as he lugged himself closer toward the tree. "Figures," he wheezed, leaning back against the tree for support. His chest burned as his breathing recovered slightly. "You always were a late riser."
He pulled her close to him, feeling her chest rise and fall steadily against his against his ragged one. She made no move of waking, making him frown in thought. Dan's ectoblast hadn't hit her – had it? He made it in time right? He checked her over again, looking for anything he could of missed the first time.
Dread bubbled in the pit of his stomach as he saw a dark pool of liquid started to stain the side of her jumpsuit.
"How could I have-" Danny berated before stopping himself suddenly with a gasp. It wasn't blood - at least not anymore; dark green ectoplasm gushed out of his side and onto the both of them. "Shit," he whispered, wide eyed. The blast hadn't hit Sam – it hit him.
Panicking slightly, he brought his left hand to his side to try and stop the bleeding; groaning as he finally realized the situation they were in. He bit back a scream, throwing his head back against the trunk of the tree as he gasped for breath. Everything hurt. How the hell could he not notice? Dan was still out there, the shield was up, Sam was still unconscious, the ghost shield wasn't fixed and he apparently was bleeding out. Clockwork had said there was one favourable outcome – there must be a way out of this. They needed more time.
Glancing toward the city again, Danny frowned as his breathing became more ragged. His vision seemed to go dark around the edges as he focused internally, trying to sense whether the shield would hold. He felt something stab at his core, crying out softly as the pain moved through him. He looked at the unconscious girl briefly before looking back toward the shield. There was no sight of his evil self.
If that goes down, the city would be in jeopardy, he thought bitterly. But if Dan finds us, we're screwed. He contemplated his next move, trying to figure out what would make the most sense. He looked down at his side – his white glove was coated in too much ectoplasm. Grim realization caused him to let out a shuddering breath. There wasn't much time. Concentrating, he focused what he could on making them invisible, biting back a groan as his core fought against the abuse.
Danny closed his eyes, his breathing coming out in small gasps. Come on Sam, he thought hopefully. You gotta wake up. He felt his body weaken as ectoplasm continued to ooze through his fingers. His core continued to send sharp pains and sparks through him as he tried not to panic. Okay. You're losing ectoplasm. It could be worse right?
Danny bit back a scream as his core sparked to life. His mind left his body, back toward the shield protecting the town. He could see Dan's shadowy minions attacking the shield, their attacks bombarded his senses. He tried to put energy into the shield to hold it, but his core violently protested against him. The shield cracked, crushing pain against his ribs and electricity coursed through him. He vaguely felt his back arch against the attack as he bit back another scream. It was too much - it needed to stop. The invisibility was starting to wane slightly as he lost a grip of his powers. Making a split second decision, he released his hold on the shield. Danny gasped as he was thrown back to his body, hearing the explosions in the distance. He opened his eyes dully, still gasping heavily as part of the dome on the Eastern side of the city shattered, creating the opening Dan's forces needed to attack his home.
He groaned as he felt the shield crumble more."Still could be worse," he quipped darkly, wincing at how raw his voice sounded.
It was getting harder to breathe as the time passed. He closed his eyes again, trying to keep the invisibility going for as long as he could. He already failed the city; he wasn't going to fail his friend. He wondered briefly if this was what dying was supposed to feel like – slow, agonizing defeat. Clockwork warned me this would happen. It was always a possibility. He hugged Sam tighter with his right arm.
Relief washed over him as Sam finally stirred. He didn't move, still trying to focus on staying conscious for a little longer to keep the invisibility. Suddenly, she jerked in his grasp, making him hiss in pain. "Sam – it's me!" he whispered urgently, vaguely aware of how faint he sounded now. "It's okay!"
Sam stilled against him. "Danny?" she questioned, relief, worry and confusion coming through the one word.
Danny swallowed. "I need you to check if we're safe," he pushed. He scrunched his eyes tighter as he tried to suppress any show of pain from his injuries. "Okay? Let me know if I can drop the invisibility."
Sam nodded against his chest as she moved. She didn't let go, crouching low as she surveyed their surroundings. Sam frowned as Danny's breath hitched slightly, but made no comment. "Coast is clear," she told him. She broke away, feeling herself become visible as she waited for Danny to drop his powers. The slight smile on her face slid off as Danny reappeared in front of her.
His head was thrown back against the oak tree, facing upwards to the sky. He breathed hard, almost as if he couldn't get enough air in his body. There was a large hand shaped bruise that curled around his neck, turning purple against his pale skin. As Sam ran her eyes over his battered body, they stopped dead at his left side at the sight of the ectoplasm running through his gloved hand. Breaking out of her stupor, she moved quickly, putting her hands on top of his and applied pressure. Danny let out a strangled gasp, filling Sam with dread.
"Don't move," she murmured, her voice wavering. "That's… there's…"
"Sam," Danny gritted out. Green eyes fluttered open, staring up at the sky. Sam felt unnerved at the reserved look on his face as his aura flickered dimly. "It's too much."
"No," Sam told him firmly. "We're going to get through this. You're going to get through this. We're going to get you back to Ethelwulf okay?" Eyes widening slightly, she looked down at her jumpsuit, letting go of Danny's wound as she tore through the pockets. "Where the hell…" she whispered frantically before letting out a cry of triumph as she pulled out a sleek, black pouch. Opening them quickly, she took one of the syringes and hesitated, looking between the syringes and the fallen boy in front of her. Had Ethelwulf checked these out? Were these safe? Danny had his eyes closed again, breathing becoming ragged. She couldn't chance it. Making her decision, she injected the contents into his leg.
The effect was instantaneous; Danny's back arched as he took a deep gasping breath. His aura shone brighter as his body relaxed against the tree, panting in exertion. Sam put pressure back against his side, trying to stop the bleeding as he composed himself. She sighed as his breathing became more normal, looking him over some more. His chest had a large burn, his left leg had a large gash and she was pretty sure she saw ectoplasm from behind his ear. The trail ectoplasm she had noticed earlier stemmed from a gash just under his hairline. They sat in silence for a long time, Sam quietly assessing how to help as she continued to apply pressure to his side.
Eventually, Sam noticed the slowing of ectoplasm from his wounds and some of the smaller scrapes and bruises healing. He didn't speak, out of exhaustion or pain Sam didn't know, but his aura flared up again and he let out a soft groan.
"These Ecto-Enhancer seem to be helping," she told him quietly, moving one of her hands behind his head. Whatever head wound that was there had scabbed over slightly. "You're healing faster than you normally do."
Danny chuckled, coming out more of a wheezy cough. "Fat lot of good that'd do me," he said hoarsely.
Sam frowned, moving her hand towards his neck. He winced as she brushed against the purple bruise. It wasn't healing at all she noticed. Faint explosions from the town broke through the silence as she put her hand against his cheek, wiping away some dried ectoplasm from a small cut under his eye. "Thanks for getting us out of there," she said, guilt rising up from within her. "I should have run when you told me to; you took that blast for me."
Danny grunted, opening one of his eyes to look at her. "If you ran, I would be dead twice over by now," he told her, slightly coughing. "I would have bled out." He scrunched his eyes tightly as he released a shuttering breath. "Still might."
"Don't say that," she scolded, worriedly looking him over again. He let out a small grunt of pain but said nothing else. "What happened? Frostbite told us you were headed back when you disappeared. I thought -"
"He ambushed me," Danny told her, wincing in pain. "My ghost sense went off went off, was going to tell Frostbite but was knocked out before I had a chance. Next thing I knew, I was in that clearing. It was too far to teleport in one go. Thought I could distract him enough to get away," Danny coughed, wheezing slightly. "Didn't work." Sam frowned, watching him shudder slightly as a wave of pain hit him. She took out the first aid kit, grabbing an anti-septic wipe and started to dab one of his head wounds. He hissed painfully. "Stings," he grunted, inhaling deeply as he kept his eyes closed. "Realized what he wanted too late - he wanted me away from the shield to weaken it. Guess it worked."
"Danny," Sam whispered before she sighed. "Don't beat yourself up about it - you kept it up for hours after… that." She shuddered as she remembered his screams, Dan's hand through his chest. One of Danny's eyes opened, watching her worriedly. "I'm still amazed you were able to keep it up when he was blasting you with all that energy - it was at least an hour."
"What?" Danny asked, confused.
Sam's frown deepened, continuing to wipe away some of the dried ectoplasm from his face. "You don't remember?" He shook his head. "After you passed out, he wanted to wake you - to … you know," she gestured vaguely, implying their last encounter with the ghost. "But you wouldn't wake up - at least not coherently. Dan got frustrated and decided to forcefully wake you." Her eyes hardened slightly. "I played right into his hands - got a few hits in before he got me. I tried escaping, but couldn't get past the damn duplicate; I'm sorry I couldn't get you out earlier."
Danny closed his eyes again, a small gasp of pain escaping before he chuckled. "Sam Manson is no damsel in distress," he wheezed in amusement. "Kicking ghost butt one handed."
She glared half-heartedly, smiling slightly as she got another anti-septic wipe and started to clean the scab behind his ear. He gasped, shaking slightly as his fist curled. Her smile fell, searching for the source of his pain. She checked his side again, watching as the ectoplasm started to clot and breathing a small sigh of relief. "The Ecto-Enhancer is working," she told him soothingly. "Once Tucker gets that ghost shield up, you can take down the shield and we can get you back to FentonWorks."
"Sam," he said forcefully, green eyes finding purple. He sighed, pushing himself more upright despite his protesting body. "There's a good chance I won't make it."
"Says who?" the Goth replied angrily. She looked to the shield briefly. "If we get close enough I-"
"Clockwork," he said softly, making Sam stop, turning toward him slowly with wide eyes. "He told me there were three outcomes of this fight. Only one of them is favourable for the timeline."
Sam stared, their conversation back in the Ops Center starting to click. "What does that even mean!?" she exclaimed angrily. "One favourable. His view of the future is skewed anyway - you're here, you're going to be fine."
"Clockwork can't see past this moment," he continued, smiling sadly as he looked up at the sky. "There are three ways this goes down Sam. The best chance I have is to take Dan down with me."
Sam stared at him, lost for words, before an intense look of anger came across her face. "For once in your life, stop being such a self-sacrificing idiot!" she yelled, making Danny wince at the volume.
"Sam, look at me," Danny said seriously, gesturing to his body. "Even with the Ecto-Enhancers, I'm not healing enough. Dan will attack again and we're not ready for him – I certainly wasn't." He smiled ruefully. "He wants to break me Sam, and worse - he can. I won't be able to heal fast enough to face him before he tries again. There's only one way out of this to save the timeline. I'm - "
"Who cares about the timeline!?" Sam exploded. Danny's head turned to her quickly with wide-eyes; Sam's eyes were shining with tears, hands curled into fists as she shook with rage. He rarely ever saw her like this. "What outcome saves you Danny? Have you even considered it? Or did you just automatically just assume you wouldn't make it? Between you and Clockwork I'm sure one of you can figure out a way to defeat Dan while saving yourself. Tell me!"
The tears that threatened to fall did as her chest heaved from her outburst. Danny watched her, recognizing the worry underneath the anger. There was something else hidden there, something deep and raw that he didn't recognize just yet. "Sam," he whispered, reaching out to comfort her, but wincing in pain from the movement. They stared at each other, only the distant sounds from the city intruding in their conversation.
"Do you want to die?" Sam asked him dangerously quiet, silent tears still falling down her angry face. "Is that why you're giving up so easily?"
"No," he answered quickly. "Of course not!" Danny fought against the pain and pushed himself closer to her, grunting with exertion. Sam moved quickly, grabbing him slowly as he settled closer to the tree. She stayed by his side, waiting for Danny to regain his breathing as she checked the blast wound. It had stopped bleeding, thankfully, but now she could see how far the blast had hit. If that hit him as a human… She let out a soft sigh, releasing her anger and worry as he composed himself.
"You never give up," she said to him softly. Danny blinked back at her. "Never. You could've earlier, when Dan was attacking you. No matter how much you insist you aren't afraid of Dan… you are afraid Danny. You're doubting yourself, playing into his trap." She swallowed slightly, strengthening the conviction in her words. "Don't let him get to you - you can do this. Believe in yourself. Like everyone does - Like I do."
Danny stared at his best friend for a long time before he realized what he was missing; Sam wasn't just worried or angry… she was scared. She was scared of losing him. "I'm not sure I can do this Sam," he admitted softly, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they flashed green for a moment as he looked at her. "Dan is… I don't think any of us are ready to face him."
Sam let out a deep breath. "I think you are," she assured, surprising Danny with her confidence. "You're letting Dan and Clockwork get in your head. Our plan is working, Danny. Those Shadow Ghosts? They're slowing Dan down. Amity is fighting with you Danny, you aren't alone. So think; if anyone can figure out how to save the timeline and survive it, it's you."
Danny stared at her for a second, before a look of determination crossed his face. "I'll give it my best shot."
She smiled sadly at his resolve. "Let's just focus on getting you to Ethelwulf," she said gently. "We can figure out how to face him later." She shuddered as she remembered the last time she saw Dan. "Danny, you need to figure out what you want from all this timeline stuff. I'm sure you'll make it happen somehow."
Danny frowned slightly, taking in the girl's words in front of him. What did he want? He looked at Sam, her face inches away from his. He was taken back briefly to their conversation back at FentonWorks, before he realized what was at stake. He wanted to defeat Dan. He wanted to live. He definitely wanted a nap. Most of all he wanted….. Danny remembered what she said - about him regretting decisions; He didn't want to regret anything.
So what did he want? A strange expression came across his face as he really looked at her. Sam's violet eyes were staring at him, like he would disappear at any moment. There were dried tear stains down her face, mixing briefly with a small cut across her cheek. His heart jolted; suddenly full of nerves and adrenaline.
He acted on instinct – closing the gap between them and kissed her.
Time seemed to slow as he moved, feeling freer than he ever felt. All of his injuries seemingly disappeared as he moved up toward her. Sam stiffened in surprise for a moment as their lips met before relaxed into the kiss. His brain went all fuzzy, no cognitive thought running through it other than the euphoria of the moment. She smelled like lavender and ectoplasm. It was nothing like he could imagine. His heart felt like it was doing somersaults in his chests. Their foreheads rested together as they broke apart, their breathing hard yet in sync. He had kissed her – actually kissed her.
"You did say later," he joked breathlessly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. They stayed like this for a few more moments, relishing in their bubble for a little longer before Sam moved her hand to his cheek.
"Promise me," she murmured breathlessly, looking him directly in the eyes. "Promise me that you're going to do whatever it takes to defeat Dan. Promise me that you're going to do everything you can to come back to us – alive. Promise me you'll win."
Reality brought him back to the severity of the battle to come, what it could mean for him. Determined green met worried violet ones. "I promise," he told her softly. "I'll do whatever I can to survive and defeat Dan." He frowned worriedly as he held her gaze. "But I will do whatever it takes to protect the people I care about. Sam, if there's no other way-"
"I know," she whispered, distraught. She closed her eyes, pressing her head against him. "I know. Please, just try."
He nodded, feeling her relax slightly as he did so. "I'll -" his attempt to reassure her was cut off when Sam kissed him. This one felt different, more grounded in where they were but it didn't matter. He was here, with her, kissing her and it felt wonderful. Better yet, she kissed him. That had to mean something right? He moved; trying to deepen it before reality, again, dragged him back from his bliss. Pain shot through him as his core sparked to life, sending ripples of electricity through his body. He broke their kiss with a cry of pain, hunching over as it grew in intensity.
"Danny!" he heard Sam cry out, feeling her hands push him back against the tree. He breathed through the pain, gritting his teeth as more electricity passed through him. Eventually, it subsided, leaving him panting against the tree once more. "What was that?" Sam asked worriedly. "Was it the shield?"
Danny shook his head. "Dan did something to my core," he told her. She noticed that his voice was stronger now, less raspy than before but the claw like bruise on his neck was still a deep purple against his pale skin. "I think that was the Ecto-Enhancer trying to heal it." A large explosion and screams drifted toward their ears, making Sam whirl around toward Amity Park. She frowned as she watched a ton of shadows flock into the Eastern part of the city. Above it, a figure with flaming white hair floated triumphantly.
"Dan," she whispered, eyes widening before turning back to the injured half-ghost beside her. "He's attacking the city."
Danny nodded. "I couldn't keep the shield up after I got blasted," he said bitterly. "How close was Tucker with the Ghost shield when you left?" Sam shook her head; Danny sighed. "We need to get him away from the city."
Violet eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and how are we supposed to do that?" she asked sarcastically. "In case you weren't aware, we're both covered in your ectoplasm from when you were bleeding out. There's no way you're up for a battle by yourself."
He cringed. "He's going to go after them Sam," he said worriedly, pushing himself in more of a sitting position. Sam's sarcastic glare melted, hands moving to his shoulders to help support him. "I can't lose them."
"I know," she agreed. "But you're not going to last in another full battle on your own if you fly in there like this. You just said he wants to break you; don't you think he wants this?" She cupped his face gently with one hand. "Danny, you could have -"
"I know," he said softly. He leaned into her hand, relaxing slightly. "I know, Sam. He almost got me. But I don't want to live through any of those visions." He sat up straighter, steeling his resolve. "I never want to live through it again."
Sam's face softened slightly as she tried to think of a way to convince him before a voice called them from above.
"Sam! Danny!"
Both teens looked up to see Ethelwulf flying down towards them; his black leathery wings flapping majestically under now the green clouds. Sam waved at him as zeroed in on them, touching down softly on the grass. His yellow eyes widened as he took in the two teens, quickly noting the injuries on Danny and the amount of ectoplasm covering the both of them. "What-"
"Dan," the boy replied quickly. "I'm fine."
"Like hell you are," Sam argued irritably.
Danny winced at her tone. "Okay, more fine than I was," he amended. He frowned worriedly, turning to Ethelwulf. The wolf ghost moved toward him, already assessing injuries. Sam pointed to the huge blast mark on his side. Ethelwulf frowned as he touched it, making Danny flinch heavily. "How's the city?" Danny asked, looking for any clue from the shapeshifter on the wellbeing of his loved ones.
Ethelwulf frowned. "Dan's forces got in through the Eastern part of the shield; thankfully Frostbite's forces and some of the other ghosts are holding them back while the human volunteers get the people to safety. Dan is facing off between Vlad, the Red Huntress and the smaller Phantom."
"What about my Parents? Jazz? Tucker?" Danny urged, concerned.
"They're all fine," Ethelwulf assured, tilting the boy's neck slight to look at the bruise with one of his claws gently. Danny sagged in relief, allowing Ethelwulf to address more of his injuries as Sam put a comforting hand over his. "I went looking for Sam when the shield started to fall. I was worried I was too late."
"Perfect timing actually," Danny replied. Moving out of Ethelwulf's reach, he grabbed onto the tree trunk, attempting to stand.
"Danny no!" Sam cried, scrambling to her feet as Ethelwulf moved backward in shock. Danny continued to rise; small grunts of pain escaping him as he did so. Sam rushed forward, supporting his injured torso as he pushed forward. "You're still hurt!"
Once on his feet, Danny tested his weight on his left leg. Seeing that he could support it, he nodded toward Sam to let go. She let go reluctantly, watching Danny in concern as she stepped back.
Ethelwulf's frown deepened as he watched the halfa stand. He could sense the pain and exhaustion from Danny from here, but could see the stubbornness across his face. Whatever the boy was planning was going to be a terrible idea.
"Danny, your core -"
Danny nodded, swallowing slightly as a small wave of pain moved through him. "It's healing," he said quickly. "Sam used one of the Ecto-Enhancers. I'll manage."
"You're not going to fight him, not like this!" Sam argued desperately.
Danny shook his head. "You're right," he agreed. Danny turned to the wolf ghost. "Ethelwulf, with the shield up around the Ghost Portal, do you think you'll be able to teleport us into the town? Even if we're a few miles out?"
"Shouldn't be an issue," Ethelwulf replied, frowning slightly at this line of reasoning.
Danny nodded. "Stay with Sam," he told his mentor. "Wait for me here and teleport us back."
Sam frowned. "Where are you going?"
Danny sighed, looking grim. "We need to lure Dan out of the city. The only way we do that is if he sees me."
"You can't be serious," Ethelwulf said disapprovingly. "There's no way you can go into battle the way you are now."
"I know," Danny repeated. "But we don't have a choice. I'm not going to fight him – just use myself as bait. Get him to chase me out of the city. I can use my core powers to teleport and defend if I need to." Sam's eyes narrowed. "Trust me, I don't want to do this either. If you're right, then destroying those shadows are our best option - the last thing we need is if Dan joins in. I can bait him out, buy Tucker more time to get the shield up and be far away before he realizes."
Sam stepped forward, biting her lip. "Danny, this is risky," she said finally. "There's no way you'll get back here without needing to defend yourself. We barely got out of there last time."
He gave a reassuring smile. "I'm okay," he told her. "The Ecto-Enhancer is working still, my base powers are a little more stable. I can fight if I need to." Sam looked down, crestfallen at his response. "Hey," he said softly, grabbing her hand in his. She looked up at him with wide eyes, sad and confused. "Still believe in me?" he asked with a small smile.
Sam smiled in response. She squeezed his hand tighter. "Always," she replied. She glanced to the discarded pouch on the ground. Breaking away, she picked up the rest of the Ecto-Enhancers and offered them. "Take these with you. They may come in handy."
Danny nodded in response, taking the pouch. "Thanks," he said, stuffing it on of his jumpsuit pockets.
Sam watched him worriedly, uneasy at his resolve. "Danny," she started, making the half-ghost look at her expectantly. She threw herself around him in a hug, nearly toppling them over. He staggered backward, stunned as she tightened her grasp. She smiled into his shoulder, trying to reassure him of his decision. "You made me a promise Ghost Boy."
Danny wrapped his hand around her, chuckling into her hair. "I remember." He turned to Ethelwulf as they broke apart, smile sliding off his face. "Keep her safe," he said.
Ethelwulf nodded. "We'll be waiting."
Danny nodded, not trusting his voice. He turned towards the city, watching the explosions from afar. They were both right; he would need to fight to get to Dan. He frowned in thought, before he summoned enough energy to teleport.
Ethelwulf and Sam watched him vanish; staring at the spot he was just in for a few moments. Sam balled her fists, the wheels turning as she thought of a plan. She picked up the rest of the first aid kit hurriedly as she heard Ethelwulf sigh.
"We're not staying here," he asked. "Are we?"
Sam's eyes narrowed. "No," she admitted. "We're going to destroy some Shadows. If Danny's fighting - let's make this a fairer fight."
Ethelwulf sighed again, kneeling down. "Hop on then," he told her. Sam gave him a quizzical look. "We can take out more from the sky."
"You're not going to stop me?" Sam asked, climbing onto his back apprehensively. Ethelwulf laughed, a dark eyebrow raised skeptically at the girl.
"The one thing I've learned after all these months," he said, yellow eyes sparkling in amusement, "is that Danny will not stop if he feels his friends and family are in danger -A trait that he shares with many people in his life. He's too afraid of the outcome. So if I can help save him from himself, I will."
Sam frowned, taking in the ghost's words. "Save him from himself…" she whispered a small determined smile formed on her lips. "Sounds about right."
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touchingoldmagic · 4 years
Text
Day 8 - Non-Canon Ship
Day 8 of the 30 Day Ghostbusters Challenge! 
Author’s Note: Ray/Egon and Ray/Egon/Peter. SFW, just angst and cuddling. I might work up the nerve to share my NSFW stuff someday but today is not that day...
With only one light on in the lab and a desk lamp on in the bunk room, the firehouse second floor was dark. Ray lingered in the doorway to the lab, watching the stiff back and squared shoulders of the physicist focused on his work. Or at least, the appearance of working.
Awkwardly, Ray couldn't find the words to disturb him and so he stood there in silence.
On days when he was truly focused, Egon wouldn't notice a nuclear war going on in the next room. Tonight was not one of those nights. Ray had a feeling he knew he was there--they were all hyper aware of each other at the moment. (Even subconsciously Ray knew he was keeping an ear out for when the sound of the shower stopped running.) The silence hanging around the room like an odor existed entirely because both of them were bad with words.
A small screwdriver rolled off the top of the table and Egon didn't even make a grab for it. He did however jump when it hit the ground--Ray did too.
"Egon," he blurted out, like the sound had broken some sort of hold on them. The physicist paused but didn't look up. "Egon," he said again, gaining courage and emphasis. He could tell by the tilt of the man's head that he was listening. "I know the lab is how you decompress. I don't mean to interrupt you. But it's late. And we need to get up early and get to the hospital tomorrow. Will you come to bed?"
Egon finally glanced at him and Ray tried very hard not to look like he was pleading.
"Of course," Egon said stiffly. His glasses had been broken earlier and he was wearing his spares. His face was closed down and carefully controlled, a look he only got when he was really upset. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize." Ray's response was immediate. He shifted his weight. "I should be the one apologizing."
"Unfortunate incidents happen in our line of work. A bad bust is not your fault--"
"I need to watch where I'm going. I didn't think, at the time, that I was taking chances but--"
"Raymond."
Ray's mouth closed with an audible click. Egon left his tools on the desk and came over to his partner and teammate. He frowned as he studied Ray's face. Ray knew he was looking at the road rash across his chin and left cheek from where he'd fallen on the concrete basement floor of the old house they had been in earlier in the day. He'd already checked himself out in the mirror; it was very visible and unfortunately in an awkward place for a bandage. It was going to be a painfully visual reminder of the incident for a while.
"It looks worse than it is," Ray promised him, voice low.
Egon nodded. "I wish to point out again that Winston is not seriously injured and is only being kept overnight for observation due to his concussion."
Ray sighed. "I know." The knowledge didn't make it any better.
Egon hesitated, then gestured toward the bunk room and Ray turned and retreated there with relief. After this disaster of a day, his only goal was to make sure everyone was okay and then to (hopefully) sleep.
They changed into their night clothes in silence. Ray glanced anxiously over at the physicist more than once, but Egon's gaze was blank and unreadable.
Ray said quietly, "Are you okay?"
His tone broke through Egon's thoughts and he met Ray's worried gaze with his own, attempting to be reassuring. "I'm not upset." He changed the subject by asking, "Do you wish to push two of the beds together?"
Ray brightened immediately. They still had separate beds, mostly because they all tried to keep a measure of professionalism in their work space. Bad days sometimes made it a hard choice to live with. "If you don't mind," he replied.
"Quite the opposite. I'm also aware in these situations that you sleep poorly if you can't reassure yourself of our presence."
Ray colored with embarrassment. "Well," he said, but then didn't have anything to finish it with.
They pushed two of the beds together and Ray collapsed onto them. Physically, he hurt all over. Mentally his brain wouldn't quiet down, and emotionally he was exhausted. It was going to be a long night.
Egon fussed with the arrangement of the blankets (much to the shorter man's amusement), covering Ray before climbing under them himself. Ray gently stole his glasses and set them on the bedside table, since half the time Egon forgot to take them off when he fell asleep.
As usual Egon slept on his back. Ray curled up against his side, allowing himself to relax a marginal amount with his head resting on the other man's shoulder, listening to the steady heartbeat against his ear, reassuring. The shower was still running. Peter had taken a flung metal bucket to the ribs during the bust. He insisted he was fine, but he was taking a while. Ray wasn't going to sleep until he got out.
Egon could feel the tension that still remained in his body. "Would talking about the matter help with your own decompression?" he asked, reusing the word Ray had used earlier.
A sigh gusted from the engineer's lips. "There's not much to say," he muttered.
"You fell," Egon pointed out. "Thankfully without sustaining serious injury."
Ray winced. He couldn't bring himself to add to Egon's statement, with the memory still so vivid. The bust had taken place at a large old house upstate with multiple ghosts, but the first floor hallway had a trap door, unexpectedly propped open (most likely by one of the specters). Ray had leaped back to dodge an attack, but had instead fallen through the open trap door and down the stairs to the small, cold root cellar.
Quick-thinking, Winston had jumped down after Ray, which meant it was Winston who took a rotting two-by-four to the head trying to defend Ray, while he collected himself and tried to get to his feet. Egon and Peter had followed in time to help with the fight, but the small size of the basement left them little room to dodge, and the litter of old wood and other home debris that had been stored down there, ripe for the flinging, meant it was a very nasty battle. They had all been knocked down and flung around before it was finally over.
Into the silence of the bunk room, Ray finally muttered, "I'm fine with the dangers of the job, Egon, but it's different when someone else gets hurt because I screwed up."
"This is not the first time it's happened," Egon pointed out. They had all had their share of busts gone wrong.
"I know, but it doesn't get any easier."
"This is true." Egon cleared his throat. "Seeing you and Winston disappear... worried me greatly."
"I know. I'm right here." He leaned over and kissed Egon's cheek gently, careful of bruises.
None of them had escaped the house without injuries, though only Winston had to be hospitalized. The first aid kit in Ecto had been enough to patch them up while they waited for the ambulance. Then, after many hours waiting at the hospital just to be told Winston would be kept overnight, they had finally gotten home very late.
"So what were you working on?" Ray asked, hoping for something to discuss that was a little less emotionally harrowing.
Egon was happy to launch into an explanation of his latest experiment, and Ray was happy to have something to fill the silence. Slowly he relaxed further, letting it sink in that everyone was as safe as possible at the moment. Egon's voice was slower and quieter by the time his explanation concluded. Soon his eyes were closed and Ray thought he was probably asleep, though it was hard to tell. The physicist had a very slow, steady breathing rate even when awake.
At one point the sound of the shower stopped and Ray listened intently for several long quiet minutes until it was replaced with the whir of the hair dryer. Ray waited, slipping in and out of light sleep. Finally there was silence and the bathroom door opened. He roused from his light doze at the sound of footsteps approaching his side of the bed.
"We need a bigger bed," Peter announced.
Ray objected sleepily, "I like it when we're closer together."
Peter snorted. "Of course you do, blanket hog."
"Hey, I do not--!"
Egon covered his mouth. "Shh." The sound was a mumble and the physicist sounded mostly asleep.
Ray grinned apologetically and kissed the hand that was trying to block his lips from moving. "Sorry, Egie." He scooted over closer to Egon so Peter could crawl in. The psychologist turned out the bedside lamp and then did so, sliding a possessive arm over Ray's hips.
"Are you actually going to sleep, or is this an all-night discussion situation?" Peter's warm voice ghosted across the hairs on Ray's neck. He sounded as exhausted as Ray felt.
"I can sleep if you're here," Ray promised him.
Peter was quiet a moment. Ray's sincere attachments to his partners and willingness to say so still caught him off guard. Then his flippant tone returned and he said, "Good to hear." His arm tightened around Ray.
There was silence in the darkened room for seven seconds. Then, "I swear from now on I'll be more car--"
"Ray!"
"Raymond."
"Right. Sorry."
29 notes · View notes
mischiefandspirits · 4 years
Text
Doppelgänger (5/?)
Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger
Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.
They were the hero Doppelgänger.
{Fright Night}
“So a trio of ghosts need to create a haunted house room,” Danny said, smirking at his partners as he dropped down on his bed.
“Think we could just stick Audrey II in there and call it a day?” Tucker asked and sat backwards on the desk chair.
Sam shrugged and sat next to Danny so she could put his head in her lap. “If I stopped pruning her, she should be big enough to give someone a scare by then. I don’t think just one thing will cut it though.”
“We could bring in some more plants for you to move around and have it be a haunted jungle,” Tucker said.
“Oh, so Danny makes a stupid bet and I have to do all the work.”
“Hey, I’m the one who gave Twoey sentience and unless you force her with your powers, she only listens to me. I think that counts for something,” Danny pointed out.
“You know, what is it with you and the non-sapient ghosts and ecto-beings?” Tucker asked. “Twoey, Cujo, those will-o'-wisp blob things that follow you around when we’re in the zone. You’d think Sam would be the one they're attracted to with her nature thing.”
Danny hummed and pressed into Sam’s hand so she’d start carding her fingers through his hair. “Well, like I said, I brought Twoey to life, so maybe she imprinted on me. And Cujo might just be able to sense that you guys hate dogs.”
“We don’t hate dogs. They're just loud and annoying,” Sam said.
“And Cujo is literally as demonic as his namesake,” Tucker added.
“He’s a good boy and this is why he doesn’t like you.”
“He trashed a lab for a toy!” Tucker said.
“And they put him down. Fair's fair.”
“Can’t disagree with you there,” Sam said with narrowed eyes. She’d launched quite the internet scandal when she’d dug up why, exactly, the old kennels she’d found the toy in were abandoned. “Back to the matter at hand though, you still haven’t explained the blobs.”
Danny blushed. “I, uh, might feed them chips sometimes when they show up while I’m cleaning the lab.”
There was a moment of silence before both his partners started snickering.
“Don’t feed the wildlife, Danny,” Sam said mockingly.
“All this time, they’ve been the ghost equivalent of pigeons.”
“Not pigeons! They're actually really sweet. Like… hummingbirds!”
“Sure, dude.”
“Whatever you say, Danny.”
“Can we just get back on topic? Sam, you’re goth, shouldn’t that make you our resident creepy person. What would go good with a living jungle and a literal man-eating plant?”
Sam patted his cheek condescendingly, but leaned back to plot. “I had something else planned, but if you guys insist on the jungle idea…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This has to beat whatever Dash has,” Danny said as the trio looked over the room.
Audrey II’s pot had been attached to the ceiling so her stalks could hang down, dripping -- thankfully only harmful to ectoplasm -- acid. Once the haunted house was open, she’d been instructed to snap at anyone who came near. She luckily didn’t like the taste of humans so there wasn’t any worry about her going overboard.
Sam had brought in some crawling vines and tropical plants to cover the walls and floor so she could have them tug at or trip people as they moved through the room and make it harder for people to find their way through.
Danny’s herd of blobs were drifting around the makeshift jungle, making soft lights flicker through the semi-darkness.
Tucker had set up electric field generators to give the room an eerie feeling.
The pièce de résistance, however…
“Did you get it set up?” Sam asked.
“Try it out,” Danny said.
The boys watched as she walked over to an archway on one side of the room. She walked through it, only to come out an archway on the opposite side a second later.
“Yes!” Tucker cheered, high-fiving Danny. “Thank you, Space Fold!”
Sam tested out all the other archways to be sure they had a similar effect then came over to join the boys. “Congratulations, you’ve built a cartoon hallway.”
“You’re just mad you didn’t think of it,” Danny said and she ruffled his hair.
“Well, my work here is done. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Tucker grabbed the empty pumpkin-shaped candy bucket waiting by the door, “I’m a little late to start scamming some free candy.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Danny flinched when Sam pinched him for squirming.
“I’m almost done, you big baby.”
“Sorry if I’m a little creeped out by you sticking sharp things very close to my eyes.”
“Just be glad you don’t need contacts. There, perfect.”
Danny smiled when Sam held up a mirror. His hair was covered by a long, braided black wig that a crown of thorns sat atop. His face had been given a slight green tint while his lips were a deep forest. His smile showed off fangs that were just as long and sharp as their ghost form’s and prosthetic ears gave him the same points. Dark makeup made his eyes look sunken, which highlighted his eyes when he let the red of his ghost form glow through. His hands had been given claw-like fake nails before being dipped into blood-red paint while he’d been dressed in black and dark green princely clothes. It all came together to make him look like a ghastly elfin prince.
He stood up and turned to Sam. “Thanks, Sam. This is great.”
She frowned and shook her head. “No, more brooding.”
“I really don-”
She pointed a finger in his face. “You wanted my help. This is me helping. More brooding. Imagine all the light draining from your soul.”
Danny pushed her hand away. “You’re just using this as an excuse to make me goth for a night.”
“Only for a night, but yeah. It’s a good look on you. Now brood or I’ll leave and you can do without my plants.”
Danny rolled his eyes, then tried to channel his angstiest self.
Christmas Danny.
Sam blinked at his scowl. “Wow, I didn’t think you could even get that dark. You’re usually our resident prep.”
Jingle Bells. Gingerbread. SANTA.
Danny shoved it all down, but the scowl only lessened slightly. “That’s because your family always goes away for the holidays.”
Sam looked confused, but didn’t get a chance to ask before they heard footsteps approaching. She transformed, saying, “Showtime. Maybe lose the anger a little.”
“I’ll try.”
She disappeared and all the plants except Audrey II started to sway and glow slightly. They seemed to thicken, making it impossible to see more than a few feet into the room.
Danny shooed the flytrap’s stalks up towards the roof. “Alright, Twoey, just like we practiced. Remember, be a good girl and you get a nice big bottle of ectoplasm as a treat.”
One of the lobes nuzzled him then they all retreated into the darkness Tucker had carefully maneuvered the lights to create on the ceiling.
“This is why she likes us. We spoil her,” a voice whispered in his ear.
“I don’t… I only spoil her a little.”
Sam chuckled and he felt her drift off.
“Mr. Fenton, it’s time,” William Lancer said as he arrived at the door to the room Daniel had taken. It was painted with toxic green glowing runes and vines as well as the words, The Kingdom of Thorns.
The door creaked open slowly to reveal Daniel standing a few feet away.
Automatic door, nice touch, William noted. The boy was also in a more elaborate costume than Dashiell’s. His contacts were actually a bit disconcerting with how the light made them appear to glow. It wasn’t helped either that the normally cheerful, if downtrodden, boy had on a scowl that looked rather resentful and fell.
The boy gave a graceful bow. In an empty voice, he announced, “Welcome. May your stay be eternal.”
A shiver went up William’s spine. The boy’s voice sounded off. Echoey-perhaps, except it didn’t sound like Daniel’s voice echoing back. More like multiple someones were whispering his words alongside him. Some sort of speaker setup, maybe? But the teacher swore the voices were coming from Daniel.
Pushing down the emotions, William pointed to the door. “I hope that’s not permanent.”
“What?” The eerie expression and voice were gone in a blink. “Oh, yes. I mean no, it’s not permanent. It’s just a little ectoplasm from my parent’s lab. I have the dissolving agent.”
That… was not as comforting as Daniel seemed to think it should be. “Is that safe?”
“Yeah, sure. Pure ectoplasm is harmless to humans in small doses. You could eat the amount on there and still be perfectly fine. It’s the charged stuff that’s dangerous.”
Still not as comforting as the boy’s smile made it out to be. “Right. Shall we begin?”
Daniel gave a toothy -- fangy? -- grin and stepped to the side, gesturing William forward.
The door slammed closed once the teacher started walking, not close enough to hit, but enough that he could feel the breeze of it passing on the back of his neck. He glanced back and was surprised to see vines covering the door. He made note of it.
“You’re free to roam, but I would stick to the path,” Daniel said as William passed him, his show voice back on and just as creepy as the first time. “And I wouldn’t recommend eating anything. Or being eaten.”
William glanced back, only to see the boy was gone. But he had just heard him right behind him.
He shook his head and continued forward.
So far the room itself didn’t look particularly scary. It mostly looked like a poorly lit and abandoned greenhouse without the glass walls and ceiling. Though there was the odd lights flying about, like fireflies the size of softballs. The plants almost seemed to be moving as well, like in the wind though William couldn’t feel anything, and he swore they were glowing a bit. Some sort of paint?
“You didn’t put anything harmful on these plants, right?”
“Of course not,” whispered something in his ear and he jerked away. He looked around, but couldn’t see anything.
“No, they’re Sam’s. She’d kill me if I hurt her plants,” came Daniel’s normal voice from somewhere across the room.
“G-Good.”
“Are you alright, Mr. Lancer? You’re not lost are you?”
“No, Mr. Fenton.” He shook himself. He must have been hearing things. He took a step forward and immediately felt like he’d stepped into something, or through something. He rubbed his arms as goosebumps began to crawl up them. He made a note and quickly moved on.
After a few moments more of the random goosebumps and the feeling of vines or leaves brushing him despite being sure he wasn’t getting close to any of the plants, he reached an archway. The teacher frowned and he pulled aside the curtain to look in. He swore the passage was supposed to lead directly into the next room, but instead he found a short hallway. It appeared to be a pitch-black void littered in stars that went on forever, but directly ahead, perhaps two feet in, was another doorway with a curtain. Some sort of mirror trick?
He made another note and walked carefully through the hall. Perhaps it was the star pattern, but he almost felt weightless as he passed through. He pulled the curtain aside… and found himself in the room he’d started in? But that was impossible! And yet, the windows were on the archway’s left, just as they had been for the arch he’d come from. The chandelier hanging above, original to the house though Daniel had wrapped it in vines, was also the same one that had been in the previous room. He must have curved around, except he was sure he’d gone in a straight line.
“Something wrong, Mr. Lancer?”
The teacher jumped and spun around to find Daniel standing right next to him, staring up at him through half-lidded eyes. His head was tilted almost unnaturally to the side and he was giving his usual smile, though the sharp fangs made it feel like he was baring his teeth instead. Some of the flying lights were perched on his crown, but their shapes were indistinct which made it appear the crown was alight with swirling green flames.
“Just-just taking in your creativity, Mr. Fenton. I wish you would put such effort into your schoolwork.”
His grin grew and his eyes glowed brighter. “What can I say, I guess I have an affinity for all things ghostly and dead.” He turned on his heel and disappeared into the foliage. “I’ll leave you to it.”
If William was shaking as he moved through the room, there was no one around to tell. He kept a careful eye out, but even still it felt like more plants were brushing against him and he was in a constant state of goosebumps. Then, just as he reached the center of the room, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
He shrieked and spun around, dropping his clipboard in the process. There was no one there. He looked all around him, but couldn’t find any sign of a person.
Something creaked above him.
He slowly looked up and saw something moving in the shadows, multiple long necks and wide heads with gaping maws.
“Mr. Lancer?”
“The Iliad and the Odyssey!” William shouted, looking down to see Daniel standing right in front of him, looking worried.
Aside from his glowing crown, none of his showman’s grace was on him anymore. Not even in his voice as he glanced down and said, “Oh, you dropped your stuff.”
William’s eyes widened as he spotted the three long stalks that had lowered down from the ceiling, each carrying the heads of a horror-movie approximation of a venus flytrap. The flat lobes were all around a foot long and would have looked normal, if not huge, except for the toxic green acid dripping from their centers.
At the same time that Daniel leaned down, one of them shot forward to strike like a snake, its jaws closing around the space his head had been not a moment before. They all darted back to the ceiling as Daniel stood up, appearing his normal awkward and helpful self.
He held out William’s pen and clipboard. “Here you go.”
The teacher’s hands were shaking as he took his things from his student.
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, I guess we might have gone a little overboard. Was it the halls? I can take those out.”
Something grabbed William’s ankle. “No! No, it was wonderful. Leave it as is. I just remembered I have somewhere to be.”
“So… does that mean…”
“Yes, Mr. Fenton. You win. Now how do I get out of here?”
Daniel pointed to the side.
There was a straight path to the door that most definitely had not been there before.
William shook the vine off his leg and walked quickly out of the open door.
Danny threw his hands up and cheered as soon as the door shut behind Lancer. He turned and gave Sam a high-five. “That was great! He didn’t even stay long enough to see Twoey in action.”
“We’re an oblivious idiot,” she said as she turned visible.
“What do you mean?”
She plucked off one of the blob ghosts nuzzling his head and shook her own. “Nevermind. Come on, we’ve got a few new ideas from that test run.”
“Cool.”
“By the way, that line about eating ectoplasm. We haven’t actually done that, right?”
“Well, not on purpose, but you’ve seen my house. Sometimes a bit of ectoplasm ends up in the food.”
“We’re never eating at our house again.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I never let you guys stay for dinner when my parents or I cook and Jazz sterilizes everything so she never gets ectoplasm in anything.”
“Never again.”
“And besides, we’re ghosts now. Ghost food is made of ecto-”
Sam put her hand over his mouth. “Never.”
He nodded. Once she’d removed her hand and floated off, he muttered, “It’s not even bad as long as the food doesn’t come to life. Just kind of citrusy.”
“We’re going to throw up!”
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saturn-in-autumn · 4 years
Note
BRO your art and writing are both so good ajsbsjjs can I request a danny reveal to valerie? I would assume this would be a small drabble prompt but I'll let you choose how to do it and if you even want to do it in the first place whoops
ASDFGJHJK Thank you so much! 
Omg, first off I am SO SO Sorry this took me so long to get back to you! It’s actually so bad... But I finally finished your request!! It took me a while to figure out how to phrase everything and get my head around it but I ended up getting a little carried away in the end, I’m sorry... 
So here it is I suppose! I’ve also posted it to Ao3 here if you’d like to have a look, but it’s also under the cut if you want to read it on here! 
Thank you so much for your patience, I only hope it was kind of worth it? Idk. I ended up writing a short story/one shot rather than a drabble haha, I just didn’t expect it to get so long!  And thanks for the request idea! 
- Fire and Water -
Valerie sometimes thought Danny was like water.
He was so perfectly clear somehow, an undisturbed lake shining in the moonlight. His iridescent blue eyes sometimes felt like they could see right through her, somehow sense exactly how she was feeling, understand her deepest secrets.
That eerie calmness rippled and cascaded through him, so clear and tranquil, yet so incredibly dangerous.
He had a depth that terrified her to no end, a feeling that if she dove down too deep he would overflow, drown her with his power. As if his little lake held all the fierce might of the sea.
(In which Danny has a secret to tell Valerie, but doesn't quite know how to go about it)
“Ugh, what am I supposed to do Tuck?” Danny groaned, resting his head on his elbows in the grimy corner booth.
Tucker shrugged, patting his back awkwardly in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “I don’t know man, I don’t have a murderous ghost-hunter for a girlfriend.”
Danny sighed, looking forlornly across the crowded restaurant of the Nasty Burger. Valerie was still standing by the till, laughing with some customer as she took their order. She was gorgeous even in the grease-stained yellow of the fast food uniform. Silently Danny watched as she tucked a stray strand of dark hair out of her eyes and looked away. He was such a loser.
“Hey… but then again, it’s not really our decision to make.” Sam’s voice cut through Danny’s musings and he looked up at her dolefully. “Whether or not you want to share it with her is up to you.” She took another slurp of her slushie and frowned. “I thought you had sworn not to. Why the sudden change?”
Danny looked away, straightening to peer out the window at the passers-by on the street. “I don’t know… I just feel… like it’s wrong to keep lying to her is all…” Danny could feel Sam and Tucker’s eyes on him as he sighed again, “Look, we’ve been going out for almost a year… That’s, like more than I’ve ever been in a relationship my whole life! Plus, even if she doesn’t know it, I know her secret, but she doesn’t know mine, I can’t help feeling like I’m cheating on her or something weird like that…”
“Danny…” Sam started but he continued.
“But at the same time, I’m terrified that if she finds out she’ll hate me y’know? Like… I don’t want to lose her in the process…”
“Look Danny, as the current female representative at the table.” Sam said, placing her drink firmly on the table to look at him in the eyes, “I can safely say that telling the truth is probably your best option. If she finds out and it’s not from you, it’ll probably hurt her a lot more than just coming clean.”  
Tucker nodded, “You know, Sam’s right, if you really care about her what’s the worst that could happen?”
“The worst is that she’ll shoot an ecto-blast through my chest faster than I can say ‘Sorry’.” Danny moaned. “Or she’ll tell my parents or something… Then I’d really be dead meat.”
“And the best-case scenario is that she doesn’t mind.” Sam said with an eyebrow raised. “I’m sorry Danny, but if you guys really care about each other then keeping secrets probably shouldn’t be on the table. Valerie has a right to know if you’re hiding things from her, chances are she’ll figure it out sooner or later. Her aim’s getting better by the day.”
Danny winced, rubbing his upper forearm where the burn mark still stung.
Sam’s eyes softened and she reached over, taking his hand gently, “Danny I honestly think that anyone who knows you, the real you, won’t hate you no matter what you are. The real test is whether or not you think you can trust her enough to tell her and get away with it. She’s still the Red Huntress after all. I wouldn’t take this decision lightly.”
Danny nodded but smiled. “Would you guys mind though?”
Tucker blinked, “Dude, we’re your friends. If you want to date the most dangerous ghost-hunter in Amity Park we have your back. As Sam said, it’s you’re secret to share with whoever you want.”
Danny closed his eyes and stared at the ceiling, “Thanks guys…” he mumbled, glancing over to where Valerie was once again. It looks like she was packing up. “I think I’ll try and tell her tonight…”
At that Tucker’s eyes widened, “Wait, really? Like you don’t want to think about this a little more before you run in guns blazing?”
Danny blinked at him, “Well, I know it’s a little brash sure, but the sooner I do it the sooner I can sleep easy right? Whether she hates me or not I’ll at least know.”
Sam sat back, “You heard the man Tuck, if he’s stubborn enough he’ll do it.”
“Hey!” Danny said, sounding offended, “Okay maybe I’m not 100% on it, but I’ll feel better if I’m not lying to her. Besides…” He smiled slightly, “We’d kinda already had a date planned for tonight. I might as well make use of it…”
As if on cue Valerie walked over, she’d thrown a dark green jacket over the orange of her uniform that perfectly complimented her eyes. “Hey!” she said, arm raised and smiling, “You ready to go?”
“You bet!” Danny laughed, sliding past Tucker and leaving his money on the tray, “I’ll… talk to you guys later then?” He offered and Sam winked.
“Go get em’ tiger.”
Danny grinned, giving Valerie a quick peck on the cheek and the thumbs up to Tucker before the two of them walked out of the restaurant.
***
When they were gone Sam’s lips quirked into a smile, “He’s gonna die.” She chuckled, taking another slurp of her drink as she sat back in the booth.
“Wait what?” Tucker asked swinging his saucepan-sized eyes to her in disbelief, “What was all that about ‘accepting who you are’ then?”
Sam eyed him across the table, “You kidding? Valerie’s gonna stomp his heart into pieces with five-inch high stilettos, but even then, I doubt she’ll hate him for it.”
Tucker sighed and took another bite of his burger, “I don’t know. It’s just odd he has this sudden conviction to tell her everything. It’s a pretty big deal is all.”
Sam shrugged, “Yeah, but then again I guess it’s just a sign of how much she means to him. After all, he told us pretty soon after it y’know… happened…”
“Yeah but that’s different, we’re his best friends and you’re one of the main reasons he got his ghost powers in the first place. Plus, Valerie hated his guts on principle back then because she was still with the A-Listers… now she just hates him for different reasons…”
She scowled at him, but nodded, “Well then fine. Maybe he just wants to take their relationship up a notch. I don’t know why you’re having such a hard time with this Tucker, if Danny wants to go blabbering about his powers to people, he has his reasons for it. Despite appearances he’s not that much of an idiot to get caught by his parents or the GIW.”
“I know it’s just…”
“Ohhh,” Sam grinned, cutting Tucker off with a shit-eating grin. “Oh, I see, you’re jealous.”
“What!” Tucker shrieked, “Am not!”
“You’re jealous that Danny is opting to bring someone else in on the team, this was the same thing with Jazz! You’re too proud to admit that you like being a sidekick.”
“What!? Never. I’m Danny’s guy-in-the-chair! His wingman! His Q to his 007! It’s not like Valerie could—”
“Oh yeah totally, the Red Huntress with an arsenal of weapons and ghost-hunting experience would never take Tucker Foley’s precious slot as the guy-in-the-chair.”
“Fuck’s sake Sam.” Tucker spat, “I’m not jealous, and fine then, I don’t care who the hell Danny goes and talks to. Are you happy?”
“Ecstatically.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck me yourself coward.”
“I hate you so much…”
“I know. So… you down for Doomed later?”
He shrugged, standing up and throwing a few notes on the table, “Sure. I’ll catch you around 9.”
***
Danny hadn’t planned for this at all.
He mentally slapped himself as he and Valerie walked to the movie theatre, absentmindedly chatting as best he could about her day. The street was almost deserted at this time in the afternoon, couples walking to and from places, laughing as they held hands. Danny smiled. They were all so… alive.
Valerie said something and Danny watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her breath clouding in front of her face before hugging her jacket closer to her body and cupping frozen hands around a fresh cup of coffee to keep warm.
Amity Park in autumn was both beautiful and freezing with the golden brown and red of leaves staining the paths and parks like wounded soldiers on the fields of battle.
He would have shivered if he could.
As it was Danny looked away, the cold didn’t really seem to affect him in the same way anymore. A pang of guilt struck his chest as Valerie laughed at something, she sounded so happy. If only she knew who she was walking with…
After the movie, he vowed, after the movie I’ll tell her. She deserves to know.
“Hey! Are you even paying attention?” She asked and he blinked, startled out of his musings.
“Uh yeah, sure… what did you say again?”
She sighed throwing her hands up in exasperation, “Honestly, you can be so… distant sometimes. What the heck goes through your head anyways? Stuck in the stars again NASA boy?”
Danny laughed, “I guess you could say that…” Was he really that obvious?
“Well, I asked, what do you want to see?”
“Oh right!” Gazing up at the selection he paused, “I…” he bit his lip, his mind going blank, it didn’t feel right to choose… “I don’t mind, how about you pick?”
She looked at him sideways, “Man you’re acting jumpy today.” A gleam caught in her eye and Danny gulped, “How about a horror?”
“Uh well… if that’s…” Danny stumbled over his words.
“Great! Glad that’s decided. I want to get really scared tonight, two tickets to your most horrifying film my good sir!” She chimed to the guy behind the counter.
The guy looked them up and down but shrugged, “Cinema 5, have fun.”
***
Danny wasn’t really paying attention through the film.
Guilt was eating away at him, gnawing at the edges of his subconscious as Valerie laughed and jumped at the loud noises and crappy special effects that Hollywood perceived ghosts to be. Danny smiled absently, they really had no clue how wrong they were compared to the real thing.
She held his hand in the gentle darkness of the cinema, and Danny couldn’t help but look at her in the faint light from the screen. Her green eyes glistened with excitement and curiosity, taking in all she saw with such conviction.
He smiled, she was light, warm and comforting. Even as she gripped his ice-cold skin Danny couldn’t help but admire her. She laughed when she felt like it, got angry when she felt like it, smiled and danced in her own brilliant warmth. Danny’s eyes softened as he leaned into her touch, savouring this moment. Feeling her heartbeat through her skin.
She was dazzling.
Danny pulled away slightly, his eyes narrowing, but she was like fire to his ice. She melted him in ways she could never understand, but he was sure, he was frighteningly sure he was going to burn her irreversibly in the end.
But if that’s the way it had to be, then so be it.
“Hey Val?” He mumbled, leaning further into her shoulder in the gloom of the theatre, feeling her warmth against his cheek. She stopped gazing at the screen and turned to him, her eyes still dancing in that dull luminosity. Danny sighed, letting his dark hair fall into his eyes so she couldn’t see that he was on the verge of tears. “I’ve been… keeping something from you. For a long time now… I just… don’t know how to say it…”
He felt her shift under his weight, and he pulled away, looking in the opposite direction. She was looking at him, he could feel her green eyes taking him in and he felt his heart panged with annoyance. Annoyance at himself, at how weak he was.
“Danny…” Valerie started, and he looked at her, she was smiling softly in the light, “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me anythi—”
“No, you deserve to know. But… maybe in a bit if that’s alright?” He grit his teeth and looked back up at the screen as the final scene began, he smiled sadly locking eyes with her. “I just… want this moment to last a little longer is all…”
***
Valerie sometimes thought Danny was like water.
He was so perfectly clear somehow, like an undisturbed lake shining in the moonlight. His iridescent blue eyes sometimes felt like they could see right through her, somehow sense exactly how she was feeling, understand her deepest secrets.
It was awe inspiring. Like Danny knew exactly where she went when she snuck out of class, knew her connection to ghosts and the other shadows of Amity Park. Knew who she really was.
But he never seemed to care. It was why, she supposed, she was so drawn to him in the first place. The eerie calmness that rippled and cascaded through him, so clear and tranquil, yet dangerously so. Pooling with something else.
A darkness. A depth that terrified her to no end, a feeling that if she dove too deep he would overflow, drown her with his power. As if his little lake held all the fierce might of the sea.
Why did that feeling surface now? That dread that crashed against the shoreline of her heart. Breaking the tension as Danny lead her out of the theatre and into the cool night air. What was this in her chest that felt like the pressure of being unable to breathe?
He laughed at something and Valerie felt a shift in the atmosphere as she looked at him in the light of the street, his blue eyes reflecting something she couldn’t see. Something beyond where they stood outside a bustling theatre.
“I want to show you something,” Danny said, there was a kind of relief to his words, like he’d been daring himself to say them. “But not here.”
He glanced at her and she felt that terrible drowning sense in her chest again as his clear-blue eyes softened in the moonlight. He looked… so sad, like this was somehow the last time she’d ever see him.
Danny stayed silent as they walked, weaving in and around the humdrum of pedestrians and life that flittered around them like moths to a flame.
She let him pull her along, feeling the familiar chill that buzzed between her fingertips of his skin brushing hers. He was so cold, so frozen in time. It gripped at her.
It was only now that she started to watch him in comparison to the people on the street. In his dark, navy jacket and worn jeans he stood out and blended in at the same time. Like he wasn’t meant to be there and was there all at once. It seemed unnatural somehow…
She shook her head, following him across the street to the park, letting the dull glow of the stars guide them along the cracked paths.
What was it he wanted to show her? And why did it feel like an ending and a beginning all at once? Her curiosity ate at her but if Danny was willing to show her, she would be patient.
The park seemed twisted at night time. The trees warped somehow in the dark, green grass glowing blue in the silver light of the moon.
Danny looked around and hurried on, pulling her up the hill to where a small crop of trees nestled between the undergrowth. There was no one around for miles but Danny seemed extra cautious, double and triple checking their surroundings to make sure they weren’t being followed.
“Danny, you’re scaring me you know that.” Valerie finally said, breaking the silence that had hung over them for so long.
He chuckled softly and came to sit next to her, looking out at the twinkling lights of the city spread out below them like a map. A perfect mirror for the stars above.
The throb of life buzzed about them, the shrieking of tyres, the chink of glasses and the laughter of people. The metropolis was a beating heart but here in this secluded tower, they watched it all in silence.
“I’m so sorry Val…” Danny finally said, and she looked at him as he laid back, staring upwards towards the sky. “I feel like I’ve been lying to you, from the very beginning.”
She wanted to interrupt, wanted to tell him what a mysterious jerk he was being and just to cut to the chase, but she said nothing, too entranced by the wandering lights that reflected in his irises.
“The truth is, that I…” Danny’s expression changed slightly, and his teeth gritted together. Whatever it was that he was trying to say to her, Valerie knew that it was probably something major.
“Danny… you don’t—”
“No, I do.” He said, pulling an arm across his eyes so that she couldn’t see him. “I have to tell you; cause otherwise you’re just going to find out from someone else and then I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”
He sat up and turned to her, his dark hair framing his face as he gripped her shoulders. Her heart fluttered slightly in her chest; he was crying.
She watched as that perfectly clear water fell from his eyes, carving rivers in his pale skin. She felt something press against her lungs, that fear of drowning, and she opened her mouth to speak.
“I—”
“I love you…” Danny said, cutting her off, his head bowing as she blinked at his words, numbly they settled on her like falling snow as she felt her heart lighten. “I love you so much… That’s why it’s not fair to keep hiding myself, the real me, from you any longer.”
“Danny I—”
“No, Val, please, let me finish.” Danny looked at her and she felt a pang of guilt cross her chest. He smiled, such a sad smile, as he continued. “Val, I love you. I didn’t think I would fall for someone so hard as I do for you… you’re incredible you know that? You’re so strong and dazzling to look at it hurts my eyes.”
She felt her eyes widen but he continued, “Ever since I met you, you’ve shown me time and time again how great you really are. And quite frankly, I don’t think I deserve you. But I wanted to tell you that I love you. Let you know how much you truly mean to me so that you don’t lose sight of who I am.”
Danny looked at her, “I’m an idiot you know that? I’m such a complete and utter loser that I take so much of what I have for granted. Sam and Tucker have always told me so and that’s why I want to stop hiding from you Valerie. Because I care too much for you to continue acting, continue pretending that I’m alright.”
Danny began to shake as he spoke and she shifted closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him in close to her as a smile lifted her face. “Hey. Look at me,” he lifted his eyes to hers and Valerie smiled, “You know, if you’re scared to tell me you don’t have to Danny. Cause…” She felt light, “Because I love you too.”
He blinked at her and smiled, “I was afraid of that…”
She laughed, “Oh yeah and why’s that wisecrack?”
He smiled but didn’t laugh. “Because of who… no that’s not right… because of what I am Val.”
She stopped laughing, he was dead serious, she gripped her chest, that tightness was suffocating now. The fun-loving idiot she had fallen for seemed to melt off him as his eyes narrowed, turning to her fully to look at her dead in the eyes. “Val, I don’t want you to think any less of me, I really and truly want us to continue being close, I want to hold your hand and laugh, go see movies and continue living like this with you for the rest of my life…”
Wait. What was he saying? What did he mean by…
“But, Valerie Grey. I can’t keep hiding forever. I brought you here tonight to tell you something about myself that I can’t share lightly with anyone. But you have to promise to trust me, promise me Val. Please promise me that you won’t think any less of me for it and that you won’t tell anyone else... please this is important.”
She felt the pressure in her lungs choking her now, but she nodded, why was she so scared? So utterly terrified that she might lose him? “I promise. I promise, whatever you want to tell me it’s okay Danny. It’s okay, you can tell me…”
Danny smiled and nodded, his shoulder’s sagging as he did so as if all the tension released from him in one motion. Like he had been waiting his whole life to hear those words. “Val… I…maybe it’s easier if I show you instead?”
She blinked but nodded, allowing him to let go of her as she sat back.
Danny looked at her, she was so perfect, sitting there patiently waiting for him to show her what he meant. He closed his eyes and looked to the stars, here goes nothing…
“Val, I’m so sorry…” he whispered, and triggered his transformation.
Valerie watched in mild horror as the light sparked around his mid-section, twin-rings expanding at his waist.
Wait what?
They broke and spilt, traveling over his body slowly as he stood there, changing him.
What’s happening?
Danny sighed at the feeling of relief, the cool sensation of weightlessness taking hold as the rings reached the base of his neck with a rush of adrenaline.
Valerie felt her hands fly to mouth to cover the shriek of shock as Phantom touched down lightly in front of her. His skin glowing in the eclipse of the moon, the black jumpsuit replacing the familiar jeans and jacket Valerie knew so well…
She stumbled, her mind racing a marathon as her heart banged so hard against her chest, she swore it was audible. No. No this couldn’t be right… Danny was… Danny was?
He looked at her with that same sad smile and she allowed herself to gasp. The clear blue of his eyes now glimmering green like emeralds against the sky.
He sunk to his knees and looked away; he’d ruined it hadn’t he? The curling white of his hair intermingling with the evening breeze. Looking down almost resentfully at the snow-white gloves that adorned his hands. “I’m so sorry…” His voice echoed across the space between them and Valerie inadvertently shivered. “I’m so sorry Val…”
Valerie just sat there, staring blankly at the scene in front of her as Phantom… no Danny, hung his head in his hands. She reached out, but paused, no this couldn’t be right… This was all a big misunderstanding, right? A joke?
She pulled her hand back, cupping it against her chest. But it felt so real, so obvious that she mentally cursed herself for being so stupid.
Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom, he’d barely even changed his name. She blinked, observing the shape of his face, the style of his hair, it was all the same, all exactly the same… But even then… Danny couldn’t be a ghost! Surely not… surely… and of all ghosts Phantom? The town hero? Her ultimate enemy? It couldn’t possibly be real; this couldn’t possibly be happening right now…
“You’re probably wondering what happened right?” Valerie snapped her attention towards him as he laughed dryly, the sound was grating, so completely alien to her, “That’s usually the first question I get asked…”
She nodded, she felt so numb.
“It was the Fenton Portal.” He smiled, the white of his hair playing on the breeze like snow, “Mum and Dad couldn’t get it working so I thought it was safe enough to look inside… I… it turned on while I was in there…”
Valerie shuddered, phantom screams of Danny being electrocuted rattling her skull as if she’d been there herself. That was how he’d died? Screaming and alone?
“I’m so sorry Val…” He said again, looking at her, she jolted at the green of his eyes, but he continued, “I’m so sorry you had to find out, but I couldn’t lie to you forever. I just couldn’t keep pretending it was all fine considering our… history…”
A sharp pain rippled through her heart as she realised that he did know. Of course he did. Phantom had known she was the Red Huntress from the beginning, and yet even after every fight they’d had, every insult and curse she’d flung his way… Danny still continued loving her, being around her even then. Even then…
She felt cheated slightly, like he’d known her deepest secret for so long that it wasn’t fair she didn’t know his in return. But she stopped, hadn’t that been the point though? What would she have done if she’d known earlier? What good would it have done to know?
She reached for him cautiously and he flinched as she touched his shoulder. He was so cold, so incredibly cold but she gripped him, feeling the static of ectoplasm under her fingertips as she turned him to her.
His eyes were wide, but she smiled slightly, pulling him down into her, drawing him into a hug.
He was like ice against her, buzzing with electricity and energy that was the only way he could survive. “You’re so stupid you know that?” She felt him twitch slightly against her but she smiled, “I can’t imagine what it was like… what you must go through every day Danny… knowing that there is this side to you that you can’t share with anyone…”
“You’re not scared? Or angry? You don’t hate me, do you?” He sounded so timid, like a frightened child.
She thought about it, sure, she was certainly angry. But not as much as she’d expected, she laughed slightly, she hadn’t planned on this when she finally had Phantom in her grasp.
“Danny… I… don’t think I do… You never told me the truth because I never gave you a reason for it. I was so completely bent on destroying you that I don’t know… I lost sight on what I was fighting… but I’m glad you waited until now to tell me…”
He pulled back from her slightly so she could see his face, “You mean that?”
She nodded, “If I had found out earlier, I might have blasted you to bits. But as it stands… I’m…” she grinned, “I’m really glad I got to know you, Danny Fenton.”
He blinked at her reaction, pulling back further so that they were at eye level. “I…” he started but she pushed a finger to his lips.
“Let me finish loverboy. I believed ghosts were… well monsters. Bent on destroying this world and everyone in it, senseless and unstoppable monsters and nothing more… I never let my guard down, never let anyone see me weak. Until you Danny. I let you in and now, you’ve let me in. And that means so much more than I think you realise. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty shocked, and it’s gonna take me a week to digest all of this… but I love you Danny. You, no matter what you are.”
His eyes widened and he laughed, the familiar sound tinkling against her making her smile.
Valerie didn’t exactly know how she found himself in the position she was in next, but all she felt was the soft press of lips against hers and she wrapped her arms tightly around Danny, feeling light as air. She slipped her hands from his waist to over his shoulders, pushing in for the kiss. Danny felt like his world had exploded into stars, she tasted like strawberries and sunlight mixed together in utter happiness. And Valerie smiled against him, he tasted like static but she didn’t care. Danny could’ve stayed like that forever, and he probably would’ve if Valerie didn’t slip her hands off of him and gently push away.
She smiled, the heavy fear had lifted from her chest and she sighed as it dispersed. The clear water moving in it’s wake.
“So what do we do now?” She asked and Danny blinked, smiling softly as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
He looked to the stars, feeling lighter than ever, “I don’t know.”
“Well, Phantom, how about a truce to begin with.” She winked and Danny laughed, getting to his feet he took her hand and pulled her up with him.
“My my, the Red Huntress herself is offering a ceasefire? I never thought I’d see the day!”
“Oh hush, I can still shoot you.”
He gulped but nodded, a bright smile lighting up his face as he began to float slightly off the ground.
“Not for nothing,” she murmured, eying the space between his feet and the ground warily, “But how about you… uh… what’s the word you use? Switch back? Cause if you walk me home in that state, I think my dad’s gonna have to bring out a little heavier an artillery than a shotgun.”
Danny nodded, touching down without a word, feeling the rings of light split around his waist again as the world held weight once more.
Valerie gasped as Phantom fell away but regained her composure, “Somehow I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that…” she muttered, and he laughed, his blue eyes sparkling.
“Val… I’m… I’m really happy with how tonight went…” Danny grinned as they walked back towards the path, “But you’re sure that you’re okay with this whole… me being Phantom thing?”
She hummed in thought but nodded, “Yeah, but you’re going to have to answer a bunch of questions I have about yourself and the other ghosts. Plus,” she winked at him, “I still expect to be able to fight. Treat me as an equal ghost boy, I refuse to be your sidekick.”
Danny laughed but waved a hand, “Oh don’t worry, I think Tucker wouldn’t talk to me again if I let you have that role.”
“Then that’s settled then… shall we—”
Danny’s breath misted in front of his face and Valerie stiffened as a wave of static swept the park. “Oh no,” she mumbled, a sensor beeping quietly on her watch as she reached for her backpack, flicking the switch on the underside.
He speeder hit the ground and Valerie’s eyes narrowed as she pulled down her hood, snapping the butt of her ecto-gun against her palm as she whirled to Danny.
He was already in fighting mode, the human boy she’d fallen for melting away as the half-ghost hero Phantom stood by her side. Just as a massive, bloated figure rounded the corner ahead of them.
She looked at him a smile playing on her lips, “You ready ghost boy?”
He grinned, “You bet, partner.”
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sylph-feather · 4 years
Text
Wordcount: 1515
Prompter: @feministhotline
Prompt: “I can’t help it, okay? I’m a halfa! ...I need this to survive.”
Notes: Not as long as it could’ve been, but I still quite like it and I hope you do as well! 
@currentlylurking for team Human 
Ghosts can go quite a long time without a recharge. It’s not something known to Danny. For once, this isn’t due to his inexperience; no, most ghosts don’t know.
This is because ghosts recharge naturally, just by being in the ghost zone— hence why they never strayed overly far from Amity Park’s borders despite the catastrophic potential of their spread. Some could get a temporary boost from emotional output, but it never lasted. Consistently as they grew further, they grew weaker, and when they were brutally beat down (perhaps by a certain Phantom) they needed that glowing green essence of their home.
Danny’s awareness of this came in stages.
The first stage was the weakening. He spent the first few months of his halfterlife mostly figuring stuff out; sure, fighting the (eventually relatively) weak ghost creature that came to haunt the halls, but even then he did that primarily with his fists (albeit floating).
The main usage of his powers was accidental; a dash of invisibility here, a sprig of intangibility there. Enough to stress him out emotionally, but nothing that drained his ghost side physically. Routine exercises for a ghost, especially one with a solid body it could take excess energy from.
The only compensation Danny had to do was eat a little more. Considering everything else that was going on, he didn’t even think to question it as a compensation for the energy of his ghost side, but saw it as something normal. After all, teens were bottomless pits, ghost side or no; it was a nice, familiar constant, a good normalcy.
...Even if, as the ghost fights increased, so did his hunger.
It starts as a little extra on his plate, a few bites more.
His parents notice when he starts to take double portions as he’s fighting more fully fledged ghosts. Bitterly, Danny just wonders if they notice through food shortage and bills; it’s not like they come up from the lab often.
Normally, he’d tell himself not to think about what they were doing in the lab when he was trying to eat, but now… now he’s just so hungry that the nausea just doesn’t matter.
“My son’s a growing boy!” Jack splutters, unspeakably proud as he claps Danny on his skinny shoulder, knocking some of that precious food out of his mouth. “Finally swimming in my end of the gene pool,” Jack laughs, puffing his chest up.
Danny takes in his father’s broadness, thinking of his own lithe style of fighting. I hope not.
The issue with them noticing is when the ghosts continue to escalate— because his intake thusly escalates… and not even to scale, as though his body previously was boosted just fine but the solution of food is temporary, at least to some degree.
Then it was just another worry on his shoulders. Another of those traits that constantly nagged and bit at him— When will your parents notice? When will they put it together?
When he voiced those concerns, the need to consume such noticeably vast quantities of food, Sam and Tucker unanimously shrugged.
“They’ll buy that teens are bottomless pits,” Tuck informed around a large burger (demonstratively of his statement, really).
“Your dad’ll just be happy that you’re,” Sam paused, inhaling, then continuing in the most Jack Fenton-ly deep voice she could muster, “filling out to be just like your old man!”
Danny managed a snort, eyeing his own burger, painfully hungry gut flipping in anxiety, but accepted it with a nod. After all, it wasn’t like his parents had noticed anything about him that was more obviously ghostly, and there were plenty traits to name.
It was as though the universe took offense at that thought, or perhaps at the idea of letting Danny Fenton live his life easily. It didn’t matter the motivation of the universe’s whims, it just mattered that the hunger escalated.
Danny was inhaling food 24-7 now, enough that his worries about his parents noticing were coming true. Granted, it had taken them quite a while, but eventually they noticed he was never without a carb heavy snack. He could only keep that on the down low so much, particularly since using his powers made his stomach twinge in its constant state of hunger.
It was getting worse, food just a temporary solution. Danny’d read enough on ghosts to consider the portal (he may have been a C student, but he wasn’t a total idiot)— but that didn’t work; it brought an energy buzz, but it didn’t sate the hunger. It wasn’t the solution either— though he’d find the real one soon enough.
A fight with Johnny had gotten out of hand, lead to Danny ways away from Amity after having chased that stupid ghostly bike down a road stretching into nowhere. Needy of help, Danny had shouted at Johnny, asking of hunger, and Johnny had just shrugged and said “ya should be gettin all that food from the zone,” and then he’d shrugged again and kickstarted his motorcycle into gear, riding off with a flare of green flames, tailed hotly by Danny Phantom.
Exhausted and grasping at his stomach, Phantom began the flight home, drifting in a wobbly way.
He paused his mental moaning and groaning when the air turned sweet, as though someone had set a flytrap of honey. The halfa narrowed his eyes, practically walking on the air as he attempted to locate its source.
...A deer. Smashed.
Smashed was one way to describe it. Another more gorey way existed; ribs exposed to a baking sun, maggot eggs rooted in seeping flesh, labored breathing that oozed blood with every huff. Full of effort, the doe turned an eye towards him, full of fear.
Smelling so good.
It was paradoxical; Danny was drooling unrelated to throwing up, even though he was doing that too.
Most strangely, it was his first experience of satiation in a month. Just being near the creature’s rotting flesh as it panted its life away was enough to bring fullness to his belly, even as he expelled all the food he’d eaten that day before he left.
Who to go to, Danny wondered in bed. His parents knew not about whatever that was— even ghosts hadn’t known, Johnny hadn’t known. A halfa thing? It was a tentative conclusion, but one likely enough to consider. After all, Johnny spent enough time in the human world to know enough about “ecto fatigue” (his parents dubbing of the phenomenon).
That, of course, left one person.
…Well, Vlad certainly couldn’t have him as his weird son if he starved to death, right?
—That was the leverage he was holding now, at least. “I won’t do it,” Danny informed him after Vlad gave more oozing offers of “well if you’ll just be my pupil.” “Besides,” he continued, “you seem to know what’ll happen— can’t be your son if I die fully, and do you really think dear Maddie will look to you if I do?” Danny made a retching noise to go along with his sarcasm.
Vlad gave in. “Follow me,” he hissed, sliding back into that role of authoritative power, a cocky rich man rather than a frustrated ghost.
Hesitantly, Danny trailed, easily following Vlad directly through the ground to his secretive basement (not so secret, given Danny knew about it too).
“What does this have to do with it?” Danny pondered, eyeing… cages. A little set of small cages— stuffed with squeaking, writhing rats. Some of them were laying in the corner of their cages— something told Danny they were unconscious, but not dead.
Danny recoiled at the deafening confined scrabbling. “Didn’t know you were one for pets.”
Vlad ignored him, phasing a hand through the cage to pluck a rat up, thumb resting against its small throat.
Danny was growing more uncomfortable with the way the gray rat in Vlad’s hand had its eyes blown wide with fear, tiny voice squeaking as it squirmed. Tittering and shuffling and feeling much like the rat, Danny just ran his mouth— “what, you got a snake instead of a cat? Or maybe your cat caught all of these, instead? Or—“
The squeaking became more frantic, and Danny’s blue eyes snapped to the rat in Vlad’s grip. His thumb was pinned to the thing’s throat, cutting off its air, causing it to panic.
Slowly, its struggles stilled, each cry becoming more wheezy, each movement of its tiny paws becoming more leaden.
The sweet smell returned, and Danny breathed it in involuntarily— and felt full again.
Vlad smiled sharply, edging his grip off the things throat. It breathed, but was knocked out— the man callously tossed it back into the cage. Danny’s blown eyed gaze followed it.
“We can’t help it,” he crooned in a faux gentle voice, honey and oil oozing from it equally, “we’re halfas. We need something on the brink, like us; not fully dead, not ghost energy nor meat. Neither would completely do it.”
Danny stared at the unconscious rat, and he was the one breathing hard, pain in his lungs rather than his stomach.
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phantomphangphucker · 4 years
Text
Phango - Gifted? Or Dead?
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(Crossover + Identity Reveal + Daul Obsession (Space) AU + Dissection)
Mutants around a ghost are sorely outmatched and Danny’s one of the strongest there is, even if he’s a slightly broken kid.
Katherine, also now to those around her as Kitty, nods as she drives past the Amity sign, she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to find this mutant Xavier suspected was here. Or more specifically how she was going to get a hold of him. Phantom was more than just often spotted but was notoriously impossible to capture. She’s honestly a little glad for that, who knows what would be done to him. Even more so as it seems this town was notorious for having ghosts hunters and they all believed Phantom was simply a ghost and thus ‘evil’. Xavier seemed to think that wasn’t the case, that the boy was a mutant of some kind. The way he had frowned slightly leads her to think Phantom might be an experiment. The fact that the town was very well hidden and blacklisted was definitely not a good sign. It took a lot to find any information apparently.
Checking in with the hotel and quirking an eyebrow over the waver the receptionist gives her. Said receptionist answering her expression with clearly practiced ease, “to stay here overnight requires wavers, if you really do decide to stay for your full weeks' reservation, you’ll have to acquire ghost insurance down at the station. This is due to the unusual dangers present in town and you, as an outsider, don’t know how to deal with them”.
Katherine shakes her head slightly, “so this whole ghost thing is quite real”.
“Yup. Here’s your key card”, Katherine takes it with a nod and heads to her room.
She doesn’t waste much time setting up before wandering around the town, hoping to either spot Phantom or find some kind of clues. Finding herself chuckling a little at the mall, the kids' symbol was everywhere, some things even having the ‘inviso-bill’ code name on them. Which was honestly horrible, even her first code name ‘Sprite’ would have made more sense. Shaking her head, if Phantom was a mutant, he was already pretty well established in the world of heroics. He even had tons of detractors already, whether that was because of what everyone thought he was or not.
Ending up at the library, hoping to learn anything about what’s being labelled as ‘ghosts’. Leaning over to the receptionist, “so what're the best option for me to look into on this whole ghost deal?”.
Getting a soft laugh in return before the lady shakes her head with a small smile, “if you’re genuinely curious dearie, FentonWorks, but those two could talk anyone’s ears off for days about ghosts. We have a few books if you just want more generalised or fictional reading”.
“Are ‘those two’ experts on ghosts?”.
The lady nods immediately, “top of the field they say. Built an inter-dimensional portal into the Ghost Zone they say. Are the best makers of ecto-weapons they say. People say a lot, they say even more. They’ve got kids too. One’s probably the smartest person on Earth and the others basically an enigma. All four are strange. Head down the road and to the right. Look for the house with a giant FentonWorks sign that should be a light pollution threat and with a ufo, that can turn into a blimp and a jet, on top”.
Katherine blinks and nods at that, certainly won’t be the strangest thing she’s seen but that’s pretty up there. Turning to head out after thanking the lady.
It really doesn’t take long to find the house, muttering to herself, “that is one obnoxious sign”, before knocking on the door. She can’t help but think that these two would look right at home with all the mutants, jumpsuits were a pretty common sight with them.
Maddie asking, “hello? Can we help you?”.
Katherine nods with a smile, “yes, I’m visiting town and I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the whole ‘ghosts’ thing?”. She makes a point not to react on instinct to the rather massive Jack practically dragging her inside with an almost disturbing level of excitement.
Jack pushes her at the kitchen table, “wait here! We have awesome inventions!”, before running off down stairs.
Maddie smiles at her and points to a kettle, “would you like some tea?”. At Katherine’s nod Maddie starts up the kettle before sitting down, “so what is it you want to know? Outside of the basics of course”.
Katherine nods with a slight smile, “that for sure”, laughing slightly, “anything important for safety and why there seems to be one that’s just...fighting the others”.
Maddie sighs and shakes her head, “ah yes, Phantom. That one’s strange and an anomaly”, smiling a bit, “what we wouldn’t give to get our hands on It and see how It really works!”. Katherine makes it a point to not react visibly to that. While Jack bounds up the stairs, “talking ‘bout Phantom? If we could only get this baby-”, holding up some weird looking Bazooka with a claw hand on it, “-on It, then we could open that ghostie up! Get right down to the molecules!”.
It’s then that the son walks in the front doors, looking honestly skittish, “I’m home!”. Katherine watches him look her over with extreme caution, he was clearly very mistrustful. While he looks to his mom, “mom, who’s this?”.
“Oh jut a curious traveller sweetie”.
Katherine notes how the kid flinches when Jack swings around the weapon thing, “she wants us to blabber about ghosts! And look! We finished the Fenton Ectoplasm Crusher!”.
The kid looks slightly like a deer in headlights, “that’s great dad. I’m just gonna not stay here. I’ll be in my room if you need me!”, the last bit comes out rushed as the weapon goes off and shoots off at Danny, slamming into the wall where he was standing as he bolts up the stairs; the invention electrocuting the wall.
Katherine looking to Jack, “do inventions often go after him like that? Is that safe?”.
Maddie waves her off, “it’s fine. Ecto-weapons can’t hurt humans. It can just be a little startling”, Katherine watch’s as the women shoots her own hand to prove a point. Only thing, for the kid to have any kind of ingrained fear response to said weapons, means they must affect him. At least a little.
Jack picks up, utterly unaware of Katherine’s slight mistrust of them, “so we’ve been in the field for years! And one thing we know is that ghosts are evil ectoplasmic manifestations of post-human consciousness! They’re dangerous creatures!”.
Maddie nods, “we try to catalogue and record as many of them as we can, their powers too. And how best to contain or defeat them. See, they’re not capable of human emotions or being good. Even that Phantom one”, she shakes her head, “just feeding off the attention people give It. Why so many feel the need to see It as anything but a monster we’ll never know”.
Katherine feels like she’s heard this all before. Deciding to ask something more basic, “are they actually dead though? Or just abnormal people?”.
Jack chuckles, “oh they’re dead all right! No bones, no blood, no organs. Entirely made of ectoplasm! Which is a great energy source actually! We fuel our weapons with it!”.
Maddie looks from her husband to Katherine, “yes it sure is. Some ghosts were once human, or dogs, others we aren’t quite sure what they used to be. There’s plenty of work to be done in the field. One thing we can all agree on, those of us in the profession, is that ghosts are simply the negative and obsessive remnants of their living self. Rarely remembering so much as their name. They come to our world to wreak havoc and hurt those that dare still have what they lost. Or they seek power”.
Jack lifts up a few different weapons, and a fishing pole? While he speaks, “most of our inventions are to counteract their powers! All ectoplasm has certain abilities, but the really tricky ghosts are the ones with unique powers!“.
Maddie nods with a sigh, “which is the problem with Phantom. It’s unlike any other ghost. Able to get past anti-ghost things somehow and get into our world so frequently”.
Katherine tilts her head, “our world?”.
Jack beams and nods, “yup! Ghosts come from and exist in an alternately dimension! The Ghost Zone! Our work started really picking up when we figured out how to access the place!”.
Maddie smiles and gets up to pour the tea, speaking as she does, “it’s a very dangerous place, filled with ecto-filth and their lairs. They plot and heal there, before coming here to cause issues”.
Katherine smiles and takes the offered tea, while the conversation continues.
She listens to them, not really sure what to make of it all other than that the two really hate ghosts and wanted to both harm and control them. But she finds herself paying more attention to the coming and goings of the two kids. The daughter eyes held intelligence that likely surpassed nearly everyone’s and something tells Katherine that the daughter is far more watchful and suspicious than she lets on. The boy, on the other hand, only seemed relaxed when his parents were not looking at or near him. Other wise he was jumpy, skittish. But he was making a point to still be around his parents, though clearly avoiding them as quickly as he can. She also notes how the two seem to be able to look after themselves entirely, how the sister puts herself between the parents and the boy, how the parents are absorbed in their work, and how there are anti-ghost things everywhere...even the toaster is anti-ghost.
She smiles at them as she leaves but frowns when she’s out of sight, if she wasn’t curious about the two kids before, she was now. Pausing as she sees the daughter sitting on a bench, just out of sight of the Fenton house, reading an advanced psychology text.
Katherine walking up and asking, “you’re the daughter, what do you think of all this ghost stuff”.
She giggles slightly and snaps the book shut, “it’s Jasmine or Jazz for short. And it’s very real, even if my parents are extreme about it...and wrong in many ways”, Katherine watches as Jazz squints at her slightly before nodding, “you see the bigotry in it. The human mind is a flawed thing, impressive but flawed. It’s far easier to take what we do not know, do not understand, what is different; and label it less than us. Whether to fight against them, research them, or simply hold onto the ideal that humans are some great alpha species. It’s silly, isn’t it?”.
Katherine blinks and nods with a slight smile, “yes, people can be silly like that. I’m guessing you don’t share their opinions?”.
Jazz shakes her head, “very few teens do. But they’re the adults, the experts. So certainly, they must be right. Funny how that works”.
Katherine smiles slightly and nods, “people with power, sometimes it’s good sometimes it’s bad. You’re a smart girl, you’ll do some good things I’m sure”, the two nod and Katherine keeps walking.
The next thing she does is send a message to Xavier for anyone he wants her focusing more on. And it doesn’t take long to get back said list on who to check out. Sighing a bit over all six being teens. Sam Manson, Elliot Revon, Tucker Foley, Todd Brentex, Valerie Gray, and Danny Fenton. She’s going to leave the Fenton child till last, for a lot of reasons.
Using the library to track down the different residencies and to figure out the kids social circles. Promptly moving Elliot and Todd near the bottom of the list at noticing that Sam, Tucker, and Danny were basically best friends and Valerie was also their friend, just seemingly less close. But she can see why Xavier focused in on these six. Everything about Jasmine was very public even if she was odd. She probably was a mutant to a level but only receiving heightened intellect. Hardly what they were looking for and not who needed their help.
Sam was extremely rich, which wasn’t odd really but she also seems to raise pet plants that bite people, eats exclusively plant matter including soil, and frequently disappeared just before or during ‘ghost attacks’
Elliot has impossibly natural white hair and there was video proof of him being chased and attacked by the government. He also changed personas every few weeks, she’s pretty sure he doesn’t know who he actually is anymore.
Tucker was another’s case of extreme intellect but also seemed to hit on everything with legs, had something dubbed a ‘meat sense’ and was romantically involved with his PDA. He also frequently disappeared just before or during ‘ghost attacks’.
Todd seems like a run of the mill asshole, if you exclude the fact that he snarls, bites and all around acts a bit inhuman and creepy. There is a lot of comments about him having abnormal shows of strength.
Valerie likely carries ecto-weapons with her due to the staggering amount of comments about her having them at some point or another. Has a serious and extreme hatred for ghosts that could very likely be intentional as a cover up. She also disappeared when ‘ghost attacks’ happened.
Daniel was notable because of how little there was to note. He loved space, a lot, his Facebook was near nothing but space facts. He was chronically skipping or leaving classes, sometimes lining up with ‘ghost attacks’ sometimes not. Was so severely clumsy he was banned from handling fragiles. Was severely terrified of ghosts, this could be a cover. And that’s it, nothing else.  
Nodding and closing her little notes and deciding she’ll approach the techno-geek first.
Promptly running into an issue. Sam, Tucker and Danny were basically never alone. Either they were together, at home or with family. It was certainly strange. But this gives her time to observe them and Sam and Tucker are extremely protective of Danny. Even seeming so towards his parents. Which is a bit worrying. She also writes Todd off during this time as a guy who wants to be seen as weird and is quite literally acting a part. Valerie also seems like the overworked teen type, and she’s not all that involved with anyone else. Plus the ghost hating is not faked, catching her ranting about ghosts was honestly a bit disturbing.
Leaning against a wall in the mall and watching the three from afar when a floating Mecha bursts through a wall and sends tables and people flying, everyone else fleeing. Deciding to duck down and watch, maybe Phantom will come along and she’ll get lucky.
But the expressions on the trio catch her attention, sure they were running off but their eyes were hard and there was slight smiles playing on their faces. Danny even seemed to roll his eyes. Certainly different from everyone else.
Flickering her camouflage and intangibility on to sneak around and follow the trio enough to keep them in her sights. Maybe they had contact with Phantom. Blinking and smirking to herself of watching Danny’s -rather bright if she’s honest- little transformation sequence and catch phase. Ah teens, and yup, definitely a mutant of some kind. Somehow she doubts he’s a ghost that just can look human. Watching as the Mecha hits him with some hook thing and sends both of them intangibly through a wall.
Her jobs basically half done now so she’s content to just check in with Xavier before approaching the mutant.
Leaning back in a chair and speaking over the protected phones, “found your kid. But he might be a more sensitive case than normal”.
“Oh?”.
“His parents definitely do not know and they point blank said they wanted to very explicitly dissect him, Phantom anyway. The house is basically filled with things that hurt him if he actually is somehow a ghost”.
“Very well, I’ll fly down there”.
Nodding to herself and hanging up. It’s not like he’ll take long and she has to go fill out those insurance papers.
A few days later finds Katherine, Xavier, Scott Summer, and Jean Grey in-front of the Fenton house, waiting for an answer after they knew the Fenton parents would be gone for a while. If it took a bit longer simply to ensure the safety of a mutant then so be it.
Jazz is the one to open the door, Xavier smiles slightly at her not even looking surprised. “Hello Jasmine, I’m Charles Xavier”, gesturing to Scott, “this is Scott Summer”, gesturing to Jean, “this is Jean Grey”, gesturing to Katherine with a slight smile, “and I believe you’ve already met Katherine Pryde. Is Daniel around by chance?”.
Jazz steps to the side and lets the four in, hardly blinking at Jean telekinetically levitating Xavier’s wheelchair inside. Jazz commenting as she goes to make tea, “you’d think they’d create things more useful for everyday people, like stairs that can transform into ramps. Rather than hover cars and wormholes”.
Jean raises an eyebrow, “your parents have created such things?”. Jazz smiles and nods, Katherine nodding as well.
Jazz frowns slightly as she speaks, “now what do you want with my little brother?”.
Xavier holds up a hand, “relax, nothing bad, I can assure you. We merely want to talk, privately if that is possible”. None of them exactly want to assume who knows and who doesn’t about Danny. While Jazz squints slightly at them. Xavier speaks up again, reading that she was simply protective of her brother and very much knew, “I am better know to some as Professor Xavier or Professor X, I help people who are a bit different from the rest of humanity. Give them guidance, teach them”.
Jazz nods slightly, “so you are mutants then? I figured as much”, smirking slightly, “and I’m not one to be wrong”.
Scott frowns a bit more noticeably at that, “and you assumed why?”.
Jazz smirks as she pours teas and goes to walk up the stairs, “often those that see the bigotry towards people and creatures as being such, do so because they see and experience it themselves. Much the same has been said about mutants as ghosts”, turning to look at them with one foot up the stairs, “but make no mistake. Ghosts aren’t the same”.
Scott huffs as the girl walks up the stairs, not really believing this whole ghost nonsense. Much more likely were an unusual set of mutants, mutants with similar powers wasn’t unheard of and maybe this place simply resulted in such an occurrence.
All four turn to the stairs as a cautious looking Danny enters the kitchen, Scott and Jean honestly a bit surprised he’s actually alone. Katherine smiles at him, “hello again. Don’t worry, we’re the good guys”. Something about that makes the skittish boy chuckle as he sits down.
Danny mutters as he plays with the teacup, “everyone always thinks they’re the good guys”.
Xavier nods with a slight smile, “true. I have an old friend who always believed he was doing what was right, what was best. For those like us, for the world, for the future. He did not care who he had to hurt to achieve his idea of the perfect future”.
Danny squints a little, “‘people like us’? Are you including me in that ‘us’ thing?”.
Scott scoffs and crosses his arms, “we know you’re Phantom, kid. We’re mutants”. Scott groans slightly as Danny curls in on himself a little, clearly paranoid and skittish. Jean levitates a tea cup to herself and smiles softly, looking to make the kid feel more comfortable.
Danny watches them for a bit, “you're not with the government...are you?”.
All four shake their heads instantly. Xavier speaking, “we’re not looking to report you or hurt you or anything of the kind. I’m here to offer my help. You see, I run a school for gifted youngsters. Young mutants like yourself”, he steers his chair around the table to put himself in more full view of the skittish Daniel, “it’s a safe place, protected from any who would want to harm us. Where you could develop your gifts around others like you. And be free from the dangers posed to you”, Xavier nods towards one of the strange guns on the counter. “Mutants have been regarded with fear, hatred; as you’ve experienced yourself. There are some even who see us as a new species, but humanity has never been one to share. Our school has plenty to offer, the top classes in everything as well as training facilities that can be specialised to every mutants needs”.
Danny raises his hands and chuckles a bit awkwardly, “I’m, um, not a mutant. I mean, I guess that depends on whatever makes a mutant or whatever. But um, you really can’t tell anyone about me. I’d really rather not get dissected”.
Scott sighs, “kid, did you miss the protected part? The school’s a safe place and from what I’ve heard you can at least float and shoot energy rays, you’re a mutant”, Jean levitates up a pen and Scott lowers his visors quickly to shoot a little beam at it, destroying it. While Xavier explains, “mutants are people with a special gene, the X-gene, resulting in the mutant developing their gift around puberty. And I can assure you, no one is going to be experimenting on you”.
Danny scoffs and rolls his eyes, looking rather tired, “don’t promise things you can’t deliver. And I’m not a mutant then. I wasn’t born with some gene. Just got into an accident”, looking to and squinting at Scott, “um, what do you think ghosts are?”.
Scott shrugs, “collection of mutants probably”.
Xavier nods, Daniel wasn’t lying, “well sometimes traumatic events or emotional distress can cause the surfacing of a mutants gift. But even if you might not be a mutant, my school would and will accept you regardless. We are not ones to discriminate or turn away any gifted youths”.
Danny rubs his neck and shrugs a little, “could it awaken these genes or whatever in late twenties? Because if not, then I’m definitely not a mutant. But I guess thanks for not being discriminatory or whatever, nice change I guess”.
Jean frowns, goes to rub his shoulder reassuringly but pauses when he flinched away. He’s clearly been through a lot and doesn’t trust easily, “you have a place if you want it, and you will be accepted. Clearly this place isn’t safe for you”.
Danny scoffs and rolls his eyes again, fiddling with and looking down at his cup, “no place is really. And my folks don’t know, they don’t mean to hurt me. Even if they do shoot at me a lot, dad’s not that good of an aim though”, he smirks but it’s a little hallow. Looking to Scott, “ghosts are exactly what they sound like. The dead. I guess since you guys went and revealed yourselves, I’m a hybrid. Half dead”, chuckling and drinking the tea a little, “let me tell you, electrocution is a very painful way to go. Four billion volts, people don’t survive that. But hey, also having a ghost portal open up on me fixed the whole dying problem...partly anyway”.
Katherine breathes out, “well damn”, that was pretty awful. Looking to change the subject, “so what can you do? I can walk through things. Intangibility. And camouflage, it’s almost invisibility”, pointing at Scott, “laser eyes over here”, pointing at Jean, “empath, telekineses”, pointing at Xavier, “telepath in basically every-way”.
Danny jerks a little bit from hearing Xavier’s voice in his head saying ‘hello’ while Xavier smiles a bit playfully. Xavier speaking while Danny watches all of them, “I’m one of the strongest there is, I can manipulate any part of someone’s mind, shutting down their body functions even. But I don’t of course, won’t. I like to think humanity has good to them, at their core. That we can exist peacefully. I know you’re good, and that you fight the ghosts to protect people”, gesturing to the three mutants, “we do much the same, fighting less reputable mutants who want to harm”.
Danny eyeballs them and chuckles, “that’s pretty intense. Mind control really. I’ve been mind-controlled before, I broke it though. Kinda funny you came here with a bunch of people with similar abilities”, Danny levitates over the ectogun and pokes it to spin around in the air, “telekinesis, I don’t use it much though”, shooting a little ecto-beam at it, making the ecto-gun explode, “more laser fingers than eyes, can do that to though”, phasing his hand through the table before flickering invisible, “literally every. Single. Ghost. Can use intangibility, invisibility, and gravity nullification”.
Danny sighs and gets up, putting away his cup; three of the mutants a little surprised at the numerous powers. Xavier nods slightly, “you have more powers, don’t you”.
Danny scoffs and laughs a bit, “many. I don’t know if your school could make a training room actually able to handle me honestly. And I would bring danger with me. I’m wanted by the government, many ghosts want my hide -one very literally-, and there are the ghost hunters. Plus,” Danny sits on the counter and fiddles with the sink a little, letting the tap turn on but making ice shapes with the water, “I protect Amity, I guess some friends of mine could cover for me though”.
Scott scoffs, “don’t underestimate us kid, mutants always bring danger around with them; dealing with that is half the point of the school”.
Xavier nods, “we've seen everything from intolerant parents, to government-funded mad scientists. We’re well equipped”.
“Could I leave at any point to come back here in case?”.
Xavier nods, “of course, it’s not a prison. Though it is a school all the same, you will have classes you’re expected to attend”.
Danny mumbles, “course”, before getting up for some food. Opening the fridge and promptly getting spattered by green stuff, the fridge saying ‘anti-ghost fudge theft mode activated, eat hot ectoplasm Spook!’. While Danny yelps and shakes off his face and hands, Jean moves to help him wash off in the sink; everyone able to see him wincing and the nasty burns where the stuff had contacted him. Danny rubs at his face and looks a little beaten down, “yeah, okay, I’ll try your school thing out”. Jean and Katherine asking, “are you okay?”.
Danny shrugs and mumbles, “I heal fast”.
Jean shakes her head, “you shouldn’t have to be worrying about your own house attacking you”. Danny just shrugs again as he sits back at the table, throwing a slight glare at the fridge.
Xavier smiles anyway, this was certainly an environment he shouldn’t be in. If anything, it seemed Daniel was in more danger than most of the youngsters they collected, “how likely do you believe it is that your parents would allow you to go without any of us having to divulge too much about the school or the reasons behind your attendance?”.  
Danny shakes his head, “none. They’ll want to know everything they can. They care, they’re just...not that good at it. But if you have, say, a space program of some sort then that would work for cover”. None of them miss how his eyes sparkle a little, clearly he was fond of space.
Xavier smiles, “we certainly could. Are you interested in space?”.
Danny grins and leans forward a bit, “I landed a spaceship once, been to space a few times. I could build an exact to-scale replica of the Mars rover, pretty well every model of spaceship, and any of the satellites, right now. My goal was NASA before the whole dying thing trashed my grades and being Phantom became more important”.
Jean smiles softly, “well, part of what we teach is managing lifestyles. I’m sure you could do both”.
Katherine giggles a little, “and at least you already have a code name, no one trying to give you unfortunate ones. Have your own designed suit too”, smiling slightly, “you’ve put a lot into this already. Most your age just play with their powers, show off. I was hardly better”.
Danny frowns a little and pats at is chest, “I didn’t design anything. That suit is what I died in but colour inverted, like my hair. It’s part of my body. Phantom though,” Danny smiles slightly, “that’s my fun little pun on Fenton”, sighing and frowning again, “and these mutant kids, they just have powers, I’m part of another dimension and species. So it’s different”.
Xavier nods, “all the same I’m sure we can accommodate you. Accommodating niches is one of our goals. Now the school is a boarding school, located in my mansion, our classes are small but they are specialised to needs. The dorms are comfortable and anything you need you can ask for, no matter how strange or hard to get. Power usage is both accepted and encouraged so long as you avoid intentional damages. The danger rooms are where you can really use any powers”.
Jean smiles and nods, the danger rooms were often what really got any teens exited, “they can be set up for any situation and unique to work against or towards your own skills. There’s no worry about really hurting anyone or thing, so it’s wonderful for testing limits. They get used most often by those looking to become X-Men”.
Scott looks Danny over, the kid was already doing the whole superhero thing, “no doubt you’ll be an X-Man, you’re nearly already doing the job”.
Xavier tilts his head, “with working in the space field as well of course”.
Danny shrugs, “with my vitals I highly doubt they’ll actually let me”.
Xavier grins at that, “oh we have our ways, that sort of thing can be waved”.
Danny goes a little wide-eyed and whispers, “really?”, everyone else nods and Danny grins like an idiot, “okay you are totally allowed to adopt me!”.
Xavier laughs, “not literally of course. But you are free to stay at the mansion as you please, so long as you enrol”.
Danny nods, clearly either more comfortable in their presence or more focused on space, than safety.
They leave after giving Danny the more nitty-gritty details of the school and its programs, giving him one of the schools hoodies, and after explaining what they can to his parents; they were more than a little excited about Danny going to a more specialised school where he will hopefully do better and get to be an astronaut like he always wanted.
Half a week later finds Katherine back at the Fenton door, waiting to pick up Danny. Smiling at him as he opens the door with his bags in tow, obviously already having had the whole farewell talk and hug fest with his family. “You good to go?”.
Danny nods, looking a little sad and nervous but otherwise just a fourteen-year-old kid, “yeah”. Both jumping when Jack sticks his head out the door and shoves a container of fudge at Danny before giving him a thumbs up and disappearing.
Katherine shakes her head, “you’re parents sure are something”.
“Heh heh, yeah”, Danny turns and eyeballs the sleek little car, “well, at least you didn’t show in something overly fancy”.
Katherine smiles as she gets in, speaking as Danny closes the door behind him, “discretion is part of how we maintain safety. We’ll be getting to the jet later”.
“I flew a jet once”.
Katherine shakes her head a little as she drives off, Danny really had clearly been through a lot of weird situations.
Danny looks around a little as they enter the mansion, he didn’t seem all that impressed but more so simply cautious and paranoid. Watching him eyeball possible exits, areas where someone could hide, anything that even slightly seemed like a threat. Katherine watches him eyeball a kid floating paper airplanes around above his hands, “huh, guess that is pretty normal here”.
Katherine nods, “yup, you have to do something very flashing, please don’t, to really get anyone to care. You seem pretty unfazed by the mansion itself. Most gawk more, I know I did”.
Danny rolls his eyes, “my archenemies is bigger, a lot bigger”.
“You really have an ‘archenemy’”.
Danny shrugs, “not much else to call the guy, other than a crazed up frootloop. He’s one of the richest people in the world, wealth acquired by control and manipulating other people. Wants to kill my dad, marry my mom, force me to be his son. He’s got a power and possession Obsession”.
Katherine is definitely a bit concerned by that, sounded like a mutant who was using their powers unethically. Not to mention rather creepy. The two walking into Xavier’s office while Danny grumbles about this archenemy more, “spy's on me with cameras, puts bounties on my head, the whole cloning incident, attempts to take over other times, made me fully dead in another timeline, more attempted murders than I can count”.
Xavier raises an eyebrow, “hello again. Who is this person we’re going to have to keep an eye out for?”.
Danny sighs and sits down in one of the armchairs, scanning his eyes cautiously around the room quickly before speaking, “one of the only others like me. The first Halfa. Vlad Masters, yes that Masters”, Danny shrugs and fiddles with he chairs fabric, “he went to college with my parents. They built a mini-ghost portal, half-killed him. Same as they built a full ghost portal and half-killed me”.
Both mutants blink at him, Katherine shaking her head, “your parents are hazards”. Danny just smirks slightly in response, still looking around the room a little.
Xavier nods, “so not a mutant either. And what of the others like you? Better company I would hope”.
Danny snaps his eyes to Xavier and bares his teeth a little, “touch her and I’ll cut you”, softening a little and seeming to be thinking a bit while Katherine blinks a bit caught off guard. This kid was quiet and skittish not aggressive. Whoever this ‘her’ is she must be special.
Xavier smiles slightly, hearing that Danny is considering bringing another Danny -the identical names was slightly confusing- here, if he felt it safe. Though Xavier’s not pleased she sounds to be on the run, “she’ll be quite safe here, though I’m sure you’ll decide that for yourself”.
Danny glares slightly but nods, “it would be nice for her to have a home. But if I have to blow up an entire mansion to protect her, I will. I’ve done it”.
Xavier nods, “of anyone, I can certainly understand protecting the gifted; mutants or otherwise. Many of the students here are runaways themselves, many more come to consider this place home. Even upon graduating, they tend to stay and become X-men and teachers. Always having a permanent place here, found family, and protection”, driving his chair around the desk and smiling kindly at Danny, “I can only hope you can come to feel fond of this place yourself, and of the gifted around you”.
Danny nods a little stiffly, Xavier doesn’t even have to read him to know he’s slightly overwhelmed. Changing to a topic more well-loved by teens and of some level of importance, “now follow me, I’ll take you to your room. Kitty has responsibilities to attend to”, starting to drive out of the room and looking back at Danny as he gets up, carrying/dragging his things, “feel free to levitate those, I encourage it actually”, speaking again as Danny smiles slightly and does just that before they start walking down the halls, “now one thing that is something of a right of passage, as I’ve heard many of the students say, is choosing code names. Of course yours is already set in stone for you I imagine. So the question will more be, what do you want to be called here? Do you wish to go by Danny still, or Phantom? Both perhaps”.
“The ghosts officially call me Danny Fenton Phantom, but most just say Phantom...or something insulting. But um, Phantom, Phantom’s what I’d like”.
Xavier smiles to himself at that, unlike the mutants that faced persecution Phantom did not hate his abilities, didn’t even dislike them truly. He merely seemed to dislike when they acted up and had learned a policy of absolute secrecy about them, over all he was proud. “What you would like is all that matters, Phantom”.
Phantom pauses in his walking for a beat before shaking his head with a slight smile and following again, “just like that huh? Guess that’s normal here”.
Xavier only nods slightly as they come to a stop before the room that’s meant for Phantom, “here’s where you’ll be staying. If you set up quickly, you’ll have time to make it for lunch. I quite recommend you do”.
Phantom raises an eyebrow but watches Xavier go for only a little while before heading into his room.
Anna is curious, she’s heard mutterings of there being a new student. Like always, that kind of news made everyone excited and buzz about. Curious what the newcomer could do, what their backstory was, if they looked unique. Certain people, glaring slightly towards Monique and her little gang, certainly were more interested on the looks than anything else. Todd, of course, was only going to care how strong the new kid was and if there’s be some kind of challenge to his place as ‘top bitch’. Sure, he said ‘alpha king’ but everyone else just said ‘top bitch’; largely to annoy the overpowered fire-starter. Fire-starter not just because of his power but also ‘cause he’s a prick that fights everything. Sighing as she walks through the lunchroom doors, though peeking up when she sees her good friend Lily and walks over. “So you heard the gossip too I guess?”.
They chuckle, “oh definitely, hard to miss that kind of gossip. Hopefully, they’re not a dick”.
Anna groans, “tell me about it, all five of the recent newbies have been total jerks. I’m almost tempted to think powers only come to the cocky and hotheaded”. The two snicker and eyeball Todd slightly, the unspoken joke needing no further context. Before both of them turn their heads to the side after sitting down with their food, hearing people start to whisper
“Look, it’s the new face”.
“Awww he looks so boring and plain”.
“Think he’s seen some shit? Looks kinda skittish”.
Anna sighs and shakes her head seeing a skinny slightly twitchy black-haired boy with intense crystal blue eyes. Muttering to Lily, “he’s going to get eaten alive”. Apparently he heard though and smirks at them slightly, before waking off to inspect the food. Promptly stuffing his face and clearly trying to ignore the staring, he seems used to it and that pings a little sad place in her.
Anna pokes Lily, “well, wanna see if the newbies an asshole? Seems tolerable so far”.
Lily looks around and shrugs, waving over their two other friends Jackson and Reverent.
Jackson asking, “what we doing?”.
Anna just smirks and points at the newbie. The three following after her as they approach. The kid is clearly eyeballing them cautiously as they sit down in front of him.
Reverent sticking his hand out and beaming a poster-worthy smile, “hiya! I’m Reverent, you’re new. Hopefully, your day’s not sucking. Moving here can be shit, so far away and all that. You seem nice though, I think I approve. I’m a photokenetic”.
Jackson shrugs, “I’m Jackson, ice boy. Please don’t say that’s cool”.
Lily waves slightly, “invisibility and levitation, I know two powers, lucky me. Name’s Lily”.  
Everyone looks to Anna, who smiles slightly, “Anna, and my power’s pretty shit, so don’t worry if yours sucks. I can steal people’s life force”.
Lily rolls her eyes and elbows Anna, “and extend your own. That’s practically immortality girl”. Anna just shrugs before everyone looks to the new kid, who swallows harshly.
The kid eyes them a little then shakes his head slightly, “just out with it like that huh? Pretty different from what I’m used to”.
Reverent nods dramatically, “yeah people can be awful. But here’s better! Everyone can be themselves, I intend on being a teacher here one day. Help other kiddos you know?”.
Lily nods but snickers at Reverent a little, “you’re too nice not to get steamrolled by literally every student”, turning to the new kid, “so what’s your name”.
The kid clearly thinks for a bit before smiling a bit sheepishly, the other four deciding this kid's one of the decent types, while he speaks up, “it’s Phantom. And I’m a bag of confusing bullshit”, Phantom holds up a hand and creates a ball of green light, then forms a ice crystal floating above his hand, then turns said hand invisible and floats off his seat a little, “technically I can force a soul out of a body, but that’s not really stealing their life force. Plus, I’ve never done that to someone who was actually in their own body and not someone else’s”.
Anna blinks, Todd was going to hate this kid, even if Phantom’s control sucked or he had some kind of limit, tons of different powers could kick the ass of one. “Well, you hit the Jackpot, damn”.
Phantom rubs his neck, “oh I hit something that’s all right-”. Phantom gets cut off by Todd predictably slamming a hand on the table and saying with a sneer, “look at that, twig boys got himself a little arsenal. Well it’s nothing to this”, Todd dances flames off his fingertips into the kid's face.
Phantom just sighs, “um, good for you?”, he lifts up a palm and creates a ball of green fire floating above it.
Anna slaps the table and laughs, this was great. While Todd glares and covers his own hand in flames, clearly trying to be menacing.
Phantom sighs, seemingly more comfortable with confrontation than friendly interaction, “yes yes, you’re very fancy firebug. But don’t make moves to threaten me unless you’re going to follow through”.
Todd growls, “oh I’ll follow through”, before going to punch Phantom with his flaming fist. Phantom smirks a little to himself when the guy hits a green shield. Trying again results in him going through the intangible kid and flailing to the floor.
Phantom spins around on the bench and looks down at him, “I’m used to fighting actual villains. So I’m not going to actually hit you or something”.
That gets Maxi’s attention, as he walks over and looks down at Phantom, “wait, you’ve actually fought villains?”.
Phantom groans, “only every day of the week and weekend for that matter”, Phantom fiddles with his food, “I’m kind of already an established superhero. Xavier brought me here more so to help with schooling than powers I think. Other things too”, sighing and glancing down at Todd, “I’m going to give you a warning I guess, to be nice and all that. My perfectly normal friends back home could kick your ass. My enemies are all more or less indestructible, I don’t fight the breakable”.
Todd scoffs and walks off, glaring at everyone, while Reverent claps his hands together, “well alright then! On to something less dark! What're your favourite movies...”.
Phantom walks awkwardly into the medi-bay, grumbling something almost unintelligible under his breath about not knowing he signed up for scientific examinations. Xavier is instantly tipped off by the way he says that, and the images flickering through his mind are more than just unpleasant and concerning. The Fenton’s are very strange and aggressive about how they ‘treat’ things as simple as just a cold. The Manson parents seem pretty bad too. Speaking to him after sending a nod of greeting to Jean, “relax. The danger room can be rather stressful and it is always best to be cautious. Wouldn’t want you to get inadvertently hurt or traumatised. But I assure you, it’s nothing weird or extreme, certainly nothing with strange dream catchers or whatever that green bath was supposed to be”.
Phantom glances at him and chuckles a little, seeming both less and more on edge. Which is expected, many people would far prefer for him to stay out of their minds. Jean smiles at Phantom and gestures at the bench, “hello again. I hear you’ve chosen to go by Phantom officially. Good, you’re pretty fond of the way you are huh? Most of us are, when we’re older anyway. Now please have a seat, I’m just going to be doing basic things. Temperature, pulse, heart rate, lung capacity. It’s not to see if you fall in line with ‘normal’ though”, she ends with a slight wink.
Phantom sits down as some other guy also enters, raising an eyebrow at him. The guy grunting, “Logan. Or wolverine. Don’t care. So you’re the different mutant who’s already got some kind of culture following huh?”.
Phantom scoffs and rolls his eyes, but Xavier’s the one to speak up, “actually it would seem this one isn’t a mutant. But rather much more unique. He’s different even among those who are different, yet he’s a proud one. Don’t go causing him issues Logan”.
Logan scoffs and leans against a wall, “don’t intend to”, nodding his head a little at the kid, “I’m pretty out of the norm around the others too. Still a mutant though. But hey, I’m up for something interesting”.
Jean shakes her head and looks at the curious-looking Phantom, “he likes to stir up trouble, maybe he wants to see if you’ll choke me like he did”, Logan rolls his eyes, Jean points at Phantom‘s shirt before setting up everything she’ll need, “shirt off”.
Phantom looks down, seeming more than a little nervous, “uhh, rather not”.
Xavier smiles, “no need to worry, different appearances are rather normal around here. Even scars”.
Logan scoffs, “understatement for some of us, adds to the look if you ask me”.
Phantom fiddles with his sweater some and eyeballs the examination supplies, awkwardly muttering, “at least nothing’s green”, before sighing and pulling the sweater over his head. Everyone’s silent for a bit, he was seriously scarred up and no one needs to even guess what the Y shaped one came from. Logan mutters, “Jesus fuck. Alright then. Colour me surprised he doesn’t hate humans”.
While Jean studiously draws no attention to the marks as she busies herself with her tasks. Explaining medical jargon as she goes. Xavier, meanwhile, can’t help but frown over Phantom‘s memories. Frozen, unable to move, and under scalpels and bone-saws. With nothing but his own lab basement and his parents' goggle covered faces to look at. The fact that he’s not truly traumatised is impressive, Phantom‘s mental fortitude is more than a little impressive. If he hadn’t already decided that Phantom needed out of that house, his mind would be made up now.
Phantom, clearly catching the way Xavier’s looking at him, speaks while tracing the Y shape, “they're good people, just good scientists first. They wouldn’t have done it if they knew though. They’ve known about me a few times, but um, I undid that. I’d rather this”, poking at the centre of the Y, “than them getting hurt in the crosshairs because they wanted to ‘help’ or ‘protect’ me”.
Logan groans and walks in a little circle, looking up at the ceiling, “the self-sacrificial kind, lovely. Don’t go pulling that on us kid, we can look after ourselves. And I sure as shit wouldn’t be so okay with anyone involved with experimenting on me”.
Phantom raises an eyebrow while Jean works around him, “you were experimented on?”.
Logan unsheathes his claws and waves a fist around a little, “understatement kid”.
Phantom tilts his head but smiles, “at least you got something out of it”, Phantom pokes his chest, clearly ignoring the too slow beeping of the heart monitor, “I just got to find out my organs are green”, Phantom shakes his head and looks off to the distance.
Everyone deciding not to interrupt his mental musings, Xavier giving him some privacy with that.
By the end Phantom‘s revealed to have vitals that are definitely not something someone can actually live with, but that it’s his normal.
Xavier nods to him as they leave, “you’ve seen a lot in a small time, you’re a strong person. An old friend of mine was much the same, but he let it make him bitter, restful, full of hate. You’ve become more protective instead, the amount of caring I see in you is remarkable”.
Phantom shrugs as they head to the danger rooms, “it’s what’s right. It’s my Obsession too, one of them anyway”.
Xavier nods, a student having unusual needs was not actually unusual, “Kitty explained Obsessions as your parents told them. Are their theories accurate?”.
Phantom nods as they come to stand before a door, “yeah, it’s, um, less for me. Halfa means only half the things”.
Entering the room, which Phantom gaps around at, the place looked like a sprawling city in chaos devoid of any people or life. Phantom mutters, “well damn”. While Xavier chuckles lightly, “impressive, isn’t it? Don’t worry about damaging things. I’ll be watching”.
Phantom muttering, “ominous much” as Xavier leaves the room.
Logan and Katherine join Xavier in watching. Logan asking more or less rhetorically, “he’s strong, isn’t he? But if he’s not a mutant then what? And who the Hell beat him up?”.
Katherine smiles and elbows him, “you and your soft spot for damaged kids”.
Xavier smiles, giving Phantom a signal to go ahead, “if I recall Kitty, you were one such kid. And he exists on the cusp of life and death. Alive and dead. His existence is nearly unique, how it’s even possible I can’t even fathom. His mind seems to view himself as a glitch in the matrix so to speak. Created by accident and purpose. To say he has a hero complex would be a ridiculous understatement. He seeks and needs to protect others, holding himself to an ideal that only he can do it. He has deep-seeded fears and mental blocks around the idea that he could fail at that. And he has seen a world, the land of the dead, we could barely begin to imagine”.
Logan scoffs, “sounds like a bit of a god complex too”.
Katherine rolls her eyes, “oh and like you’re any better. Mr. Lone wolf”.
Xavier shakes his head, “those with god complexes do not hold a fear of themselves. He fears what his gifts could do, should they be used to harm or destroy. He fears anyone being hurt or him hurting someone. It’s not the shameful kind of fear as it is for most students, it’s more resolute and concrete. His fear of that, reinforces him to not be that, with pride and something like reckless abandon”.
Katherine smiles, he was clearly a good kid who had been through far too much.
The three watch as Phantom looks around awkwardly before seemingly steeling himself. Then a bright ring of light appears around his waist and suddenly it’s the Phantom seen in what little footage they could find floating in the air.
Logan grunts, “transformation huh? Guessing there’s more”.
Xavier grins, “oh yes”, not missing how Phantom instantly likes more bold and cocky. Phantom was a hero and he knew the role well, lived it. Watching him fly off and zip around. Blasting things to smithereens with a wide range of blasts/rays.
After a while of him phasing through stuff, blowing things up, flickering out of visibility, teleporting, tossing things around with his mind, and one point where Logan jerked slightly from the entire place getting coated in ice and forming hundreds of little ice weapons.
Katherine gapes slightly when there’s suddenly three Phantom’s though it’s clear this is a bit harder for him to do or maintain, “I think he’s just running through a list at this point”.
Xavier nods, “precisely”.
Logan shakes his head a bit as Phantom starts electrocuting things, “alright, so the kids overpowered. The others are going to love him...or hate him”.
Katherine tilts her head when Phantom turns and asks, “you sure this is all indestructible? Cause I’m not going to hold back then”.
Xavier raises an eyebrow, responding, “that’s its purpose. So please do”.
Phantom shrugs, “if I blow out your wall, it’s not my fault”. They watch as he sucks in a breath and releases a sonic wailing sound, massive blasts of green energy resonating from his mouth.
Logan covers his ears and snaps, “fucking Hell. Remind me not to pick a fight with this one for no reason”. Xavier’s eyebrows raise as the place shakes, before Phantom does indeed blow out the wall. Phantom points to them as he steps out, “you lied”.
Xavier waves off the damage, “everything can be repaired. The whole mansion and various compounds have been rebuilt many times over the years”.
Phantom shrugs and lands his feet on the ground, rubbing his neck, “still sorry though, and to think I only got up to thirty percent there”.
Logan blinks, “seriously glowstick?”.
Phantom chuckles with a wily smirk, making it very obvious he was more confident and brazen in this form, “yeah and that’s a new one. Usually, it’s ‘whelp’ or ‘dipstick’ or ‘babypop’ or ‘ghost child’ or ‘punk’ or ‘ectoplasmic scum’ or ‘ectoplasmic filth’ or ‘spook’ or ‘half creature’ or ‘bastardisation’ or most annoyingly, ‘little badger’. Though I guess there are positives to, like ‘great one’ and ‘saviour’. But if you call me ‘inviso-bill’ or ‘billy’ I will shot you”.
Logan snorts, “saviour? Really? And how is ‘litttle badger’ worse than ‘bastardisation’?”.
Phantom glares a little, “‘cause it comes out of the mouth of a pompous creepy cruel piece of shit prick. Nailed a dead badger to my door once for emphasis. And how many times have you saved the world, Claws?”.
Logan rolls his eyes, “original. Three or four”.
Phantom chuckles and starts floating off, “it’s been seven for me in the past year”.
Xavier nods to the two mutants as Phantom floats off back to his room, confirming that he’s being honest. Again, the things this kid has been through.
Anna, curious, sticks her head into Phantom’s room and looks around. Gapping a little at the strange glowing green star constellations on the roof. Phantom promptly dropping the pieces to a model spaceship from floating in the air, “oh it’s you”. She looks him up and down, it was still the same kid but glowy and white-haired and green-eyed and...in a spandex jumpsuit? Well alright then. “Hey, was wondering if you wanted to go hang out with me and the gang? Also, something tells me you’re going to keep being surprising”.
Phantom smirks, “oh you don’t even know the half of it”, floating over and landing his feet on the ground, “sure, why not. So long as it ain’t a dissection party or something”.
“Man are you ever morbid”.
“Well, I am dead. Life and death took a piss on me so I’ve earned the right”.
Anna coughs and is pretty sure the only reason he’s walking is not being used to others seeing his powers, “you're what now?”.
Phantom blinks and laughs with a loud echo, “oh yeah, guess I never mentioned that. See I’m the idiot who got himself offed in a portal and now...”
He ends up explaining some of his story as they walk, going to meet up with their friends outside the mansion.
End.
61 notes · View notes
spookbusters · 5 years
Text
Daddy’s Little Ghoul
Summary: Ray takes your daughter to the station for take your child to work day!
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Pairing: Ray Stantz x Reader // Word Count: 1.7k // Warnings: None!
A/N: Sorry this took forever to get out! Should be getting back to work on some of my other requests soon :)
"Daddy, daddy, wake up! Wake up!"
Note to Y/N Stantz from Y/N Stantz, just get rid of your alarm clock. Your daughter has got this handled.
A sleepy groan hums in the back of your husband’s throat as he stirs. Your little girl was apparently loud enough to register with him, but not loud enough to actually get him up. "Elodie, honey,” you murmur, fully awakened by your child’s excited tone, "It’s before seven, you should still be in bed." Your five-year-old bounces over to your side of the bed and throws herself into your lap, knocking a bit of the wind out of you. She looks up at you with smiling eyes like those of the man you love. Her hair was frizzy from sleep; distinctly inherited from you, you knew the color and texture all too well. "But, mommy, it’s take your child to work day, remember? I’m gonna go with daddy!" The sentence makes you smile as best you can in your sleepy haze. She took after her father in many ways, and had been looking forward to this for days. "Yes, sweetie, I remember. You know I have something special planned for you." Elodie wraps her small arms around you in a tight hug, "I didn’t forget, I promise." You give your daughter a squeeze, and kiss her forehead. "Go ahead and brush your teeth and get dressed, I’ll get your surprise ready." She lets out an excited squeal, then jumps off the bed and runs to her room on the other side of the apartment. A massive, exhausted huff leaves your lips before you collapse back down on your pillow. Ray is still snoring lightly beside you.
God, you wished you could sleep as heavily as him. You prop yourself on an elbow and admire him for just a moment before you have to get him up. He’s a mess. His face is smashed against the pillowcase, and his hair is stuck to his forehead. It’s adorable, and you remind yourself how blessed you are to have him. Ray only wakes up after a full minute of you peppering kisses all over his face, and once he hears you giggle at the way he wriggles his nose sleepily, he knows he can’t waste any more time snoozing. You're greeted by a gentle hand reaching up to smooth out your hair and, before you know it, you're being pulled down for a loving kiss. A small noise of contentment seeps from your being at the feel of your husband. When the need for air rears its head, you pull away and press your forehead against his. "Elodie woke me up this morning," is the first thing you tell him. "Did she?" "She's beyond excited to go to the firehouse with you. Speaking of which, you need to get up, mister." Ray groans, muttering something about how he hasn’t even left bed, but he already misses it. One sleepy stretch later you’re out of bed, brushing your teeth and throwing some curlers in your hair. You go about your morning routine, getting dressed in your usual outfit of jeans, sneakers, and a button-down from your husband’s drawer. The routine continues with you setting out Ray’s uniform, then going to whip up a quick breakfast. You pull off all those morning responsibilities with perfected efficiency, and you’re finally able to unveil the surprise you had planned for your daughter. “Ok, Ellie, you’re gonna have to close your eyes for this one,” Ray explains, knowing full well what you’ve got behind your back. She seems to vibrate from all the excitement she has to contain, covering her eyes with her hands. Once you think the suspense has gotten to her enough, you unfurl the outfit and hold it in front of you. “Alright, sweetie,” you say, “Open!” 
The moment she gets sight of the jumpsuit, just her size, she lets out something like a screech and jumps out of her chair to inspect it. “It’s got your name on it and everything,” you explain, pointing to the new patch you’d been embroidering the past couple days. It looked just like the ones you had made for the original suits. 
It doesn’t take much effort to get the suit on over her leggings, and when she zips it up the middle you marvel at how much she looks like her dad. “I love it, mommy,” she chimes, “Thank you!” The way she hugs you tightly makes all the time you spent working on it so worth it. “You’re so welcome, honey.” You take a second to look at the watch on your wrist and it’s not until then that you realize what the time is. “I gotta head to work,” you gasp, “I’ll be late for opening!” You grab your purse and the keys to the car, which you toss to your husband. “Lunch for you two is in the fridge, don’t forget it before you leave,” you mention, walking up to Ray and readjust his constantly unruly hair. “We won’t,” he assures. With a kiss for him and your daughter, you’re off to manage Ray’s Occult Books, like you do every day. “C’mon, daddy, we gotta go too,” Elodie urges, lightly tugging on her father’s sleeve. Ray grabs the lunch from the fridge, handing his daughter the Slimer lunchbox she insisted on having for school. Truth be told, he was just as excited for take your child to work day as his daughter! He loved the fact she was so interested in the business and, deep down, he hoped Elodie would take it over one day. The drive to the firehouse was as it would be every morning. Except instead of having some typical pop songs fueling the journey, the cabin of Ecto-1 was filled by Elodie and Ray’s singing.
They had brought her favorite cassette along; Ellie’s little voice would take the lead and her dad would fill in what she couldn’t yet remember. Whenever he did those deep, caricature-like voices, she would giggle loudly. They had to be the two happiest people on the streets of Manhattan. Elodie had just finished a rather lovely rendition of the Unbirthday Song when they pulled into the garage of the firehouse. It took some genuine effort to prevent the young Stantz from launching herself from her car booster seat and taking off into Ghostbuster HQ. But Ray was successful in getting her in without her forgetting anything or getting ahead of herself. At least he knew if the guys needed to take the car for a case, none of her important stuff would get left in there. But when she got inside, it was a totally different story. There was nearly no way he’d be able to manage that much enthusiasm. He was borderline overwhelmed by the sheer will and exhilaration of his five-year-old. As soon as the rest of the guys heard Janine’s playful comment of, “I didn’t know there was a new Ghostbuster on the team,” followed by a small laugh, they knew exactly who had just arrived. “Guess who,” Ray said, the biggest smile on his face as he walked into the lab, Elodie right behind him. “In case you couldn’t guess, it’s my dad and me,” she said, matter-of-factly. “Hey, it’s the Stantz clan,” Peter said, dropping the file he was reading onto the lab table with a genuine smile. Egon glances over his shoulder for a moment before returning his attention to the odd contraption that sat like a helmet on Winston, “You brought my niece with you. Rather unusual.” Elodie skipped around the room saying 'hi' to all her ‘unca’s, managing to tell all three of them separately that it was take your child to work day and that she was spending it with her dad. It wasn’t completely atypical for there to be a child in the firehouse, as Peter had Oscar over plenty of times. But Oscar took after his mother who tended to be rather quiet, unlike Elodie who took after both her parents’ extroversion. So, it was always a learning experience for both her and the team when there was a kid around who was actually interested in what they were doing. Ray couldn’t have been prouder of her. He could see throughout the day’s activities that she was having tons of fun, learning a lot, and really putting the smarts he knew she had to work. She would end up having a lot to tell you when she got home. Like, how Winston would explain to her how to clean a trap once a ghost was caught in it. “This is how your dad taught me how to do it. Ok, so, after you’ve caught the ghost-.” “How do you catch the ghost?” How Venkman taught her how to negotiate when working with a customer. “Ok, so if you just caught the ghost in my house and I want to give you four pieces of candy, what would you think?” “Sorry ‘unca Venkman, but I’ll need five pieces of candy, because, uh... ghosts are expensive?” Or how Egon would explain total protonic reversal to her. “So, Elodie, when two or more particle beams meet, what happens?” “All the nearby molecules stop at the same time and blow up real fast!” For a five-year-old, she sure had a good grasp of that. “I’m really glad she came with me today, Y/N,” Ray told you that night. He sat on the island in your kitchen in his old, faded sweatpants. You were prepping Ellie’s lunch for school tomorrow. “She was so... invested in the things she was learning.” “Well,” you look up from the bag of baby carrots you were zipping up, “She’s been interested in it from the day she could walk.” Your husband kicks his feet a little, looking up to the ceiling with a hint of a proud smile on his lips. “She’s a genius, I think.” The refrigerator door creaks as you place the Slimer lunchbox in its usual spot. “I’m talking Spengler-levels of intelligence.” It’s your turn to grin as you turn to Ray and place your hands on the counter, nestling yourself between his knees. “That’s because she’s got one hell of a dad to take after,” you praise. Ray pushes some of the hair from your forehead, pressing a kiss to your warm skin. “She’s got some smarts from her dad maybe, but she’s really brilliant and beautiful like her mother.” You giggle and place your hand on top of his; the whole moment makes you feel cozy. “We made one great kid, didn’t we Stantz?”
 “You know what, Stantz,” he mimics your playful tone, “I think you’re right.”
139 notes · View notes
yastaghr · 4 years
Text
Kinktober 2019 Day 5:
Pairing: Horror Papyrus/ Classic Sans (cross-universal fontcest)
Kinks: Knotting, Distension, and Size Difference, heat cycles, multiple orgasms
Warnings: None
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20851682/chapters/49702799
When Classic walked in the room, he could smell it. Crooks was in heat, and by the way the scent had Classic weak at the knees, it was a dominant heat. Crap. Classic knew no one else was around to help. Blood and Paps were at the peace conference with all the others. Classic was supposed to be there, too, but he’d gone and broken his leg the week before. Now he was stuck in crutches. It was just easier for him to stay home, just like it was easier for the massively tall Crooks to stay home. But no one could have expected this.
Classic girded himself and swung his way closer to the source of the scent. Some might say it was the scent messing with him, but Classic knew better. He’d had a crush on Crooks that had been growing steadily stronger for weeks. He’d wanted to ask the other out and do things properly. Looks like that wasn’t going to happen.
He rounded the corner and was faced with an impenetrable barrier: a locked door. He tried the handle gamely, but no luck. Time for words. “hey, crooks. i know you’re in there. that heat’s gotta be hard on you, heh. why don’t you open the door and let me help?”
Classic could hear the squeak of Crooks’ reaction. Then he heard his amazingly high-pitched voice.
“NO! YOU ARE ALREADY HURT, I COULD NOT POSSIBLY HURT YOU FURTHER!”
“you’re not going to hurt me,” Classic reassured, “ecto magic can stretch really far when it needs to, and it’s not like i’ve got organs you could crush. i’ll be fine.”
“BUT- CLASSIC, I CAN’T DO THIS TO YOU. I DON’T WANT TO FORCE YOU TO HAVE SEX WITH ME JUST BECAUSE OF THIS HEAT. I LIKE YOU TOO MUCH TO HURT YOU LIKE THA- OH! I DID NOT MEAN TO SAY THAT.”
Classic chuckled. “it’s okay, crooks. i’ve...got a bit of a crush on you. more than a bit, actually. i just haven’t had the nerve to ask you out yet.”
Silence reigned for a few seconds. Classic could hear Crooks’ heavy breathing. His own breath was coming rather fast. Finally, Crooks spoke. “YOU...WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME? REALLY?”
“yup,” Classic said, his soul fluttering.
“I...I WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO GO OUT ON A DATE WITH YOU...ALTHOUGH PERHAPS NOW IS NOT THE TIME.”
“yeah,” Classic chuckled again, a deep thrum that could make the room light up, “i think the humans would have a problem with an 8 foot skeleton walking around with a boner in public. ‘m pretty sure there are rules about that.”
A few seconds passed before Crooks tentatively said, “IS...YOUR OFFER OF HELP STILL VALID?” He sounded so hopeful.
“mhmm,” Classic agreed. “i’m happy to help just as soon as you open this door.”
“OH. THE DOOR. YES. LET ME JUST-” The sound of squeaky metal moving came from the lock. Classic made a mental note to oil it sometime soon. Then the door opened and that thought was completely blown away by the overpowering smell of Crooks’ heat.
He was also overwhelmed by the sight of Crooks. The other was naked. A few training scars and one badly healed broken rib were the only marks of the life he had led. Classic was glad that the supplements had helped him. When he first arrived his bones had been thin, yellow, and pitted from malnutrition. Now they looked so much better. Classic couldn’t help himself. He quickly made his way over to those bones and stroked them gently. His whole hand was about as wide as Crooks’ ribs.
“OH!” Crooks shivered with pleasure. “THAT FEELS GOOD. CAN YOU DO THAT MORE?”
Classic sat down on the edge of the bed and gestured for Crooks to join him. “sure. come on down here so i can use both hands. please?”
Crooks sat, and Classic’s hands were immediately all over him. Little shivers and pants were the perfect reward for every touch. Soon another part of Crooks drew his attention. Classic swiveled to face the phallus before him.
Crooks’ dick was huge; it was easily 12 inches long. It was smooth, staying about the same width until the very end. That is, except for the knot. At the base of the blood orange colored shaft was a swelling. Most of the dick was about two inches in diameter, but the knot flared out to about 4 inches. Seeing its size made Classic’s eyes water. He was going to have that in him? Maybe Crooks had been right...no. He said he would help, and he knew his magic could take it, so he would help if it killed him. He just really hoped that that was a figure of speech.
Classic let his pussy summon, but nothing else. He needed all that empty space to be empty. He also needed his entrance stretched, so he started working himself open with one hand while the other wrapped around Crooks’ dick and started slowly pumping it.
“MMMM! CLASSIC, WHAT ARE YOU…?”
Classic grinned at him, then looked back at the hand on the dick. “i’m just loosening myself up so i will stretch good. and you? we need some kind of lubrication, so i’m getting as much pre out of you as i can.”
“WOULD THIS HELP?” Crooks asked.
Classic looked up. Crooks was sheepishly holding out a tube of high-end lube. Classic whistled. “that’s the good stuff. where did you get that?”
Crooks blushed. “MY FRIEND PINK GAVE IT TO ME. HE SAID HE COULD FEEL THAT MY CYCLE WAS COMING UP, AND THIS BRAND WORKS WELL WITH MY MAGIC TYPE. HE SAID I WOULD NEED IT NO MATTER WHO ENDED UP BEING MY HEAT PARTNER BECAUSE I’M SO BIG.”
Classic hummed thoughtfully. “lust’s brother, right? interesting. funny he didn’t mention that your heat was coming up when he was driving me home from the hospital, especially since he was there the other night when i got drunk on the spiked ketchup and spilled about my crush on you.”
Crooks’ blush spread further. “I...MAY HAVE ALSO TOLD HIM ABOUT MY CRUSH ON YOU. IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE! I HAD NO IDEA HE WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.”
Classic swayed under the force of Crooks’ increased heat smell. “whoa, big guy. easy. no need to get all worked up about it. i’m sure he meant things for the best...and i’m also sure that, when this is all over with, we can booby trap every inch of his room for when he gets back. glitter bombs, green ooze, sound traps, seran wrap...the possibilities are endless.”
Crooks grinned down at him, the teeth for which he had been named were spread wide in all their crooked glory. “I, AS A PAPYRUS, CAN ONLY APPROVE OF THE BEST OF JAPES. AND THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST OF THE BEST.”
A shudder and a small wave of fluid marked Classic’s first peak. He sighed and laid down on his back, legs spread wide and pussy on display.
“okay, big guy. you can start now. i should be loose enough to take you.”
Crooks stood up and hunched over Classic. He loomed, but the excited expression on his face turned what could have been a threatening gesture into an arousing one. Being picked up in Crooks’ ginormous hands was even more arousing.
The taller skeleton lined himself up with Classic’s entrance. “PLEASE TELL ME IF ANY OF THIS HURTS YOU, CLASSIC. I DON’T WANT TO HURT YOU.”
“will do, bu-” Classic’s eyes went wide as Crooks hilted inside him in one go. His pussy bulged out just below his ribcage. The stretch was huge!
“OH! I’M SORRY. I DIDN’T MEAN TO DO THAT. ARE YOU OKAY?” Crooks frantically asked.
After a moment, Classic found the breath to answer. He held up his left hand in an okay sign. “i’m good,” he squeaked, “you can move.”
“IF YOU’RE SURE…”
“i’m sure,” Classic beamed up at him, making Crooks blush bright orange, “go ahead.”
Crooks pulled out slowly, then slammed back in. He quickly set a fast pace, and Classic was loving it. No one had ever been this rough with him. It felt great. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were little hearts.
“FEELING GOOD?” Crooks asked with a hint of concern.
Classic nodded hugely. “so good. keep it up!”
Crooks smiled. He grabbed one of Classic’s shoulders and used that as a handle so he could fuck Classic harder. Both almost immediately were lost in the sensations. Before long, Classic could feel his orgasm approaching.
“i’m gonna cum soon, crooks. are you close?”
“I’LL BE THERE SOON. DO YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE MY KNOT? I KNOW IT’S RATHER BIG. I WOULDN’T BE MAD IF YOU SAID YOU COULDN’T.”
“i can take it,” Classic said confidently. There was also a sliver of desire in his voice. He wanted that knot badly. “go ahead and knot me, big guy.”
Crooks took him up on that offer, pushing hard until his knot popped in with a squeak. He kept thrusting, although now it was much more shallow. Classic’s pupils were blown wide. This felt so good! The tight coil of magic in his soul was just about ready to burst. What tipped him over the edge was the first spurt of warm orange magic. Classic whimpered as he came. Soul fluid dripped out of his ribcage, fluids lubricated the base of the knot, and Classic’s spine arched with pleasure. Crooks fucked him through both their orgasms. Classic ended up coming several times.
When Crooks was finally finished, Classic’s magic was almost as round as a basketball. It flowed out of him when his taller lover pulled out. Crooks looked incredibly proud of how much he had produced. “YOU LOOK SO GOOD, CLASSIC. I KNOW I’LL BE HEATED AGAIN IN AN HOUR OR TWO, BUT CAN WE CUDDLE IN THE MEANTIME? I...REALLY WANT TO BE TOUCHING YOU.”
Classic held his arms out imploringly. “yeah, we can cuddle. get over here, i want to be touching you, too.”
Crooks obliged, curling up around as much of Classic as he could manage. Then he settled in to rest.
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summerssixecho · 4 years
Text
Family (Phic Phight 2020)
Prompt by @aedelia​: Cujo was a working dog before his untimely end.  Danny hasn't realized it yet but Cujo continues visiting him because he always wanted to be a family dog.  He just wants to be loved.
Notes: Last entry for this phantastic event! :) Had a lot of fun writing these new stories.
Summary: Jack didn't know why that green mutt had been stalking his family. Not only had its actions sent all their ghost theories to the trash, but now his weekend trip with his son was also at risk of ending badly. Especially once Danny decides to protect the ghost dog.
Word Count: 2,927
Also available on FFN [Link] and AO3 [Link]
Family
"Son, please step aside.” 
 Terrified blue eyes shifted between the barrel of the ecto-gun in the ghost hunter’s hands and the friendly, yet unwelcome, guest behind him. The creature turned its head slightly to the side, its red eyes trying to assess the whole situation and failing miserably in the task. It looked just as lost as the young teen in front of it. A different kind of lost, but lost nonetheless. 
 “C’mon, dad... don’t shoot him,” Danny pleaded, trying to keep the creature at ease. 
 Jack Fenton, despite his boisterous demeanor during spectral attacks, seemed more cautious this time, almost taken aback by Danny’s words and actions. He held the weapon more languidly but didn’t dare to holster it. While the man didn’t want to hurt his son by mistake, he didn’t trust any evil sack of ectoplasm near his family. Much less one that had proved to be persistent in haunting them. 
 For some reason, the little ecto-pest sitting innocently behind the youngest Fenton had been following his family for two months at least, using every chance it had to escape the Ghost Zone. How had the green little creature managed to return so many times? The mystery still baffled the ghost-hunting parents. Jazz had theorized, much to their surprise considering her skepticism, that maybe the undead dog was looking for a family and somehow it had settled on staying with the Fentons. Why? That was an even greater mystery. 
 Both Jack and Maddie knew the deceivingly petit ghost well. According to Damon Gray, a close friend of theirs since the Ghost King’s invasion, the creature had haunted Axion Labs for quite a while. Whenever Phantom had managed to take him away, it kept returning to the company’s basement. One day, it suddenly stopped visiting. The ghost hunters had only met the menace after it began haunting other locations where it became hard to miss his oversized alter-ego, which was just as big as his desire to wreak havoc. After considering the dog’s past track record, they were left with their first puzzle: what had triggered its change in patterns? Why would a territorial creature (such as a ghost dog) ignore completely a previous recurrent haunt in favor of a new one? 
 The mutt’s newest fixation seemed to be more oriented towards regular dog-friendly locations, especially parks, where he was often seen with Phantom chasing a ball or a frisbee whenever there were fewer onlookers. This single fact had led them to believe Phantom was in reality some kind of owner or alpha figure for the dog, which could mean really bad news for everyone if it was following his every order. This also gave them a new enigma to uncover: could ghosts generate a close relationship of any kind with other ghosts? Could they have pets? 
 Shortly after that, their theories were demolished once again. Instead of the usual haunt at the park, the creature began to show up at their doorstep, as if it were guarding it on someone’s order. What if the ghost boy had sicced him on the Fentons? That led to the discovery of its Jekyll/Hyde nature, when they found the miniature puppy resting on the doormat peacefully, instead of its more intimidating version (the same monstrous version that liked to chase the post office worker, bless his soul). They caught it in a container more times than they could count and every time it came back. Without no real threat to the family, the parents stopped suspecting foul play. Phantom seemed forgotten, so this brought them yet another conundrum: could a ghost who had become attached to an entity switch their loyalty as easily? Were patterns and recurrence even a thing for ghosts? Could obsessions be really fulfilled somehow or were there subsets to fall back to? 
 The odd pest continued exhibiting other behaviors that made it seem even... happy, if such thing was possible for either ghosts or dogs. For instance, it seemed to enjoy playfully chasing the GAV every time it left its parking space, at least until the vehicle reached the end of the block. Fortunately, it had only occurred while disguised as a puppy and harming no one in its path. The same had happened during its search for ecto-weenies inside the house, or the time they found it drinking from the downstairs toilet. Strangely, it hadn’t interacted with their kids, at least not while they were looking, which seemed odd considering how much Danny loved dogs and Jazz had been defending ghosts for a while. Jack wondered if they had somehow missed the memo where everyone, be it ghost or human, had renounced to their patterns and main interests. 
 The most recent piece of the puzzle came in the form of Danny, their youngest son, appearing out of nowhere as the newest defender of ghosts. Both Fenton males had decided on taking a fishing trip at Lake Eerie, a new tradition they decided to implement recently, effective every last Saturday of the month. For his utter surprise, he had found the ghostly puppy resting in the back of the vehicle. The man had done a double take once he opened the back door, hoping he was just imagining things. When he realized the mutt would ruin the long-awaited trip, he became extremely frustrated. Having to constantly deal with the otherworldly pet without a more lasting solution could tax anyone. 
 The result of his decision to pull out an ectogun had been a bewildered Danny standing in front of the creature, as if to protect it from the blast. This action confused Jack. The teen, as much as he seemed to be constantly haunted at school (if the teachers’ reports were any indication), had barely touched the topic of ghosts with his parents. In fact, both Jack and Maddie believed he was embarrassed by their work and would likely try to stay away from the family business once he left for college. 
 “Danny-boy, this ghost needs to go,” the man tried to reason with his son. 
 The boy, as stubborn as his father, didn’t move from his protective stance despite his panic. “Please, I know you’re getting tired of dealing with Cujo, but--” 
 “Hold on...” Jack interrupted, struck by the boy’s words and the heavy meaning behind them “Cujo? You gave the ghost a name?” 
 While the mutt seemed excited, wagging its green tail at the mention of what seemed to be his accepted name, the teen was another story. If anything, the question seemed to put the boy more on edge, his sweat almost visible under his fishing hat, though Jack wasn’t sure if the warm weather had anything to do with that. “Uh... it’s just a nickname. You know. After that old movie?” 
 The older man wanted to argue how the movie wasn’t that old, but he didn’t want to digress on the matter. The matter being how his son was so comfortable with a ghost that he even gave it a name. He wasn’t dense. He knew Danny wanted a puppy since he was a first grader. For days all he talked about was about all the wonderful things he would do with a dog at home. It was sweet and filled his heart with fuzzy feelings, but the patriarch couldn’t allow another pet so close to their dangerous equipment. Danny was too young to remember, but Jazz probably did recall the short life of Mr. Spook, the small beagle who wandered into the lab and didn’t make it out. (Huh... could that be why Jazzy had hated their work for so long?)  
 He feared asking, but he wanted to get the question out of the way. “Do you... want to keep this dog?” 
 Jack noticed a flash of surprise on the boy’s face, quickly replace by a feigned nonchalance. “Uh, whaaaat? Ha! Pshh, no, what would give you that idea?” 
 The man shot him a pointed look. “Danny, you never talk about ghosts,” the man began slowly. 
 “So?” 
 “You nicknamed this one,” Jack said, gesturing at Cujo, who seemed relaxed as he laid down by the red sneakers firmly planted in front of him. 
 Danny spluttered as his cheeks gained a shade of red. “That’s not-- It’s just—Okay, fine. He's a good boy,” the teen finished, releasing the tension in his muscles at last. He then proceeded to sit next to the puppy to scratch its ears, something the undead pet seemed to enjoy as if it could feel like any other living creature. Another thing to add to the long list of riddles this situation brought along. 
 His son. Was. Petting. A ghost! 
 The ghost hunter could only stare in complete perplexity, his weapon now idly resting by his side. How on Earth had his son managed not only to gain the ghost’s trust, but to also get over his aversion to anything related to spectral entities? How long had this been happening? Thousands of questions swarmed his thoughts, each clashing with the different contradictions and inconsistencies with the image of Danny he had built in his mind. 
 “A good boy?” Jack could only repeat as if he couldn’t process anything else to say. 
 Danny sighed, as if his father was the crazy one in the whole situation. “Yeah, have you ever tried giving him a direct order? Something a regular dog would do?” 
 The man blinked. “Now, why would I do that?” 
 His son shrugged and focused his attention on Cujo. “You know, just to see if it could get him to stop. Or stay. Could be handy when dealing with a ghost who won’t stay put, right?” 
 Another one for the puzzle list. “Are you trying to tell me this dog is trained?” If so, what did it mean? Had the dog retained memories from when it was alive? Did his training surface as if on instinct? Was he trained after he died? And if so, who would’ve spent so much time and effort doing so? Was that why Phantom was seen throwing frisbees and balls at the mutt? 
 Jack noticed there were certain questions Danny didn’t feel comfortable answering. The dog’s training seemed to belong in that category. “Uh, wasn’t that sort of what Mr. Gray said about his background?” 
 “How do you know about that?” the man questioned. Sure, they had talked with Damon about all of it one time he went over to Fentonworks to help them do a security check on their newest lock for the ghost portal. But Danny hadn’t even been home all day. 
 “I... uh... pay more attention than you give me credit for?” the teen replied. 
 “So,” Jack began as he sat on the back of the GAV, his feet firmly touching the ground as his added weight lowered the whole vehicle slightly. “You pay attention to ghosts... and get close enough to learn about them. What else have you found out while we’ve been busy, son?” 
 Blue eyes shifted nervously and then looked away from the older man. “I... It’s not like that. I just-- I’m not... actively looking for it, y’know?” 
 Jack shook his head. “Danny, why didn’t you tell us? All this time we thought you hated our job.” 
 The teen seemed to take an eternity to answer the question eating at Jack since the start of the conversation. “I don’t hate it exactly,” the boy began. “I just... I don’t like how you shoot first and never stop to ask a thing.” 
 “Are you saying we should be kinder to ghosts?” the man asked even more surprised.  
 His son was smart, despite the story told through his grades. He knew the risk ghosts presented. He lived it several times at school, from what he heard. But it made no sense how both Jazz and him had chosen a side of the discussion (Jack didn’t think there had to be any discussion to begin with, since all ghosts were evil), while constantly getting out of the way during an attack. So, if they barely interacted with specters of any kind and had more access than anyone to their research, how had they taken such a strong position in favor of ghosts? Had Phantom’s popularity anything to do with it? That ghost again... Jack was beginning to think that punk was somehow the root of all their woes. 
 “No, but maybe not jump to the same conclusion always. Maybe there’s more to ghosts than what you believe there is,” Danny replied in a more serious and collected tone. He was passionate about this, then. The certainty with which he spoke sent shivers down Jack’s spine. What could have happened to his son to gain that kind of resolve? 
 Jack opted to focus on the problem at hand. “But this ghost?” he said, motioning to the green ball of fur in Danny’s arms. “It’s dangerous and violent. We need to stay away from it.” 
 Danny frowned. “Don’t you get it? He’s been trying to find a home. What if Jazz is right? What if it’s looking for a family and thinks we’re it?” 
 “But Danny, that doesn’t make any sense. All ghosts belong to the Ghost Zone, so why would it look for a family elsewhere? Why humans? He’s been seen interacting playfully with other ghosts." 
 While the boy avoided his father’s gaze once more, he seemed suddenly struck by inspiration. “Look,” he began, “this dog is obviously hard to get rid of. Maybe he just likes being around you because you smell like ectoplasm, who knows? The thing is... if he’s going to keep coming back and we’re sort of stuck together, we might as well try to understand him. Maybe even get used to him.” 
 “Danny...” 
 The teen in question ignored his father’s warning tone and continued excitedly. “Think about it: we could all come together to figure out the right training for him. That’s family bonding right there,” he said, counting the first item on the invisible list with his finger. “He would fulfill his obsession, we’d have a pet who can’t die, you’d have plenty of ways to learn from him without a dissection, and we’ll all be happy since he doesn’t even eat or poop either. See? Everyone wins.” 
 Jack eyed him critically for a moment. He wasn’t the most observant father always, but this kind of excitement wasn’t uncharted territory with his son. This was always his strategy whenever he wanted something very badly. “How long have you been planning this conversation?” 
 Danny deflated and sighed, his eyes staring at his shoes. “Five weeks.” 
 Jack shook his head and turned to store his ectogun back into the GAV. That was definitely the Danny he knew, even if the added ghost knowledge was still an unfamiliar trait. “Alright, let’s reach a compromise, then.” 
 This sparked the boy’s interest, replacing the remaining tension from him entirely. “Okay? What kind of compromise?” 
 The man stood up and began taking out their fishing equipment, as if everything had gone back to their original plan and no spooky pet had dared to crash uninvited. “You’ll learn from us the appropriate handling of ghosts, ectoplasmic residue, Fenton tech, and anything that might be useful.” 
 Danny stared quizzically and smirked. “Don’t you usually say that part at the end of a deal?” 
 Jack ignored the boy’s comment and continued taking out the fishing rods. “I’ll ask of you to learn more than the basics from us,” he continued as he checked that nothing got tangled. “In exchange of giving your plan a trial run while we’re in this weekend retreat.” 
 Despite wanting to sound as casual as possible, to avoid giving the boy any false hope, Danny’s eyes shone bright at the proposal. "Oh, you’re so on,” he said, standing up with the dog, Cujo (that would take some getting used to...), still in his arms. “You can start teaching me here, so we don’t waste time. I already want to see Jazz’s face when she officially meets out new pet.” 
 This is where the bubble would probably break, Jack knew. There was something still nagging at him from the whole situation. The ghost boy’s initial involvement with the dog, Jazz’s constant protection of the teenage spook, Danny’s nervousness. There was probably more to this than he was letting on, but the father knew there was no point in convincing kids these days that a ghost who paraded as a superhero wasn’t necessarily to be trusted. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he needed to check back with Maddie, try to bounce back a few ideas together. 
 “Not so fast,” he said, which caused the teen to deflate slightly, probably expecting a killer blow to his excitement. “There’s one other condition for this to work. You keep it away from the ghost kid. He probably knows how to command it as well and I don’t want to risk our family’s safety. Understood?” 
 Against Jack’s predictions, Danny smirked. “Crystal. I’ll do the best I can, dad.”  
 Another thing to add to the list of mysteries, maybe? 
 At the end of the trip (and the enlightening trial), the two Fentons arrived home with exciting news for the whole family. A family that now felt oddly complete with its new addition. Jack wasn’t worried about Maddie’s reaction. He knew once he gave her the new puzzles to include to their ever-growing list of enigmas, Maddie's curiosity would be too eager to fill the blanks. Perhaps their new pet could be a key to solve them in the end. 
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