Chapter Text
Chapter 3: Choice
September 11, 2008: (8:17 pm)
The fighting was becoming too familiar to Jeremy, and it had been only getting worse.
It seemed that just yesterday, the dining room rang beautifully with the joyous prattling of his seven-year old girl, everyone in the room feeding off of each other's energy. Now the peaceful air was polluted by nightly screaming matches. A veil of darkness seemed to eclipse Samantha, replacing the vibrant little girl with a moody and sullen teenager. The room echoed not with happy conversation, but angry shouting.
"Family time is not open for discussion!"
"So what? I have to be miserable just so that you and Dad can look good for the country club?"
"It's past time that you stopped this immature behavior and make yourself presentable! I knew you were spending too much time with that Fenton boy, but-"
"Leave Danny out of this! I'm not changing myself for anyone, especially not for you!"
"Samantha Emma Manson, don't you dare raise your voice at me!"
Jeremy left the room at this point, knowing the only thing that would be gained was more gray hair.
"That woman has worse hearing than I do," his mother said bluntly as soon as the door was closed.
"Mother, please…"
"What's that, Jeremy? I can't hear you," she replied with a smirk, tapping her hearing aids.
"You are going to the country club with us on Saturday and that's final!"
It's just a phase, Jeremy told himself again as Sam's furious response only got louder. In a few more years, she'll be grateful that you were so hard on her. At this point, all he could do was hope. Have faith that he was being a good father, believe that his little angel would come back, hope…pray that his worst fears would never be realized, that Sammy would have a better fate than Katherine.
Pray that history would not repeat itself.
September 12, 2008:
Valerie felt like throwing her laptop out the window.
She had spent all night searching for anything on the Guys in White, and had found hardly anything of use. The first three pages were just news articles about last night, followed by seven pages of conspiracy theories: she would have looked further on one website until she saw something about a sex ring in a pizza parlor. It shouldn't have been this hard to get decent information.
Her frustrated thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Was Dad home already? She looked at the clock. 1:56 am. She had been searching for over three hours, which meant she had completely neglected her homework. Trying not to groan, she closed her computer and got into bed, hoping she'd at least get some sleep so that she could finish something tomorrow morning.
(10:04 am)
"Dude, you gotta let it go,"
"Hell no!" said Dash. "Who does that...whatever his name was-"
"Ignatius Weisz?" Kwan offered.
"Who does this Wise guy think he is?" Dash continued to rant. "We knew the Guys in White were nut jobs, but now they're getting permission from the government? "
Three, two, one...
"Danny Phantom's a hero!"
There it is. Star smirked as her boyfriend reluctantly handed her a dollar. Paulina had now joined Dash in the effort to bitch endlessly about the rally last night. The only thing that could make this worse is if Foley decided to come.
"He saved our-" at this point, Star decided to tune out the rant as much as possible (it wasn't easy) and started talking with her boyfriend. "Could they just shut up about it for five minutes?"
"I wish," Kwan said, looking about as annoyed as Star felt. "I mean, yeah, I'm annoyed with this thing too, but they don't need to keep going on about it,"
"No kidding," Star grumbled. "She was texting me non-stop last night about it, I don't think she even went to bed,"
"Well hey, a few more hours and we'll have the night to ourselves." Kwan said, a grin forming on his face. "It's time I finally show you Back to the Future,"
"If it's good, maybe I'll be showing you something," Star said seductively, smiling further as a blush appeared on Kwan's cheeks. For someone who looked like the typical brainless meathead, Kwan was remarkably innocent and pure. Her big cuddly panda-
BAM!
Star's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Dash slamming his fist against a locker. "How did the mayor think this was a good idea?"
"Uh...maybe the Fenton's had something to do with it." Star suggested, glancing at Kwan in desperation. He quickly put two and two together: if Dash had something else he could be angry at, maybe he'd shut up.
"Yeah, I mean...they're pretty close to Mayor Masters, right?" Kwan said, trying to play along. Dash's face turned red in an instant.
"Those ghost-hunting weirdos..." he hissed. "I shoulda known..."
"What do you expect? Losers try and tear down anyone who's good to bring themselves up," Paulina scoffed. "Pathetic,"
Star tried not to cringe at that remark.
"Well, speak of the devil!" Dash said. Looking in the direction Dash had turned, Star saw Fenton...well, both Fentons, and the other two members of his little trio.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think we could all use a break tonight. How does a Doomed speedrun sound?" Foley suggested.
"Yeah, doomed. Just like you are, Fen-turd!"
Uh-oh.
In classic football fashion, Dash tackled Fenton to the ground. Everyone's attention turned to the scene unfolding: Dash's ability to find any reason to beat on the unpopular (particularly Fenton) was almost a legend among the students. Star quickly put on her haughty mask, adding a small grin of smug satisfaction to finish the role.
"What is now, Dash?" Fenton mumbled into the floor. "Did Paulina cheat on you again?"
Yes, Star thought. But Dash doesn't need to know that.
"I don't need an excuse to teach you some manners, Freak-ton," Dash sneered. "You didn't think I forgot about my favorite punching bag, did you?"
"One can't help but hope,"
"Well, then I hope you won't have a problem with me taking your lunch money, since you won't have any teeth to chew anything once I'm done," Dash said, turning Fenton around so that he could look him in the eye.
"Let him go, Dash," Jazz Fenton warned.
"Aw, aren't you lucky that your big sister's looking out for her baby brother?" Dash mocked. "Too bad I've got the ultimate Get Out Of-what the?"
Star looked back at Fenton only to see that he somehow managed to slip out of Dash's grip, and was now trying to escape. Like a lion chasing an antelope, Dash broke into a full sprint. The antelope quickly turned the corner, followed closely by the lion. There was an "oof!", a thud, and-
"A Song of Ice and Fire, Baxter!"
The A-Squad followed the rest of the crowd to witness the scene. Dash was laying on the ground, fist raised, over- Mr. Lancer?
"What on earth do you think you're doing, Mr. Baxter?!" the pudgy teacher yelled.
Dash looked understandably mortified. "U-u-uh-"
"Your exemption from school punishment does not cover the consequences of assaulting faculty!" Mr. Lancer growled.
"B-b-but it was an accident!" Dash stammered. "I wasn't trying to attack you, I was trying to attack Fen...ton..."
Kwan facepalmed. "Oh boy..."
"We can discuss this in my office." Mr. Lancer muttered with barely restrained anger. "Get up and follow me,"
The crowd watched in a combination of shock, horror, and amusement as Dash followed the teacher, his tail tucked between his legs. Fenton, who had been standing about five feet away the entire time, had his hand clamped firmly over his mouth, clearly trying not to laugh.
"What were you thinking?!"
"Jazz, it's fine! Nobody saw me!" Danny defended.
"You don't know that!" she whispered. "What if someone saw it and put two and two together? Especially a certain someone?"
"If you're talking about Valerie, she definitely didn't see him do it," said Sam. "I saw her coming from the other end of the hallway, so unless she can teleport now, there's no way she could have gotten there that fast,"
"That's not the point!" Jazz protested. "Did you honestly think it was a good idea to use your ghost powers in front of…what, thirty people?"
"Well, considering the alternative…yeah," Danny admitted. "I don't know if ghost healing includes missing teeth, but I'm not really interested in finding out,"
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna cherish this memory for years to come," Tucker said. "Man, the look on his face when he realized how bad he messed up-"
Danny found himself grinning as well, even though Dash's inevitable revenge loomed over his head as usual. Jazz rubbed her eyes in frustration.
"Danny, you can't make a habit out of this," she argued. "Especially not with you-know-what,"
"Give it a rest, Jazz," he grumbled. "I have two weeks, plenty of time to figure something out,"
"Don't leave it until the last day," Jazz warned. "See you after patrol,"
She walked off to her locker, and Danny braced himself as Sam and Tucker turned to him in confusion.
"She's not coming tonight?" Sam asked.
"No,"
"Why not? She have a date or something?" said Tucker, prompting Sam to roll her eyes.
"Get your head out of the gutter, Tuck,"
"What? I asked if she was going on a date, not having s-"
"TUCKER!" Danny interrupted. "Don't finish that sentence, I do NOT need that picture in my head,"
"Sorry,"
"Anyways..." Danny continued, "Jazz...isn't going ghost hunting with us anymore,"
Sam glanced at Tucker, who seemed surprised as she was.
"How do I say this... she feels that with the Guys in White, there's too much at stake for her to risk it by vigilante ghost hunting."
Tucker's eyes narrowed. "Seriously?"
Sam clenched her fists in disbelief. "What do you mean, too much at stake?"
"Guys, she's got a lot on her plate. Grades, getting into college, student body. She's got a lot to lose, and-"
"And we don't?" Sam asked incredulously.
"You know that's not true." Danny warned. "You said it yourself, Tucker. We're at their mercy the moment we go out. If hunting ghosts without a license is illegal, what do you think they'll do to someone helping a ghost? What do you think would happen if one of you got caught?"
"It couldn't be any worse than what they would do to you!" Sam argued. "Better to help a ghost than be half-ghost!"
"Well, technically they could find out whether he went out as Phantom or not," Tucker said. "Like if they did-OW!"
Judging by that sound, Sam had kicked Tucker underneath the table. As to why she did it, Danny had no idea.
"Danny, you've got ten times more to lose than her, why are you defending her?!"
"Because it's her choice!" Danny snapped. "She's at a point in her life where she needs to put herself first! I'm not going to be the one that rips her future away from her!"
"So what about our futures, Danny?" Sam asked angrily. "What if we just decided to walk away from this?"
Danny clenched his fists. Was Sam actually considering leaving this? After seven years of being best friends? After every time she pushed him on the right track, chided him for not using his powers right? After getting him half-killed twice? If that was the case, then he had an answer for that.
"If that's you want to do, then by all means, go ahead," he almost growled. "Nobody's stopping you,"
He got up from his chair. "See you tonight,"
(4:02 pm)
"You're late,"
Tucker rolled his eyes. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, you know,"
"Sorry, the beekeeper's on vacation," Star deadpanned. "Let's get this over with, I have plans tonight,"
Knowing that arguing further would be pointless, Tucker took his seat. "Okay, so..."
"The rally last night," Star interrupted. "The usual 'What are your impressions, how will this affect us, do you think this is a good idea or not, et cetera, et cetera,' Shoot me now,"
"This shouldn't be an assignment," Tucker grumbled. "That's practically the only thing anyone's been talking about,"
"You have no idea," Star replied. "Dash and Paulina won't stop talking about Phantom and how the Guys in White don't know what they're talking about,"
"I have some idea," Tucker replied. He remembered at the end of last year when Dash and Paulina were the first to help Danny escape. Of course, he wasn't supposed to have any memories of that, so he settled for the next best explanation. "Has Paulina installed a shrine to Phantom in her new locker yet?"
Star gave him a disgusted look. "You pervert,"
"What? It's not like she tried to keep it remotely secret," Tucker defended.
"Fair enough," Star admitted. "Anyways, back to work,"
"Well, what do you think? What's your opinion on what's coming?" Tucker asked, hitting the record button on his PDA.
Star shrugged. "Honestly? It's about time we took serious action against the ghosts. Sure, Phantom's done a lot of good, but we should be able to protect ourselves. Besides, a lot of things are gonna go bad if we don't start tackling this ghost issue: population's gonna drop, the economy's gonna slip...not like to the level of Detroit, but then again, that's not saying much. This could make a lot of things better. What about you?"
"Personally, I get why they're doing it, but I don't think the Guys in White are the ones to do it,"
Star's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Tucker thought hard about what to say. He knew a lot about this...more than he was supposed to know, which meant he had to choose his words wisely. Star already seemed suspicious.
"Remember that guy...Weisz was his name, right?"
"Yeah,"
"He seemed...I don't know, fanatic? Going on about wiping out all ghosts and the 'golden age of humanity' crap? Give him an orange jumpsuit and he'd be Jack Fenton,"
"He'd need a glorified fishing rod and another hundred pounds of body mass," Star deadpanned.
"True. Look, my point is that...what if there are other good ghosts like Phantom? What if we're just judging all of them because we've seen what the worst of them are?"
"This sounds like a debate on immigration," Star interrupted.
Tucker thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. Let's add that in, teachers love that philosophical BS,"
"Good choice," Star agreed.
"Hey...if you don't mind me asking-"
"No, I'm not going to the homecoming dance with you,"
Tucker groaned. "That wasn't what I was going to ask,"
"I know," Star replied with a smirk. Tucker shook his head.
"Anyway, I know how Paulina feels about Phantom, but...what about you?"
Star thought for a moment. "Undecided."
"Really?"
She shrugged. "I mean, he's done a lot of good, but...there are some things that are harder to explain,"
"Like what happened with Valerie?"
Star froze, her gorgeous blue eyes widening. "You know about that?"
"Most of it," Tucker said. "I don't know all the details, but from I heard, Phantom was involved in an incident at Axiom Labs, and Valerie's dad got fired because of it. And of course..."
"Things went to shit after that," Star finished. "One of these days, Valerie's probably gonna try hunting Phantom down herself,"
Star doesn't know?
Tucker wisely kept his mouth shut. Star continued. "And then of course, there was that incident with the last mayor. Like I said, he's done a lot of good things for Amity, but...not everything adds up."
"Fair enough," Tucker said, trying to shift away from the topic. "Okay, what else do we have to do?"
(6:07 pm)
"You told them?!"
Jazz got all the answer she needed from Danny's look of frustration. "It wasn't your place to say that, idiot!"
"Sam already chewed me out, I don't need you doing it too," her little brother grumbled. "But yeah, if she looks at you like you're a floral pattern dress, that's why,"
Jazz wanted to curse, but she settled for almost breaking the steering wheel with her bare hands. Danny said nothing more on the ride to Nasty Burger.
She had been dreading telling Tucker and Sam about her choice, and the fact that they already knew made her even more uneasy. But she suspected that there was more to it than this.
"Hey guys!" a familiar voice called, an arm waving at them towards a booth. Danny took a seat next to Tucker, which left Jazz to sit next to Sam, who gave her a withering look.
"What are you doing here?" the goth growled.
Jazz sighed. "I wanted the chance to talk, even if Danny got to it before I did,"
Tucker shrugged. "I gotta finish my burger, I figure I've got enough time to listen,"
"Well, unlike the carnivore, some of us have-"
"Let her talk, Sam," Danny said, glaring at his friend.
"Don't tell me what to do, Fenton," Sam hissed.
His eyes narrowed. "You're right, I shouldn't. Because you never-"
Danny stopped mid-sentence. Jazz almost didn't notice it: a wisp of blue wist escaping his mouth. His eyes darted around, settling on a window. Looking outside, Jazz noticed someone outside on a motorbike...someone familiar.
"Johnny 13," she hissed.
"I'll take care of this," Danny said, getting out of his spot. "Be back in a few,"
Sam started to get up. "Get up, Jazz,"
"You're staying with me," Jazz said. "We need to talk,"
"Why? What are you gonna tell me? Some sort of sob story that'll make me feel better about you ditching the team?"
Jazz tried to remain calm: losing her temper would help nothing. "Why are you so upset about this, Sam? A few weeks ago, you didn't even think I was part of the team,"
"Well, apparently I was right," Sam retorted. "Considering you feel that school and your own future is more important than your little brother,"
Things started piecing together in Jazz's mind. "Come with me for a minute,"
"Why?"
"Because this isn't about me leaving," Jazz said evenly. "Or at least, not just that,"
"How's it been, punk?"
Danny noticed the smirk didn't reach Johnny's eyes, which, aside from making him look like a pedophile, indicated that he and Kitty had been fighting.
"Same old, same old," Danny replied, not letting his guard down. He glanced the ground by Johnny, noticing that there was no shadow. That could only mean...
Danny cautiously charged up an ectoblast in his hand, whirling around at the sudden screeching noise to see...
Yep.
Shadow was standing behind him, recoiling at the light generated by the waiting ectoblast. Danny grinned in satisfaction.
"Oh, there's the dork of darkness. Nice try Joh-"
Danny had lowered his guard for one second, which was long enough for Johnny to fire a shot from his motorcycle. Danny took the blast straight to the chest, throwing him right into a waiting Shadow. Johnny's pet wrapped around him like a blanket and flung him at the Nasty Burger sign. Luckily, Danny turned intangible at the last second, saving his face from becoming a pancake.
His main priority was getting Johnny away from the Nasty Burger: a bad luck spirit and potentially explosive condiments were not a combination Danny wanted to try. "Hey Johnny! Catch me if you can!" he called, flying in the direction of the industrial district. The revving of the engine was indication that Johnny took the bait.
"I live for this rush!" Johnny yelled, firing more blasts at the halfa. Danny turned around, noticing Johnny was a good distance away.
"You really need to cool it!" Danny called, sending an ice blast towards Johnny. The biker ghost swerved to the right, allowing the shot to hit its intended target: the road. Ice quickly spread on the ground, causing the bike to swerve uncontrollably before crashing against the curb, sending Johnny though a window.
"Fine, I'll give you that one!" Johnny shouted. "Shadow! Maim!"
This time, Danny was ready. As Shadow began to wrap around, Danny let his energy lower, right to the point of transforming into human. As expected, the living shadow screeched in pain at the sudden ring of light, searing its form. Shadow growled before flying into a light post. As the bad luck kicked in, the light bulb exploded dramatically as the base suddenly collapsed, sending it falling towards Danny.
Danny grabbed it in both hands, but it was heavier than he anticipated. Not easy, but doable. Lifting it up with a grunt, Danny started to bend the post back into place. Suddenly, he heard a snicker, almost...bestial in noise.
ZAP!
Danny flew out of the way as a blast shot towards him. Johnny had regained his footing and had fired another shot from his bike. However, true to his bad luck, Johnny's shot hit the now falling lamppost, blasting Shadow out. The demonic being let out a sound that would probably be extremely inappropriate in English. Johnny grumbled before whistling, and Shadow returned to its master. Now with all his strength in one body, Johnny charged at Danny, sending the two a block away and landing on the pavement.
"Game over, you little shit," Johnny growled.
"That's my line," Danny said with a smirk. The biker ghost looked down, just now noticing the thermos pointed at his chest.
Johnny smirked, getting off of the halfa.
"You've gotten better, kid,"
"Well, having some anger to let out helps," said Phantom, leaning against the wall of a building. "And considering you and your pet went after me, I'm guessing you had some steam to blow off too,"
Shadow growled at the halfa, only to be quieted by its master. Johnny shrugged. "Meh, you know it is with me and Kitty."
"She got mad at you for flirting on another girl?"
"Well, that's one way of putting it,"
"That's the only way of putting it," said the nerd, having just arrived with the gloomy chick.
"You never learn you, do you?" the halfa asked.
"How unlike anyone I know," the girl quipped.
"Okay, you know what-"
"Guys!" the nerd interrupted.
Johnny chuckled. "Sounds like I'm not the only one having a lover's quarrel,"
Danny and Sam looked at him, then at each other, then back at him before sputtering.
"We're not-"
"He's not my-"
"We just-"
"Yes, they're having a fight," the nerd answered for them. Johnny looked back at the two to smirk, but mid-way he noticed...well, he didn't know what it was, but looking at the chick...he thought he saw something familiar. He settled for just shrugging it off. "Well, good luck, little man,"
The ghost boy seemed to regain his ability to speak. "Word of advice, Johnny: stay out of Amity for a while,"
"I'll go wherever the hell I want and do whatever the hell I want to do, punk," Johnny warned. "Don't tell me what to do," He could feel Shadow picking up on his irritation, hoping for the chance to be unleashed.
"You heard about the Guys in White?" the gloomy girl asked.
Johnny's smile faded. "What about 'em?"
"They're coming here in two weeks, and they're coming to stay. I don't have to remind you of that time they tried to blow up the Ghost Zone?" Danny warned.
"Course. Next time you steal my bike will be your last," Johnny threatened. "But I get the shtick. Gonna admit, didn't know you cared so much about me,"
"Don't kid yourself," Danny replied flatly. "Now, are you gonna leave on your own, or do I have to use the thermos?"
"Relax, I'm goin'," Johnny said, revving his motorcycle. "See you on the flipside,"
(7:48 pm)
"Why'd you let him go?" Tucker asked.
"Considering that he's one of the only ghosts with enough brain cells to leave on his own, I figured I'd let him choose," Danny said. Other than a couple of octopuses, the ecto-activity for the rest of the night had been almost null, which was fine with him. "It's not the first time he's done this,"
"Well, let's hope it's his last," Tucker said.
"I doubt it," he said, opening the door to his room. "Come on, we've got something else to worry about,"
"I agree," said Sam.
(1 hour and 38 minutes earlier...)
"Come with me for a minute,"
"Why?"
"Because this isn't about me leaving," Jazz said evenly. "Or at least, not just that,"
Sam tensed briefly. "Really? What else would it be about?"
"Get in the car," Jazz replied.
"Aren't you never supposed to get in a white car without knowing where it's going?" Sam quipped.
Jazz rolled her eyes. "Just come with me,"
The two walked to the minivan, a tense silence between them. Neither saying a word until the doors were closed tight.
"What the fuck, Jazz?!" Sam growled.
"Stop!"
"He's your brother, Jazz!" Sam yelled. "And you're just walking away?!"
"Oh, don't give me that!" Jazz snapped. "How many times have you told me I'm not part of the team, or that you guys are fine without me? What's so different now? Tell me, because I think we both know the answer!"
Sam didn't answer. Jazz looked at her. "Sam...you're afraid, aren't you?"
No response.
"Aren't you?"
"Yes," she admitted. "Scared of what's going to happen. The most Guys in White we've dealt with at a time is two, what's it going to be like when the entire freaking group comes here? He's going up against an army, Jazz. And pretty soon Tuck and I won't be able to help him, and...and-"
Sam took a minute to compose herself: she was not ready or willing to start crying in front of Jazz. "...and he'll be in a lab somewhere hidden, being dissected like a seventh grade science project. All because I thought it would be a good idea to check out that stupid portal,"
Jazz blinked. "You mean the accident that gave Danny his powers?"
"I was the one who told him to take a look," Sam admitted. "That means that if something happens to Danny, it's my fault."
Suddenly, she found herself wiping her eyes. "Sorry," she grumbled. "Something got in my eye..."
Jazz nodded. "Danny's scared too, you know. When I told him last night, he mentioned that he's not sure he wants you and Tucker continuing ghost hunting either."
Sam blinked. "He said that?"
"Yep, and knowing my brother, it's for the same reason you got so upset at me. In two weeks, you'll be risking your life along with him. Would Danny forgive himself if something happened to either of you two?"
"I think we both know the answer to that," Sam whispered, as the image of the evil future Danny flashed into her head.
"That's why he was okay with me backing out," Jazz concluded. "I know it's selfish, but at the same time, it's lifting a little weight off his shoulders. Part of being my brother's keeper is understanding when I should give him help...and knowing whose help he needs the most,"
Sam didn't respond to that.
"You know who I'm talking about, Sam. So...I understand if you're not ready to accept my apology, but please, try and patch this up with you and Danny. He's going to need you more than ever pretty quick,"
Just like I need him.
Don't make it cheesy, Sam told herself as she turned back to Jazz. "Apology accepted. Now if you'll excuse, I've got to get back to babysitting your little brother,"
Danny looked at Sam. "How'd the talk with Jazz go?"
"Fine," she muttered. "Danny, I hope you know that...what I said during lunch...I just said it because I was frustrated, not because I was actually thinking about, you know,"
Danny looked at the ground. Aside from lifting a massive weight off his chest, it was one of the closest things to an apology he'd ever heard from Sam. "I should have realized that earlier. I'm...sorry for getting pissed off."
"So...are you two gonna kiss and make up?"
"Shut up, Tucker!" Danny and Sam said in unison. Tucker's smirk only widened.
"Anyways..." Sam said. "Danny...whatever comes our way, I hope you know that Tucker and I will always have your back. No matter what happens,"
"Yeah. We can't let you have all the fun, right?" Tucker added, his smirk now taking over the bottom half of his face. "We're All In This Togeth-OW!"
"What did I tell you about singing?" Sam warned, as Tucker rubbed his shin (and Danny sighed in relief).
"Guys," Danny said, getting their attention back."Thank you both. We're gonna have to start planning for the Guys in White tomorrow, but for tonight-"
"Doomed speed run?" Tucker asked hopefully.
"You know it,"
Looking back on it later on, Danny would see that night as the calm before the storm. That night, playing games with his two best friends and relaxing in a night of a peace, he could never have guessed what was coming for him.