Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Skulker – the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter – examined the piece of paper clutched in his hand, eyebrows furrowed. He glanced up at the swirling green sky, lined with doors. Finding the one he wanted, he jumped up from his island and hovered in the air. Banging on a normal-seeming purple door with his metal-gloved fist, he shouted,

"Technus! Get out here!"

A loud Thump was heard along with a few muttered curses. Then the door flew open, revealing a white-haired, green-skinned ghost – who, while shirtless, at least wasn't covered in suds.

"WHO DARES DISTURB TECHNUS, MASTER OF ALL — oh, it's you," Technus exclaimed. Scowling at his neighbor, he asked, "What do you want, Skulker?"

Skulker thrust the green and white flyer in the other ghost's face. "Have you seen this?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes." Technus took the paper from Skulker. "Yes, I saw the Ghost Boy and his friends spreading them around with that Ghost Zone ship of theirs. Yesterday, I think it was."

Skulker had woken up this morning to see bunches of them piled on his lawn. Annoyed at whoever had dared throw their trash into his lair, but also curious, he'd read it immediately. It was a simple flyer, more like a letter, really, printed on white computer paper with a dark green border and dark green words.

It read,

Hey everyone, Phantom here.

So if you don't know, these next couple weeks are finals, and then graduation. And so these last couple weeks are REALLY important for me. I need to do well on my tests to get into the engineering NASA-track program at Amity University.

So I'm begging you all to please just leave me and the town alone so I can study. PLEASE. I promise after June 9th you can bust out, wreak havoc, wail on me all you want, but PLEASE no earlier. Okay? Do me this one favor?

Thanks,
Danny Phantom

P.S. - This is me asking nicely. If you don't comply, I will simply skip the witty banter, Ghostly Wail your backsides, and leave you in the thermos for the summer. You have been warned.

Skulker had sneered at the post-scripted threat, but couldn't help but wince at the thought of three months stuck in that blasted thermos. It was incredibly cramped, even more so when Phantom let his enemies pile up for a while.

Now, Skulker crossed his arms. "How ridiculous. As if that whelp is any match for me, the Ghost Zone's GREATEST HUNTER - "

"What's with all the yelling!? Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

Another door on the opposite side of Skulker's island opened to reveal Ember, who glared at them. She was dressed in a midnight blue nightgown and sans eyeliner. Another moment, and Kitty's green head – tousled from sleep – poked out of the door frame as well. They must have been having a sleepover or something.

Skulker floated over and showed Ember the flyer. Her glare deepened as he drew closer; they'd still never quite mended fences after their relationship ended. Not that Skulker cared - no matter how often the whelp teased him since he'd discovered Skulker always had Ember's latest song downloaded onto his suit when there was a new release.

Kitty and Ember read Phantom's note. Kitty shrugged, seeming unconcerned, but the fiery-haired pop star turned her glare onto the paper instead.

"What does he think this is, Christmas? What's gotten into that punk, makes him think he can order us around?" Ember seethed.

"Maybe because he's always stuffing us back into the Ghost Zone?" suggested Kitty.

"Or it could be because of You-Know-What," sang Desiree as she faded into existence next to Ember's door. Her presence surprised Skulker – he hadn't thought her lair was so close to his. Then again, the Ghost Zone often shifted and spun according to its own rules, and the genie-ghost was a wanderer by nature anyway.

He scoffed at her answer. "Oh, please. The boy's no king, and, as long as I have anything to say about it, he never will be. Not before he's reached his second century, at least."

Ever since Phantom had defeated Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts, in single combat three years ago, dislodging the Crown of Fire, he'd had the strongest, though unofficial, claim to the throne. And sure, he'd had help, from his parents' Ecto-suit, and Vlad Plasmius had been the one to lock Pariah away. But Phantom was the one who'd challenged and fought the old king, and come out of the ordeal alive (or as alive as a half-human, half ghost could be).

And now, any ghost that looked at him could sense the surge of power that lay dormant in the boy, the same as Pariah's though far less malevolent. It would only be unlocked by wearing the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage. It seemed as if Phantom himself was unaware of his inheritance, which in Skulker's opinion was just as well, one of the perks to having your arch-rival be half-human.

None of Phantom's ghostly enemies/occasional allies were about to tell him, either – cluing the boy in that he could command them to heel if he let loose his true power? No, thank-you.

"Anyway," Skulker began, gesturing to the flyer still clutched in Ember's hand. "What are we going to do about this? Are we going to do the whelp a favor, as he asks?"

"Johnny and I have nothing against him," Kitty said, sounding bored with the conversation. "Besides, he's practically gonna give us free reign if we stay away before his graduation. That's not too hard to do."

"I agree," said a new voice, high-pitched and feminine sounding. Skulker looked over to see the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost, floating near Klemper's door, hand in hand. Now when had they gotten here? The hunter might have to relocate if the neighborhood got much more crowded. The last thing they needed was for Walker to show up next.

Skulker crossed his arms. "Oh, you're just being nice to him because he finally broke up with that meat-hating Goth girl," he accused.

"What, really? He did?" Ember cried, sounding far too happy at the idea.

Technus, still hanging near his own door, laughed. His next words carried across the distance, "Oh, please. Those two break up every time they have an argument! They'll be back together by the end of next week. I still like the Red Huntress girl better, but what can you do?"

Ember clenched her fists at her side as she turned to glare at Technus. Kitty, noticing, giggled.

"Still gonna deny you have a crush on him?" she teased her friend.

Ember whirled around and pushed Kitty back into her lair, eliciting a yelp. The singer then crossed her arms and looked anywhere but at her fellow ghosts, a bluish-green blush on her face.

Skulker sighed. The conversation was not going how he had planned at all. "Come now, we don't necessarily have to go after him. There are others we could play with. The Red Huntress, like Technus mentioned, or — ooh, even the Ghost Girl, she'd put up a good fight."

Skulker grinned at the thought of battling Dani-with-an-I Phantom. She was even rarer than her sire, a half-human half-ghost clone. Danny Phantom would always be his favorite prey, of course, the first halfa he'd discovered; the first to humiliate him; and – one day – the first whose pelt he'd have hanging by his bed. Only after he'd taken him down would he go after Danielle and turn on Plasmius – no point in wasting a good benefactor while they had a mutual enemy in common, after all.

Ember rolled her eyes at him. "Oh yeah, uh huh, that'd go over real well. If you go after Baby-pop's baby, one, she'll beat you three ways to Sunday, and then when Phantom finds out, he'll lock you up in the thermos for a year."

Skulker narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you think so little of me, woman? I am SKULKER, the Ghost Zone's –"

"Greatest hunter, yada yada yada," Ember interrupted. "Remind me what your score card is like against our friendly neighborhood ghost kid? Two thousand to zero?"

"Like yours is any better," Skulker muttered. Ember growled at him but did nothing else, apparently not willing to start a fight this morning.

Skulker finally floated away from his ex-girlfriend's door. "Alright, one last time: I'm going to hunt Phantom this week whether he wants me to or not. Anyone with me?"

There was a beat of silence. Then,

"No," everyone else chorused. Skulker fell backward out of surprise before righting himself.

"Fine!" he declared. "Excuse me for trying to be sociable! See if I try to organize a neighborhood hunt ever again!"

"Yeah, well, don't come crying to us when he beats you," Ember told him, stifling a yawn before heading inside and closing her door. Desiree giggled before flying away.

"Give the boy a break and let him finish high school," the Lunch Lady advised. "Then we can crush him beneath meat piles of DOOM!"

"And boxes," the Box Ghost added. The two looked at each other lovingly before floating off, still hand in hand.

Skulker rolled his eyes and looked over at Technus. "And you, my technologically gifted friend?"

"Ah, yes, I, Technus, master of all technology, will have to pass as well," answered the other ghost. "But when you come back, let's work on some new upgrades, alright?"

The hunter nodded absentmindedly, already shooting off through the Ghost Zone, determined to hunt his prey. Honestly, it was as if the whelp thought Skulker actually cared about his human life events. When would he move into the Zone so that they could have proper fights all the time?

As the entrance to the Fenton portal came closer, Skulker grinned. The whelp was graduating soon, yes? Might as well make this battle one to remember.

He was risking three months in that blasted thermos for it, after all.

Chapter Text

Danielle knew the instant a ghost showed up. A shiver ran through her body and she gasped, releasing a small blue puff of air.

With a grin, she jumped up from her brown wooden desk and transformed, letting two white lights wash over her body and change her into her ghost form, Dani Phantom. Her shoulder-length black hair (layered with triangle cuts in the back) became white, and a black-and-white jumpsuit replaced her purple pajama shorts and button-up top.

She turned intangible and flew up through the ceiling of her bedroom - created by siphoning off sections of the Fenton family's lab - until she reached her older cousin/brother/creator Danny's room. She poked her head through his floor just in time to see him finish his own transformation into Danny Phantom.

"Hey!" Dani called, startling him and making him jump up into the air. Hovering there, Danny looked over at her.

"What's up, Elle?" he asked. Ever since she had moved in with the Fentons a year ago as their adopted daughter, the family had taken to calling her Elle, Ellie, or Annie to differentiate between her and Danny. Dani didn't mind, but she still introduced herself to new people as Dani-with-an-I, and she would always be Dani Phantom.

"I got this one," she answered Danny. "Go back to studying."

"But - "

"I can handle whoever it is, I promise," Dani insisted. "That's the whole reason you went into the Ghost Zone the other day, right? To make sure they'd leave you alone so you could study?"

"Well, yeah, but -"

"Then study. These exams are really important to you, I know."

Danny lowered himself until he was back on the floor. He glanced over at his desk, which was covered with pencils, textbooks, and loose-leaf paper filled with scientific equations. "I mean...this can wait. You have homework, too, I know. I'll just stay up and -"

Dani sighed loudly and rose up out of the floor. She narrowed her glowing green eyes - the same as Danny's - at him. "Danny. Please. My Pre-Calc homework is not going to determine whether I graduate or get into my dream college program this week. Just let me. Handle. The ghost."

Danny stared at her for a moment, looking torn, before he finally sighed. Twin flashes of light raced up his body, and his eyes turned blue, his white hair - cut shorter and closer to his head than when he was 14 - became black, and his own black and white jumpsuit disappeared to reveal a NASA T-shirt and a pair of blue boxers.

"Alright, you win," he conceded. "Just...be careful. And you'll get me if you need help?"

Dani rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad, I promise. Now go do you homework!"

Danny chuckled. "Alright, Mom." But he waited and watched as Dani pulled out her phone and quickly shot off a text to Valerie, saying the exact same thing she'd told Danny, before turning intangible again and flying through the roof.

Bursting into the night air, Dani took a second to enjoy the rush of flight, before putting herself into a fighting mindset. Looking around at the houses, clearly illuminated by the giant green Fenton Works sign attached to the Fentons' home, Dani couldn't see any signs of a recent ghost attack. No broken windows, no smoking buildings, no screaming people.

But she'd definitely sensed a ghost earlier. Maybe it was something small? Or it was still in the lab? Now that she thought about it, she should have just checked out the lab first, especially since it was right next to her bedroom. But she'd wanted to make sure Danny didn't go after the ghost himself. He'd been super stressed over his final AP Chem and AP Physics tests this week and she had wanted to do him a favor by taking care of any ghostly threats that came through.

Not to mention it would show him and the rest of Team Phantom that she was mature and skilled enough to protect Amity without any of them breathing down her neck. Honestly, she loved her cousin, and Sam and Tucker and Valerie, but sometimes they were way too overprotective. They acted like she hadn't spent over a year living on her own, fighting ghosts and for her own survival. And they had been worse lately; their impending collegehood must have been making them too nostalgic and worried and adult-like.

Dani was about to head back inside, when she gasped, her Ghost Sense alerting her once again. Then, sensing something coming towards her from behind, she dodged to the left - just in time to avoid the grappling hook/claw that zipped by her. It landed in the sidewalk down below, cracking the concrete.

Dani spun around, following the mechanical line up from the hook to the ghost who had fired it. When she saw who it was, she groaned.

"Oh, come on, Skulker? Really? Do you know what time it is?" she demanded.

"Ah, the Ghost Girl. Nice to see you. I'd been planning on hunting your sire, but a fight with you should warm me up nicely!" Skulker exclaimed. He pressed a button on his suit, and the grappling hook shot up from the sidewalk and returned to Skulker with a hissing sound. "And, yes, I know it's late. My apologies. Believe it or not, it's morning right now in the Ghost Zone."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Floating higher until she was eye level with Skulker, she prepared her own ecto-blast, green light coiling around her hand. "Also, how many times do I have to tell you, Danny is my cousin, or maybe my brother. He's not my sire. That makes him sound like a medieval king or something. It's weird."

Skulker chuckled. "You're more right than you know, child." Then, raising his arm to ready an ecto-energy cannon blast, he added, "Now, enough talk. Let the hunt begin!"

Danielle smirked. "You're on."

She took aim at the center of the robotic suit and launched her ecto-blast. Skulker simply dodged it, and fired his own attack. Danielle turned intangible and let the cannon fire pass right through her. Undeterred, Skulker launched a type of flaming arrow, burning with his signature green-blue fire.

I should probably move the fight away from the neighborhood so nothing gets too damaged, thought Dani. Dodging the small projectile and flying over near the park, she asked,

"Didn't you get the flyer?"

"Of course I got the flyer. The Ghost Child littered them all over my front lawn!" Skulker exclaimed, shooting out three more rockets from the launcher on his right shoulder.

"And, what, you just decided to ignore it? That's so not cool." Dani reached out her hand and encased the rockets in her ecto-energy, containing their explosions; smoke billowed within the green spheres as she lowered them to the ground.

Dani then flew towards the park, where there would be less people to hurt and less buildings to damage. Skulker chased after her, donning a pair of night-vision goggles, even though there were still street lamps in the park.

"I thought you guys were allies sometimes," Dani added, stopping in mid-air above one of the public fountains. She could hear the water gurgling slightly in its concrete bowl.

"Yes, when the fate of the Ghost Zone is at stake," Skulker answered. He hovered on the opposite side of the fountain, arm outstretched towards her. "The whelp failed to explain in his flyer how him failing a test would be the end of the world."

Dani narrowed her eyes at the hunter. "It'd be the end of his world," she told him. She held up both hands and formed two more ecto-blasts. "What's important to Danny is important to me, so I'm not gonna let you ruin this for him."

"How admirable." Skulker fired another blue laser at her, which she dodged. She released her ecto-blasts, hitting Skulker in the chest. He crashed into a nearby tree, breaking the poor plant in half. When Skulker remained on the ground, Dani hovered closer to him. Placing both hands on her hips, she said,

"You don't plan on following him to college, too, do you? 'Cause that would be even more uncool."

Skulker merely grinned at her from among the wood splinters. "But of course! Where the prey goes, the hunter follows. The whelp doesn't think he can shake me just by going to a different learning institution, does he? How foolish!"

Dani fired another ecto-blast at him. He yelled in pain as it hit, pounding him into the ground. Dani smirked as the dust settled. That oughta teach him.

Only to widen her eyes in surprise when she saw that Skulker was no long on the ground. "Wha - ?"

A presence behind her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Skulker's grin before he backhanded her, sending her crashing into another tree. Dani groaned as the tree fell, sending a shock wave of pain up her body. Spitting out leaves, she gathered herself, then rose up into the sky.

"Alright, Skulker, not ba - aaahhh!" Dani screamed as a ghost-proof net wrapped around her, knocking her back onto the ground and sending bolts of electricity through her body. She was left panting and jittery once it passed.

"Haha, you underestimated me, didn't you, Ghost Girl?" Skulker crowed as he walked towards her, his metal boots crushing the grass underfoot.

Danielle scrunched her eyes in pain, before opening them and glaring at the ghost hunter. She wriggled in the net, frustration building as she failed to free herself.

Skulker picked up the net and Danielle, holding her as if she weighed nothing. She'd gotten a bit of a growth spurt once she'd turned fourteen, reaching Danny's old height, but Skulker was still much larger than she was. Well, his suit was, at least.

"You know," Skulker began, regarding her thoughtfully, "I've never understood why you cling to human traditions so much. You, Phantom, even Plasmius - you all plan and prepare for human lives, human futures, but why? You're ghosts. And sure, lots of my neighbors concoct plans for world domination - even I like the occasional vacation out in the human world. But ultimately, we all belong in the Zone. Even you three."

Dani blinked up at him, surprised by his sudden philosophical demeanor. Even as she huffed and struggled in the net, she couldn't help but agree with him. There were times - when she was flying, high above the earth, or slipping between buildings without a care for the laws of physics, or using her powers to fight ghosts intent on doing evil - she wondered why she wanted to be human. Why did she want to pretend to be an ordinary girl, when there were people like the Guys in White that would capture and dissect her and her cousin the first chance they got? Why should she hide herself in this world, when in the Ghost Zone no one cared that she was part human?

But then...

Then she remembered the look on Danny's face as he taught her how to use her powers to help people. How excited he was to receive the acceptance letter from Amity University, contingent on his grades though it was. The joy and pride Danielle felt when Jack and Maddie welcomed her into their family, ghost powers and all. Going shopping with Jazz, and having her explain things like bras and periods. Hanging out with Tucker, Sam, Danny, and Valerie, listening to them joke around and plan for the future, even as they made Amity Park a safer place.

Dani sucked in a deep breath. "Skulker, you're right," she said. "We are half ghost."

Then, hoping she was right, she transformed. The white rings washed over her, her ghost side tucked away for now, leaving her in all her human glory. And - to her delight - as soon as she was human, Dani fell out of the net.

She landed on her feet, and smiled up at Skulker, who looked confounded. He must have forgotten to use the anti-halfa net instead, or perhaps, like usual, he had underestimated her.

"But we're also half human. And so we decide where we belong."

Mid-transformation, Dani jumped up and decked Skulker in the face. The ghost sailed to the left, gouging a trench into the earth as he landed. Before he could get up, Dani unhooked the mini-Fenton Thermos she always kept with her from around her waist and aimed it at the ghost. The thermos' opening shone brightly, its light sucking Skulker up into its metal confines.

"No! No! I'll get you for this, Ghost Girl! You and the whelp!" Skulker thundered, his words becoming quieter and more distorted as he disappeared into the thermos. Dani capped it and twisted firmly, sealing him inside.

The night became quiet once again. Dani surveyed the former battleground, pleased to see that the park had sustained little damage, outside of a few broken trees. Hooking the thermos back onto her belt, she rose into the air and headed home.

Danielle didn't know where she quite fit in yet - in town, in school, in life - but there was plenty of time for her to discover that. Right now, all she wanted was to stay by her family and friends' sides. And if the the price for that was battling a few ghosts and sticking them in Fenton thermoses - for at least six months, she thought gleefully, imagining Skulker's misery -

Well, then it was a price she would gladly pay.

Chapter Text

Danny Phantom flew through the air at a breakneck speed, arms clasped to his sides. He strained himself forward, ever further, relishing the cool air blasting him in the face for a moment. He wanted to look behind him to see how close his opponent was, but he knew he couldn't afford to turn around now; it would cause him to slow down too much.

So he focused on his end goal: the tallest oak tree in Amity Park's...well...park. At 70 feet tall, with an ever-expanding canopy of branches and a thick, wide outer bark, Danny would recognize it anywhere. If he could just get there he'd be in the clear.

A buzzing sound on his left, closer than ever before. The enemy was catching up. With a last burst of speed and a strangled cry, Danny lurched forward, arm outstretched, reaching for the tree. His hands closed around one of the branches, and he swung himself around it a few times, expending his built-up momentum. After a couple more cycles around the branch, he turned to face his adversary. Breathing hard, he grinned and exclaimed,

"I win again, Valerie! Take that!"

Valerie Gray, also known as the Red Huntress, hovered on a black hoverboard a few feet away from the oak tree. She had slowed her own dash to the tree once she saw that Danny had beaten her. She was dressed in her signature red and black battlesuit, composed of ecto-charged nanobots (rewired by Tucker to prevent Vlad Plasmius or Technus from overpowering it). She touched her helmet and it melted away, revealing the scowl on her face and her curly brown hair, pulled back in a high ponytail. She crossed her arms and glared at the Ghost Boy.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Danny. But like it or not, I'm getting closer all the time," Valerie answered, her glare transforming into a smirk. Danny shrugged, unconcerned, and floated down to the ground. Valerie followed, dismissing her hoverboard with a couple taps of her heels, landing softly on the grass.

"Sure, sure, just keep telling yourself that," said Danny. Dusk was setting in, the last of the sunlight fading behind the horizon. That, coupled with the shade of the oak tree, made Danny's glowing green eyes stand out even more.

The night was quiet, aside from the occasional bird call or squirrel scampering up a tree. Snatches of conversation and laughter floated along the air as people headed home for the night. It might have been June, but the longest day of the year was still a week or so away, as was the end of school. Thankfully for Danny, Valerie, and their friends, they had officially graduated high school last week and were no longer slave to the school schedule.

They did, however, still adhere to a town patrol schedule. Ghost attacks in Amity had lessened in the last year or so, but they were still a problem. Danny and his cousin Danielle could usually contain the ones that slipped out of the Fenton portal, but that still left their stronger enemies, and occasionally natural portals in nearby towns or wild areas would open up, allowing random ne'er-do-well ghosts access to the town.

Tonight was Danny and Valerie's turn on patrol. Once high school classes became tougher and the class/patrol workload became harder to manage, Tucker had created an automated shuffler that determined who went on patrol each night, whether they had a partner, and who that partner was. Last night Sam and Tucker kept a lookout; the night before it had been Danielle. Sometimes, when Jazz was home from Columbia University, she would take a shift to alleviate her brother's and his friends' burden.

After making a few loops around town and finding no disturbances, Danny and Valerie had decided to take a break and race each other towards the park. Danny hoped they could be done for the night, since there hadn't been any whiff of ghostly activity.

But then - almost as if the universe had read Danny's mind and wanted to prove him wrong - a shiver rippled down the Ghost Boy's spine and he gasped, emitting a blue wisp of air.

"Ah, man," Danny groaned, before adopting a fighting stance, eyes darting around for the source of his Ghost Sense. Valerie copied him, sliding into a battle-ready pose, body tense.

A familiar female laughter echoed around them, and then Ember McClain faded into view before them. She hovered about five feet off the ground, clutching her purple and electric blue guitar to her chest.

"Wassup, punks," she greeted, grinning wickedly.

Valerie growled in response. "What do you want, ghost?"

Ember's grin faded. Nose turned up, she glanced away from Valerie and looked at Danny instead. "How can you stand to hang out with her, Phantom?" the ghost asked icily. "Three years in and she can't even remember anyone's name."

"I know better than to say your name, you wannabe American Idol," Valerie retorted.

Ember's eyes blazed with anger. "Wannabe!?" She raised her guitar and aimed its neck at Valerie, who raised a red ecto-shield in response.

Before they could engage, however, Danny hovered between them, arms spread wide. "Woah, woah, ladies! Let's calm down a bit, alright? It's such a beautiful summer evening, do we really have to spoil it with fighting?"

"She started it," both Valerie and Ember exclaimed in unison, followed by glaring at each other.

Eventually, though, Ember turned away from the huntress. "But don't worry, Dipstick, I don't plan on fighting you tonight."

Danny brightened at that. Maybe they could actually come to a peaceful resolution for once, and he and Valerie could be done for the night. "Really? So you're just gonna head back to the Ghost Zone now? Awesome."

Ember threw her back and laughed. "Ah, you wish, Baby-pop. But I've got free reign tonight 'cause you're not allowed to stop me, remember. You said we could do whatever we wanted as long as we did it after your graduation, right?"

"I...did not say that, actually," Danny responded. Then he frowned. "Well, I mean, I didn't say that exactly. I guess the "wreak havoc" part could have been misconstrued..."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I knew sending that flyer was a bad idea," she muttered.

Danny sighed. He rose up into the air, green ecto-energy surrounding his hands. "Alright, Ember, I'm sorry, but I can't quite let that happen. But I'm sure we can work something out. I guess I do sorta owe you for letting me finish high school first."

"Yeah, Dipstick, you do. And don't worry, I got something special for you right here," the popstar replied, reaching into her pocket. Danny raised his still-glowing hands, while Valerie flipped open a wrist-blaster. They waited, breaths held, watching for Ember to make the first move. Ember pulled her hand out of her pocket and -

- thrust a piece of paper into Danny's face.

Danny reared back, surprised, his ecto-blasts sputtering into nothingness. He grabbed the paper from Ember and examined it. Printed onto a cream-colored paper, blue and black lettering exclaimed:

You're Invited!

To: Danny Phantom's Graduation Party

Where: Ember McLain's lair, the Ghost Zone

When: Saturday, 2pm

Requirements: You're capable of NOT trying kill the Ghost Boy for a few hours

RSVP: Immediately. Note - Party crashers welcome, but you will be forced to clean up afterwards

The ghost boy looked between the paper and Ember. Ember was looking to the side, arms crossed.

"Well?" she asked, still not looking at him. "Are you going to be there or not?"

"I - I don't understand. You're...throwing me a party?" Danny asked, bewildered. Valerie frowned and snatched the paper from him, eyes widening as she read its contents.

"Well...yeah. I mean. It's a big deal. Graduating high school...not...not everyone does it, you know," Ember said. She glanced at him, a strange bluish-green blush on her face. "And...you've had a rough time with it. Because of all the ghost fighting you do. So, I...yeah. We're throwing you a party."

"Wow. Um. Thanks, Ember," Danny told her. He floated downwards, putting his feet on the ground. He had attended a few graduation parties this summer already - Valerie's, for one, as well as Star's (again, because of Valerie). And he, Sam, and Tucker had had a combined graduation party at Sam's house for all their families - Mr. and Mrs. Manson hadn't been thrilled with the idea, but since Sam had not only graduated high school (something they'd feared their rebellious daughter would have abandoned during one of her moods), but with good grades and plans to go to college as well, they'd indulged her her specific celebratory requests.

Danny had enjoyed those festivities, even if they'd been a little embarrassing, too. But he'd never in a million years thought anyone in the Ghost Zone would throw him a party, especially Ember - and for a human milestone celebration at that. He hadn't even thought the flyer would keep so many of his frenemies away, and yet, he'd had an almost ghost-free last couple weeks of school.

"Hey, Phantom! I asked you a question! The response says immediately, so respond immediately!" Ember snapped, breaking Danny from his reverie. He shook his head to clear it, and saw that she was glaring at him.

With a sheepish smile, Danny answered, "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there. Thanks again, Ember."

The popstar returned his smile. Tension left her body, and she sounded satisfied as she said, "Good. I'll see you there, then."

"Oh, actually," Danny started, looking over at Valerie, "is it alright if some others come, my friends I mean? Since -"

"No!" Ember snarled, her hair lighting up in fury. After a moment it died down, and the bluish-green blush returned. "I - I mean, no. This is - this is a ghost party, that we're throwing for you, halfa. So - ghosts only." A pause, then, "You can bring Danielle, then. But no one else. Got it?"

"Got it," Danny replied, sweat-dropping a little.

"Good. So you're coming. Remember, Saturday at 2 o'clock." Ember leaned in, getting up in Danny's face. Her eyes narrowed as she growled, "Don't. Be late."

Danny nodded dumbly. Ember pulled back, nodded approvingly, and then jettisoned off, riding on her guitar. Danny watched her go, wondering how he could have offended her this time.

Valerie also watched the ghostly musician leave, a frown on her face. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Danny?" she asked. "Accepting her invitation?"

Danny turned towards her, tilting his head. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, you know...it's Ember. She's caused you and the town so much trouble over the years."

Danny waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, yeah. But so has practically half the Ghost Zone. It's no biggie. Even if this is some kind of prank or trap or something, it's nothing I can't handle." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Right?"

Valerie's lips quirked up, but she still sighed. "I know you can handle the ghosts, Danny. When you're fighting them, that is. It's just...lately you've settled into this...kinda friendly stalemate, and I'm just worried...I don't want you to get hurt, if they take advantage of your forgiving nature."

She reached out a hand and placed it on Danny's arm, leaning in slightly. Her gaze softened as she looked at him, pale green eyes crinkled in the corners. "I care about you, Danny. You know that."

Danny smiled back at her, warmth spreading through him. He covered her hand with his for a moment, relishing the touch, but then - slowly, hesitantly - he moved it off his arm. He and Sam were officially on - another - break, but whatever he may or may not be rekindling with Valerie, he wanted to make sure it was something they were both ready for, that it wasn't a rebound or a pre-college summer fling. He wanted to take things slow.

"I know you do, Val. And I appreciate that. And...I hear what you mean. About the ghosts." Danny rubbed the back of his head. Valerie had gotten a lot less fanatical about eliminating ghosts once she'd learned that Vlad Masters was really Vlad Plasmius, and that Danny Phantom was really Danny Fenton. She trusted Danny to make judgement calls on whether or not a ghost needed destroying or simply to be sent back into the Ghost Zone (98% of the time, he decided it was the latter).

But there were times when a more forceful hand was needed. Ghosts could be destructive, whether they meant to be or not. That was why Danny became a superhero in the first place. Why he and Team Phantom did patrols every night. Why Valerie and Danielle had spent last summer on a ghost-hunting road trip, sending ghosts that slipped through natural portals around the country back home.

And maybe Danny had gotten a little cozier with his enemies than ever before, but that wasn't bad, was it? He never let them run wild, never let them hurt anyone. If he turned a blind eye so Kitty and Johnny could have a date, or let Klemper sleep over a few times, what was the harm?

And if this party really was an excuse to ambush him or something - well, then he would just have to remind the Ghost Zone who was the boss.

Danny smiled at Valerie, who still looked concerned. "It's fine, Val. Don't worry about it." He rose up into the air, merging his legs into a wispy tail. "Let's head in for tonight, alright? Sam said we could watch a movie at her house after we finish."

Valerie stared at him for a few more seconds, before she nodded, a reluctant smile on her face. "Yeah. Sounds good."

She put her helmet back on and activated her hoverboard. Danny waited until she was in the air, and then the two of them sped off towards their friend's house.

~~~

Saturday rolled around quickly enough, and at 1:45pm, Danny and Dani stood in front of the Fenton portal.

Dani rocked back and forth on her purple sneakers. She was wearing a dark purple tank top and black shorts, her black hair pulled into a loose ponytail. "I'm so excited! Going to Ember's for a party? This is gonna be so fun!"

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, well, don't get too carried away, alright? Honestly, this could still be a trap."

Dani rolled her eyes. "Please. Faking a graduation party and ambushing you is so not Ember's style. Walker's, maybe, but no one else's."

"Yeah, that's what I said." Danny had reassured his friends of the same thing countless times over the last few days.

From one of the workbenches came an angry rattling sound. Both halfas turned to see a white and green Fenton thermos shaking in a glass container. It currently contained Skulker, and probably would for the rest of the summer. Dani had insisted on it, since he'd so blatantly ignored Danny's request to not bother him during finals.

Danielle stuck her tongue out at the thermos, then turned to her cousin. "Come on, let's go already!"

"Alright, alright." Danny chuckled once more. Then, gathering his energy, he exclaimed, "Going Ghost!"

Danielle grinned as two white rings appeared around her cousin, transforming him into Danny Phantom. A second later, she let the transformation wash over her, and then there were two Phantoms standing in the lab - black and white jumpsuits replacing their regular clothes, black hair dyed white and blue eyes now a glowing green.

Danny floated over to the portal opener and pressed his thumb into the DNA scan. A mechanical grating sound was heard, and then the portal opened, revealing the swirling green vortex that led to the Ghost Zone.

Danielle joined Danny in the air, and then both Phantoms flew from one end of the portal to the other, leaving the human world behind.

Chapter Text

It took Danny and Danielle little time to find Ember's door, floating within the green and purple mass of the Ghost Zone. Skulker's island, as well as Klemper's and Technus' doors, were also nearby.

Danny knocked politely on Ember's blue door. A moment later, it opened to reveal Johnny, a grin on his pale face and a drink in his hand.

"Hey, Phantom! You made it!" he exclaimed. He raised his glass in a kind of salute. "Happy Birthday, kid!"

Danny's lips quirked in amusement. "Thanks, Johnny. But it's not my birthday, it's for my graduation."

"Yeah, whatever. Hey, and little Phantom's here, too! Wassup, Dani?" Johnny and Dani did a fist-bump, and then the biker ghost led the two Phantoms inside.

In the Ghost Zone, almost every ghost had their own lair. Some of them existed out in the open, like Skulker's island or Pariah's Keep, while others were tucked into pocket dimensions within the Ghost Zone behind doors, like Ember's was. The owner of a lair could change its appearance and layout as they wished, with a few restrictions (Klemper, for example, couldn't make his lair a tropical island). Clockwork had once mentioned off-handedly that both Danny and Danielle could create a lair if they wanted. Danny had rejected the idea, but Danielle had been intrigued, going on tours of the Ghost Zone to find her ideal spot.

The inside of Ember's lair was laid out like a concert venue. A long, grassy lawn led up to a large black stage, similar to the one she had created in front of Caspar High School. Tables laden with food and drinks were set to the side - covered with baskets of chips and pretzels, bowls of candy, a fruit platter, and a warmer for fried chicken and hot dogs, among other things. The weather was bright and sunny, perfect for a concert or outdoor party.

Conversation and laughter washed over them. Mingling in front of the stage or by the food tables, were a couple dozen ghosts. Danny knew nearly all of them - Klemper; Kitty; Sidney Poindexter; Elastica, Goliath, and Midori from Danny's forced time with Circus Gothica; a few of the younger members of the Far Frozen tribe; Princess Dora; and, towering above them all, Pandora.

Danny floated over to the crowd, and at once the ghosts stopped their conversations to greet him and wish him well. Kitty squealed and threw her arms around his neck and even kissed his cheek, making Danny blush. When she stepped back, grabbing a frowning Johnny's hand, the Far Frozen tribe members gathered Danny is a group hug, squishing him beneath their fur.

Pandora, with a big booming laugh, reached down and lifted Danny out of the yeti-pile and settled him on the palm of her hand.

"Hello, young Phantom!" she exclaimed. "Many felicitations on the completion of your education!"

"Ha, thanks, Pandora," Danny replied, grinning. "For the save, and the congratulations. And it's - really nice you came to this party."

"Of course! The Princess Dorothea and I have been enjoying our conversation immensely. And now the festivities will be even greater, now that you and your cousin are here."

Danny looked down and saw Princess Dora chatting with Dani; at the sound of her name she glanced up and waved at Danny. Danny waved back.

Pandora then set Danny back down on the ground, next to Danielle. No sooner had his ghostly feet touched the grass, however, did a blurring object crash into him and Danielle, sweeping them up into its arms.

"My lord! Lady Dani! How wonderful it is to see you again!"

Danny and Danielle chuckled before phasing out of the other ghost's grip. "Hey, Shade," Danny greeted.

Shade beamed at them with blindly-white teeth. She had light indigo-colored skin, darker blue hair and bright red eyes. Currently she was wearing a long amethyst tunic that would have gone down to her knees if she had legs; instead she'd opted for a ghostly tail.

Danielle threw her arms around the ghost. "I've missed you, Shade! Where have you been? I didn't know you were gonna be here!"

Dani and Valerie, on their cross-country ghost-hunting trip last summer, had run into Shade somewhere in the middle of Ohio. They'd gotten off to a bad start at first, but after a while they'd become friends; Shade had even returned to Amity Park with them before heading home to the Ghost Zone through the Fenton Portal.

Also, after meeting Danny and hearing about his heroics in saving Amity Park and the Ghost Zone, Shade had started referring to him as "lord" and Dani as "lady." It had been fun at first but now it was mildly uncomfortable, but no matter what he said, Shade hadn't stopped.

Shade grinned back at Dani. "Of course! When I heard about Miss Ember's party, I replied right away. I've been doing some exploring in the Ghost Zone, got a little lost, but I'm happy to see you again!"

As Shade and Dani talked, Danny excused himself and floated over to the food bar. He grabbed a hot dog and some chips, placing them on a paper plate, and filled a plastic cup with punch.

While he was there, Johnny strolled over and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Good on you, kid, seriously," he commented, before pouring himself another cup. "High school is rough, man."

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's not that big a deal. I mean, I woulda done better if I wasn't pulling ghost-fighting all-nighters."

Johnny grinned back at him. "Ain't gonn' apologize for that. Chasing you around is one of my favorite pastimes." He swallowed some of his drink, then added, "But, hey, you did better than me or Kitty. Or Ember, even. I dropped out before my senior year, and they hadn't finished yet before we all...you know." He jerked a hand across his throat.

Danny sobered at that. It wasn't often his ghostly frenemies mentioned their deaths. Not all deceased spirits ended up in the Ghost Zone, nor was every creature who lived there once human - Skulker, for example, had always existed in the Ghost Zone, a sentient blob thing for as long as he could remember. The more humanoid a ghost looked, however, the greater the chance they had once been alive.

Before Danny could say anything, however, a commotion by the front of the stage interrupted them. Mist had started flowing from the dais, swirling around the excited ghosts. The large amplifiers on the side of the stage began to pulse with the sound of electric guitar.

And then, Ember appeared on stage in a puff of blue smoke. Pinkish-red guitar in hand, she grinned wickedly at the crowd.

"HELLOOOO, Ghost Zone!" she shouted, earning some cheers and whistles. Her grin widened. "Today, we're here to celebrate the Ghost Boy - that annoyingly heroic do-gooder we all love to hate - Danny Phantom!"

A few more cheers and applause rippled through the audience as Ember momentarily turned the spotlight on Danny. Danielle - who was cheering the loudest - nudged his side. Danny blushed and gave a small wave.

Ember then struck a chord, bringing everyone's attention back on her. "So tonight, all you punks - you're gonna relax, eat, dance, party, and listen to some ROCKING music!"

The clearing erupted into cheers again, growing louder as Ember and her band played. Mostly their own music but Ember also slipped in some Dumpty Humpty songs, as well a few by Boys of the Fall Out, Powermore, and Michael Jackson. Ghosts mingled and moved together by the stage, creating an impromptu dance floor. Ember's strong, haunting vocals washed over the crowd, energizing them.

Danny watched with a grin before finishing his drink and letting Dani pull him out onto the dance floor. The ghosts parted for him, the man of the hour, shouting at him good-naturedly over the roar of the music. Ember leered down at him from the stage as she sang, but he met it with a smile, and soon she was smiling back. She might even have been blushing, but it was probably just a trick of the lights.

Ember had told them to relax and enjoy the party.

So, for the next few hours, that's exactly what Danny did.

Chapter Text

Jazz Fenton stood in her parents' living room, hands on her hips, surveying the items spread out on the couch. Her laptop? Check. Video camera and foldable tripod? Check. Spiral-bound notebook and extra pens? Check. Official Columbia University messenger bag to carry it all, along with her phone, keys, and wallet? Check.

Jazz smiled, satisfied, until she felt eyes on her. She turned to see her cousin/adoptive sister, Danielle, standing by the staircase, arms crossed over her chest. Her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, making it easy to see her little white skull earrings (a birthday present from Sam earlier this year). She wore black Capris, a dark blue tank top, and a scowl.

"Did you need something, Ellie?" Jazz asked lightly.

"I still think I should come with you," the 15-year-old replied.

Jazz sighed. "Elle, there's no reason for you to come with me," she answered in what she thought was her most patient tone of voice. "We've been over this already."

"No reason? After what he did to you and Jack and Maddie? Bad enough that you're doing this stupid interview, don't do it without some ghostly protection!"

"One, Freakshow is completely human. Two, he's locked up in a secure government facility. And three, I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself in the case something does go wrong," Jazz argued.

Dani scoffed. "Secure government facility, sure. The same one he broke out of the last time?"

Jazz threw up her hands. "You know what? We're done with this conversation. I'm going to do this interview, and you are not going to accompany me."

Then, before Dani could reply, Jazz gathered up her supplies, fished her car keys out of her pocket, and walked out the door.

Now, Jazz understood where Dani was coming from. When Jazz's psychology professor and research internship director, Dr. Wheatley, had suggested Jazz do some follow-up research on her ghost envy thesis, the first person she'd thought of was Frederich Isak Showenhower, AKA Freakshow. This thought had surprised her, actually, because the only thing she knew about him was that he ran a gothic circus and was a convicted jewelry thief. But Dr. Wheatley had loved the idea, and managed to get Jazz the access she needed to interview Showenhower at Amity Park Penitentiary.

But when Jazz - home from school one weekend - had mentioned her project at dinner, Danny had freaked out. He'd claimed it would be too dangerous for her to do the interview and begged her to reconsider. After constant badgering from Jazz and Ellie, Danny had finally confessed to them later that night why Freakshow upset him so much: he had once kidnapped the Fentons, the Mansons, and the Foleys and forced them on a roller coaster of death until Danny had tricked him into becoming a ghost himself and captured him in the Fenton Thermos. And then Danny had used Freakshow's so-called "Reality Gauntlet" to rewrite time so nobody but Danny, Sam, and Tucker remembered what happened.

Jazz had been flabbergasted at this explanation (though it did explain the recurring nightmares she had about ghost clowns and a giant roller coaster). Not to mention furious at her brother for messing with her and their parents' memories like that. Danny had looked ashamed at that part, but still insisted that she shouldn't do the interview. Danielle, after hearing that story, had echoed the sentiment.

But Jazz had refused. She wasn't going to let fear, especially over something she couldn't remember, get in the way of her research.

Besides, Freakshow likes me. We had a bonding moment together.

Jazz paused, hand hovering over the gear shift. Where had that thought come from? Shaking her head, she put it towards the back of her mind. She had to leave now, or else she'd be late.

~~~

Jazz was greatly annoyed, but not altogether surprised, when she pulled up to the black iron gate of Amity Park Penitentiary to see Danielle waiting for her. Her adoptive sister grinned widely and waggled her fingers at her, while the gate security guard looked over Jazz's credentials.

"This girl says she's with you, Ms. Fenton? Your research assistant arriving early?" the guard questioned.

Jazz sighed. Then, plastering on a fake smile, she replied, "Yes, that's right. She's with me, this paperwork should be enough for both of us."

The guard - an elderly black man with a shiny bald head and piercing brown eyes - glanced between Jazz and Dani, seeming skeptical. "She's a little young to be doing research at a university level, isn't she?"

"Advanced Placement," Jazz said smoothly. "You know, for the those special children that colleges like to keep an eye on."

The guard nodded slowly, then finally waved them in. He pressed a button on the inside of his control booth, and the gate opened with cranking sound. Danielle opened the front passenger side door and leaped nimbly into the seat. Jazz scowled at her, but drove forward past the penitentiary's gates.

After passing through metal detectors and having a light patdown, Jazz and Dani followed a guard to Freakshow's cell. The man was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and slumped in a simple wooden chair in the middle of the cell. There was little else in there, as this was the visitor cell. Two chairs had been set up for Jazz and Dani in front of the cell.

When Freakshow saw them approach, he immediately straightened. "Why, Miss Fenton!" he exclaimed, mouth stretched into a large grin as he walked up to the bars. "What a delight! When they said I had a visitor, I never imagined it would be you!"

Jazz paused, frowning. Why would he be so excited to see her? Their only interaction had been when he'd held her, her parents, and Sam's and Tucker's families captive, but Freakshow shouldn't be able to remember that. The only thing about Amity Park and Danny Phantom he should recall was the Circus Gothica incident, and Jazz hadn't met him then.

Dani glanced at her, concerned. "You okay?"

Jazz shook her head to clear it. "Yeah. Of course." She adopted a professional smile for Freakshow. "Hello, Mr. Showenhower. As you seem to know already, I'm Jasmine Fenton. The GIW has authorized me to interview you for a research project for Columbia University's Department of Psychology."

"How interesting! Well, I am happy to be of service, especially if it involves chatting with such a beautiful and intelligent young lady. Being stuck in here with all these agents all day every day is terribly boring."

The guard with them, a muscular light-skinned man with brown hair, a bushy mustache, and tinted glasses, frowned at Freakshow. "You'd best be on your best behavior, Freakshow," he growled. "Don't do anything to these ladies you might regret."

"Why, I'd never," Freakshow promised, batting his eyes at the guard. The guard's frown deepened, but he merely nodded at Jazz and Dani before walking back to his post, a few hundred feet from the visitor's cell. They would have some privacy to conduct this interview, but the penitentiary had refused to grant Jazz completely private access to Freakshow.

Once the guard left, Freakshow turned his attention on Dani. "And now who might you be? Bit young to be assisting in a university project, no?"

Dani narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm security detail," she replied tersely. "So you'd better watch yourself, Freakshow. Because I definitely am."

Freakshow laughed. "Well! Such animosity! I'm a simple jewelry thief, my dear. What do you think I'm going to do?"

"Considering you kidnapped my family the last time you broke out of here, I'm not taking any chances," Dani hissed, eyes flashing ghostly green.

"Ellie!" Jazz exclaimed, looking over her shoulder at the guard. What was the point of bringing up that event, when no one here even remembered it?

But then Freakshow, head tilted to the side, replied, "Goodness, and how do you know about that? I thought that event was erased from existence."

Jazz and Dani looked at each other, shocked.

"It...it was," Jazz told him slowly. "So how do you know about it?"

"Oh my! Did I let something slip I shouldn't have?" Freakshow brought at hand up to his mouth, then grinned before becoming serious once more. "Yes, well, whatever that lucky half-ghost dolt of a brother of yours did with the Reality Gauntlet affected everyone's memory in this place except for mine - why that is, I couldn't tell you. Perhaps vestiges of using the Reality Gauntlet myself, or having been a ghost with its power, prevented me from the mind wipe." He shrugged. "In any case, I'm actually glad we know this about each other now! No need to beat around the bush."

"Yes, well, I suppose that's true..." Jazz replied. After a moment of thought, she admitted, "I don't really remember anything, either, not like you seem to. My brother only told me about it recently. But...when I thought of doing this project, you were the first thing that came to mind." When Freakshow beamed at that news, she added sternly, "But I am here only in a strictly professional, scholarly capacity. You understand?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Whatever you need. Ask away," Freakshow replied, settling himself on the chair in his cell.

Jazz nodded slowly, then began to set up her equipment. She fitted the video camera into the tripod and trained it on Freakshow. Then she got her phone out and opened up a recorder app to catch his every word. Settling herself in one of the chairs, she grabbed her pen and flipped open her notebook. Reluctantly, Dani sat down in the chair next to her.

"Now, Mr. Showenhower - "

"Oh, please, don't be so formal. Call me Freakshow," the man interrupted.

Jazz paused. She had been referring to him as Freakshow in her head, but she didn't want to be recorded saying that. She didn't think it would give her paper the objectivity and credibility it needed. As if sensing this, Freakshow chuckled and said,

"Oh, I'm sorry, is that not professional enough for the world of academia? Very well. Call me Isak then! You can get away with that, can't you?"

Jazz pursed her lips, then nodded. "Alright. Yes. Now, then, Isak. Why don't you tell me about your childhood? Your parents, their occupation, how they treated you. If that's alright."

"Going right for the jugular, aren't you?" Isak's eyes twinkled with glee, and Jazz had to ignore the something twisting uncomfortably in her chest. "Well, my family has a long, complicated history with ghosts - hunting them, studying them. Sometimes serving them, enslaving them at others. My ancestors spent much time and money researching things like anti-ghost plants and artifacts that could control ghosts. Oh, everyone thought they were crazy, of course!" Isak laughed as Jazz's hand zipped across the page, writing everything down; beside her, Dani started shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"And my parents, well, they were just as obsessed with ghosts. I think I was only born so they could have someone to pass their knowledge on to. Oh, and what a plethora of knowledge it is!" Freakshow leaned in, pressing up against the bars. "Ah, but you want to know about my childhood, you say? Well, I was born in 1965 in New York, New York, but we traveled all across the country..."

A couple hours later, as Freakshow was telling a tale about his teen years in Florida, he cut himself off abruptly.

"As much as I've loved having you here, Miss Fenton," he said, "I do wish you'd chosen another day to conduct your interview."

Jazz looked up from her notes and frowned. "Why? What do you mean?"

Suddenly, Danielle stiffened and shuddered before a long blue wisp escaped her mouth. Immediately afterwards, a loud ringing noise erupted in Jazz's ears. Red lights began flashing in the corners of the room and the guards began shouting things at each other. Jazz pulled out the laser lipstick she'd been keeping in her pocket and whirled around, eyes searching frantically for a threat before landing on a tall, green-skinned ghost with spiked hair and covered black tattoos.

Jazz's head began to throb. The ghost seemed so familiar - where had she seen her before? And why was it making her head hurt? The ghost hovered in the air, extending a hand towards Freakshow's cell.

"Ah, well, you see, because this is the day I'm breaking out of jail," Freakshow answered cheerily. "Oh, and I would move to the side if I were you."

Jazz and Dani complied just as the ghost released a blast of green ecto-energy from her hands, obliterating the bars keeping Freakshow trapped. The convict leaped over some rubble, mouth stretched wider than should be humanly possible.

"Cover me," Dani hissed in Jazz's ear. Jazz glanced at the guards, who were all focusing on the enemy ghost, before she wrapped Dani in a tight embrace, practically smothering her. A bright light shone between her arms, and then Dani-with-an-I Phantom was shooting into the air to confront the intruder. The ghost had been nimbly avoiding the prison guards shooting at her, but was unprepared for Dani punching her in the face. The ghost sailed into a wall with a loud metallic Thud.

"Lydia!" Freakshow called, stepping towards her. But Jazz trained her laser lipstick on his chest.

"Hold it right there, mister," she growled, trying to ignore the pain in her temples. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the ghost - Lydia - shake herself off and launch back into the air, where she traded more blows with Dani; green ecto-blasts zipped around the room, destroying walls and parts of the floor.

Freakshow seemed surprised, as if he had forgotten Jazz was there. Then his smile returned. "Why, Miss Fenton. You're not really going to hurt me, are you?"

"If I have to," Jazz replied. But then she winced as fresh pain rolled over her. The sudden image of a giant, four-armed green monstrosity flashed before her eyes and she stumbled back. What was that? Another image - she and her family plummeting down the hill of a roller coaster, Danny in his ghost form the only thing between them and a giant break in the track.

A loud Crack sounded above her. A hand on her forehead, Jazz looked up to see an ecto-blast hit the ceiling, which began to crumble. Her eyes widened as chunks of ceiling headed straight towards her, too fast for her to get out of the way -

A hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her forward. Jazz cried out as she smacked into another body, then yelped again as the ceiling crashed to the floor, right where she'd been standing. Her heart slammed against her chest and she could feel a cold sweat on the back of her neck.

"Are you alright, Jasmine?"

Jazz looked up, startled to find herself barely three inches from Freakshow's face. She gasped and jerked away, slipping from his grasp. She looked behind her at the rubble, then back at Freakshow, who was looking at her with what seemed like concern.

"You...you saved me," she said, dumbfounded.

The sound of her mother's anguished scream echoed in the back of her mind, her parents sobbing after witnessing what they thought was their son's death.

"Yes, I did. I'm actually quite fond of you, you know, Miss Jasmine," Freakshow replied.

Jazz breathed in deepy, trying to calm herself. Her heartbeat was still fast, but slowing down. "Why?" she asked warily.

"Because!" Freakshow exclaimed, suddenly leaning in close, eyes wide. "You were the only one who understood me! The only human I'd ever met who knew what it was like to be completely overshadowed by ghosts. Even my own dear sweet Lydia, she can't understand, not everything - she's a ghost, too, you know."

Jazz took a step back trying to get away from him. She'd dropped her laser lipstick when Freakshow pulled her away from the falling ceiling.

Watching her, Freakshow's voice grew calmer, softer, as he continued, "You have no idea how much that means to me, dear child. And for that, I will give you another gift: I promise that I will leave your family alone, safe and unharmed. They'll have nothing to fear from me. As long as your two ghostly siblings stay away from me, of course," he added.

Jasmine swallowed. "I...how can I trust you to do that?"

"Well, one should never trust a showman on principle, that's true," Freakshow admitted. "But I assure you, my word is good when it comes to this, dear Jasmine." Then he grinned. "Have fun with your ghosts, if you can."

Then he raised his hand and a moment later Lydia swooped down and grabbed it, lifting Freakshow up into the air with her. She made them intangible and then whisked them away through the wall.

Chapter Text

The first semester of college was hard.

Sure, the first few weeks weren't too bad - settling into a new schedule, making tentative connections with professors and classmates. Danny was thrilled to be surrounded by people just as interested in space as he was, and the school was big enough that some of his peers hadn't even heard of the Fentons. The downside was that he couldn't see Sam and Tucker as often anymore - their schedules were completely out of sync. But they still texted regularly and occasionally saw each other on campus.

Then the actual school work began. Five classes, three of them labs, and the accompanying homework devoured Danny's time. At least there were no ghosts to distract him - Danielle and even his parents could keep Amity Park safe from most ghosts in his absence, and none of them had followed him to his new campus. Working so much sucked, but it was nice to be stressed about normal, college-aged things for a change.

Until October, at least.

Just before Halloween and into November and December, Danny started feeling weird. He would be walking around campus - rushing to class, grabbing some food, heading back to his dorm - when his body would seize, muscles stiffening until he was almost paralyzed. He would grow cold all over and then his breath would catch in his throat. For a few terrifying seconds, he couldn't breathe. Then, finally, the sensation would pass and he would feel normal again.

He tried to brush the first two instances off as stress or a weird cramp. But after the fourth time, he agreed to let his parents run some tests on him (the Fentons were capable scientists, after all, if not medical doctors, and wouldn't freak out over Danny's ghostly DNA like most hospitals, now that they were in on his secret). Unfortunately, blood tests, X-rays, and a CAT scan showed nothing that could be causing his fits.

Danny decided to ignore these "fits" as best he could while his parents studied his results. As long as he didn't actually suffocate and they continued to pass eventually, he'd be fine, right? He felt no worse for wear afterwards, and he had enough on his plate without worrying about his strange biology. If he had to, he could ask Vlad about it (on a good day, of course, like Maddie the cat's birthday).

One night, Danny was in his ghost form, flying above the campus. It was Friday, so he didn't have class the next day (lucky Sam managed not to have any Friday classes, but she was part of a dozen clubs that filled her time). The night air was cool and refreshing as Danny soared beneath the stars, enjoying the feeling of freedom. He had a bunch of assignments due next week, but for now, he was content to push those all to the back of his mind.

And then his muscles seized. His body went rigid and there was a tightness in his chest. Danny's eyes, the only thing he could move, widened as he began plummeting to the ground. He'd never had a fit in ghost form. He didn't need to breathe as a ghost, but if he didn't do something fast he was going to splatter on the astronomy building's roof. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to turn invisible and intangible.

When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere completely different.

Danny blinked, stupefied as he took in his new surroundings. Large industrial boxes lined the wooden walls of a building - maybe a warehouse? On the ground, surrounding him, were lit candles, offering a small pushback against the darkness that permeated the rest of the space. In front of Danny, dressed in a cheap-looking brown monk's robe, stood a guy about Danny's age. He had short brown hair, big round glasses, and a patch of pimples on one cheek. His dark blue eyes were opened wide as they stared at Danny.

"I - I did it," he gasped. "I - I really did it! I've been trying all these months, and it actually worked! Oh my God, it actually worked!" He began laughing, a tad manically.

"Um, hello?" Danny said. He was glad to see he was still in ghost form, hovering a few feet in the air, so at least whatever had transported him here - the guy, maybe? - hadn't exposed his secret identity. And he was no longer paralyzed - though, now that he thought about it, there was still a weird pressure on his chest, not enough to hurt but definitely there. Danny could just add it to his list of questions. "Can you - tell me where we are? And why and how I got here?"

The laughter stopped as the guy stared at him. Silence dragged on for a while, before he said, "Well, I summoned you here, duh."

"Summoned me?" Danny repeated dumbly.

The guy nodded vigorously. "Yeah! You're a ghost, right? My friends and I were messing around a bit - we found this cool book at an antique store. They all gave up after the second try, though, but I kept going. And I did it! Man, the looks on their faces when I show them this!" He hitched up the side of his robe, revealing blue jeans underneath, and fumbled in his pocket. Eventually he brought out a phone, aiming it towards Danny as if to take a picture.

Anger surged through Danny at the sight. Was this why he'd been having those fits? Someone had been trying to summon him? Like a dog? His eyes glowed acid green, and he rushed towards the kid.

"Alright, I hate to sound like a responsible adult, but do you have any idea how dangerous it is to mess with ghost spells? Not to mention you've been giving me some pretty awful side effects! Fundamentals of Engineering I is already hard enough, thank-you very much!"

The guy's eyes widened even further and he backed away, phone clutched to his chest. But just as Danny reached out an arm, his fingers brushed something solid, even though his eyes saw only air. He had only a second to spare for confusion before a bolt of electricity raced through his body. Danny screamed and then wrenched his hand back, panting and twitching for a few extra seconds before the electricity left him completely.

Now it was Danny staring wide-eyed as the guy grinned back at him, apparently feeling more secure now that the ghost couldn't reach him.

"Wha - what was that?" Danny gasped. It reminded him of his parents' ghost shield or the Spector Deflector, only a hundred times worse.

"Duh, you're in a summoning circle," the guy replied. "The book says that ghosts can't get out as long as the circle is intact."

Danny frowned and looked around himself once more. The candles, about twenty of them, were lined up in a circle. And what's more, they seemed to be arranged on top of another circle, drawn in red on the concrete floor. Danny got a queasy feeling looking at it - he'd seen enough horror movies to know what summoning ghosts usually required.

He swallowed and looked back at his captor. "Um, so. You summoned me! Great! Since you got your picture, how's about you un-summon me and I can go home?"

The guy frowned. "Well, I mean, I guess. But I was hoping - "

"Oh, you've done quite enough for one night," interrupted an unfamiliar, accented voice. Both Danny and the summoner looked to their left, startled, as a man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, dressed in a dark blue dress shirt, dress pants, and black suit jacket. He had dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and a wicked grin on his face.

"Wha - " the summoner barely got a word out before the man stood before him. One neat hit to his neck, and the boy crumpled to the ground. The man glanced down at him and tsked.

"Dabblers in the supernatural are my least favorite suspects. They're always usually running my name through the mud." Then he looked over at Danny, glancing up and down before he let out an impressed whistle. "But goodness, they do hit upon something amazing, sometimes. And just who might you be, Casper?"

Danny blinked, unsure how to respond. Who was this guy? What was he doing here in this abandoned warehouse looking and sounding like money? And most important, was he friend or foe?

"I'm...Danny. Danny Phantom," he said at last. Might as well see if the guy recognized his brand and determine his friendliness from there.

"Another Daniel? How unfortunate. Though your moniker is much more impressive than Douche." The man flashed another grin. "Seems just as accurate, as well."

Danny shifted uneasily in the air. The man didn't seem to know who Danny Phantom was, which could still be either good or bad. Best to get straight to the point. "Um, I don't suppose you could let me out of here, then?"

The man began to walk around Danny, following the path of the circle. "And what would you be willing to do for your release, Mr. Phantom? An unearthly creature like yourself with great power, and only your soul to trade?"

Danny frowned. Running a hand over his face, he tried to decipher the man's strange question. "What, are you asking me if I'm willing to hurt people for you to help me?"

The man abruptly stopped walking. He stood by the side of the circle, back straight, completely still. Quietly, he asked, "Is that what you want to do? Hurt people?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Danny cried. "I - I protect people! I keep them safe! There's no way I'm gonna hurt someone just to get out of here!"

If that was this guy's price for escaping the circle, Danny would just have to find another way. He'd gotten out of worse situations, after all.

The man tilted his head, dark eyes examining Danny. And then a wide grin split his face.

"Splendid!" he exclaimed. "Just what I like to hear!"

Danny blinked at him in confusion as he made another circuit around the invisible prison, murmuring to himself. He appeared in front of Danny once more, examining the markings on the ground. Then he nodded and looked back at Danny.

"Well! Now that we've established you won't go murdering people in my city -"

"I don't want to murder people in any city!" Danny protested.

"- I suppose I can release you now." The man smiled at Danny. It was charming and unsettling at the same time. "And in return, when you find yourself in Los Angeles again, you'll owe me a favor."

Danny bristled at being trapped in this corner. "Come on, can't we do without the quid pro quo? I -" Then he frowned as the rest of the man's words filtered through. "Wait, did you say Los Angeles? As in, California? I'm in California?" He threw his head back and groaned. "Aww, man, it's gonna take me forever to fly home!"

Then he straightened up and stared at the man, frowning. "And why did you say 'when'? Trust me, I don't plan on being back here any time soon. If ever."

The man merely laughed. "Oh, but you are far too interesting a creature for us to never cross paths again! I imagine you must have all the time in the world, being a ghost. And, well..." he stepped closer to the invisible barrier, leaning forward, "So do I."

Then his eyes flashed a blood red.

Danny reeled back, hands unconsciously glowing green with ecto-energy. Was this man - could he be a halfa? Like him and Vlad? How could they never had heard of him though? Danny had an excuse, having really only been in Amity Park, but Vlad had been a businessman, with his powers, for over twenty years! No one in the Ghost Zone had mentioned another halfa - then again, no one had told him about Vlad, either.

The man (?) clapped once with delight, glancing between Danny's hands. His eyes had turned back to black. "Like I said! Far too interesting." Then he held a hand up, palm facing outwards. "But. I am a Devil of my word. So, as promised, I will release you now."

He briefly looked around the warehouse floor. Danny watched him anxiously as he wandered over to a box off to the side and pulled out a hand-sized piece of metal. Then he walked back to the circle and began scratching at the markings on the floor.

Instantly the pressure pushing on Danny disappeared, and he felt like he could breathe again (if he needed to breathe, that is). He sighed in relief, then cautiously reached a hand out in front of him. To his delight, he felt only air.

He was free.

He whooped and flew upwards, aiming to phase through the roof; he was eager to get home. But then he skidded to a stop, hovering in mid-air. With a sigh, he floated back down, where the maybe-man was watching him curiously.

Floating so they were eye-level, Danny said haltingly, "I...guess I should thank you. For that - the whole letting me go thing."

The man dipped his head. "Of course, young Daniel. You will owe me a favor for this, though, remember."

That put Danny on edge again. This sounded too much like Vlad for comfort. He narrowed his eyes at the man. "Yeah...but...there's no way I'm helping you if you decide you want to go murdering people in this city."

The man's features twisted in anger, and he stepped back, body tense. "Oh, how typical," he spat. "I ask for something simple in return for my services, and I get treated like the villain. The Devil is always wrong, aren't I? Always the tempter, the adversary." His eyes flashed red again.

Danny backed up a step and put his hands up. Clearly he had struck a nerve. But...maybe it wasn't cool of him to assume things about this man just because he might be something different. How many times had Danny wished people wouldn't treat him like he was evil just because he wasn't fully human?

"I'm sorry," he said. He looked down at the ground, then met the other's gaze again. The man watched him warily, but made no move to leave or strike out.

"I'm sorry," Danny repeated. "I just...most of my experiences with ghosts, new ones at least, aren't usually very pleasant. It usually takes a couple years of fighting with them before the battles become more like games."

The man tilted his head. "You think I'm a ghost?"

Danny hesitated. He didn't want to reveal his secret, and he had no right to ask the other for his, but maybe showing some sort of solidarity would be good. "Well, maybe not...fully. But - "

A noise outside of the warehouse made them both turn. Danny tensed, ready to disappear or release some ecto-bolts if necessary. Then a female voice called,

"Lucifer! Did you find anything?"

The man - Lucifer? really? - called back, "Just a moment, Detective!" Then he turned back to Danny, a ghost of smile on his face. "As lovely as this has been, Phantom, I think it's time you head back home. You have a long way to travel, after all, do you not?"

Danny nodded, already turning invisible in case the woman came inside before he left. "Yeah." Then he paused, and added, "And, uh, maybe...maybe I'll be visiting Los Angeles again sooner than I thought."

The man's smile transformed into a grin. "I look forward to it."

Then he grabbed the still-unconscious summoner by the back of his robe and hauled him up. At the same time, a woman came bursting through the doors, a gun in her hands, held professionally, like she was some kind of agent. She scanned the room, blue eyes searching in dark corners, before landing on the two men in the middle.

"Lucifer! What is this?"

"Oh, don't worry, Detective. Just some amateur ghost summoning ritual," Lucifer replied.

The woman - the detective - pulled up short, raising a blond eyebrow. "Ghosts?"

"But don't worry," Lucifer added, glancing behind him at the circle - and at Danny. "I have everything under control."

That was his cue to go. Danny gave an invisible nod, then rose into the air once more. Turning intangible, he passed through the roof and out into the California air.

Amity Park, here I come.

Chapter Text

Jack Fenton stared at his latest invention with awe.

Triticum aestivum, sus domesticus, and casein, along with a few other choice ingredients, had melded to create a truly miraculous concoction.

In short, a ham and cheese sandwich. A triple decker ham and American cheese sandwich with mayonnaise and hot peppers, to be precise.

He was alone in the house. All three kids were at school, though only Ellie would return at the end of the day; Jazz and Danny still had about a week of finals before they came home for Christmas break. Maddie was visiting her sister Alicia.

"So it's just you and me, darling," Jack whispered to his sandwich. He had been tinkering with the Anti-Ghost Shield all morning, and he was finally ready to enjoy a lunch break.

Just when he was about to take his first bite, however, the doorbell rang. Jack frowned, then decided to ignore it. When it rang another three times before he could even get his mouth around his creation, he sighed and put the sandwich down. He would see what the person was selling, decline, and get back to his lunch.

Jack opened the front door to reveal a woman in a orange pantsuit standing on their porch. She had bright red hair pulled back into a bun. Her lips were painted with purple lipstick to match the eyeshadow around her green eyes. Purple hoop earrings hung in her ears.

Something seemed familiar about her, but Jack couldn't place it. Smiling politely, he said, "Yes, hello? You've reached FentonWorks and Jack Fenton specifically! Can I help you?"

The woman beamed at him. "Hi! I'm Persephone Shade, a psychologist from the adoption agency. You can call me Dr. Shade."

"Oh. I see," Jack replied. He tried to remember if Maddie had mentioned anything about a visit from the adoption agency they'd dealt with to get custody of Danielle.

As if reading his mind, Dr. Shade said, "I know this is unexpected, but sometimes the agency likes to send professionals out without appointments, to see the family in its natural state, you know? I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

Jack's sandwich was waiting for him on the table, but this was important. Still smiling, Jack replied, "Nonsense! Please, come in. Ellie's not here at the moment - she's at school, where she should be, of course. We take education very seriously in this house." Jack moved aside to let Dr. Shade enter the house.

"I'm sure," the doctor replied as she stepped inside. She glanced around briefly, then sat down on the chair facing across from the couch. "We can start the session here, if that's alright." She crossed one leg over her knee.

"Yes, that's fine. Can I get you anything to eat or drink, doctor?"

"No, no, I'd like to get started as soon as possible. I'll be much too full afterwards for anything," Dr. Shade replied, grin stretching across her face, nearly pulling it taut.

Jack blinked, then shrugged. The sooner they were finished, the sooner he could get back to his sandwich. He sat down on the couch. "Alright. Let's begin!"

Dr. Shade clapped her hands. "Wonderful!" She produced a small black notebook and a pen from her pocket and held them at the ready. "First things first. How has it been having Danielle around the house? She's been living with you for nearly two years, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Jack confirmed. "And it's been...well, it's been great! Danny and Jazz are pretty much out of the house now, so it's great to have another kid around for a couple more years." He leaned forward. "Just between you and me, but I've always wanted another daughter."

"Mmm...interesting," Dr. Shade replied, writing something in her notepad. "So you're fine with having children that are so different from you - biologically speaking?"

Jack blinked again. What an odd question. "Well...yeah, I guess so. I mean, Jazz is our firstborn, so I was...used to it, I guess."

"I see. You know, from your pictures on file, I noticed that Danielle looks so much like your son Daniel." Dr. Shade waved her pen around. "But then again, Danielle is family, isn't she? A distant cousin, right?"

"Yeeesss..." Jack answered. It was a small white lie to cover up the truth, that Ellie was a genetic clone of Danny.

Not too long after Jack and Maddie discovered that their son was actually Phantom, Danny told them about Danielle. He had explained that it happened in the Ghost Zone one day and Danielle had found him through the Fenton portal, but was now living on her own. While they were still reeling from that surprise, Jack and Maddie immediately agreed to take Danielle in - she was technically their daughter, too, after all. To make everything legal and official, they'd claimed that Danielle Fenton was Jack's second cousin's daughter.

"Always nice when family can step in to take care of things," Dr. Shade said airily. "How is Danielle doing in school?"

Jack breathed out, relieved for the change in topic. "Ah, well, poor Ellie, no one really made her go to school - my, um, second cousins, they were, uh, very laid back - so she's a bit behind on things. But she's making great progress! Maddie tutors her every night and sometimes Jazz helps when she's home. Ellie'll be fine, I'm sure, she's a Fenton, after all!"

"Yes, yes, she is," Dr. Shade agreed, nodding. Then she set her notebook and pen on a nearby coffee table and leaned forward. She clasped her hands together and looked at Jack expectantly. "But, tell me, honestly now, Dr. Fenton. How has Ellie dealt with all the bullying?"

Jack frowned. "Bullying? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know. At school. In town. Because Ellie is so...different."

Jack's frown grew deeper. He shifted in his seat, his large body making the couch groan slightly. "I - I don't understand. What bullying? I mean - I know schools have them but - she hasn't said anything to us." Had Ellie been in touch with Dr. Shade without telling Jack and Maddie? Was that how she knew about this supposed bullying? Maybe he should talk with Danielle when she got home. "And what do you mean, so different?"

Dr. Shade tutted. "Oh, come now, Dr. Fenton. First off, she's the new girl in town, adopted - "

"That's nothing to be ashamed of!"

"- and by the Fentons no less, those crazy, incompetent ghost hunters - "

Jack shot up off the couch. "What's the big idea here? I won't you let you sit here and insult my family under my own roof - !"

"- which is so incredibly, tragically ironic, considering two-thirds of your children are part-ghost themselves!"

Jack, who had been reaching out, ready to throw this infuriating woman out of his house, froze. His blue eyes grew wide as saucers as he stared at the doctor.

"Wha - how do you kn - I mean, what are you talking about? I - I - I have no idea what you're saying at all!" Jack stammered.

Dr. Shade smiled at him, purple lips spread wide, teeth gleaming. As if she was about to devour him. "Oh, but I think you do," she crooned. "Poor Jack and Maddie. Spend your lives studying to kill ghosts, only to learn your own flesh and blood had become one." She adopted a look of sympathy. "Tell me, Jack. How much did it hurt when you realized your only son was an abomination?"

Jack's hands clenched into fists. "Don't talk that way about my son!"

"Why not? I'm sure you must have thought it - you probably still do. Am I wrong?"

Jack flinched - just like those first few times when Danny would transform in front of them, the change between boy and ghost so startling. "I - I - yes, you're wrong! No matter what I think about ghosts, or did think - there's nothing wrong with Danny! He's the best son I could ever ask for!"

"Ah, I see." Dr. Shade tapped her chin thoughtfully. Then she brightened, her wicked grin returning. "Well, in that case, he deserves a better father than you, doesn't he, Jack? I mean, what kind of parents go around trying to kill their own son?"

Jack blanched. He stumbled backwards, grasping at the air for something, anything, to steady him. Memories flashed into his mind - nights spent in the lab researching ways to kill "the Ghost Boy", the swell of anger and bloodlust whenever he caught sight of "that damned Danny Phantom", the certainty that this ghost was evil and simply playing the part of the hero.

"I'll tear you apart, molecule by molecule, ghost kid!"

All that rage, directed at his own son.

It was nothing he hadn't thought before, months after Danny revealed himself to his parents. But to have a stranger lay it out like this for him...

"Who - who are you?" Jack sputtered finally.

The woman's face lit up with malicious glee. But before she could answer, the front door swung open. Both Jack's and Dr. Shade's heads snapped over to see Danny enter the house. He had a black backpack on and a red mesh laundry bag hung precariously over one shoulder. Phone in hand, he looked up briefly to announce, "Hey, Mom, Dad, I'm home!" He glanced over into the living room, blue eyes meeting his father's own, and smiled. "Oh, hey, Dad."

"Danny - " Jack gasped, unsure what else to say.

But then Danny's gaze landed on Dr. Shade. His phone clattered to the floor and the bag fell off his shoulder. Danny's body stiffened, then melted into a fighting stance. His face was hard as he glared at the psychologist.

"Spectra," he snarled. "What are you doing here?"

Dr. Shade had also stiffened, and for a brief moment Jack thought she looked afraid.

But then she laughed. "And that's my cue," she crowed. Then, before Jack's eyes, the pretty woman in a pantsuit disappeared. In her place stood a creature made of pure shadows, with glowing green eyes.

"Gh - ghost!" Jack cried. Of all the days for him to be working on the Ghost Shield and protection systems! Immediately he looked around for a weapon.

The Dr. Shade ghost cackled. Then she rushed towards Jack and - as he braced himself for an impact - slipped inside him.

"Oh...oh no," Jack gasped. A burning pain exploded inside his body and static buzzing filled his ears. Then his limbs began to contort. He tried to make them stop, but his body wasn't listening to his brain; he felt like a puppet on a string. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a woman was laughing. It was just like three years ago, in Wisconsin, when a ghost tried to use him to destroy Vlad's mansion.

"Dad!" cried Danny. There was a flash of light, no doubt transforming his son into his superpowered ghost side.

Jack felt his body swivel towards Danny. The boy looked conflicted, glancing nervously between his glowing green fist and his father.

"Danny," Jack groaned, trying to fight back against the ghost's control. She was trying to lift his arm, she wanted him to hurt his son. "I - run."

And then everything went black.

~~~

"Spectra!" Danny howled, glowing green eyes narrowed in rage. "Leave my dad alone! Get out of him right now!"

Spectra twisted his dad's face into a sneer. The overshadowing had changed Jack Fenton's eyes purple, and a strange purple glow emanated from his form. "Why don't you make me, Phantom?" she said in a mix of her and Jack's voices.

Danny grit his teeth, letting his ecto-energy fade away. He didn't want to his hurt dad while fighting Spectra. So that left...

"Fine. You asked for it," Danny growled. Then he shot forward, surprising Spectra with his speed, and - taking a page from his enemy's book - entered Jack Fenton's body.

~~~

Jack was floating. Or was he falling? He couldn't tell. There was darkness all around him.

At first, there had only been silence. But then the whispering started.

"You're a terrible father," the whispers said. The words echoed all around him, surrounding him. Jack wanted to curl up and get away, but he couldn't move.

"Your children are afraid of you."

"You think you know all their secrets now? You don't know the half of it."

"It's your fault your son is a monster, did you know that? You and your experiments and your portal. If you hate him you have only yourself to blame."

Jack managed to rouse himself at that. "No - no, I don't hate him! I love my son! And Danielle! They're not - monsters!"

The echoes turned into laughter. "You tried to kill your own son! Many times."

Shame burned inside Jack at the reminder. "I - I - yes. Yes, that's true."

"Just because he was different from you. Just because you didn't understand him. You, the mighty ghost expert."

Jack began to flail, turning and twisting in the darkness, trying to ground himself on something solid. " I - you're right. I may not always understand them and - I know they're different and okay, yes, maybe that scares me. Maybe I thought - I wish it wasn't true. I wish it wasn't true, okay? Is that what you want to hear!"

The laughter grew. The sound invaded Jack's head, grating. "Maybe it's you who's the monster," suggested the voices.

Jack shrank into himself - much easier to do trapped inside his own mind and body than in the real world. But then he clenched his jaw. He was Jack Fenton, ghost hunter. More than that, he was Maddie's husband and Jazz, Danny, and Ellie's father. Maybe not always the one they deserved, but if there was one thing Jack could do right, it was defeat a ghost to protect his family.

"Maybe you're right," Jack yelled into the void. "Maybe I am a monster. For what I've done to Danny, and ghosts like him. But...just because I don't understand him and Ellie, it doesn't mean I don't love them. Even more than that, I accept them, or at least I'm trying to. Maybe I'm not there yet. But I'll keep trying until the day I finally get it right, because that's the least they deserve from me!"

The voices began hissing at him, displeased with his newfound confidence. And now, Jack could see it wasn't completely dark - flashes of sickly green and purple light flashed around him. Then, a shining white light appeared in front of him. Its brilliance made Jack hold up a hand. The light was warm and intimately familiar.

"Dad," said the light, in Danny's voice. Ah, had Danny possessed Jack, too, trying to drive out the other ghost? But t his presence felt like it belonged here, like it had been here before. But Danny had never possessed him before, so that couldn't it.

"Dad," Danny said again. "Wake up, come on."

Jack smiled, putting aside his questions, and reached a hand out towards the light.

~~~

Danny was relieved when his dad blinked his eyes open. He wanted to make sure the older Fenton was okay before he dragged Spectra - who he was currently holding in a chokehold - back to the Ghost Zone.

"Danny?" asked his dad weakly. He sat up slowly, holding a hand to his head and wincing. "Wha...what happened?" His gaze traveled to the the shadow creature that was Spectra, writhing in Danny's grip. "Wha - ghost!"

"It's okay, Dad, I got it," Danny assured. He smiled soothingly, and then phased through the floor with Spectra, landing in the basement. Tightening his hold, he opened the Fenton portal and hurtled into the Ghost Zone at top speed.

Once he was satisfied with the distance he had put between them and his home, Danny threw Spectra down onto a floating rock. The ghost bounced and rolled on the ground, groaning as she did so. Danny floated in the green-colored sky, glaring at her.

"Red Huntress has wanted to destroy you so many times," Danny seethed, eyes flashing. "But I've always talked her out of it, thrown you back here. Maybe I need to rethink that, Spectra."

Spectra coughed a bit, but managed to match his glare. "Ah, yes," she sneered, "the boy who would be a ghost, the ghost who would be a hero. Still can't get that dual identity down right, can you?"

"Shut up. You can't bother me with that anymore. I know exactly who I am," Danny countered.

"Are you sure?" Though she cradled her arm against her chest, half-curled into a fetal position, Spectra still leered at Danny as if she was the one with all the power. "Tell me, Phantom, have you ever wanted to be king?"

The start of a Ghostly Wail bubbled in the back of Danny's throat. He was so tired of Spectra's mind games. "What does that even mean?"

"Sure, it sounds good at first," Spectra began. "The trappings, the pride, the power. Oh, so much power, little halfa. But there's the rub, isn't it? You want to have your cake and eat it, too. You want to be a human and a ghost. You want to be friends with your enemies, to use your destructive powers for good. But you'll have none of that if you accept the Crown and Ring. None of that at all." She threw her head back and laughed then. It sounded on the edge of maniacal.

Danny had had enough. He opened his mouth and released his Ghostly Wail. It burst out of him, screeching and whirling in an unearthly dance of sight and sound. It struck Spectra dead on, sending her flying far away into the Ghost Zone and thankfully drowning out her laughter.

To think, today started out so well, Danny thought as he ended his attack. His last two finals had become take-home at the last minute, so he'd been able to drive home a couple days earlier than his parents were expecting. He'd hoped maybe they could have some normal family time before the annual Christmas argument got going, or at least hang out with Ellie.

But to come home and see Spectra there, no doubt harming his dad with all sorts of word games and manipulations...

Danny shook his head. Spectra would think twice before coming after his family so soon after this. He should get back and make sure his dad was still okay. With that, he turned around and headed back towards home.

Chapter Text

Clockwork didn't gossip much.

But he did like to listen to gossip - knowing all the latest trends and most popular news in the Ghost Zone was pretty handy, especially when Clockwork tried his best to prevent the worst possible futures for both the Ghost Zone and the human world.

And today, the gossip was that Danny Phantom was in a foul mood.

"Hey, watch out, man, the halfa is livid these days."

"Did you hear what he did to Spectra? Blasted her halfway across the Zone!"

"I hear he used his Wail - thought he only did that to his worst enemies."

"Eh, well, it's Spectra. She doesn't have to try very hard to get on anybody's worst enemy list."

"Still, I'd steer clear of him for a while."

"Yeah."

So, when Danny entered Clockwork's lair that day, the ancient ghost was prepared (not that he wasn't always prepared, of course).

"Got something on your mind, young Phantom?" he asked, not even turning around to address the halfa.

Danny sighed. "Yeah, a few things," he said. Clockwork waited patiently while Danny gathered his thoughts. "I guess the first thing is...how can I prevent someone from summoning me?"

Clockwork turned to face Danny now. His form shifted from "Child" to "Old man." "You were summoned?"

Danny shifted uneasily. "Well...yeah. I think I was able to resist it in my human form, but it happened once when I was a ghost, and I got dragged to this weird circle place. There was this weird guy, a kid and a - well, anyway, I couldn't leave the circle until someone rubbed it away for me."

"Interesting." Clockwork thought for a moment, shifting into his "Adult" appearance. "It is is rare for a ghost to be summoned, especially in this day and age. But it is possible. There are a few different rituals, usually involving plants or candles of some kind. And, yes, circles."

"But how can I stop it," Danny repeated, looking at his mentor with pleading green eyes.

Clockwork made a sympathetic noise. "Well, it is very rare for summonings to actually work. Most of the time they fail, especially if the conductor is doing a general summoning, as in, not calling on a specific ghost. When they do succeed it's because a natural portal happened to open up at the right time and place for a ghost to answer the call. But for you, since you were already in the human world, perhaps it grabbed you as the only available option."

Danny sighed. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. But I don't really care how it happens, I just want to not have to worry about it every time I go ghost."

Clockwork nodded, flipping between all three of his forms before settling on "Child." "I understand. Well, I am certain there is something I can give you, a charm or a marker of some kind, to keep you hidden from most summoning circles. I'll look and see and have something for you next time."

"Alright. Okay, thanks, Clockwork." Danny didn't look much happier. His arms were crossed and his face was pensive. He rose into the air, hovering fretfully for a moment before drifting back down. Finally he sighed again and said, "Hey, Clockwork...Pariah Dark's crown and ring...they're still with him, right?"

Clockwork tilted his head, surprised. "Yes. Yes, they are."

"And...he's still locked up in that coffin thing, right?"

"The Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Yes, the former king is still trapped there." Clockwork leaned in closer to the boy. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Danny said quickly. At Clockwork's raised eyebrow, he added, "Well, it's not a good reason. Just Spectra, she mentioned those two artifacts. But it's Spectra. She's always trying to get inside my head and mess around."

"Ah. Yes, I heard that you and she had a bit of a disagreement recently," Clockwork replied.

Danny scowled, eyes narrowed into slits. "She went after my dad. In our house, right in our living room! That is just...unacceptable." The green of his eyes glowed brighter for a moment.

"But ghosts attack your family all the time," Clockwork pointed out, intrigued by what the boy's response would be. "And technically, they're always in your own home. That's where the portal is."

Danny shook his head. "That's different," he insisted. "Out in the field, I get that the bad ones are gonna shoot back at my mom and dad. I wish it didn't happen, but whatever. We can handle it. But this is - Spectra sat there pretending to help, that she was some official or something, but all she does is bring out the worst in a person. She - she hurts you in a different way, and I don't want her near my family. Ever."

Clockwork hmmm'ed. "Fair point. But tell me something, Daniel. If you had the power to remove Spectra from your family's lives forever, how would you do it?"

Danny tilted his head, seeming surprised. His tail flickered, turning into legs and then back again. "Uh...well. I guess...I'd just banish her, I guess. Keep her in the Ghost Zone, maybe even Walker's prison. I just don't want her hurting anyone else."

Clockwork nodded thoughtfully, a satisfied smile on his face. Danny was still looking at him, confusion written all over his face. "You're a good man, Danny Phantom."

Danny blinked. "Uh. Well, thanks, Clockwork." A rueful smile appeared on his face. "But you of all people know that's not really true."

Clockwork frowned, shifting to "Old Man." "Au contraire. I of all people know exactly how true it is. If you're referring to my permanent guest, then I assure you, you shouldn't worry about that." He shifted into his "Adult" form and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "You must have more faith in yourself, Danny, and in your friends, to weather the storms that life will inevitably throw your way. I have faith in you, if that means anything."

Danny stared at him, a contemplative look on his face. Clockwork held his gaze, waiting patiently. Finally Danny nodded and a more genuine smile graced his face.

"That means a lot, actually, Clockwork," Danny said. "So, thank-you. The last few weeks have been...weird for me, so I think I needed that. Thanks."

Clockwork smiled. "Of course, Daniel. Happy to help."

Danny nodded once more. "Yeah." Then he cleared his throat, and the mood shifted. "So...you'll have something for me next time? To stop wannabe cultists from trapping me in summoning circles?"

Clockwork nodded. "I will," he affirmed.

Danny flew higher into the air and drifted away from Clockwork. "Alright, cool. Aunt Alicia is coming over for dinner tonight so I gotta go, but thanks again, CW! See you later!" He then turned and shot out of the Clock Tower that the Master of Time called home.

Clockwork watched the halfa go, then drifted further into his haunt. Past the bells and clock parts, towards his personal library. Placed on a pedestal in the middle of the room sat a white and green thermos, dented in numerous places.

"He was here, wasn't he," a deep voice grumbled from the thermos. When Clockwork said nothing, the voice continued, "You spoil him too much, Clockwork. What is he even doing with his life? Going to college? I was destroying cities at his age!"

"What a shame you can't see what's wrong with that sentence," Clockwork replied, tone mild. The thermos rattled as the entity inside slammed against its confines.

"I'll get out of here eventually," Dan threatened, as he had since the day Danny deposited him in Clockwork's lair. "And when I do - "

"Everything will turn out for the best," Clockwork interrupted, shifting into his "Old Man" form. "Danny will defeat you and all will be well."

"You don't know that," Dan snarled. The thermos jumped in place, slamming against the pedestal. "You don't know anything, you meddlesome geezer!"

"But I do know that." Clockwork waved his arm. Immediately portals appeared, showing different possible futures. In some, Dan never escaped, simply trapped in the thermos for all eternity. In others, Danny and his team overpowered him and returned him to the thermos or destroyed him altogether. There were even a select few where Dan was depowered and offered the chance for redemption. All manner of possibilities, capable of being mixed and matched to form even more.

"In fact," Clockwork began with a smirk, "you might say it is inevitable."

Dan released a wordless scream. Clockwork merely chuckled before turning his attention to a section of his library. He had a promise to keep to Danny, after all.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus Scene:

"Woah, hold up there, tiger," Danny exclaimed. He held up his phone, shoving it in Skulker's face. Surprised, the ghost peered at the device; when he saw the date displayed on the screen, he groaned.

December 25th.

"So you release me on the one day I won't fight back," Skulker realized, scowling. "Well-played, Ghost Child." Then he sighed and turned towards the portal. "I'll just have to take my revenge another day, then."

"Wait!" Danny interrupted. When Skulker looked back, confused but expectant, Danny paused. Finally, he gathered his thoughts and asked,

"Do you...I mean, have you ever...is it possible for someone to...summon a ghost?"

Skulker paled, and turned to face Danny entirely. "Summoned? You were summoned?"

Danny shifted uneasily. "Well...yeah. I think. I think was able to resist it in my human form, but it happened once when I was a ghost, and I got dragged to this weird circle place. There was this weird guy, a kid and a - well, anyway, I couldn't leave the circle until someone rubbed it away for me."

"I see." Skulker frowned. He was quiet for a while, then nodded slowly. "Yes, well...it is rare for a ghost to be summoned, especially in this day and age. But...yes, it is possible. I don't know the exact method, but it usually involves specific plants and a specific ritual. Interesting that it happened to you, since you're a halfa, but the Ghost Zone's ectoplasm is embedded deep within you."

Danny made a face at that last part; it just sounded wrong. But the rest of Skulker's explanation was good intelligence. "Is there a way I can stop it from happening? What do other ghosts do when it happens to them?"

"I don't know. I can't help you anymore, Ghost Child," Skulker answered, tone sharp. He turned back towards the portal and rose into the air. "We'll be enemies again the next time we meet, whelp. Prepare yourself for a hunt!"

Then he passed through the ghost portal and disappeared. Danny watched, frowning.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," he murmured.

Looks like he'd have to get answers from Clockwork, then.

~~~

Skulker flew away from the Fenton portal and Danny, his relief growing the further he got from the Ghost Boy. Those questions were beginning to make him sweat. He hadn't wanted to lie, not on Christmas, but he hadn't wanted to let the cat out of the bag, either.

Annoyance rose the more he dwelled on it. Who dared to try and summon Phantom? It was going to put Skulker's plans all out of whack. Even now, Phantom and the Ghost Girl had kept him in that stupid thermos for six months, and Skulker could do nothing about it. All he could hope for now was that Danny wouldn't dwell on it any longer and find out the truth.

That the only ghost that could be summoned from the Zone was its king.

Chapter Text

Danny had to admit - the city of Los Angeles was a pretty cool place. So long as no one was forcing him into summoning circles in the middle of the night. Which, thankfully, hadn't happened again since, maybe because of the charm Clockwork had given him. It was a blue star-shaped amulet with a fancy eye carved into, affixed to a silver chain. Danny had worn it everywhere since he'd gotten it, even to bed.

His parents were attending a ghost convention in Los Angeles as speakers and had been given three extra tickets. Since this was winter break, both Danny and Jazz could go. Jazz had declined, wanting to stay at school and research. Danielle's break ended after New Year's, and a friend she'd met on the road would be stopping by Amity Park, so she had also passed. That left Danny with two extra tickets, so naturally he'd invited his two best friends, Sam and Tucker, who had happily accepted a chance to leave the Midwestern winter behind for sunny LA.

The convention didn't start until tomorrow, but his parents apparently had relatives in the area - their name was White, or Wright, or was it Spencer? - and had decided to pay them a visit. Danny's mom had wanted Danny and his friends to come too, but Danny had needled out of it by saying there'd be a lot of new people all in one place. Maddie told him it should be no problem, as their cousins lived in a mansion they'd inherited from some other cousin who'd been a pretty successful rock star until he died.

But somehow Danny had won his case, leaving him, Sam, and Tucker to their own devices. The trio had visited the beach to marvel at the Pacific Ocean for a while and then checked out the Hollywood sign. Sam visited an antique book store while the guys got food from different street vendors.

Now they were wandering around in a richer part of town, full of hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs not yet open for business. They waited at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. As they did, Danny looked at the sky, admiring how blue it was today, the same color as his eyes. The sun felt warm on his skin. Not even the noisy LA traffic in front of him or the bustle of people crowding on the sidewalk could ruin the satisfied feeling inside him right now. He'd been a little worried about returning to LA, afraid of running into another college-aged kid with the power to bind him as a ghost. But so far everything had been normal. Danny was optimistic it would stay that way.

"Well, if it isn't Danny Phantom! Back in Los Angeles so soon?"

Danny's spine stiffened at the familiar British voice, good mood instantly evaporated. Jerkily, he turned around, and sure enough, there was the man who had freed him when he'd been summoned to Los Angeles. The man was just as sharply dressed as then, now only wearing a red dress shirt underneath his suit jacket. His grin was also the same, a mix of charm and hunger as he approached the trio, arms spread wide.

How had he recognized Danny? He wasn't in ghost form, hadn't done anything nearly supernatural in the last two hours at least - how long had the man been watching them? Danny's heart sped up at the thought. And had anyone else heard?

"Danny? You okay, dude?" Tucker asked, nudging Danny's side lightly.

"Danny, who is this?" Sam asked, eyeing the man before them suspiciously.

Before Danny could say anything, the man answered, "Ah, yes, I suppose I never introduced myself last time, did I, Daniel? Something to rectify immediately!" His grin widened as he gave a little bow. "Lucifer Morningstar, at your service."

Tucker snorted. "Lucifer? Lucifer Morningstar? Come on, man, there's no way that's your real name!"

But that detective called him Lucifer, Danny thought, though he said nothing.

Lucifer looked at Tucker, amused. "Well, I grant you that it is not my first name, nor is it my only name, but I assure you that it is my real name." His gaze then flickered to Danny. "Are you quite alright, Mr. Phantom? One might think you've seen a ghost." His eyebrows waggled at his joke.

Danny, hands gripping the fabric of his sky blue shirt, was not so amused. He didn't think the man meant any harm. But the fact he recognized Danny while in human form, and apparently had no qualms about announcing that to the world, was worrying. Most ghosts didn't care about Danny's secret identity, but Danny always worried another Freakshow incident might happen. The Guys in White and other xenophobic ghost hunters who passed by Amity from time to time were also still dangerous to Danny's human and ghostly health.

Danny took a deep breath to steady himself. "How did you know it was me?" he asked finally.

Lucifer winked. "Well, let's just say, my kin and I are well used to seeing what's beneath the skin."

Danny frowned. What did that mean? Were there more like Lucifer - whatever that was? Was Lucifer a halfa? Some ghosts could disguise themselves as human, like Spectra, but Danny's ghost sense hadn't gone off at any point.

Finally Danny sighed. Leaning in closer, he said, "Look, can we just…do this somewhere else? Somewhere more private?"

Lucifer blinked, looking at the people milling about on the sidewalk as if only seeing them for the first time. Then again, he lived here; LA crowds were probably nothing new to him.

But he nodded. "Ah, yes, I see. Follow me then, young ones!" He turned on his heel, fixed his suit jacket, and strode toward a tall gray building about a block over. Danny started to follow, but a hand on his arm held him back. He turned to see Sam looking at him with concern.

"Danny, are you sure this is a good idea, listening to him?" she asked. "Who is he? What is he? If he can tell who you are just by looking at you - !"

"Yeah, man," Tucker added. "This guy seems fun and charming and all, but like, the exact kind of fun and charming that a bad guy who's about to kill you after serving you dinner has."

Danny rolled his eyes. It was comforting that his friends had similar thoughts to him, but he couldn't let them get in the way of his answers. "Look, guys, I see what you mean. But...I have a lot of questions I want to ask him. And he did help me out when I was stuck last time. We should at least talk first, alright?"

Sam and Tucker exchanged a look. Then, reluctantly, they nodded.

A shout had them all turning to stare at Lucifer, who was beckoning them towards him with his arm. "Well, come on!" he called. "Get a move on!"

Danny complied, walking forward with his friends at his side.

~~~

The building Lucifer led them through was a nightclub, Lux, which he apparently owned. At 3 in the afternoon, it was completely devoid of people, but had an impressive array of tables, booths, and stools for patrons, a large bar on one side, and a sleek-looking baby grand piano in the middle of the floor.

Lucifer entered an elevator tucked into the corner, with Danny, Sam, and Tucker following suit. When it finally stopped at the upper floor of the building, the doors opening with a ding, Lucifer strode into his penthouse suite, extending his arm around the room as if to show it off. Plush couches sat in the middle of the floor alongside another piano, while a fully stocked bar was built into the inside wall. To the far right was a doorway framed by stone columns, as if lifted from an ancient temple; maybe it led to a bedroom? Across from the elevator, floor length glass windows opened onto a balcony with a view of the city.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Lucifer declared, pouring himself a drink at his bar. He gestured to the couches and chairs. "Please, have a seat."

The trio did as he suggested, settling down on the couch. Lucifer sat himself in a loveseat across from them, placing his drink on the coffee table in between.

"Can I get you anything to drink? You're welcome to anything behind my bar," he added with a smirk.

Tucker perked up at that but Danny put a hand on his friend's knee and said, "We're good, thanks." Best not to accept anything, especially alcohol (which Tucker had a horrible tolerance for anyway) before they knew who they were dealing with.

Likely thinking the same thing, Sam leaned forward in her seat, eyes narrowed. "Alright," she started. "Now you have to tell us -"

"Ah, ah, ah," Lucifer interrupted, wagging a finger back and forth. "Me first. Young Phantom here owes me a favor, and I intend to collect."

Sam scowled while Danny sighed. The maybe-man had been made it clear last time he didn't want Danny to hurt anyone, but a favor could still be anything.

"What is it?" he asked.

Lucifer beamed at him. "Simple, really! I want to know your story. Tell me how all this" he gestured to Danny with both arms, "happened, and I'll consider that full payment for releasing you from that circle."

Danny blinked, then smiled. That wasn't so bad. Lucifer already knew both his identities anyway. "Alright," he agreed.

Then he transformed. The rings of light washed over him, and his ghostly appearance took its place. Levitating slightly, Danny began,

"When I was fourteen, my parents built a very...strange machine…"

In his telling, Danny kept a few major things out, such as the Reality Gauntlet, Danielle's creation, or his evil alter ego. He gave a small demonstration of his powers, ones Lucifer hasn't already seen - ice, duplication, and a small ecto ray. Sam and Tucker also chimed in a few times with their own stories.

Through it all, Lucifer sat enraptured. He hovered on the edge of his seat, eyes bright, lips slightly parted. When Danny formed a perfect snowball in his hand, Lucifer threw his head back and laughed.

"My, my!" He exclaimed, mouth stretched in an impossible grin. "Will modern marvels never cease! I've seen more wonders on Earth in the last handful of years than any in the last millennium!" He composed himself a bit, then chuckled. "Thank - well, not my Father, but somebody for vacations, am I right?"

Danny frowned, puzzled. "Um, when you say 'millennium', you mean, like…"

"Yeah, man," Tucker added, "are you gonna tell us what you are now? Are you some new kinda ghost?"

Lucifer looked surprised. He glanced between the three of them, seeming confused. "Didn't I tell you already? I'm Lucifer Morningstar." A beat. Then he added, "The Devil."

Sam snorted. "Excuse me? The Devil?"

"Yes indeed! You know. Satan, Old Nick, Old Scratch. Robbie Goodfellow." Lucifer's grin returned, amused once more. "You're telling me you believe in ghosts and half human ghost hybrids, but you won't believe in me?"

"I believe in the possibility of the Devil," Sam replied. She tapped her foot thoughtfully, then shook her head. "But I don't believe the Devil is you."

"Yeah, hard pass on that one," Tucker agreed. "Right, Danny?" He nudged Danny's side.

But Danny was staring at Lucifer, face serious. He was quiet, thinking. When Lucifer turned to face him, amused smile still in place, Danny said softly, "Your eyes. Show us your eyes."

Lucifer's smile faded. He stared back at Danny, head tilted in consideration. Then he nodded. "Yes," he murmured, as if more to himself. "Yes, that's fair. You show me yours, I'll show you mine, that's how it goes." He nodded again, and said louder, "Yes, alright. I'll show you more than just my eyes. I think you'll be able to handle it. Just know, children, that I mean you no harm. I am not the villain everyone makes me out to be."

"Wha - " Sam and Tucker started, but broke off when Lucifer's face changed.

Gone was the fair skin, dark eyes, and handsome features. In their place was a mess of raw flesh, punctuated by welts and burns. Lucifer's hair was also gone, leaving a dark red dome. It was as if someone had scalped him, scraping off his face in the process, and only the muscle and sinew beneath remained.

With a yelp, Sam and Tucker immediately sprang to their feet, leaning away from Lucifer. Danny stayed where he was, staring intently at Lucifer's new form. Normally he would be surprised at his friends' actions - they had faced ghosts just as ugly and disturbing as Lucifer was now - but there was something more going on with Lucifer than just a sickening visage. As Danny peered into Lucifer's flaming red eyes, he felt goosebumps erupt across his skin.

Fear me, a voice whispered at the edges of Danny's mind. At the edges of his heart. I am hatred, I am ruin. I am damnation incarnate.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lucifer's face returned to normal. Expression solemn, but human-looking, his gaze flickered to the three of them. "Are you all alright?" he asked.

Danny let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He glanced to each side, watching as Sam slowly retook her place on the sofa next to him, swallowing hard. Tucker stayed standing, arms wrapped around himself.

"Wha - wha- what was that?" Tucker squeaked.

"That was my Devil face," Lucifer replied. "Do you believe me now?"

"That...was intense," Sam said after a while, voice shaking slightly. Danny frowned at her in concern, but she managed a crooked smile for him.

Lucifer was quiet, patiently waiting while the three of them recovered from what he had shown them. Just as Danny was coming to terms with it, however, a horrifying thought sprang to mind.

"Wait a minute..." Now it was Danny's turn to leap off the couch, clutching at his chest. "Does this mean I made a literal deal with the Devil?! Are you kidding me? You - you're not gonna take my soul now, are you?"

Lucifer rolled his eyes, taking a long sip of his drink before answering. "Oh, come now, Daniel, I thought we were past all this. No, I do not want your soul. You've already repaid your favor with your story, remember?

Danny slowly lowered himself back on the couch. "Oh. Right. Well, that's...comforting."

"As it should be," Lucifer responded airily. Then he grinned again. "Now. I'm sure you have questions. So do I. Let's make a game of it, shall we? Tit for tat, question for question. You go first."

Danny thought for a moment. Then, "Well, what happened to that kid?" At Lucifer's blank look he added, "You know, the one who summoned me."

Realization dawned. "Ah, yes! Well, he was a momentary person of interest in a case of ours, but turns out he wasn't involved." Lucifer shrugged. "But I did give him a stern talking-to, so to speak, so he shouldn't bother you again in the near future."

Danny nodded his thanks, fingering Clockwork's protective charm.

Sam crossed her arms. "And your question?"

Lucifer waved a dismissive hand. "No, too easy. You can go again."

"In that case, " started Tucker, one hand on his hip. "If… if all this Heaven, Hell, Devil stuff is real - and I'm not saying it is, 'cuz I'm not fully convinced you're not just an über-old and powerful ghost like Clockwork - but if it is, then where does Ghost Zone fit in to all that?"

Lucifer looked thoughtful as he considered Tucker's words. "An excellent question," he mused. "I suppose it could only be a part of Purgatory. Very rarely do souls remain roaming free - either their guilt traps them in a Hell loop, or one of my brethren carries them to the Silver City. Usually Azrael, but she is terribly busy and 98% of my siblings are lazy or incompetent, so some souls may get forgotten in the celestial shuttle busing."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker all leaned in, as fascinated now as Lucifer had been earlier.

Lucifer continued, "If so, then their souls have no choice but to wait around on the Earthly plane to get picked up, or try and find their own way, such as through Purgatory. Whether it's anything like your Ghost Zone, I can't say; it's the only realm angels cannot enter. Only humans can." He tilted his head. "I've known living humans who've used magic to enter there, even given a few a special playing card myself, but I never would have thought humans could simply build a portal there through science. Your parents truly are remarkable, young Phantom."

Danny smiled, filled with a sense of pride for his parents - admiration from an honest-to-goodness angel, even if he was also the Devil, had to be pretty high praise.

"My turn, now," Lucifer declared. He thought for a moment, then asked, "Speaking of your parents, Daniel, you said they started out trying to hunt you before they knew about your powers. First off, antagonistic parents - I sympathize. Second off, how, exactly, did they finally discover the truth?"

Danny's smile turned sheepish. He rubbed the back of his head while beside him Tucker and Sam shared a look. "Um, yeah, well, about that..."

~~~

Detective Chloe Decker sighed in relief as she rode in the elevator from Lux's first floor up to Lucifer's penthouse. She'd had an uneventful but still busy day of filing paperwork, one look at which had had Lucifer running out of the precinct. His aversion to such "boring and superfluous activity" made her wonder sometimes how he kept his own business afloat. Then again, he probably paid people to manage it for him.

Regardless, they had made plans for dinner tonight, and Chloe was looking forward to it. It was her turn to pick what kind of meal they ate so after dropping her daughter Trixie off at Dan's place, she'd picked up some takeout from a great Chinese place nearby. The scent of chicken, broccoli, and brown sauce wafted from the takeout cartons she was currently holding.

Once the elevator doors opened, Chloe stepped out. "Lucifer, I'm here! I'm hungry so let's eat before the food gets -"

She stopped abruptly once she realized Lucifer was not alone. Immediately Chloe's detective instincts kicked in and she appraised them, taking in every detail that she could. Three teenagers, two males and one female, sat on Lucifer' couch opposite him. The girl had pale skin, purple eyes, and black hair gathered into a ponytail. She wore a black tank top and a dark green skirt. One of the boys was black and wore a red baseball cap, a yellow T-shirt, and red shorts. Lastly, the other boy, fair-skinned, had very short black hair, bright blue eyes, and a sky blue shirt and white shorts. All physically fit-looking, especially blue-eyed boy, as if they regularly worked out.

The three of them, as well as Lucifer, were now looking at her.

Lucifer shot her a brilliant smile. "Detective! Is it time for our date already? Time certainly flies when you're discussing the secrets of the universe."

Chloe kept her gaze on the strangers, frowning. "Lucifer, why are these kids up here? I doubt they're even legally allowed in this building."

"Hey!" cried one of the boys, the black one with the red hat. "We're totally legal!" When Chloe raised an eyebrow, he quickly amended, "Well, to vote, anyway."

"Not to worry, Detective, I haven't corrupted them - not with alcohol, at least," Lucifer replied, giving her a winning smile. "Young Daniel here was just repaying me a favor."

Chole glanced over at the other boy, Daniel.. She didn't like the idea of a kid this young owing Lucifer favors. She knew Lucifer would never deliberately hurt anyone, but she also knew the types of business that some of Lucifer's associates dabbled in.

Finally she sighed. "Do I even want to know?"

"Well, that depends, Detective. Would you like to hear a story involving a gross disregard for lab safety, the untimely death of a minor, and constant invasion of the Earth by otherworldly creatures bent on destruction?"

Chole blinked. She didn't even know where to begin with that one. "I...don't think so. Not tonight. I've had a very long day."

"Very well, another time then." Lucifer looked back at the trio. "Well, my young friends, this has certainly been illuminating! A far more thrilling day than I imagined when I woke up this morning, so thank-you for that!" He picked up his glass and toasted them before throwing it back.

The teenagers stood up. "It's been pretty enlightening for us, too," Daniel answered. "I'm glad we were able to meet again, Lucifer."

"Likewise, Mr. Fenton. You and your friends are welcome here anytime," Lucifer replied. He raised his now-empty glass in a salute. "Until we meet again."

Daniel nodded, then turned away, giving Chloe a small smile. She returned it, watching curiously as the three of them piled into Lucifer's elevator. The gate shuttered shut, and then they were gone.

Chapter Text

Dani blinked awake, groggily staring into the darkness of her bedroom. She was having a nice, deep, dreamless sleep, the kind that teenage half-ghost superheroes rarely got. What woke her?

The answer came a second later - her whole body shuddered violently despite her double quilt, and a blue wisp escaped her mouth. A ghost, then - ugh. It better be a little one, because Dani was in no mood to fight right now (another rarity). And unfortunately, she was the only one able to protect Amity Park, since Jazz was at school, the other Fentons plus Tucker and Sam were in California, and Valerie was visiting distant relatives with her dad.

With a sigh, Dani threw off her covers and stood up. She transformed into her ghost side and then passed through the wall of her bedroom. Hopefully the ghost was still in the Fenton lab and she could dispatch it quickly and go back to bed.

When Dani entered the lab, however, her jaw dropped at the sight before her.

A very large group of ghosts (a host? a haunting? what was the collective noun for a group of ghosts anyway?) were gathered in the Fenton lab. They ranged from the smallest ectopuses to hulking animal-like creatures. Some were clad in prison suits (escapees from Walker, most likely) while others wore old-fashioned garb that made Dani think of Dora's kingdom. Others had the strange black-and-white appearance of the 1950s version of Casper High, where Poindexter lived.

In the back of lab, the Fenton Ghost Portal opened and closed like a Hungry, Hungry Hippo opening its mouth; with each revolution more ghosts poured through. A few huddled together in the lab, but most of them flew upwards, passing through the walls at a breakneck speed, howling as they went. To Dani's disbelief, floating by the control panel was Skulker, who pressed the "Open" button over and over.

"Wha - what the flapjacks is going on!" Dani screeched. Immediately the nervous chatter and wails from the ghosts ceased as every eye turned towards her. The sudden silence was broken by a revving engine, and then Johnny 13's motorcycle soared over the crowd's heads to land in front of Dani. Johnny drove, while Kitty sat behind him, clinging to his middle.

"Oh, Dani!" Kitty wailed, launching herself at Dani to wrap her arms around her. "Oh, it's terrible! We have nowhere else to go! He - he's destroying everything! Please don't send us back!"

"Wha - Kitty, what are you talking about? Who's destroying everything? Why are you all here?" Dani pushed Kitty away, overwhelmed by everyone's presence. "And - and Skulker! Get away from there! That's for authorized personnel only!"

Skulker sent her a withering look. "When the Ghost Zone becomes uninhabitable, we ghosts must look to Earth - they are two sides of the same coin. And honestly, child, if you knew the whole story you would be thanking me for doing this rather than the alternative."

Dani's eyes flashed as she flew over to Skulker. She slapped his hand away from the Portal button. "Then let's hear the whole story, you stupid tin can! And make it quick, because I've got a boatload of ghosts to catch tonight! I don't even know how many thermoses I need!"

"This ghost, he showed up out of nowhere," piped up one of the black-and-white ghosts. "And he just started running amuck in the Zone!"

"Destroying landscapes, invading lairs," added a green gorilla-like ghost, holding an arm gingerly against his chest. "Nothing was safe from his rage."

Dani frowned, drifting away from Skulker. "Who is this ghost? How powerful can he be?"

"He calls himself Phantasm," answered one of the prisoners. "Nobody's ever seen him before. His powers are vast - pyrokinesis, ectoblasts, duplication, shapeshifting - "

"Forget that!" cried Ember, pushing her way through the crowd. Her fiery hair was extinguished and she wore no make-up. A bunch of strings on her guitar was broken. Glaring up at the Dani, she continued. "Any ghost can do those things! Maybe not all at once, sure, but the big thing you're leaving out is - this ghost can do Phantom's Ghostly Wail!"

Dani stiffened, shocked at this news. Danny's Ghostly Wail? They had both been under the impression that only he (and maybe her, one day) could do the Wail. They'd never encountered another ghost who could do it, and many Ghost Zone residents were leery of the power. But if there was someone else who could do the Wail, and who apparently liked causing destruction, then that was a big problem.

"And you might be interested to know," began Skulker, causing Dani to turn back towards him, "that he is searching for the Ghost Boy. Everyone he comes across he demands that they bring him Phantom."

Dani pursed her lips together. There was no shortage of ghosts who had a grudge against Danny Phantom - his rogues' gallery, for one, of which Skulker was Exhibit A - as well as some who simply wanted to test their mettle against the half-ghost. These challengers ranged from pathetic to an active threat. Unfortunately, it sounded like this Phantasm was the latter category.

Dani took a deep breath (though she had no need to breathe), calming herself. Then she rose up towards the ceiling so she was above all the assembled ghosts.

"Alright, you lot," she declared, causing everyone to look at her. "Here's how it's gonna go. You all can stay here for the time being, at least until I've taken care of this Phantasm or whatever he is. Jack and Maddie aren't here so no one's gonna try and dissect you - but. No terrorizing the town. I mean it. Or else you'll be sucked into thermoses quicker than you can say "butter biscuit." She narrowed glowing green eyes at the Ghost Zone denizens. "Understood?"

There were reluctant nods from her audience. Skulker crossed his arms and frowned, but he said nothing and had moved away from the portal. Johnny let out a low whistle.

"You're gonna go face him all by yourself, little Phantom? That takes a lot of moxie," he exclaimed.

At his side, Kitty nodded. "Oh, please be careful, Dani! I don't want to lose you!"

Touched by this concern, Dani smiled at them and said hopefully, "Well, I mean, not that I couldn't take 'im, but maybe I don't have to do this all by myself..." She trailed off, hoping someone would jump to her cause.

No one did. Kitty shifted a little and wouldn't look her in the eye. "Well, I don't want to lose you," the green-haired ghost repeated, "but better you than me or Johnny."

Dani sighed. She hadn't really expected anyone to join in, but Danny had told her about he had worked with other ghosts to contain large-scale threats before. This Phantasm fellow must have them really spooked.

Skulker moved a little closer, still frowning. "This ghost," he began. "There is something not right about him. He shouldn't exist, and yet...he does."

Dani raised an eyebrow. "Wooowww. Way to be super cryptic and unhelpful. Are you trying to steal Clockwork's job?" And yet, there were some nods from the crowd, apparently agreeing with Skulker's statement. Did they know something Dani didn't?

Suddenly a loud BOOM sounded outside, just as Dani's ghost sense went off again. Shuddering from her power, Dani gave one last pointed look at the ghosts around her.

"Remember, you can stay here as long as you play nice. If not, thermos." Then, not waiting for an answer, Dani Phantom turned intangible and floated up through the ceiling and outside.

Dust filled the night air when Dani emerged from FentonWorks. She frowned, waving away the smog from her face. The dust was coming from a house a couple blocks away from her family's home; it looked like the building's roof had exploded.

And floating above the destruction was a ghost.

"Hey!" Dani called, crossing her arms as she hovered in the air.

At her voice, the ghost turned to face her. He was long and skinny, easily twice Dani's size, with a long face and pointed ears. His skin was a mottled blue-green color, stretched tight over a gaunt frame. His unkempt shoulder-length hair was the same shade of yellow as old paper. Blood red eyes stared out of sunken eye sockets.

Despite how haggard he looked, however, this ghost had a wide grin on his face, revealing a row of shark's teeth. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Dani Phantom."

The grin disappeared as he stared at her. "No, you're not."

Dani rolled her eyes. How typical. "Sorry, were you expecting a guy? Let's try this again: I'm Dani Phantom. With an I."

He still seemed confused, a puzzled look on his face. Then his eyes widened and his pointy-toothed grin returned. "Oh! I do know who you are! You're the clone!"

The word cut into Dani like a knife. She flinched, before desperately trying to recompose herself. Since the Fentons had adopted her, she'd become more comfortable with herself and her origins. Her family's support and assurance that she was her own person, that she was real and herself, was invaluable. Still, Dani hated being called a clone; it was a harsh reminder of all the pain Vlad had caused her.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Dani bit out, "Sorry. I think the C-word you're looking for is cousin." She narrowed her eyes. "Now. Tell me. What do you want? What are you doing in Amity? You've caused quite a lot of damage in the Ghost Zone, too."

Phantasm laughed. "You wanna talk C-words? Sure. How about catastrophe?" Suddenly, he reached out a hand and directed a green ecto-blast into the street. Dani's eye widened at the size of the crater, using her powers to shield herself from the flying debris.

"Or carnage?"

Another ecto-blast, this time directed at one of the neighbors' houses. Dani gasped and sent her own ecto-energy towards the building, creating a protective bubble around it. The ghost's blast shattered her shield almost instantly, but the house appeared unhurt.

"Or, my personal favorite, chaos!" Phantasm rose even higher into the air, above all the buildings except FentonWorks. And then he opened his mouth and screamed.

The force slammed Dani like a tidal wave. She flipped, tumbling head over heels, over and over until she crashed into a building. Her skull collided with the ground - she'd been too disoriented to go intangible - sending searing agony through her whole head. All the while, haunted, howling screams rang in her ears, the desperate pleas of the undead crying for release.

(Dani and Danny had debated multiple times whether there actually were souls trapped in the Ghostly Wail. For the sake of their sanity, they decided the answer was 'no.')

It took Dani a while to get her bearings. When her hearing returned, Phantasm's awful laughter greeted her. He unleashed more ecto-blasts, littering the streets with craters and cracking off chunks of buildings. People were finally starting to appear, running out of their houses. Their screams and startled questions filled the air.

Gritting her teeth, Dani brushed herself off. She ignored the bruises littering her body and flew back towards Phantasm – just in time to encase a family of four in an ecto-bubble, protecting them from another attack. The family looked up at her, nodded their thanks, then ran in the opposite direction. Smart.

Phantasm seemed delighted with the emergence of people. He kept aiming for them, causing Dani to make shields or grab citizens out of the way of his attacks. It left little time for her to actually fight him. Eventually, sirens sounded in the distance, reinforcements arriving. That was good, as the police department had a few FentonWorks equipment on hand. They would also be able to coordinate evacuation.

But, just as the police cars and fire engines crested the hill, Phantasm turned towards them and unleashed another Ghostly Wail. It caused a chasm in the street and flipped a few cars over. The remaining emergency personnel stopped to help their fellow officers.

If Dani's half-dead heart beat in ghost form, if would be slamming against her chest. She was alone, then.

But then, something wonderful happened. As Dani was about to pull a couple of kids out of the way of falling debris, they suddenly turned intangible; the debris fell straight through them. Dani blinked, startled. Then a ghost – one of the 1950s Casper High students – emerged from the concrete. He gave Dani a look, then carried the human kids farther away.

Dani turned, and sighed in relief. A bunch of ghosts were slipping out of FentonWorks, apparently no longer content to remain in the basement. But as they fled, many of them flew civilians away with them, dropping them safely a way's away. Others, like the Casper High student, used their intangibility to protect them.

Dani grinned. They had disobeyed her order, but she was willing to forgive them under the circumstances. Now she could focus on beating Phantasm.

"Alright, that's it," Dani growled. She flew toward Phantasm, fist pulled back; when she was only about three feet away, she thrust her arm forward and struck at Phantasm with an ecto-fist. He dodged, but just barely; a bruise formed on his cheek.

They entered into a type of dance then, Dani and Phantasm, trading both physical blows and blasts of ecto-entergy. Dani kept trying to lead him towards the more uninhabited areas of town, but Phantasm seemed determined to fire on as many residences as possible (as well as the Nasty Burger, with what seemed strangely like a personal vendetta). Emergency services were at least able to protect most civilians with their FentonWorks-issued ghost shields. Some officers also took aim with weapons like the Fenton Bazookas. Unfortunately, Phantasm managed to dodge the blasts as if he was used to them.

One shot, however, clipped Phantasm's side, sending him crashing onto the roof of Casper High. As he lay there, stunned for the moment, Dani positioned herself above him. Tucking her arms and legs close to her body, she let gravity pull her out of flight, landing like an anchor on top of Phantasm's stomach. The force of her landing on the already-damaged roof caused a cave-in, swallowing both ghosts inside the damaged building.

Having a building collapse around her wasn't fun, but Dani managed to get up first. She held her side as she limped away from the wreckage, then turned around to keep an eye on Phantasm. He still lay on the ground, an arm and a leg peeking out from chunks of roof.

Dani breathed a sigh of relief, allowing herself one moment to relax. Then she reached for her Fenton thermos, ready to throw this guy into the cylinder and put an end to his destruction. She would need to take the time to interrogate him later, but that would have to come after helping preliminary disaster clean-up and sending the rest of the ghosts help.

Except, there was one problem.

She didn't have a thermos.

Dani began patting her sides, but her fingers found nothing but her jumpsuit and an empty gadget belt. What? Sure, she'd been shocked by the amount of ghosts in the lab, but had she really not grabbed a single thermos?

As Dani tried calculating how quickly she could zoom home and grab a thermos, the rubble began to move. A green light emanated from the wreckage, and then a chunk of roof exploded into smaller pieces; the pieces scattered around the hallway, crashing into lockers. Dani turned intangible, letting the debris pass through her, then adopted a defensive stance.

Phantasm was laughing, even as he hauled himself up slowly enough for Dani to tell he was just as injured as she was, if not more. His blood red eyes were wide with delight as he looked at Dani.

"This is fun, little clone!" he exclaimed. "Nice to know someone else in this family isn't so weak!"

Dani's ire over the word "clone" made room for confusion at Phantasm's mention of family. Were there more like him? Were they destroying more of the Ghost Zone, while she fought Phantasm? But…it almost sounded like he was referring to her, and they couldn't possibly be related. Unless he meant because they were both ghosts.

Or…because they were both half-ghosts. Could Phantasm be a halfa?

Phantasm raised a hand, then, and snapped his fingers. Dani watched him warily, but at first nothing happened. Phantasm frowned, then snapped his fingers a couple more times. And then finally, to Dani's great surprise, a small, glowing green portal appeared in the air in front of Phantasm.

A portal…to the Ghost Zone?

Dani's stomach dropped. Phantasm could create portals? Sure, the Fentons had created their own Ghost Portal with technology, but a ghost with the ability to make natural portals was rare; Dani only knew of two creatures within the whole Ghost Zone with that power - Clockwork, and Team Phanton's Esperanto-speaking friend Wulf. Just what was this Phantasm, that he had so many rare powers? And what did he want from Danny?

Movement from Phantasm caused Dani to refocus on him. The ghost reached a hand into the portal -

- and grabbed Dani's shoulder in a vice grip. Dani jerked in surprise, twisting around to see a small, glowing green portal behind her. It was a match to the one in front of Phantasm.

"Hey, cuz," Phantasm cooed, voice full of vicious glee. "Let's keep the party going, what do ya say?"

And then he yanked Dani backwards into the portal with him.

Chapter Text

Danny opened his eyes, gazing into the darkness of the Fenton Family RV. What had woken him? Oh yeah, the call of nature. He lazily phased through the wall separating his bunk bed from the small RV bathroom, then phased back to his bed once he was finished.

As he settled back onto the somewhat too-firm mattress, his phone lit up, blasting light into his face, and started vibrating. Danny cursed silently and slapped his hand over the phone, turning it invisible in the hopes that he could extinguish the light before it could wake anyone. In the bunk bed across from him, Tucker slept on the bottom, curled into himself, while Sam claimed the top. Sam murmured in her sleep, but thankfully didn't wake up.

Danny sighed in relief. But now, unfortunately, he felt wide awake. He laid on his bed for a few moments, before he sighed again and decided to go outside. He brought his phone, still invisible, with him.

The winter night was cold, but it hardly bothered Danny, even in his human form. The trailer park that they had stopped at for the night had only a few dim lamp posts, so the stars stuck out brilliantly in the night sky. Danny loved it. The only thing that would make it better is if he were flying, up there with them.

His phone buzzed again, and he glanced down at it, annoyed. He was pretty sure he had placed his notifications alert to mute. The only sounds it should be making were if someone was texting or calling him, and who would be doing that at – according to his phone – 3:36am?

But to Danny's surprise, someone was calling him. His caller ID helpfully informed him that that someone was "Fruit Loop."

(Danny had tried to block Vlad from contacting him, and had even changed his number a few times. But Vlad somehow always found a way to get around that, despite Tucker's best efforts. In the end, Danny had simply given up, entered Vlad into his Contacts as "Fruit Loop", and resolved to ignore him every time he called.)

But as Vlad's latest call went to voicemail, Danny realized that was the 12th time Vlad had called him, all within the past couple hours. When his phone started buzzing again, once more showing "Fruit Loop" on the screen, Danny couldn't take it anymore. He pressed the "Accept" button and hissed,

"What do you want, Vlad?"

"Ah, Daniel! Took you long enough. I thought you young people were always glued to your phones all the time, didn't you see me calling?"

"Vlad, it is four in the freaking morning. Why are you calling me?"

Vlad hmmph'ed. "Where are you right now?"

Danny frowned. "...In…uh, I think the middle of Colorado. On our way home from LA." His blue eyes narrowed, though Vlad couldn't see him. "Why?"

"Ah, so it isn't you that's terrorizing downtown Amity Park at this moment?"

Danny's jaw dropped. "Wha - what? No, of course not! What's going on?"

"I called because I was curious, I wanted to know how someone else had brought you over to the dark side where I'd failed." There was a pause. "Though I heard that that circus freak escaped from prison, I suppose he could have something to do with it."

"What? No, Freakshow has nothing to do with - Vlad, what's happening at home?" Danny pressed.

"Well, a ghost that looks remarkably like you, if a bit bigger, stronger, and older - and dirtier, in all honesty - is currently destroying bits of Amity Park. I'm watching it on the news right now. Ooh, he just took out parts of the Nasty Burger. Not that I care about that greasy old ratshole but - oh my, there goes the used electronics store."

"Vlad!" Danny shouted, clutching his phone hard enough to hurt. Something dark and fearful was forming in his chest. "Vlad, describe this ghost to me. Exactly."

Vlad complied. "Red eyes, pointed ears, wearing a raggedy black and white suit. I even thought he used that terrible Wail of yours, but if it's not you then probably not."

Danny's heart dropped to his feet. His vision swam, and for a moment he was afraid he was going to pass out. Then, with a deep breath, he gained control over himself once more. "Vlad. Vlad, I need you to go out and stop that ghost immediately. Go help Dani - go see if she's alright!"

Danny had no doubt that his cousin would have rushed in to save the day. But if Vlad was witnessing continued destruction, then she could be in trouble.

Danny could hear the scorn in Vlad's voice when he replied, "Daniel, I don't know how it is that you think you can give me orders -"

"Vlad! I swear to God if you don't do what I just said, then I will finally tell my parents the truth about you! About your ghost powers and every evil, disgusting, immoral thing you've done with them, every attempt on my dad's life - everything!" Danny snapped.

There was a long pause on the other end. Danny waited, heart pounding against his ribcage. Would this be the day he finally used Vlad's secret against him? That day in Wisconsin, when Danny and Vlad discovered each other's ghostly alter ego, seemed so long ago, and yet, as if no time had passed at all.

"Well," Vlad answered eventually. "It's no good being the most powerful man in town if the town's not here, is it?" There was a shuffling noise, then Vlad's voice again, but further, as if he wasn't speaking directly into the phone. "Fear not, citizens! Mayor Masters knows just what to do!"

Danny hung up, then phased back into the camper. He rushed to the back of the van, where his parents were sleeping in the pull out bed; his dad was snoring as loudly as a lawn mower, per usual. Danny yelled over the noise, "Mom, Dad, wake up! I have to go!"

Jack snorted awake, flailing about in bed for a moment. "Huh? Wha? Stay away from my breakfast, you fast-talking rabbit!"

Maddie was a bit more coherent. She bolted up from bed and immediately turned on the lamp that was connected to the wall. "Danny? Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Tucker and Sam were also awake, waiting for Danny to explain himself. They were used to abrupt, early morning wake-ups, unfortunately.

But Danny didn't have time to explain. Unless he was able to find a natural portal that placed him near his family's portal and didn't spit him out in 1800s London or something, it would be a long flight back to Amity Park. Each second he stayed here made his skin crawl with anxiety. He had to know if Dani and Valerie were alright, never mind all the civilians. Heck, he should check in on the ghosts, too. If this enemy was who he thought it was…

"Look, there's a ghost attacking Amity Park, very dangerous, I have to go now," Danny said in a rush. He transformed into his ghost form and rose into the air.

Sam grabbed his wrist. "Danny, wait. We can - "

"I can't wait, Sam," Danny snapped, more harshly than it meant. He sighed, then said, "It's - him."

Tucker gasped as Sam's eyes widened. "You mean…he-who-is-trapped-in-a-thermos-that-we-hoped-would-be-forever?" Tucker asked.

Danny nodded. Sam squeezed his wrist, but then let go.

"Go do what you need to. We'll be there as soon as we can," she said.

"Danny, honey, what's going on? What can we do?" Maddie interjected.

Danny turned back to his parents. They were both standing now, looking serious, even his father. They'd accepted his ghost half, and at first seemed thrilled that he was technically taking up the family business of ghost hunting. But he knew they were still uncomfortable watching him head out as Danny Phantom.

How could he possibly tell them about Dan? About the murderer, the monster Danny had turned into, if certain things had been different? Dan was everything Dr. and Dr. Fenton had once imagined ghosts to be - violent, cold-hearted, dismissive of other people's life, health, or well-being. Danny had hoped to never have to tell his parents about Dan, despite trying to be more honest and upfront with them. Shame, and old habits about lying to them about anything remotely ghost-related, had kept him quiet.

"Sam and Tucker will fill you in," Danny said finally, reluctantly. "There's probably updates about it on the news and the Amity Park Ghost Attack Tracker app. But I have to go now. I love you guys."

Almost as if on cue, everyone's phones started blaring with the tell-tale "Whee-Whoo, Whee-Whoo, Whee-Whoo" shrieking of the Ghost Attack app. On that note, Danny burst out of the Fenton Family RV, rising into the air and speeding toward Amity Park - trying to reassure himself that everything would be fine when he got there.

….

Danielle grunted as she landed on a hard rock.

She sprung to her feet immediately, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. At least she was in ghost form; otherwise she would have fallen straight through into the swirling mass of the Ghost Zone.

Dani took in her surroundings warily, body tense. The toxic green sky of the Ghost Zone looked dulled somewhat, as if covered by a gray film. In the distance, large flumes of smoke rose into the air, as if multiple spots of the Zone were burning at once. And on either side of Dani, personal items floated in the Zone's invisible current alongside boulders and other debris: teddy bears and rocking chairs; balls, books, and ballet slippers; even portraits and kitchen utensils.

All these things had to come from ghosts' lairs. Had Phantasm really caused so much damage?

Speak of the devil - Phantasm landed gracefully on the same rock as Dani, which was plenty big enough for him to stand 30 ft away. Dani narrowed her eyes, itching to finish the fight they had started, but she held herself back. Conversations with Team Phantom, and her own experience in the field, had taught her that sometimes it was better to wait for the enemy to make the first move, even if that was to simply start talking. It was a way to waste their energy and preserve your own, maybe even gather some information.

Dani wasn't usually very good at this strategy, but most of the time she didn't need to be. Rounding up stray ecto-puses or sparring with Danny's usual rogues gallery didn't require as much energy or planning. But for Phantasm, Dani would use whatever she could to gain an advantage.

Hopefully he would start monologuing soon - most bad guys liked to brag about themselves and the exact ways they were going to defeat Danny/Dani once and for all.

And luckily, Phantasm didn't disappoint. He grinned at Dani and said,

"Well, to be honest, I had hoped to destroy Danny before I made it to this point, but hey, sometimes improvisation is a good thing." He spread his arms wide. "What do you think of the new digs, little clone?"

Dani grit her teeth, but allowed herself a moment to look around. And only now did it hit her where, exactly, in the Ghost Zone they were.

The place they were standing wasn't just a large rock; it was one of the Ghost Zone's floating islands. To Dani's right, a medieval-style castle, blood-red in color, loomed menacingly. Four turrets stuck out of the castle like pairs of horns. A foreboding face, like that of a jack-o-lantern, was carved into the castle gate. A stone-and-metal fence ran along the castle's perimeter.

Pariah's Keep.

Ohhhh, this is not good. To land here, a place that every ghost avoided if they could help it, by chance was one thing. Bad luck, as Johnny and Kitty would say. But Phantasm sounded as if coming here was his plan. And nothing good ever came from violent maniacs seeking the resting place of the deposed Ghost King.

Dani faced Phantasm again and put her game face on, not wanting him to see her anxiety. "Alright," she called. "Enough fooling around. It's about time you started answering my questions. Who are you? Why are you destroying the Zone? And what do you want with Danny Phantom?"

Dani didn't really think Phantasm would answer her. But she was surprised by the vitriol in his voice as he snarled,

"Don't waste our breath on things you already know!"

Dani pursed her lips, willing herself to stay calm. At her silence, Phantasm's angry expression eventually shifted into one of surprise. "Wait…do you really not know who I am?" he questioned.

When Dani didn't respond, he started cackling. Laughter burst from him as he doubled over, his whole body shaking. Dani shifted uneasily, unsure if she should take this opportunity to strike, or wait to hear any answers the strange ghost might provide.

Finally Phantasm straightened, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh, that is hilarious! I can't believe he never told you! But, then again," Phantasm's lips twisted into a sneer. "Lying to his family is what Danny does best, isn't it?"

Rage shot through Dani at the slight. She was losing her patience with the wait-and-see approach. "Shut up," she growled. "You don't know anything about Danny or our family."

"Wrong again, little clone! I know everything about them." Phantasm lifted into the air and began to circle Dani; she pooled ecto-energy into her hands and started turning to keep Phantasm in her sights.

"Well, since you're such an ignorant badger, I'll give you a hint," Phantasm continued. "You and I are actually a lot alike, Danielle. Neither of us would be here without dear Danny and Vlad, after all."

Dani scowled. She wanted to brush Phantasm's words off as typical villain banter, but that second part stuck with her. What could they possibly have in common? Besides the ghost powers, of course, and possibly a connection to Danny - and Vlad, too, apparently? Had she been right earlier - was Phantasm a halfa? Or…

Dani had seen a lot of Vlad's experiments perish – clones like her, children who would have been her brothers, if they'd lived. She thought she was the success, the only one who'd been stable enough to survive. But what if that wasn't true?

"Are you…" Dani's mouth had gone dry, and she swallowed a few times before she could continue, "Are you…really like me? Are you…a clone?"

Phantasm chuckled. "Not quite, little Phantom."

Then he landed on the ground, back straight, and bared his teeth. "But that's enough for now, I think. Tell me, little clone, can you do this yet?"

Phantasm's body twitched and stretched, and then suddenly there were three of him. Each copy made another, and another, until Danielle was surrounded by about twenty Phantasms. They were all perfect copies, too, from the limp, yellowing hair to the ragged black and white suit to the blood-red eyes and sharpened teeth.

Dani scoffed at the display. "Oh please, like that's so impressive." She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated, willing her ecto-energy to separate from her, trying to mold it into a replica of herself. When both of her ears popped, like when she flew too high too fast, she opened her eyes again. There, standing back to back with her, were three Dani Phantom duplicates.

"You could always surrender," Dani told Phantasm, glancing around at the pack of them.

The Phantasms grinned. They all rose into the air in unison, then began spinning around her, like some haunted, out of control merry-go-round.

"I could," called one of the Phantasms.

"But where's the fun in that?" The rest of them chorused.

Dani sighed. "Get ready, girls," she said. "Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way."

A melée ensued then, a flurry of punches, kicks, and blasts of ecto-energy. Dani and her duplicates worked well together, outnumbered though they were.

Usually Dani didn't like using duplication, because it always left her a little disoriented. And recently, she hadn't had to use it; whenever she felt overwhelmed by numbers, Danny or Val or Sam or Jazz or Tucker, or even Maddie and Jack, was there to back her up.

But they weren't here now. Dani had to rely on her own powers, any and all of them, if she had to.

Suddenly, one of the Phantasm duplicates broke off from the pack, making a bee-line for the door to the castle.

"Hey!" Dani yelled after him. She looked at her three duplicates. "You girls got this?"

"Yep!" "Of course!" they chorused.

Dani nodded in acknowledgement. Then, seeing a break in the Phantasm mob, zoomed after the one that had gone into Pariah's Keep.

Dani shivered as she passed through the giant gate into the castle. An air of foreboding permeated the place, a subtle yet strong warning to stay away. At least the booby traps were no longer active, but unfortunately, that meant there was also nothing stopping Phantasm – and Dani was sure this was the true one – from flying down the halls unimpeded. And to Dani's dismay, he headed to the exact room she feared he would – Pariah Dark's resting place.

Was he after the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage? He would have to open the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep to do that, which couldn't be done without a skeleton key. Not to mention that it would release Pariah all over again. Dani hadn't been alive for Pariah's takeover of Amity Park, but she'd heard stories from Team Phantom and the Far Frozen Tribe. Keeping him locked away was priority #1.

"Hey!" she called. Phantasm had stopped in front of the intricately carved sarcophagus. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder at her. "Don't do this! You can't let Pariah out! Please, think about what you're doing!"

"Who said anything about letting Pariah out?" Phantasm asked, tone light. "I admit, I have some sympathy for his position, rotting away in this prison because of goody little two-shows Danny Phantom." His eyes narrowed, before he composed himself, giving a half shrug. "But, you know. Not enough to release him. I don't really want the competition."

He then raised his hand towards the coffin. "No, little clone, I'm only claiming what's mine." His hand began to glow a blood red color. Soon, the sarcophagus began to shake, rocking violently in its perch. And then, slowly but surely, the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire phased through the coffin, drifting towards Phantasm.

"No!" Dani yelled. She surged forward, arms wreathed in ecto-energy. She shot bolts at Phantasm, who turned and raised multiple ecto-shields. Dani's attack broke through the first two, but the third held. It was enough time for the Crown and Ring to settle on Phantasm's head and finger.

Energy exploded from Phantasm like a bomb. Dani held her hands up, bracing herself against the blast, but she was soon thrown against the wall. Pain lanced up her backside, but she staggered up. She had to stop – whatever was happening. She raised a hand to her forward to shield her eyes from the bright, sickly green light that enveloped Phantasm. What was happening?

After a few more moments, the light dissipated. Still standing in front of the sarcophagus was Phantasm, but he was - different. The hair that had hung limply near his shoulders was now a bright white flame, more like Ember's hair, blazing brightly on the top of his head. His cheeks and eye sockets were no longer sunken, giving him a revitalized look. He even seemed more muscular than before. And the tattered black jumpsuit he'd worn had knit itself together, all shiny and new; there was even a cape attached to the back.

And emblazoned in the middle of the suit was a stylized white DP.

Dani's eyes widened. Horror washed over her as a terrible thought entered her head. Her brain began putting together everything she'd observed about Phantasm, all his strange remarks, like a sickening puzzle.

"Danny?" she whispered.

Phantasm turned towards her. His grin stretched far wider than a human's could. "Hey, little cousin. Like what you see?" He chuckled. Even his voice was different, deeper and full of strength. "So, let's make a deal, huh? You stay here and wait for me like a good girl, and when I've finished dealing with Danny, I'll come back and explain everything. What do you say?"

At first, Dani could only stare, open-mouthed. Then she raised a hand and slapped herself, trying to overcome her shock. She swallowed a lump in her throat enough to say, "Sorry, Phantasm, or whoever you are. No deal."

Phantasm shrugged, like it didn't matter to him. "Well, in that case…" he snapped his fingers. Dani tensed, looking around for a portal. Something brushed her foot and she startled, glancing down. Reaching out of the ground were glowing, bony hands that grabbed onto her, revealing ghostly skeleton soldiers. Soon they were crawling all over Dani, surprisingly heavy despite their lack of mass. She cursed as she swatted, punched, and blasted them away, but more kept coming out of the ground to overwhelm her.

"See you soon, little clone!" Phantasm called. Through the bodies piling on top of her, Dani could just make out Phantasm snapping his fingers again. A swirling portal appeared, and then he was gone.

Chapter Text

Vlad Plasmius floated above Amity Park, observing the situation. 

Police cars were parked in nearly every part of the city, and the wail of fire trucks echoed in the air. Buildings were cracked and splintered; craters filled the streets. Displaced residents and concerned citizens had gathered in the park, seemingly the only spot that escaped destruction. Fires and emergency lights gave the impression of daytime, though the sun would rise in another hour or so.

Earlier, Vlad had discretely made a Plasmius duplicate, then put on quite a show in demonstrating how the “Wisconsin ghost” was under his power; he’d ordered himself to make more duplicates and begin assisting the police and emergency services. Somehow he’d managed to slip away from the demands of his staff and panicking citizens to take up his current position.

Whoever or whatever had caused this damage seemed to be gone. So, too, was Danielle, who’d been battling the ghost since the beginning. Rather poorly, in Vlad’s opinion, considering the result. But, Vlad could admit, that could only mean this new threat was significantly powerful, since Danielle was a strong fighter in her own right. He’d tried to interrogate some of the ghosts that had been fleeing the Ghost Zone, disgorging from Fenton Works like a chemical spill. But all he’d gotten out of them was some nonsense about phantasms and paradoxes.

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, akin to the moment just before a thunderstorm. Vlad tensed, supernatural instincts on alert. A second later, the space in front of him split in two, revealing an ugly, fluorescent green gap in the air, like an oozing wound. And despite being on his guard, Vlad couldn't prevent himself from being slammed into by the figure that emerged from the portal.

He rocketed back several feet, somersaulting in midair. Once he'd regained his faculties, he glared at the intruder, fury simmering within him. 

"How dare you," Vlad snarled. "Do you not know who I am?"

The newcomer glanced his way, seeming surprised at Vlad’s presence. His pale green-colored skin and pointy ears were tell-tale signs of a ghost. Muscles bulged beneath his black-and-white hazmat-like suit, which was accentuated with a black-facing cape. A stylized “D” sat in the middle of the suit, just like Daniel’s. The sight of it was actually disconcerting - if the threat from earlier looked like an older, sicklier version of Danny Phantom, then this stranger resembled the younger halfa even more, but in infinitely better-looking shape. They had to be connected, but how? Where were they coming from? Why did they look so much like Danny? Were they wanna-be attention seekers, trying to usurp the infamous halfa’s look?

But those observations paled in comparison to what sat atop the ghost’s wispy white hair - the Crown of Fire. 

Dread coiled inside Vlad as he subconsciously took a floating step back. The Crown of Fire was the most powerful object and most significant symbol in all the Ghost Zone. In his research, he had read many contradictory “facts”, but had accepted as truth the things he could observe himself, from the time Pariah Dark had been freed. One of the Ghost Zone books he’d read had claimed that the Crown would always return to its rightful bearer, and only those who had a claim to the throne could hold onto it for long.

He had held the Crown of Fire in his hands once, after he, Danny, and other ghosts locked Pariah away again. Vlad had planned to smuggle the Crown back to his lab. But almost immediately after Pariah’s defeat, the Crown had levitated out of his hand and flew back towards Pariah’s sarcophagus, phasing inside to lie with the king once more*. Skulker had told him later that that was for the best, and Vlad had decided to put those plans on hold for the time being.

But this raised even more questions. Who was this ghost, that the Crown of Fire stayed with him? What claim did he have to be King of All Ghosts? Why hadn’t Vlad ever heard of him before?

“Well, well, well!” the strange ghost exclaimed. Vlad refocused his attention. Blood-red eyes were locked onto Vlad, and the ghost’s mouth had twisted into a sneer. “This really is a family reunion!”

His voice seemed familiar. Vlad’s brain itched with trying to figure it out. He plastered a smile on his face and, in his best "charming businessman” voice, replied,

"On second thought, yes, of course you know who I am. I am quite renowned throughout the Ghost Zone. But for some reason, your name seems to escape me. Perhaps you would introduce yourself…?"

Vlad's words sent the other ghost into hysterics. He doubled over with laughter, body convulsing. He even had to wipe a tear from his eye before straightening – which was when Vlad realized he was in possession of the Ring of Rage as well. 

"Oh, Vladdie," said the ghost, tone equal parts fond and mocking. "I am what you always wanted. I'm your greatest dream come true." He chuckled, but managed to control his laughter this time. He raised a hand, and toxic green ecto-energy began to form, burning brightly in his palm - and directed straight at Vlad.

"And I'm also your very worst nightmare."

The beam hit Vlad straight on.

~~~

Danny sped through the air, urging his ghostly body ever forward. The adrenaline coursing through him was able to block any muscle soreness this would cause, and though a small part of him warned that he didn’t want to exert himself before a big fight, Danny couldn’t listen to it. He needed to get to Amity Park as soon as possible.

His speed, unfortunately, left him with no way to stop or turn when a sudden slit appeared in the air. Danny tried to break, but the attempt was fruitless; he collided with the figure that emerged from the portal. Danny and the stranger flipped head over heels in the air for a few minutes. Once his head stopped spinning, Danny untangled himself from the other’s limbs and straightened up. He faced the stranger and encased his hands in ecto-energy.

But, once he recognized who he was looking at, Danny sighed in relief and let the green energy fade away.

“Wulf! Mia amiko, I am so glad to see you!”

Wulf grinned at Danny, canines bared and tongue lolling out. “Mia amiko!” he greeted. Then his face sobered. “Much danger at home!”

Danny nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m going there now. Can you - make a quicker way?” Danny mimed clawing the air. Despite lessons with Tucker and sites like Babel and MangoLanguages, Esperanto was still not his strong suit. Wulf had gotten better at understanding English in the past few years, so between them they could usually know what the other was saying.

With a nod, Wulf faced away from Danny and slashed the air, creating another glowing green portal. Danny and Wulf flew inside, and shortly after the portal faded shut.

Danny glanced around, trying to get his bearings. Thick smoke hung heavy in the Ghost Zone’s sky, and a sinister presence permeated the air. Random objects, some shredded, others burned, drifted by mournfully. Hundreds of rocks hung in space, which wasn’t unnatural for the Ghost Zone, but Danny somehow got the impression that they had all been part of much bigger islands and homes.

Danny swallowed the uneasy lump in his throat. “C’mon, Wulf,” he said. It would be hard to navigate the Ghost Zone without the Infi-Map, but Wulf should be able to use his sense of smell and portal-making abilities to lead them to the Fenton portal.

Suddenly Danny felt a shiver go down his spine. In the next instant, a flash of blue lightning struck the space a couple feet from them. Danny could feel it where he was - air so cold it burned. He immediately put his guard up, body tense, the hair on his arms and the back of his neck standing straight. A pair of thin arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, and for a single moment Danny felt trapped, a Wail rising in the back of his throat.

“Danny!” cried Danielle’s familiar voice, laced with relief.

Danny relaxed, arms automatically moving around Danielle’s smaller form, holding her close. Then he pulled away and placed his hands on his cousin’s shoulders, scanning her for injuries.

Some of the ends of her hair had been singed off, leaving a strange, lopsided cut. Small bruises and scratches littered her face and arms. There were tears and stains on her jumpsuit. But considering she’d been facing off against that terrible, older alternate version of Danny, he was glad she seemed to be in one piece.

“Hey, Elle,” he replied finally, smiling slightly.

“Danny! I have so many things to tell you!” Ellie exclaimed. Her glowing green eyes were wide with excitement. “First off, did you see that? That blue lightning? That was me. It’s like I evolved my own power! I was underneath all these skeletons, see, and I’m not really sure how it happened, but suddenly I was able to call down this icy lightning, and everything went boom! And, I think I can teleport with it? I just know I really wanted to find you, and then the lightning came and hit me, and here I am. And here you are!”

“That’s awesome, Ellie! I’m really proud of you! We’ll have to explore this more, but later, okay?” Danny sobered, his tone growing serious.

Ellie nodded, immediately matching his serious air. “Yeah. Because we need to have a much more important discussion. Like the fact that an insanely strong ghost who can use your Ghostly Wail and looks a lot like an older you just ran off with the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage.” Ellie narrowed her eyes at Danny. “Care to explain any of that, cousin?”

The suspicion in her voice hurt. Danny swallowed a lump in his throat, trying to push down the pain and guilt Ellie’s words caused. He knew he’d have to have this conversation eventually, but he still wasn’t ready for it. “I - you’re right, we need to talk about that. And I will tell you everything, Ellie, I promise. But - please. Let’s get back home first, okay? We have to protect Amity Park. I don’t feel right not knowing where this - this guy is and what he’s up to.”

Danielle frowned. “But he wants you,” she told him. “He - he wants to destroy you, Danny. I don’t think we should go running off without a plan. You must have beaten this guy in the past, right? If you have information that could help us now, then tell me!”

“Later, Dani, please,” Danny said, practically begging. “At least - at least let’s get to Amity first. Mom, Dad, Sam, and Tucker are on their way, but they’re still hours away. So we’ll gather what allies we can, and then I’ll tell you what I know. We can all come up with a plan then. Okay?”

Dani still seemed skeptical, but eventually she nodded. “Fine. But you better not hold anything back.”

Danny sagged in relief. “Yeah. Of course. C’mon, Wulf, let’s go.”

And so the three of them made their way through the smoking Ghost Zone, sticking close together as Wulf led them back to the Fenton portal. A few times Dani showed off her new power by zapping a few hundred feet ahead in a burst of cold lightning (though one time she ended up a mile in the opposite direction). 

Danny had never felt more relieved - and, at the same time, more anxious - once the familiar Fenton portal door came into sight. Bizarrely, the portal opened and closed at steady, if irregular, intervals, allowing the large line of ghosts crowded at the entrance to slip through. Danny, Dani, and Wulf pushed their way to the front of the line and zipped through the boundary between the human world and Ghost Zone into Fenton Works.

His parents’ lab was positively overrun with ghosts. Danny stared in surprise as what seemed like half the Ghost Zone was camped out in the Fentons’ basement.

“Ghost Child!”

Danny turned to see Skulker by the portal door opening. The ghost drifted closer to him, arms crossed and face set in a scowl.

“Where have you been? A stranger models himself after you, claims the regalia of the Ghost King for himself, and has been demanding your head for the past few hours!” Skulker exclaimed, voice tinged with equal parts anger and worry. His words had garnered the attention of the other ghosts, who were now crowding around Danny and his small group: ectopuses, ghost animals, Casper High students, Dora’s subjects, even Frostbite and a handful of his tribe. Kitty, Johnny, and Ember were also part of the crowd.

“Great One!” Frostbite exclaimed. “This is truly a dire situation. Can you tell us anything about this threat? Who is he? How can we defeat him?”

“That’s what I’d like to know, too.”

Danny looked up, startled to realize that Vlad was here, too. The crowd of ghosts parted to let him stand right in front of Danny. He was in human form, and seemed worse for wear: his hair was in complete disarray and his black pantsuit was torn and burned in several places. He walked with a prominent limp. Bruises littered his arms and face.

“What happened to you?” Danny blurted, unable to stop himself.

Vlad glared at him. “That overgrown fanboy happened. I have the misfortune to announce that rumors of him using your Ghostly Wail are correct. He blasted me with it, and while thankfully I survived, I’ve been rendered human for what seems to be the foreseeable future.” He winced in pain, then demanded, “Now, tell us, boy, who is he and how do we stop him.”

Other ghosts began murmuring as well, pressing Danny for answers. He winced, then took a deep breath. He floated above the crowd, waiting for them to quiet. His stomach was twisting into knots at the thought of revealing this secret, his greatest shame, but he knew they deserved answers.

“Okay,” Danny began. “It’s kinda a long story, so please hold your questions until the end. But the truth is, this…Phantasm, this new so-called Ghost King…is me.”

He then proceeded to tell the story of how Dan Phantom came to be; that he was from an alternate future where Danny lost his loved ones and became a full ghost full of rage and hate; how he turned the world into an apocalyptic wasteland. He explained his time in this once-and-no-longer future, meeting a depowered Vlad and unlocking his Ghostly Wail to use against a shocked Dan. Finally, he revealed Clockwork’s part in saving his family and friends from the boiler explosion and how Dan’s thermos prison had been in Clockwork’s possession ever since.

When Danny finished, the room was as quiet as a tomb. Danielle and Vlad had identical flabbergasted looks on their faces. Frostbite and his people wore worried expressions. Many of the ghosts seemed uncertain how to react to this news. Some of Danny’s frenemies, such as Ember and Skulker, looked livid.

“You mean to tell me that the ghost that drove us from our homes, that dared to make himself King of All Ghosts, is a future version of you and Plasmius?” Skulker exclaimed, breaking the silence. His fiery hair blazed high above his head in anger and indignation. “Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Even if it’s a combination of just your ghost forms, I refuse to allow a halfa on the throne. Once more, but only because the whole Ghost Zone is in danger, I will lend you my aid, Ghost Child. What is your plan to defeat him?”

Skulker’s words seemed to rouse the other ghosts. Immediately Frostbite offered the Far Frozen tribe’s support, to his people’s cheers and acclamations; Dora’s people soon followed suit. Ember stepped forward, along with Kitty and Johnny.

“Guess we got no choice but to work together, punk, if we want to defeat a version of you,” Ember grunted, though determination blazed in her eyes. “It’ll be a good ego boost for all of us, actually.”

Kitty and Johnny, arms wrapped around each other, held a conversation with just their eyes. Finally, Kitty turned to Danny and said, “Well…now that you’re here, Danny…maybe we have a shot at this. Johnny and I will pitch in. And Ellie, too, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

For a short, panic-filled moment, Danny wanted to say no. From a future that no longer existed, he remembered broken guitar strings and a wheelchair instead of a motorcycle. But he swallowed back his refusal and nodded. He needed all the help he could get.

Some ghosts had slipped out during Danny’s tale, and more did so now, obviously unwilling to lend their aid. But a large group of allies still surrounded him. It was heartwarming. It was also terrifying, because he didn’t really have a plan to defeat Dan. He’d only beaten him before because Dan wasn’t expecting him to develop Ghostly Wail so soon. Of course, Danny had better control of all his powers now, including his cryokinesis. Danielle was also on his side in this fight. Then again, Dan’s powers were now amplified by the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage.

Danny sighed. He looked out at the crowd, and mustered up a confident smile. “Thank-you, everyone. I appreciate it. And you’re right, I’m going to need all of you in this fight. Dan’s going to be ruthless. He doesn’t care who dies or what gets destroyed. But we’ve fought enemies like this before, everyone allied against a royal wanna-be. So we’re going to fight hard, we’re even going to fight dirty if we have to. We’re going to keep hitting him until he can’t get back up. And then…” Danny trailed off, and looked at Danielle. “We’re going to need the strongest thermos we have.”

Danielle studied him for a moment, glowing green eyes serious and searching. Then she broke into a feral grin and nodded. She held up her hand, where their parents’ latest and greatest Fenton thermos model was held tight.

“Already way ahead of you,” she assured.

Danny grinned back. He clapped his hands once and exclaimed, “Alright, then let’s get out there! And finish this!”

A cheer rose from the assembled ghosts, and soon they started flying and phasing through Fenton Works’ walls, eager to start the counterattack. Danny was about to follow on Danielle’s heels when a hand clamped itself around his wrist.

Danny turned, startled, to see Vlad holding onto him. His expression was serious, mouth twisted into a deep frown.

“Daniel,” he started, then stopped. The silence dragged on, making Danny twist his tail in agitation.

“What, Vlad? We’ve got a busy schedule tonight, in case you haven’t noticed,” he pointed out, voice tight.

Vlad simply stared at him a bit longer, then nodded. “Yes. I suppose you do. I…cannot help you. Phantasm - or Dan, or whoever - his attack has short-circuited my powers for now. So…good luck, I suppose.” He let go of Danny’s arm.

Danny studied Vlad back for a moment, then nodded. “Well, thanks, I guess.” Then he turned away from Vlad and rocketed up through Fenton Works and into the Amity Park skyline.

Danny did his best to ignore the devastation that greeted him, though the sight of destroyed buildings, ruptured asphalt, and actively burning fires turned his stomach. He had to focus on defeating Dan.

Luckily, Dan didn’t make it hard to find him. A pulse of ecto-energy shot into the sky from city hall - obviously a beacon, a summons to battle. Dan must have felt Danny’s presence. And he had been looking for Danny all night, right? It would be rude to keep him waiting any longer.

Danny flew over to city hall, stopping to hover in front of the lower roof. Dani, Wulf, Ember, Kitty, Johnny, Skulker, and Frostbite flanked him. Before them, sitting on the ledge that surrounded city hall’s domed tower, was Dan. The Crown of Fire hovered above his head, glowing a ghastly, ghostly green. The power that emanated from it, from Dan, was heavy; it pressed down on Danny, striving to drive him to his knees. But Danny would not - he would never - give his older alternate self the satisfaction.

Dan spread his arms wide, an unsettling grin stretched across his face. “Finally! The great hero, Danny Phantom, come to save the day! But I’m afraid this is the last day you’ll ever see, past me.” He tapped the Crown with a finger. “There’s a new king in town, you see.”

“I heard,” Danny replied flatly. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your reign is going to be pretty short-lived.”

Dan chuckled, seeming unbothered. He stood, then started floating in the air like the rest of them. “You should be honored, Danny. I’ve saved your death for last. The greatest revenge of all.” He held a hand out. Ecto-energy burst to life in his open palm, crackling and blazing with power. “So. Shall we dance?”

Danny tilted his head to the side, then smirked. “Nah. I think I’d rather sing.”

And he released a Ghostly Wail directly into Dan’s face.