Chapter Text
He couldn't stop. His whole body was screaming at him to stop, to get some rest or at least get his breath back, but Danny knew that if he stopped, he would be dead.
His scar burned on his torso, an ugly, large Y-shaped scar that ran from his shoulders to the end of his navel. Danny didn't want to think about it, wanted to pretend it wasn't there, to forget what it meant.
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The day before, Danny had just had a grueling fight with skulker, the self-proclaimed greatest hunter in the ghost zone, and this time he had almost succeeded.
After trapping the ghost back in the thermos, Danny went to dump it back in the zone, where he knew skulker would be able to escape again, but Danny never thought for a moment about actually killing one of his enemies, although he didn't really know if it was possible to kill a ghost again.
He went down to his parents' basement invisibly like he did almost every night, already a routine thing, and when he was done returning skulker to his home, he just lazily changed into his human half, wanting to just go back to his room and enjoy his last hours of sleep before school.
But Danny was so tired that he didn't fully check the lab before entering, his own were in a corner, hidden by shadows, staring in horror at his son, where once there was a ghost.
-What have you done to our baby, you freak? - screamed his mother as she brandished a fenton gun much like a bazooka in his face.
-Mom... it's me - Danny was too stunned by what had just happened to formulate a sentence properly.
His father, following his mother's example, picked up some kind of screwdriver to fight the supposed phantasma, something that would have made Danny laugh in another situation.
Snapping out of his stupor, Danny tried to explain to his parents that he was still him, that he had always been Phantom, but they didn't care, they could only see a ghost, a monster, in their son's place.
The following events were a blur for Danny, one moment he was standing in front of his parents and the next he was on the floor, he only remembers blacking out, he doesn't know if it was some kind of gas or a blow to the head.
He woke up super aware of his whole body, the cold table he was lying on, the cold metal chains around his wrists and ankles that emitted a faint green glow and the super strong light that went straight to his face. He remembers feeling a pain like he had never felt before, a blinding and brutal pain coming from his abdomen, he never thought it was possible to feel such pain before. He was afraid to look down and see what had happened. He knew where he was, he had spent so much time in his parents' lab since he was little that it was impossible not to recognize it, even from this perspective.
He stared at the light for what seemed like hours, until he finally gathered enough courage to look. He can never forget what he saw, an incredible amount of blood, red blood, reminding him that he was in his human form. The previous events came back to him like a bullet hitting him. He remembered his mother's disgusted face looking at him. His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps coming down the stairs.
-Mom, please, it's me, I'm not a ghost, please - Danny began to scream as his mother's face appeared through the doorway.
-Stop your lies, Phantom - his mother said as she picked up a scalpel and approached Danny - you're going to tell me what you did to my son when you stole his place.
-Mom, Phantom didn't take my place, I'm your son, I had an accident in the portal that.. - her sentence was interrupted when she stuck the scalpel into his chest.
Danny screamed and closed his eyes, he had already suffered wounds from his battles but nothing compared to what he was feeling at that moment.
-Don't you dare call me mother - his mother shouted, her eyes burning with anger and disgust - you're not my son, if you don't start talking you'll regret it.
-Please, I'm not.... - again he was interrupted by the scalpel on his skin. He continued to scream, desperately trying to break free from the anti-ghostly bonds that held him to that table.
-Stop this theater, we all know that ghosts don't feel pain.
It was a lie, ghosts felt as much pain as any other creature, that's why Danny never had the courage to seriously hurt his enemies, even if they didn't have those reservations with him. His mother, already out of patience, cut deeper and harder, until she hit something hard
-Look, I've reached the core, we'll finally see the core of a still pulsating ghost.
When his mother stuck her gloved hand inside Danny and touched his core, he felt a pain he could never forget, it was worse than the cuts or the handcuffs cutting his wrists, he was paralyzed, he couldn't move, the pain kept him still, his mouth was open but he couldn't remember if any sound was coming out.
When she was about to yank on his core, Danny screamed like never before, he let out the loudest ghostly wail he could, not caring that it could destroy his house or even kill his mother, he just kept screaming.
When he came to, he was lying on his side in a pile of rubble, his house was in pieces, he could hear his mother screaming from far away, which meant she was fine, Jazz was in college so he didn't have to worry about her, he got up slowly, holding his stomach, trying not to let any noise stair him so his mother wouldn't notice him there, alive.
He quickly thought of what to do, normally he would go to Sam's house, but she was away with her family on some kind of fancy cruise, and Tucker was at some distant relative's house for someone's birthday or something, Danny couldn't remember and it didn't matter at the moment. He must have made some noise while he was absorbed in his thoughts, because his mother turned her full attention to him, yelling something about him being conscious.
Danny didn't have time to think when he heard the footsteps approaching, he quickly transformed into his ghost half and flew out of there as fast as he could, he was amazed that he could still fly with his injuries and all the pain he was feeling.
He heard the unmistakable rumble of his parents' GAV below him, following him. Danny clutched his stomach, afraid his organs would literally fall out, and accelerated his flight as fast as he could out of Amity Park, hoping it would be harder for his parents to follow him.
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Back in the present, Danny had been flying aimlessly for hours, having only made two stops to catch his breath but continuing as soon as he heard the sound of approaching cars.
He has no idea how, but apparently his parents got the GIW to help them chase him, so he didn't just have to worry about his crazy parents chasing him but an entire government organization as well. He didn't know how he was going to survive that.
His train of thought was interrupted by a loud rumble from his stomach, it had been almost 2 days since he had eaten anything. At his last stop he was soaked through with sweat and ectoplasm, his costume reduced to rips, he wasn't proud of it but he walked invisibly and intangibly into a closed shop and picked up an old looking blue sweatshirt, black sweatpants and some bandages, which he used to bandage his injured body, though he did a poor job of it in his haste.
He was currently flying over what looked like a small countryside town, he saw from afar a 24h diner and decided to take a chance, he didn't have any money with him but the hunger was already becoming unbearable.
He landed invisibly in an alley behind the diner and transformed into his human half, for some reason his clothes remained the same and the bandages were still in place, Danny didn't quite understand this. He walked slowly to the front of the diner, trying not to limp, and made his way to the cashier, there were only two other people sitting in the corner.
-Good evening, what can I do for you? - said the woman behind the till, while looking at Dannny with a mixture of disgust and pity. Danny guessed that his appearance indicated a runaway, he had a dirty face and some blood stains in his hair.
-Hm, hi... I don't have any money, but I can help you with something in exchange for food.
Danny hoped the woman would say yes, he didn't want to have to steal again, it went against everything in him.
-I'm sorry kid, but I can't give you anything for free - the woman had a disinterested look on her face, as if she saw a lot of street kids begging for food.
Just as Danny was about to start begging, a man came up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder.
-Vamoss, Shely, I'll pay for the boy's food, he's pure bone and skin.
Danny stared at the man, he was a little short, a little overweight, wearing a blue plaid shirt and a cap that in Danny's opinion gave him the perfect farmer look. He looked old and tired.
-Come on boy, pick something - said the man pointing to the menu on the counter.
-Thank you very much, sir..?
-Call me Bobby, Booby singer.