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It was an incredibly humid Sunday in Amity Park. The kind of day that made kids wonder if it’d hit the 90s again next weekend—just in time for Father’s Day.
The Fenton siblings had never honestly enjoyed any holiday, not even ones meant to celebrate their parents. Their mom and dad’s obsession with ghosts—and their total disregard for creating a safe, sane home—always got in the way.
It irked both of them the way Christmas always did for Danny, thanks to their parents’ mindless bickering over Santa. But this year was different.
Not long ago, Danny, Jazz, and their sister-from-another-reality, Ceci Masters, had saved the multiverse. As a result, anyone with a platonic soul bond could now freely visit friends across worlds.
Which was fantastic… except it threw a wrench in Danny’s plan. He was bonded to Ceci. Jazz was bonded to Charlie—Ceci’s little brother. So when they used the bond to hop between worlds, they didn’t land in Amity Park.
They landed in Peace Valley, Wisconsin. Flying from Wisconsin to their small Illinois hometown would take an entire day—and multiverse visits only lasted one.
If they wanted to see Jack Inferno—Ceci’s world’s version of Jack Fenton, a half-ghost dad who frankly cared—they needed a workaround. Something that would take them straight to his version of Amity Park with no detours.
This was why Danny and Jazz were holed up in his room, windows cracked to let in what little breeze there was. The house had no air conditioning—one of the numerous side effects of their parents’ lack of income and total mismanagement.
“I’m just saying,” Danny said, tossing a light green stress ball in the air, “Clockwork owes us. We helped save the multiverse, for Ancients’ sake! I think he can manage a shortcut.”
Jazz crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “And you think he’s just going to say yes because you show up and look cute?”
Danny pulled a face. “Gross.”
Jazz smirked. “You walked into that.”
Danny rolled his eyes and stood up. “Fine. I’ll go see him now. I don’t know if he can bend the rules, but it’s worth a shot.” With a flash of white rings, he transformed and flew straight through the family ghost portal—headed full speed toward the Clock Tower.
As always, Clockwork was waiting. “So, young Phantom,” the time ghost greeted with a knowing smile, “how would you like me to assist you today?”
Danny hovered with his arms crossed. “Don’t you claim to know everything already?”
Clockwork smirked. “Of course. But I prefer it when people explain what they want in their own words. It’s more polite that way.”
Danny muttered, “Didn’t think ghosts cared about manners.” Clockwork gave him a sharp look.
“Okay, okay—sorry.” Danny floated a little closer. “So. My sister Jazz and I want to visit Inferno for Father’s Day. But our soul bonds won’t help this time—they’ll take us to the wrong location. And we’re only allowed one day in each other’s reality.”
“Ah,” Clockwork spoke thoughtfully. “A multiverse blockade problem.”
A shimmer of green-blue light erupted behind him as a new portal opened, revealing a slim figure in a black and cyan cyberpunk space suit with a visor/helmet covering his face.
Paradox, Clockwork’s younger sibling, stepped out of the portal and leaned casually on a hover staff. “You’re lucky,” Paradox said, voice smooth and sly. “Normally, we’d say no. Traffic’s insane right now—Youngblood already stirred up enough chaos at the new Hub just this morning.”
Clockwork sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. “There was slime on the escalators again?”
Paradox nodded. “He also put a pirate flag over the customer service desk. This is not how I envisioned earning forgiveness from the Council for my crimes, Clockwork!
I’m doing everything I can—pouring every spark of my core into fixing what I broke—but brother, you know I’m no good with children!”
Danny blinked. “Why am I not surprised? I mean—about Youngblood,” he added quickly when Paradox shot him a sharp look. “I didn’t know if you liked kids or not. But yeah, I can confirm Youngblood’s a pain in the butt.”
Paradox muttered something about “understatements” while Clockwork cleared his throat. “But,” the elder time ghost said more seriously, “we agree that Inferno shouldn’t be alone on Father’s Day.
So we’ll allow it—just this once. Direct access to his Amity Park. But you need to stay low-profile. The multiverse is still unstable.”
Danny nodded. “You got it. Thank you—both of you.” A few days later, Danny and Jazz returned to the Clock Tower, ready for their trip.
Jazz clutched their carefully wrapped gifts while Danny stood off to the side, running through last-minute instructions with Clockwork and Paradox.
Clockwork looked more composed than usual, but even his timeless patience had limits. He glanced at his sibling, who was lounging on a floating panel, dark circles under their eyes and an iridescent energy drink in hand.
“Paradox has been granted the rest of the week off,” Clockwork explained to the bewildered siblings. “After spending seven days trying to wrangle a horde of soul-bonded children running loose at the Hub, I believe he's earned it.”
Paradox gave a half-hearted two-finger salute. “They started a foam sword war in the souvenir wing. One kid tried to duel a vending machine.”
Danny, thankfully mature enough to keep his sarcasm in check, just nodded. “Hope you get some actual rest during your mini break.”
Paradox raised a brow. “So do I. If the ghost of Blackbeard’s toddler self shows up again, I’m changing careers. Probation or not, I'm not a babysitter!”
Clockwork cleared his throat and turned back to business. “Now, once more, the portal will reopen at sundown. You’ll have ten minutes to return. If you miss that window…” He trailed off, but the tension in the air made the warning crystal clear. “Let’s just say we’d rather not trigger another crisis.”
“Yes, Clockwork,” Danny replied with forced patience. “We’ve got three alarms set, and Jazz double-checked our timers. We’ll be back before the portal even yawns.”
Jazz gave a small smile and held up her phone. “I even synced the countdown with multiverse time. We’re good.”
Clockwork gave a slow nod. “Then enjoy your Father’s Day,” he said at last.
He and Paradox raised their hands in tandem, energy crackling between them—blue and green light swirling together until a shimmering portal formed in mid-air.
The other side shimmered with sunshine and suburbia: Inferno’s Amity Park. A familiar front porch. A white mailbox. A house that looked just enough like home to ache in the best way.
Danny’s face softened. Jazz adjusted the gift bag on her arm. They stepped through the portal together. And for the first time in years, they were actually looking forward to Father’s Day.
They approached the townhouse gradually, taking it all in. It looked normal. No tacky neon signs. No rusty satellite dishes. No flying saucer bolted to the roof like a discount amusement park.
Just an ordinary, slightly weathered two-story home with chipping paint around the window frames and a porch that could use a power wash. It was... quiet.
Danny and Jazz shared a look, a strange mix of nerves and hope passing between them as they walked up the steps. Danny knocked once, then twice.
Inside, Jack Inferno was hunched over a small workbench in the basement, tinkering with a half-built ghost detector. At first, he ignored the sound—he never got visitors. Not real ones.
But then it came again. A knock. On his front door. Perplexed, he wiped his hands on a towel and made his way upstairs like a normal person. No phasing, no flying. Just footsteps on the hardwood.
He unlocked the door—and froze. Two teenagers stood on his doorstep, bright smiles on their faces. “Happy Father’s Day!” they said in perfect unison.
His breath caught. Danny. Jazz. They looked a year older than the last time he saw them—when they’d saved the multiverse together. But it's still familiar. Still, his kids… even if not in this reality.
“Jazz? Danny? I—” His voice cracked as he swept a hand through his shaggy, gray-white hair. “I don’t understand. Why—?”
Jazz stepped forward, holding a gift bag and grinning. “It’s simple, Dad. We want you to feel loved and appreciated for once. So… here we are.”
She shrugged like it was no big deal. But her eyes shimmered just a little. “Let’s just say our version of you doesn’t even remember what day it is,” she added more softly.
Inferno’s bright blue eyes welled up with tears—real ones—as he caught sight of the chocolate fudge cake in Danny’s hands. Piped in green icing were the words: "Happy Father’s Day."
Danny looked almost shy now but hopeful. “You do like chocolate, right?”
Jack choked on a laugh as he wiped his face with his sleeve. “I—of course I do.” He opened the door wider. “Well, don’t just stand there. Come in, come in! I apologize if it’s a bit cluttered—I wasn’t expecting company.”
Danny and Jazz stepped inside, and for the first time in a long time, it actually felt like Father’s Day.
Inside the house, the air smelled faintly of chocolate cake, soldered metal, and lemon cleaner. Jack Inferno—still in his human form with bright blue eyes, shaggy white hair, and casual clothes under a rumpled lab coat—cleared a spot on the living room table and gently placed the half-assembled ghost gizmo aside.
“So,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “who wants cake first, and who wants to show off gifts?”
Danny set the box down with a grin. “You’ve earned cake first.”
Jazz, meanwhile, was already moving to tidy the scattered blueprints from the arm of the couch. “This is honestly way cleaner than our house back home.”
“Y’know, I was fixing up the spectral distress reader,” Inferno added, waving toward the half-dismantled apparatus. “It's supposed to detect high-level ghost cries from long distances. Not really tuned for local range yet, but—”
The device let out a sudden, piercing bleep—bleep—BLAAAARP! Danny jolted. “Was that supposed to happen?”
Inferno hurried over, flipping a few switches and squinting at the small readout screen. “Oh, stars and sulfur...”
Jazz raised a brow. “What?”
“Someone’s screaming their lungs out from Watchers Woods. It's—” he paused, eyebrows lifting in disbelief. “It’s coming from Lake Dreadhook.”
Danny’s jaw dropped. “Who goes there?” Just the name alone screamed, “NO TRESSPASING!”
“Ghost pirates, apparently,” Inferno muttered. He adjusted the signal. In the mess of garbled static and shrieks, two very distinct voices could be heard:
“—IT’S GOT MY LEG—”
“DON’T PULL ON IT. YOU’LL MAKE IT ANGRY—!”
“WE’RE GONNA DIE AND I HAVEN’T EVEN BEEN TO A PROPER FATHER’S DAY BUFFET—”
Jazz blinked. “Was that Youngblood?”
Inferno didn’t answer. He was already opening a swirling green portal in the middle of the living room. “Gear up if you’re coming," he said protectively.
Danny shot a look at his sister, who pulled out the Fenton Peeler, “Wait—you brought your body armor?!”
Jazz just smiled through the visor, “Always be prepared.”
Danny threw his hands up. “We were just bringing cake!”
“Cake and battle prep are not mutually exclusive,” Jazz replied flatly.
Inferno transformed into his ghost form. Black as night hair, gray skin, and eyes now a vibrant green, and his bright orange jumpsuit! “Let’s go. Whoever they are, they’re in real trouble.”
Fifteen Minutes Ago…
Dreadhook Lake gurgled with foul-smelling steam, a mixture of ancient pollution and ghostly energy that clung to the shore like a rotting wound. No sane human came out here—not to the lake nestled deep in Watchers Woods, not when even animals avoided it. But that’s exactly why The Ripper was docked here.
Youngblood stood at the edge of the pirate ship, holding a fishing pole twice his size and bouncing with excitement. “C’mon, c’mon, I know it’s in there! They say it’s as big as a Kraken!”
Bloodbeard squinted out across the mucky surface, his bloodstained coat rippling in the breeze. “Aye, and they say it’s got six eyes and eats children for breakfast. We’re not here to actually catch the beast, lad—we’re here for the idea of it.”
“But what if we do catch it?” Youngblood grinned, holding up a tackle box that was more duct tape than metal. “Wouldn’t that make this the best first Father’s Day ever?” he was practically preening.
Bloodbeard groaned. “Yer lucky I’ve got a soft spot for ya, brat.” Youngblood beamed.
Moments later, the line jerked. Then snapped. The water exploded as a massive, sludge-covered serpentine creature erupted from the depths, howling with a bone-rattling shriek. Tar-colored ooze sloshed onto the deck, sending the ghost pirate vessel tilting.
“YOU HAD TO JINX IT!” Bloodbeard roared as he drew his sword.
“I THOUGHT WE WERE BONDING!” Youngblood wailed, flying in frantic circles as the monster whipped its tail, smacking a mast clean off.
As the Fenton Family emerged from the swirling portal looking a tad green around the gills, they nearly threw up as they saw the massive lake monster in front of them. Thankfully, Jack's gentle touch helped ground his kids as they quickly assessed the situation and devised a plan of action.
The serpent ghost lashed its tail again, nearly sending Youngblood flying into the woods. Bloodbeard caught him mid-air, only to yell, “Ya call this bonding?! This is insanity!”
“I just wanted today to be fun!” Youngblood sobbed, clinging to the older pirate’s coat. “I ruined it, I ruined everything—”
“Less crying, more ducking!” Inferno shouted as he slammed into the serpent’s side, throwing a ghost punch enhanced by his core. “We’ve got kids to protect!”
Bloodbeard hesitated. Then he growled and raised his cutlass. “Fine. Just this once, Blubberbutt!”
The two fathers launched into coordinated chaos—Jack blasting the creature’s head, Bloodbeard slashing its tail, and Jazz swooping in to pull Youngblood to safety while Danny darted around to draw fire.
“You know,” Danny yelled, “for a bloodthirsty pirate, you’re not half bad!”
“I get that a lot!” Bloodbeard shouted back.
Finally, after a brutal few minutes, the serpent let out a painful screech and vanished beneath the waves without so much a ripple.
Everyone collapsed onto the muddy dock, panting. “I’m sorry…” Youngblood’s voice was quiet now, thick with guilt. “I just wanted to give you the best Father’s Day ever, and instead, I made a mess.”
Bloodbeard stared at him for a long second. Then he knelt, resting a surprisingly gentle hand on the kid’s shoulder.
“Lad,” he said softly, “you gave me the best gift I could ask for… someone to protect. I ain’t never had that before.” Youngblood blinked at him. Then, he burst into tears and hugged him tight.
Danny sniffed and muttered, “Okay, I wasn’t ready for that.”
Jazz smiled faintly. “Don’t tell Mom, but I think he’s the better Jack.”
Jack just laughed, wiping a bit of monster gunk off his coat. “Hey! I heard that.”
Back on the deck of The Ripper, a picnic of cake and sandwiches was laid out. Bloodbeard insisted on a toast with root beer “for the crew,” and someone had even rigged up a ghost camera for a group photo.
Danny threw an arm around Jazz, still grinning. “Okay, maybe this is the best Father’s Day ever.”
The camera clicked. And for just a moment, in the middle of a polluted ghost lake surrounded by misfits and monsters, it felt like family.