Work Text:
Perhaps, Lancer thought to himself as he stared down at the assignment before him, Making this anonymous wasn't the best idea.
It had been a simple assignment; write down your thoughts and feelings to work through them without anyone knowing who you were. Some people were still fairly obvious, just from the way they spoke and what they spoke about. Lancer was familiar enough with his students to know that it was Samantha Manson who was ranting about human rights and how the 1% were a scourge on society and that it was Dash Baxter who was worrying over how he was going to pass high school to get into college on a scholarship.
However, he hadn't expected someone to admit that they were Phantom.
Knowing what he knew about Phantom, he assumed it was one of his male students that was writing the journal. And that was about the extent of what Lancer had been able to figure out. Whoever it was that was writing, wasn't using a voice that Lancer could identify. There wasn't anything he could use to expose them like he had some of his other students, either. Just complaining about how much work it was to balance normal life with superhero life without indicating anything from their normal life.
No mention of family dynamics, friends, anything that would give even the smallest hint to Lancer.
Lancer let out a breath, looking over the entry again. It was a weekly assignment that was submitted through an anonymous Google form so it wasn't even like Lancer had eyes on whoever it was turning in the entry. But there had to be something the submitter said that would give them away.
I'm Phantom.
It was such a simple start, and yet it was earth shattering. It had so many implications that Lancer wasn't prepared to understand. Phantom was well known in the town as a ghost. The local ghost hunters were constantly saying that he was a ghost and trying to capture him. He was able to go invisible, walk through walls, and shoot some sort of green beams from his hands. Even if he wasn't a literal ghost, he certainly wasn't human.
So which one of his students was pretending to be a normal teen?
And what had happened to cause Phantom to exist to begin with?
That thought made Lancer pause. There had been a city wide power outage a couple of days before Phantom first appeared. There had never been an explanation as to what had caused the outage aside from the power grid had been overloaded by something. Had it been whatever happened to his student that caused the power outage?
It was a horrifying thought. No matter what way he thought about it, his student had gone through a massive trauma and then decided to fight to protect the town while still trying to live his life normally.
And now Lancer had handed him the perfect chance to talk about his feelings about it without anyone knowing who he was.
And he did have a lot of feelings, it seemed.
Frustrations at the Fentons for making it so hard for him to just capture the ghosts and send them home (and just what did that mean?), anger at the fact that he rarely gets a good night of sleep, a general dislike of trying to keep up with his normal responsibilities while also saving Amity.
Not that Lancer could fault him for any of those feelings. All of that would be a lot to handle for anyone, let alone a recently traumatized teenager. Lancer wondered if Phantom had a support system. If he had friends who were aware of what he went through, who knew both his identities. Did his family know?
Was he totally alone in shouldering all of this?
Lancer hesitated a bit before humming a bit to himself. He'd shoulder the burden. He'd keep reading all the posts and try to figure out just who this student was and help anyway he could.
Lancer felt like he was losing his mind.
It had been a month since the first assignment came through, letting him know that one of his students was Phantom. He'd gotten three more entries since then and none of them had given him any more information than the first one had. The writing style didn't sound the same way that any of his students spoke, and without handwriting, he really had very limited clues to work with.
So he had taken to observing his students more closely.
Unfortunately, he hadn't had much success on that front, either. Though, he had eliminated a few students. He knew that Dash wasn't Phantom, mostly because he was positive that another of the entries belonged to him. He was pretty sure that he knew the ones that belonged to Kwan and Tucker as well.
He hadn't been able to pin down one that belonged to Danny. Nor was he all that sure which one belonged to Dale. He had some thoughts of which one belonged to Spike and possibly to Mikey. Nathan was less certain about, but he would have made a bet on which one was Lyle's.
Overall, he had narrowed his search somewhat. But watching his students in class wasn't getting him any closer. He rarely had reasons to watch his students outside of his class, but he was keeping an eye on them when he could.
It wasn't until another week later when a ghost attacked the school that he caught a break.
The bell had just rang to switch classes when the ghost appeared.
Chaos broke out immediately. Students began screaming and running through the halls, covering their heads with arms and backpacks. Lancer pushed himself against the wall to give the students more room to pass, not that they seemed to be paying him any mind. Lancer looked up as the ghost dove to try and grab one of the students. He moved to try to intervene, but it didn't matter. Phantom slammed into the ghost before it could touch the other student, sending the ghost flying backwards.
The ghost hissed something at Phantom in response that Lancer didn't catch from this distance. Phantom didn't look impressed as he dove after the ghost again and the two disappeared through the ceiling of the school.
Lancer didn't move for a moment, staring at the spot where Phantom had just disappeared.
The principal's voice came over the intercom above Lancer, asking for students to return to class. Lancer paused before taking a breath and heading into his classroom to wait for his students. He watched as his students filed into the classroom, looking only a little harassed over the entire situation.
It wasn't until Danny Fenton slid into the classroom a good five minutes after everyone else that Lancer realized something.
He looked over the students and confirmed what he had already realized. All the other students were accounted for. Danny had been the only one who was missing. Lancer looked at him as he took a seat, pulling out his binder and a pen, seemingly unaware of the attention on him. Was Danny the one who was Phantom?
Lancer wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed it until now.
Thinking back, Fenton had suddenly shifted. Completely checked out in class, missing assignments that Lancer was sure he would have no trouble completing, looking more pale and sickly as the year went on, and even missing chucks of school. While he certainly had never been the perfect student like his sister, he had never been a bad student either. Lancer was aware of how smart Danny was. Usually a sudden shift like that would indicate something being wrong at home.
And yet, no one had flagged it. No one had bat an eye at it.
The Fentons were weird and Danny often got lumped in with his parents in that regard. Jazz was outgoing, friendly, and on the honor roll. Danny was quiet, withdrawn, and outcast in his own peer group. It was easy to write him off as being just as weird as parents.
"Fenton," Lancer called out as he bell rang for the end of class, "A moment of your time."
Danny hesitated before waving Sam and Tucker ahead and moved back over to Lancer's desk. Lancer waited until the last of the students had left and the door to the classroom had closed before turning to look at his student.
"Is everything alright at home?"
Apparently, whatever Danny had been expecting, it wasn't that. He blinked, almost physically jerking back at the question before confusion overtook his features, "Uh, what?"
"You have… changed recently. And the changes that I've observed usually indicate something happening at home. So, I repeat, is everything alright at home?"
Lancer didn't expect Danny to spill anything to him. In fact, he fully expected the other to clam up, say everything was fine, and leave. And Lancer would keep digging to see if his student was actually Phantom and figure out just what had happened to get Danny into this situation to begin with.
So he was more than a little surprised when Danny went stock still and stared at him with wide eyes. Lancer could practically see the thoughts racing through his head, no doubt trying to figure out how to do some sort of damage control. Lancer's eyes narrowed a bit. Maybe Danny wasn't Phantom and there was something going on at home.
"Danny."
Danny flinched a little before clearing his throat and shaking his head, "Everything is fine, nothing to worry about."
Lancer frowned a bit, "Danny, if there's something going on, we can help you - "
"There's nothing," Danny cut in, shifting a bit and adjusting his hold on his backpack, "I should get to class…"
"…my door is always open," Lancer murmured and Danny nodded before turning and heading out of the classroom.
Just what the hell was happening in the Fenton household?
This was a bad idea.
Lancer knew it was a bad idea. He'd tried over and over to talk himself out of doing this, but his gut feeling wasn't allowing it. Something was going on with Danny, whether it be that he was Phantom or there was something happening in the Fenton household and Lancer wasn't going to turn a blind eye to it any longer.
He raised a hand to knock on the door in front of him, only to pause at the familiar sound of Jazz's voice. She was yelling something. Lancer lowered his hand and moved a little closer to the door to see if he could understand just what it was she was saying.
" - hurting him! You can't keep doing this!"
Lancer leaned away from the door and knocked on it. Hard. There was the chance that Jazz wasn't referring to Danny, but he wasn't willing to risk it. It took a moment before the door opened, by Danny himself. Danny paused, blinked, then tilted his head and moved like he was going to step out onto the porch and close the door.
Lancer reached out and put a hand on the door to stop him from closing it. Danny's eyes went wide and he looked up at Lancer, confused, "Sir?"
Lancer looked Danny over. There were no obvious signs of injury or distress so maybe Jazz hadn't been referring to Danny. He let himself relax a little bit at that thought.
"Are your parents home?"
Danny tensed up, "What? Why?"
"I wanted to speak with them."
"Why?" Danny repeated, but Lancer didn't get a chance to answer before Madeline Fenton appeared behind her son.
"Mr. Lancer, what brings you here?" She asked lightly and Danny turned to look at her before slumping a bit, "Danny isn't in trouble, is he?"
"Not at all," Lancer assured her, "But I wanted to speak with you and Jack for a moment if I could?"
Madeline looked confused but nodded before calling for her husband. She pulled the door open all the way, Danny letting go of it as soon as she tugged it, and gestured for Lancer to come in. Danny took a step back, into the house, allowing the space for Lancer to move into the house as well.
"Thank you," Lancer said as he walked into the house, pausing at the sight of what seemed to be some sort of … well, he wasn't sure what it was, but it looked dangerous and it was on the coffee table, "What… is that?"
Madeline looked over as she closed the front door, "Oh! That's the Fenton Bazooka. It needs a little tuning up."
Lancer looked over at Madeline, "…Bazooka?" He echoed as Jack walked into the room.
"Mr. Lancer! What brings you here?" The big man asked him before frowning and looking over at Danny, "Danno isn't in trouble, is he?"
"No," Lancer said, clearing his throat, "I just uh… wanted to check in…"
"Check in?" Madeline echoed as she picked up the bazooka from the table to moved to set it on the floor next to the couch instead. Lancer wasn't sure that was all that much better.
"It uh, seems that Danny has been struggling with his work recently so I just wanted to make sure that everything was alright."
"Struggling with work?" Jack said, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder, "Danny? Is something going on?"
Danny dipped out from under his father's hand and shook his head, "No, it's nothing."
Madeline came up behind Danny and placed her own hands on Danny's shoulders; Danny flinched, "Danny? You know you can tell us anything, honey."
"There's nothing to tell," Danny replied, looking across the room to where his sister was hovering in the doorway that lead to the kitchen, "Just uh, forgot to do some things."
Lancer looked toward Jazz who was looking around the room anxiously. The Fenton parents were focused on Danny and didn't seem to notice their daughter nor her distress. Lancer frowned a bit looking from one Fenton to another. There was something here. He wasn't positive just what it was, but there was something not right. And Jazz and Danny were helping hide whatever it was.
"Do you need a planner?" Jack asked with a frown.
"It's not - " Danny let out a huff and ran a hand through his hair, "It's fine, I have it. Don't worry about it."
"Danny, if Mr. Lancer is concerned enough to come here - " Madeline started before Jazz cut in.
"I can help him," she spoke, moving toward Danny and her mother, "He's probably just overwhelmed. I can help him get organized."
Madeline looked up at Jazz and frowned at her, "Jazz, you don't need to do that."
"It's fine, mom. Really. You and dad are busy. I can help Danny stay on top of his homework."
Lancer couldn't help but narrow his eyes a bit at that. He wasn't sure what it was that the Fenton parents did for work, now that he was thinking about it. Mostly he saw them running around town, chasing ghosts at the most random hours of the day. And night for that matter. His eyes drifted back over to the bazooka that was sitting on the floor next to the couch. Madeline spoke of it needing a tune up; was that what they did? Built weapons? And why were they laying around the house where anyone could get to them?
Madeline removed her hands from Danny's shoulders (Danny visibly relaxed and took a small step toward Jazz before turning to look at his mother), "Well, if you're sure…"
"We're sure," Danny cut in, taking another step toward Jazz.
Lancer cleared his throat again, "If you need help with making a plan, you're welcome to come by my office any time."
Danny and Jazz both looked at Lancer before looking back at their parents. Jack offered Lancer a bright smile.
"That's very kind of you, Mr. Lancer. I'm sure Danny and Jazz will be happy for the help."
"Thank you, Mr. Lancer," Danny and Jazz both intoned.
"I'll see you at school," Mr. Lancer said, turning to head for the door.
"Let's go work on that schedule, Danny," Jazz said from behind him and he could hear the sound of the teens heading up the stairs.
Lancer hesitated a moment before resting his hand on the doorknob, "Sorry to have bothered you."
"Not at all, Mr. Lancer. Thank you for looking out for Danny," Madeline replied.
Lancer let himself out of the house, closing the door behind himself. He paused on the porch for a moment to collect himself before stepping back onto the sidewalk. He glanced back up at the Fenton home, eyes lingering on the lit window on the second floor. It was likely that was where Jazz and Danny were. The temptation to try and get their attention was strong, but he was going to have to wait until school tomorrow.
And start filling out the paperwork he'd need for calling CPS. Something was happening in this house and Lancer wasn't sure what it was, but it was clearly not good.
Lancer was surprised to see the Fenton children waiting in front of his classroom the next morning, long before classes were supposed to start. They both looked worried and Lancer got the feeling he wasn't going to enjoy this conversation.
"Good morning, Fentons."
Danny and Jazz looked over at him, murmuring their own 'good morning's as he opened the classroom and gestured for them to head in. The teens made their way into the classroom and Lancer closed the door behind them before moving over to his desk and setting his bag on it. He took a moment to take a breath before looking up at the Fentons.
Jazz was standing in front of his desk, hands clasped in front of her. Danny had his hip resting against one of the student desks, arms crossed and he was looking at the ground. Clearly he hadn't wanted to come to Lancer and Jazz had convinced him to do it anyway.
"How can I help?" Lancer asked, looking at Jazz.
Jazz bit her lip, looking at Danny before looking back at Lancer, "I know you're worried about Danny's school work - "
"If I can be candid with you for a moment, Jazz?" Lancer cut in and Jazz looked at him in surprise before nodding a bit, "It's not Danny's school work that has me worried."
Danny looked up, looking borderline alarmed, "What?"
"I've made some observations over the last few months. The abrupt shift in Danny's work, but also his inattentiveness in class, his spotty attendance, showing up late even when he does show up to class… there's been signs of a troubled student. And I wanted to check and see if the trouble was coming from home."
There was dead silence. Lancer wasn't even sure the Fentons were breathing. Clearly he had hit the nail on the head. Something was happening at home and whatever it was, Jazz was trying to protect Danny from it, but he was still taking the brunt of it. Jazz shifted a bit, clearly having not expected that answer and was trying to rearrange her planned speech to make Lancer less concerned about their circumstances.
Jazz took a breath before straightening again and looking at Lancer, "There's nothing to worry about. Danny has just been struggling with adjusting to High School. We've worked out a pretty good schedule that we think will help keep him on track."
Lancer stared at Jazz for a long moment, but she didn't wilt or back down at all. Clearly she was going to hold her ground on this. Well, that was alright, Lancer didn't need the kids to cooperate in order to file a report.
"I hope that is true," Lancer replied, looking back over at Danny, "And like I said, my door is always open if you need help."
Danny stared at Lancer for a long moment before looking at Jazz, "We should go."
Jazz frowned before looking at Danny and nodding a bit, "Right. Thank you, Mr. Lancer."
With that, the Fenton children made their way out of Lancer's classroom, closing the door behind them.
Fallout was inevitable.
There was no way that word wouldn't get around Amity that CPS had gone by the Fenton household. Lancer, of course, had been aware of when CPS had been planning their visit so he was prepared when Jazz practically stormed her way into his office.
"You called CPS?" She sounded calm, but the tightness in her body, the way her knuckles turned white from how hard she'd crossed her arms, indicated she wasn't nearly as in control as she sounded.
"There is clearly something happening in that house. Someone needs to be aware of it. Danny clearly isn't safe and you're clearly trying to protect him."
Jazz faltered, but then pulled herself back together, "We're fine. Everything is fine. We don't need CPS poking into our lives."
"Jasmine," Lancer said gently, "I get that you have been protecting Danny. And that it's hard for you to not defend him, but you can't do it alone. You're still a child. You need adult help."
Jazz deflated a little bit, looking down at the ground for a moment, hugging herself tighter, and then uncrossed her arms and looked back at Lancer, "It's not that simple."
"Because Danny is Phantom?"
Lancer hadn't planned on saying that. He had nearly convinced himself that it wasn't true and that the changes were just a coincidence. But the words tumbled out of his mouth without his consent. Jazz's eyes went wide and she sputtered a little bit.
"What did you just say?"
Lancer hummed a bit, "You don't have to confirm or deny, but I'm fairly certain.
It would explain why Jazz was protective of him against their parents. They were ghost hunters. Phantom was a ghost. It wasn't uncommon for the Fentons to be screaming to the sky about how they were going to catch Phantom and tear him apart molecule by molecule. Lancer distantly wondered if they would go through with those plans if they knew that Phantom was actually their son and quickly found he didn't want to know the answer to that question.
"Why would you think that?" Jazz asked quietly, neither confirming or denying.
"Because someone has submitted an anonymous journal detailing how they're Phantom."
Jazz tensed up again before closing her eyes, seeming to count to ten, and opened her eyes again, "What?"
"We are doing an assignment where the students use an anonymous journal entry to help them work through their emotions and someone has admitted to being Phantom. I have figured out most of the other journal entries and who they belong to. Danny is on the short list of students who might be Phantom. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense."
Jazz bit her lip, looking around the room before looking back at Lancer, "And if he was? Would it change anything?"
Lancer gave a small shrug, "Not from where I'm standing, no. He's still not safe in that house and still needs help."
Jazz reached up and toyed with a piece of her hair, chewing on her lip before looking back at Lancer, "It's not my secret to share so I can't confirm nor deny if Danny is Phantom. But, if he was, you think that he'd still be in danger in our home?"
"I think he'd be in more danger in your home," Lancer corrected, "I saw that weapon on the coffee table. I don't know what it's for, but I've seen enough of their ghost hunting to have an idea. And everyone knows about how their vendetta against Phantom. Tell me, Jazz, would them knowing who Phantom is make any difference in their plans?"
Jazz looked at the ground again, shoulders still tense. For a moment, Lancer thought she was gathering her thoughts, but then he realized that her shoulders had started to shake.
She was crying.
Lancer got to his feet, moving over to her and resting a hand on her shoulder, "Jazz?"
Jazz sniffed a bit, wiping at her face and trying to pull herself together, "I'm fine. It's fine."
"…you aren't sure, are you? What your parents would do if they found out that Danny is Phantom?"
There was another pause before Jazz slowly looked up at Lancer. She searched his face, clearly looking for something. Whatever it was that she was looking for, she must have found it because she took a steadying breath before she began speaking again.
"Sam, Tucker, and I… have an emergency escape plan in place. Secret go bags stashed around Amity with spare clothes and money and first aid kits… just in case."
Lancer leaned back, resting against his desk for a moment to steady himself. It was a harsh blow to realize the full reality of the situation. These children, his students, had been preparing to go on the run if it meant keeping Danny safe. Lancer closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at Jazz.
"If you need a place to go, we can find somewhere for you. Even if it's with me."
Jazz's eyes went wide in surprise, "You don't…?"
Lancer tilted his head a bit, "Don't?"
Jazz bit her lip, "Mind that Danny… is a ghost?"
Lancer hummed a bit, "I don't know the details on how it works, obviously, but Danny is still plenty human when he's here and he's still a child that needs help. Nothing else matters as far as I'm concerned."
Jazz blew out a breath and nodded her head a bit, "CPS says that they'll be back to talk to mom and dad about everything they observed but…"
"My door is always open, Jazz. Whenever either of you need it."