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Danny circled Jazz's glitter-pink Therapy is For Everyone! rug three more times as if invoking the world’s slowest summoning sigil. "Why now? Do you even know how bad it would be if the freaking Justice League visited Amity Park?"
"I mean the overshadowing part aside," Jazz paused, dog-earing her textbook, "You didn't think of the overshadowing part did you?"
"No, I was too busy thinking of the part where they package me in a neat ribbon to the Guys In White!” Danny stopped pacing. "Unless."
"Oh no," Jazz said preemptively.
"No wait, this is going to work," Danny said because it really was going to work this time, "If we cant stop them from coming to Amity Park, and we can't stop the ghosts from being er, ghostly, we just have to convince them there's no ghosts in Amity Park."
"Amity park, a nice place to live," Superman read the town billboard, eyes trailing down to the spray-painted mauve at the bottom, "…And definitely not haunted?"
"Jazz”, Danny yelled, still supervising the Fenton Printer ™ churning out 'Amity Park is Definitely Not Haunted' paper by paper, line by line, "Can you get the doorbell?"
"You get it!" Jazz yelled back.
He sighed, back creaking in protest as he yanked the door open. "If it's about the recycling bin, would you believe me if the Box Ghost-“
Superman waved politely at the doorway. "Hi there. Is this the Fentons, the leading experts on ghosts?"
Torn between fight, flight, or manners, Danny blurted out instead, "Oh yeah that's us but there's no ghosts here in Amity Park, no siree."
"Are your parents home, son?"
Directly behind Superman, the Box Ghost decided now was the best time to steal the Fenton Recycling Bin V2™.
"Actually, now that you mention it, my parents are in the basement uh, working if you want to just go this way," Danny frantically gestured towards the kitchen, mentally double then triple-checking he had fingerprint-locked the portal, "Make sure to ask my dad how much you love ghosts!"
Practically slamming the door shut behind Superman, he waited a good five seconds, then sprinted down the driveway. "Dude, didn't you get the memo?"
The Box Ghost flung another cylindrical can onto the street with a loud clang, then louder clink-clang. "I'm the Box Ghost! The Box Ghost will not be contained by these rules and requests."
"Please," Danny begged, well beyond requesting, "If you can just wait until I give you the signal-"
"The Box Ghost does not do signals!"
Well, he tried. Danny took out his thermos and beamed the Box Ghost into baby box ghost jail. Sometimes it was better to act first and talk later, he guessed. "There, problem solved."
"Solved what problem?"
"Superman!" Danny whirled around. "I mean, uh, s-sir how can I help you?"
Superman furrowed his eyebrows. "I saw a bright flash of light outside, is that normal?"
Could Superman see through walls or was that Batman? "What bright flash of light? Was it the uh, street lights, they go out sometimes."
"During the day?"
"Yessir, completely normal, no ghosts here, Amity Park is super duper not haunted."
"Alright, let me know if anything comes up." Superman must have totally, completely, bought Danny's words and was definitely not perplexed or suspicious at all.
"Clueless 2 reporting in," Tucker said over the Fenton Phones, "Park is all clear of ghosts."
"Nothing at the school either," Sam piped up.
"Okay, I'm going to do one more once-over,” Danny hovered just a little over town hall, "I think we got everyone and I triple, quadruple checked the portal and - oh shit."
Despite being invisible, he turned intangible, and also silent. Superman's shadow loomed above him. He held his breath as Superman paused, glanced right down at Danny for one, two, three seconds-
-Then flew towards Nasty Burger.
Danny sighed in relief, adrenaline still buzzing in fight mode. Though these days it was less about fighting and more about hiding and it was only getting worse. Much worse now that the Justice League - freaking Superman - was here.
But Superman was also a hero, said the hopeful part in Danny who had grown up trading comic book covers with Tucker, who had printed out Gotham Gazette headlines for Sam. Heroes represented hope and trust.
Slowly, he released his invisibility, unclenching his left hand. Even in ghost form, it had never properly healed, an abrupt gash where his ring finger should be. He ran his thumb through the scar, feeling the cold tingle of exposed ectoplasm, tracing it twice.
Trust always had a steep price.
"Seriously?" Danny looked up at the ten-foot ghost ferret, "Can we not today?"
The ferret unfortunately didn't get the memo, growling once more before lunging.
"Hard way it is then," Danny muttered, letting the ferret phase through him. In a practiced motion, he aimed the Fenton Thermos V7.2™ directly behind.
He missed.
Before he could call for backup or perhaps say something like "Can you please not aim for the eyes?", the oversized ferret popped out from below the asphalt in a blur of bright green fur, snapping its fangs. Instinctively, he grabbed a hold of its muzzle, fingers digging into its wet nose and jaws.
"Bad ferret," Danny winced at the tang of rot and ectoplasm, pushing the jaw upwards, "Bad breath."
"Need some help there?"
"What the-" He chanced looking away from the slobbering, snapping ghost ferret for a second. "Superman?"
"Talk later," Superman advised, flying eye-level with Danny, "Tell me what you need me to do."
The ferret twisted like a reject pool noodle, Danny tightened his grip. "Can you distract him, I just need a second"-
Superman immediately reached forward and grabbed the ghost ferret by the scruff of its neck, giving Danny an opening to finally thermos the oversized house pet into baby box ghost jail. Well, that could have gone worse.
"Wow, fights always go like that around there?"
"Oh yeah, this one was actually pretty calm, usually it's-" Danny's brain suddenly caught up, "I mean that definitely wasn't a ghost fight, uh, sir. And I'm definitely not a ghost!"
"Sure you aren't," Superman dropped to ground level the same moment Danny did. "What do you prefer to call yourself then?"
Danny stared, flabbergasted.
The actual superhero raised his hands in half-surrender, "Sorry if I started off on the wrong foot. Let me try again. I'm technically from Krypton, but most people just call me an alien."
"They're wrong," Danny said before he could help himself, "I mean- I think it's amazing sir, that you're from another planet. Like before we had records of civilizations outside of Earth."
Superman smiled wryly. "To be fair, I'm still learning a lot about myself."
This was news to Danny, who was already reeling from the fact he had not just fought a ghost, but he had fought a ghost with Superman. "…Why are you telling me this?"
"I know what it is like to be persecuted. And I know what it's like to be misunderstood. If you don't want to be called a ghost you don't have to-"
"Oh," Danny's cheeks flushed, "Oh um, no, I am a ghost." Half-ghost, but Superman didn't need to know that. "I was just, uh, hoping to gaslight you a bit so you'd leave Amity Park."
"Gaslight," Superman repeated, amused, "Any reason why?"
You work for the government, Danny wanted to say, And so do the Guys in White and- "I… I can't."
Instead of pressing the issue, Superman simply nodded once. "I understand."
"You do?"
"You don't have to share if you’re not ready," Superman said in an odd parallel to Jazz, "Just know that when you are, I'm on your side."
On what side? All Danny did was disappoint his friends, and piss off everyone else. He looked down, scuffing one boot against the torn asphalt. "Even if I make things worse?"
The professional tone was dropped, quiet and serious. "Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is doing the right thing when it counts."
"How will I know when it counts?" He felt so small, his words smaller.
"… Well, Amity Park has had surprisingly few ghost attacks, despite what I’ve been told. I'd say you're at least doing a good job."
Danny wanted to say thank you. To say how hard it had been, just him and Tuck and Sam, how many times he thought it would be the last and wished someone would save him. His jaw clenched, unclenched, molars grinding painfully. Just say the truth, say how much it had hurt. Spill it all out and ask if what he did was truly right and good.
All that came out was a frustrated shake of his head.
"It's alright," Superman soothed, calm and patient and gentle, "Take your time, but remember what I said. I truly am on your side."
"Are you kidding me!" Danny ran over in his t-shirt and pjs, gesturing wildly. This close to Fentonworks, he didn't chance going ghost. "Didn't you get the memo?"
"Hey, don't blow your fuse, kid," Johnny argued, "When else was I supposed to collect my five bucks?"
"Now, like now now?"
"Dude I owe Kitty a date night, and I'm broke."
"… Ghosts buy stuff with money?"
"Eh, you only live once," Johnny said, and before Danny could argue with that, followed it up with -"Now cough up my fiver and I'll be discreet about it."
"Discreet about what?" asked a voice behind, both human Danny and ghost Johnny jumping a foot.
"Superman!" Danny yelped for what felt like the third time this week, "What are you doing here?"
"From the looks of it, talking to you two?"
Shit. Desperately, Danny looked at Johnny.
"Yeah, you're on your own." Johnny shrugged, then backed away, fading into invisibility. Superman tilted his head, as if tracking Johnny's trajectory a few seconds longer.
"Would you believe me if I said he didn't mean any harm?" Danny chanced.
"I actually do. Did you think about my words earlier as well?"
"I'm gonna need some more time-" Danny suddenly paused, and looked down at his hands. His very human hands. "Uhhh I mean, I don't know what you mean, sir, Superman sir."
"It's alright, I wont tell anyone," Superman said in a hushed voice, then had the audacity to wink exaggeratedly, "In fact I'll tell you a secret myself."
It took Danny a beat longer to emotionally recover from having his identity blown before he finally chanced a - "…What is it?"
"I also have a secret identity."
He blinked, twice. "No, seriously?" He had a hard time imagining Superman as well, not Superman. Did his hair also change color - no wait Superman wasn't half-ghost.
"Seriously," Superman nodded, "And I know it's not easy juggling two different lives. You're just a kid too."
"Teen."
"Right, teen. You’ve got your whole life in front of you, and the power to change yourself and others."
"Thank you…?"
Superman looked amused. "You're very welcome. I'll leave you at it, but remember what I said. I'm on your side."
As the Justice League representative turned away, Danny hesitated. "Uh, Superman sir?"
"What is it, son?"
He tensed. Here went nothing and everything. "About the Guys in White, the GIW, you see um, they-" lied to everyone, ruined my life -"You can't believe everything they say."
"What do you mean?"
"Well they..." Danny grit his teeth again, frustrated. Just say it, all the hiding and running and pain he had been through. This was the first and only chance he would get.
Superman waited a few seconds longer before closing the gap one gentle footstep at a time. "Are you sure you're ready to talk?"
Miserably, he nodded. Attempt two. "I-"
-"One second." In a perplexing action, Superman tapped his ear, looking away from Danny. "We're in front of Fentonworks, you can head on over now."
At first Danny thought Superman was talking to him before he finally honed in on the earpiece. Behind, a familiar white van breached the horizon, covered in anti-ghost shield blue. Time stood still even without Clockwork's meddling.
"The GIW want to talk to you too," Superman explained all too clearly, adjusting his earpiece, "But I told them to wait until you were ready."
Danny's vision tunnelled further. Superman and the GIW had been working together this entire time.
"No," he whispered, so quiet he couldn't hear it himself.
Superman frowned. "No?"
"I- I can't-" Danny backed away in horror, "What have you done?"
Superman grabbed Danny's wrist. Tight. Too tight. "Listen - son - I only mean the best, and if you're being threatened I can negotiate to-"
He should have phased his hand through. Turned invisible. Run away. But he couldn't risk options, couldn't risk going back, couldn't risk trusting.
Danny twisted around, making eye contact just once. "Im sorry."
He phased into Superman.
Overshadowing was always his weakest ability but all he could do was try. Try to stand up straight, try to not shake, try to get the voice right as he fumbled for the earpiece. "S- sorry there, false alarm. I thought I saw him, the ghost I mean, but he flew towards the park."
"Affirmative, heading to the park." Seconds later, the anti-ghost van sped past Fentonworks and down the street.
Danny counted slowly to ten until the van disappeared past the third traffic light. Knees buckling, exhausted, he tore away from Superman in a final burst of willpower and took to the skies. Once, twice he looked back, expecting a fluttering red cape, disappointed words chastising him, eyes that looked at him and said I know.
The night sky was empty. He kept on flying anyway, still processing what and why.
No. Processing was the easy part, accepting the wall he couldn't surpass. The moment he had needed Superman the most, the hero had abandoned him.
You'll find out when the time is right, Superman had said, I am on your side.
Superman had lied.
There was never a right time and trust always had a steep price.
Danny waited at secret base number four, codeword 'Save-on Meats', thin emergency blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Superman knew, which meant the Guys in White knew. He couldn't go home, couldn't risk contacting anyone, he had fucked up, god, he had fucked up so bad. Clutching his head between his knees, he tried to remember how to just breathe.
His phone suddenly rang. Once, twice, three times. Unknown Number.
Danny ignored it, it wasn't worth the risk.
The phone rang again, once, twice, three times. Then, blessed silence, finally. Finally, he could-
This time, the phone buzzed a short, low rattle against the linoleum. A text message.
Quietly, with trembling fingers, Danny flipped open his phone, eyes blinking a few times at the bright light.
"MR DANIEL FENTON
I HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU TO HELP YOU TAKE DOWN SUPERMAN.
-L.L"