Adopted by the Enemy

by kokoa_la

Summary:

With the death of Maddie and Jack Fenton comes the question of Danny's guardianship. With Jazz across country in college and Vlad teetering off the edges of sanity, Danny's best choice is Agent K and O. The couple having offered to foster him after being present for his parents' deaths.

Now addled with grief and the consistent terror of being found out by would be murderous guardians, Danny adjusts to living with the enemy, and perhaps family.

Too bad for Danny they're nothing like he expected, can't a guy spy on the opposition in peace?

Notes:

Funnily enough this is based off of a tumblr prompt I posted like a year and a half ago. I don't know how I never wrote it but it's what got me out of my writing slump sooo ill take it!

koa continued <3

Chapter 1: Grief

“Hello Daniel-”

“It’s Danny.”

 

“Ah, I see, well, hello Danny, I’m Age- I mean Oscar, and this is my husband Kevin.” 

 

Danny couldn’t believe his eyes. Agent K and Agent O, the very two men after his half-life on a daily basis are currently sitting in front of him in his house, trying to adopt him. 

 

“And we’d like to adopt you, if you’ll have us.”

 

These are the men who shot at him yesterday? Really? Is this even safe? 

 

“... right.”

 

“We know that it’s a new adjustment, but since your sister can’t take over custody, and your parents are no longer with us, we’d thought that we’d step in.”

 

They were the reason his parents died in the first place. Well, not the two specifically, but the GIW, and honestly he was sick of seeing them, but then again- it was either this or Vlad.

 

“Why?”

 

It was a good question to ask, really. Danny wanted to know what they’d be doing with him, and Ancients forbid they knew his secret. He knows that the pair aren’t the most competent of the government organization, but they could still do a lot of damage, Agent K especially. Though Danny was pretty sure he saw them helping an old lady cross the street in the middle of a ghost fight one time, so they couldn't be all that bad. 

 

The real question was if they’d answer truthfully. 

 

“We’re going to be 100% honest with you, Danny. Oscar and I were there when your parents died, and-”

 

Kevin looked at his husband, putting his hand over the one on his thighs. Oscar was keeping silent, but Danny could feel the guilt roll off of them in waves. Interesting. 

 

“- we’d like to do the best we can for you.”

 

So, let’s break it down. Oscar and Kevin were there when his parents died, and because they know the GIW was partly at fault, they felt they had to take responsibility for what was left behind, thus adopting Danny. Honestly, if Danny couldn’t feel their emotions (which were so strong), Danny wouldn’t have believed them, but alas, he could, so he decided to give them a chance. Though, he wouldn’t let them know that. 

 

“So, you felt responsible because you were there and decided to atone for what happened by adopting me.”

 

“No-”

 

“Yes-”

 

They spoke at the same time, with Oscar disagreeing and Kevin doing the opposite. The two looked at each other and Kevin made a gesture towards Danny with his head. Oscar ran his hand over his head before settling it in front of his mouth.

 

“Danny, while we do in fact feel some responsibility, we wouldn’t be offering to adopt you if we weren’t capable or wouldn’t give you care. It’s been 2 weeks since your parents passed, and we’d been discussing this together for quite some time. If you don’t want to live with us, that’s alright, we’ll respect that.”

 

“I know it was the GIW’s fault.”

 

“What?”

 

“That they died.” 

 

Danny didn’t know why he said that. He knew they knew. He knew from the guilt and the sadness in their aura, hell, even their body language. He knew they felt bad, but this wasn’t something that was fixed from just giving him a bed. He leaves one family after him just to go to another? How long will he continue these secrets? Danny didn't want to be with ghost hunters. He wanted to be safe. Why was that so much to ask? He was tired of being chased by his guardians, attacked by them, hurt by them. Danny wanted to be loved. Danny wanted to be cared for with no strings attached, both him and Phantom. He couldn't keep being under the roofs of people who wanted half of him dead and on a metal table, but he didn't have much of a choice. He wouldn't remain in Amity if he was stuck in foster care. Where he'd end up had too much variability, and there was no way he'd ever live with Vlad no matter the circumstances. 

 

The two looked at each other and sighed. Oscar was the more comedic of the two. Danny saw it when Oscar would crack jokes to make Kevin laugh (though they’d fall flat while on duty), Kevin on the other hand, was serious. He knew what he was doing. He was more independent and would often take charge easily. 

 

While Oscar was more emotional, more light hearted, he was also larger. His physical capabilities were insane, and combine that with Kevin’s mental abilities and decision making, the two were dangerous for him. It was different when they were on the streets. There- Danny could run away, escape, but if he lived with them? If he lived with them and they found out his secret, what would happen to him?

 

“I’m… sorry, truly.”

 

It was Kevin speaking, which did surprise him. 

 

“We’re both sorry about what happened. Their death wasn’t something we predicted. Safety measures should have been put in place but-”

 

“I don’t care. I don’t want an explanation, I want my parents, and you work for the people who took them away from me.”

 

Danny cut in, letting a little bit of his bitterness bleed through, his grief. The feeling of guilt was overflowing, but Danny didn’t care. Sure, his parents weren’t the best, they were crazy and obsessed, but they were his . His dad was the one who put up the stars in his room and hugged him whenever he needed it. His mom was the one who taught him to fight and fixed his rocket’s whenever they broke. They were his parents. He’s not stupid, he knew that it was dangerous of him to live with them, but he couldn’t just leave them. And now? They were the ones that left him . 

 

He may not hate Agent K and O specifically, but he hates what they stand for, hates who they work for, hates what they believe in. Danny couldn’t hop from one set of parents trying to kill him to another. He was tired of loving those who wanted him dead for good. 

 

“I know. I know, and I’m so sorry, but let us help you. We saw how you reacted to the proposition of Vlad Masters taking you in and we- we couldn’t just leave it like that.”

 

Vlad. That son of a- Danny breathed. Danny would rather disappear and live in the ghost zone than live with that rich manipulator. A repeat of Dan could never happen, no matter how much he’s grieving. 

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“I’ll live with you.”

 

Danny tried to ignore the feeling of warmth exuding the couple. This was only temporary. Two more years and he’s out, he just had to survive in the meantime. 

 

---

 

His new guardians were idiots. That’s it. Complete buffoons. 

 

First, Danny would like to state that the two did a great job at keeping Danny uninvolved with their work life. Way better than his parents ever did, really. The two don’t even mention ghosts in his presence, 10/10 parenting so far. Though, that being said, they weren’t particularly the smartest. 

 

They themselves had their own ghost detecting system, that despite it beeping every time Danny entered the house, they had yet to put a single thing together. Not even a question. Maybe they just assumed Danny was contaminated due to his homelife, or maybe they were just trying to ignore every red flag about him as a way of making amends. Either way, Danny wasn’t complaining. Plus, their system didn’t come attached with multiple weapons or lasers pointed at him the second he entered the door.

 

Apart from that, they had actually been pretty nice people. They cooked, taking turns every night or so, and the food didn’t come alive or fight back. Which in Danny’s mind, was a major upgrade. The house was kept safe, as in, no stray weapons, experiments, or toxic waste littered the floors or surfaces. It was just so… normal , so much so that Danny didn’t quite know how to cope with it. The only part familiar to him was that Oscar and Kevin were ghost hunters, but even that was hard to keep on the front of his mind because they never showed it to him . 

 

If Danny hadn’t personally been shot at by the pair, he would have already second guessed himself into believing they were normal government workers. As it stands, however, he still spent his days running from his (foster) parents, so really he could fool himself into believing nothing changed. Even when everything had. 

 

Currently he was in his new room, still barren as he’d only really moved in a month ago, looking at his ceiling. There were the little glow in the dark stars above him. It was the only thing he’d allow them to buy for his room, to be honest. He hadn’t let the pair help him put them up, they offered, but he wasn’t ready to pass on the job that his dad had done for him years ago. It was a special memory, and Danny couldn’t rewrite it with people he only just started to know past the guns and battles.

 

There was more to the change than the environment, though. He saw himself growing, not just in height, but size. He had put on healthy weight, no longer as scrawny as before. It helped, not having his food attack him simply for existing. After the first three weeks Danny’s anxiety over being shot in his sleep practically dissipated. It’d always be there, maybe even if he was with a normal family instead of ghost hunters, that’s just how life was the last two years. He wasn’t too bothered though, he knew Kevin and Oscar weren’t capable of a long con. There was no faking that level of unawareness at home. 

 

The only downside to their lack of work talk, was the fact that Danny didn’t learn anything about the GIW through them. He’d tried, honestly, to ask them about it and find things out, but they refused. Their work life was the only thing they’d been firm on the entire time Danny was here. Apparently they didn’t want him thinking about the “tragedy” of his parents’ deaths. Danny wasn’t over it, he probably never would be, but that doesn’t mean he should be kept in the dark. At least that’s what he argued to them. It didn’t work. 

 

His phone began to ring beside him, a quiet jingle from the videogame waiting screen on Doomed. Tucker was calling. He answered the phone and settled it against his ear, barely bothering to hold on correctly. Tucker and Sam had been calling way more often after his home reassignment. They’d been downright clingy since his parents’ deaths, but his new home assignment made it worse. Not that Danny minded, he loved his friends, and honestly appreciated their calls that filled the silence, but it could definitely get overbearing at times. 

 

“Hey.”

 

“Danny! You didn’t answer the phone earlier.”  

 

He made a confused expression, looking at his phone app and seeing around 3 miss calls from a couple hours prior, he winced. They’d definitely be worried then.

“Sorry sorry, we were having dinner.” 

 

‘We’ because Kevin and Oscar always had family dinner at 5 o’clock. It was another strange shift in Danny’s routine. The first week he’d kept forgetting to show up or inform them of his absence, but their depressed expressions were enough for Danny to be consistent with communication. 

 

“Right. I forgot they did that. ”

 

“Me too, to be honest. It’s always a nice surprise when I can actually eat the food.”

 

“I still can’t believe they actually cook and consistently have dinner together, more so how little ghost fights get in the way.”

 

“I kid you not, I genuinely believe they did the match to see when ghosts pop up the least in the day. It’s hard though since they don’t both leave at the same time when there’s a ghost attack. They split their call times so one of them stays with me whenever something happens. It’s great, real sweet, but like…”

 

“But you gotta be kickin ass. I get it dude, really. At least you got your duplicates.”

Danny has been “using the bathroom” every time one of them leaves for a ghost call, each time he makes a duplicate to stay at home while he leaves as Phantom to deal with their… spooky situation. He has yet to get caught or questioned, which again brings back the point of them being a little unobservant. Another trait they share with his parents. 

 

“Can’t believe I’m thanking Vlad for that skill. The fruit loops totally insane-”

 

“But useful. You gotta admit without him you’d have never learned the ability.”

 

“Yeah well. Screw that guy. I don’t need ‘im.”

 

“Sure thing Danny, I hope he gets a bouquet of blood blossoms on Valentine's day.” 

 

“I hope his cat runs away and finds a himbo to be her owner instead.”

 

“Oh now that’s petty. Losing both Maddies is crazy.”

 

“Tuck, my man, it’s so weird . He named a cat after my mom !”

 

Danny sat up, a disgusted look on his face as he recalled the poor white cat trapped in Vlad’s creepy old vampire mansion. He got up, smoothing out his bed and picking up his backpack.

 

“Hey! I didn’t say it wasn’t weird ! I just said it was petty. Deserved, but petty.”

 

“No actions against that man can be considered petty. Sam would agree with me”

 

“ Sam would agree with anything that spelled trouble for Vlad. I’m pretty sure she’s been tryin’ to mace him since he first showed up.”

 

“She’s like that with all corrupt authority figures.”

 

“Danny, I saw her pocketing a blood blossom after the fight. I’m pretty sure the new keychain on her school bag is a vial of the powder.”

“That… I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you tell me she has that?? Tuck? You wound me?”

 

“I thought you knew !” 

 

“How would I know that?? Or be okay with that??”

 

“I don’t know!” 

 

Danny paused, the silence lasted 3 beats before they burst out laughing. Danny thought he knew everything about them by now, but clearly not. Their calls were often, despite them seeing each other every day, so he had assumed he’d known all there was to know about their day to day lives. He assumed wrong. Though he couldn’t say that didn’t keep things interesting. 

 

“We have to steal that from her, you know that right?”

 

“Oh sure, steal the ghost repellent powder off of the murder hungry teenage girl. That’ll go well. Sorry, Danny, but you’re on your own.”

 

“Tucker! You know I can’t touch the thing, I don’t even know how I managed to be near it without you know-”

 

“Dying?”

“I wasn’t gonna say that.”

 

“ You meant it though.”

 

“No, I was gonna say withering in absolute agony screaming ‘please, please take it away! I’m melting, melllltiiiing’ like a good ghost.”

 

“You were not!”

 

“Was too!”

 

“Was not!”

 

“Was too”

 

“Was- you know what, not worth it. We both know the truth, Danny.”

 

“Right, that that’s what I was gonna say, not dying. Cus dying is boring, don’t recommend by the way. 0 out of 10 stars.”

 

The groan Tucker let out on the other side of the line made the joke worth it. Danny smiled, taking out his laptop from his bag and setting it in front of him. Sam was busy today working a new online job she’d recently gotten. She’d said something about making ‘untainted money’, a separation from her parents. Danny himself was tempted to get on that as well. Flexible hours was something he needed with what he did. While he knew Oscar and Kevin would probably give him an allowance if he asked for it, he wasn’t that comfortable with them yet. 

 

“Okay but, moving on from that -”

 

Danny laughed, covering his mouth with his hand as if that would stop the sound from reaching Tucker’s ears. It didn’t.

 

“How are you doing?”

 

Just like that, the bubble Danny had formed popped. It was easy forgetting everything going on when he spoke to Tucker or Sam or even the other ghosts. It was easy to pretend that nothing happened, that his parents were at home and he was on some weird mission spying on some GIW agents, but he wasn’t. Danny was being fostered by his enemy, the enemy that took part in his parents’ death. Danny was an orphan. 

 

He hated that question. He hated it every time it came from a social worker, or a teacher, or Oscar and Kevin. He hated it from random classmates, but especially from his friends. He couldn’t just say ‘terrible’ like he wanted to, or even ‘shitty’ like he wished he could, because people didn’t ask to be genuine, people asked out of courtesy, and God forbid you weren’t okay. Fact of the matter was that Danny was not and probably never will be okay. His parents were gone, forever, and he wanted nothing more than to walk back to Fenton works and hear them in that wretched basement of theres and see Jazz in her room with her bright teal headphones studying. Instead, his parents were buried and his sister was hours away in a different state in college because Danny would never let her pass up her education for him . 

 

It was funny how Danny died first, but he’d be buried last. 

 

“Uh, you know, as good as I can be.”

 

“Try again.”

 

Tucker said in that knowing tone of his, gentle, in the reserved way. Tucker wasn’t gentle, he was loud and rapid and moving from next to next, but he was now. Danny didn’t know whether that was what he needed or not. He tried again. His voice betraying him and showing the boy on the other side how close he was to tears.

 

“Real shitty.”

 

“I know bud, I know. Wanna talk about it?”

 

“No. No, I don’t.”

 

Because what was he to say? That everytime he stared at the ceiling he was brought back to when he was 8 and found out about NASA and the stars? Or when he was 10 and built his first rocket on his own and it went so horribly he’d cried? Maybe, maybe he’d talk about how his parents always filled the room when Danny seemed to disappear in it. How they’d be livelier than life, how they’d seem to know everything and nothing at the same time, how, how, how. He could go on, but he couldn’t. 

 

“You know I’ll be here when you do, right?”

 

He hadn’t talked about them. He hadn’t, not since the funeral. He was absent then, his pre-written speech being something he barely managed to get through before his voice left him. He didn’t remember how long he stood up on that pedestal before Jazz had pulled him off, taking over with her own speech, tears in her eyes and a wobble in her voice that was so un Jazz. 

 

Danny wanted to talk about them. He wanted more than anything to reminisce and tell tales of when they were the coolest parents in the world, but he couldn’t. His voice wouldn’t let him, his grief would grab him and hold him tight and tell him not to utter a single word. 

 

They were everywhere, and yet, nowhere at the same time.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I do.”

Chapter 2: Picture Perfect

Notes:

Hey again!

Posting this on my work computer genuinely feels wrong lol whoops!

koa continued <3

“Danny are you sure about this- I mean-”

 

“Sam and Tucker will be with me, Oscar. Plus you have to go for that business trip.”

 

“Yes, but we don’t want you alone. Especially now.”

 

Kevin responded, nervously fiddling with his hands. Danny’s only been with them for about a month and a half, and things were still a bit awkward. The two had finally mentioned work, but only to let him know that they had a business trip that was mandatory. They didn’t both want to go, but it’d only be for the weekend in Wisconsin. Danny obviously jumped at the chance to follow them and find out more, so here he was asking if Sam and Tucker could be here for a 2 day long sleep over. They’d given in once Danny pulled the ‘it’d help with the grief’ card. 

 

“I won’t be, Sam and Tuck already got permission to be here the whole time. I’ll call you guys every day or at least send a text. Plus, we don’t plan to leave much and if we do I’ll let you know.”

 

The care was genuinely nice. He didn’t remember the last time his parents had been this concerned over his location or anything. They’d cared of course, but they had a lot more faith and trust in his ability to not die. Which went well, obviously. 

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes, Oscar, I am. I have both your numbers and your work number. Which are you sure you’re even allowed to give me?”

 

Oscar was the more emotional between the two. He tended to express himself easily, saying what was on his mind. Kevin was more rational, he took his time with his words and was less rushed. He said what he meant, not what he first thought. Regardless, Danny could still tell their emotions no matter what they did or said, perks of being half of an emotional species. 

 

“Technically no, but they can try and punish us for it. Use it whenever you want, Danny.”

 

Kevin had always been far more upfront than his spouse, truthful to a T. 

 

“We’ll answer.” 

 

Danny tried to keep his voice steady, but it was hard to when faced with such genuine conviction and emotion. They meant it. They weren’t annoyed or frustrated, what Danny could feel was clear and true worry. It felt nice. 

 

“Okay, I promise I’ll use it.”

 

“Good. Good, okay. We’ll go pack right now. We leave tomorrow night, but we don’t mind having Sam and Tucker over for dinner. To meet them, if you’re okay with that.”

 

Oscar asked, hopefulness in his tone. The pair had been alluding to meeting his friends for the past 2 weeks now. Though the interest probably started when Danny had first mentioned them. They knew the group called often and regularly, the three as thick as thieves. 

 

“I’ll check with them.” 

 

Danny smiled slightly, an awkward thing, but the couple didn’t comment on it. Oscar grinned and Kevin remained pretty stone faced, though his emotions betrayed him once again. Seriously, the tough guy act couldn’t fool Danny, not one bit.

 

The two nodded, heading upstairs to pack as Danny took out his phone and texted Sam and Tucker. 

 

Troubled Trio

 

Casper the Angsty Ghost

Guys

O and K want to invite u 2 to dinner

Can u guys come?

 

Gothic Gardenia

Oh I’m there.

 

Technus’ Variant

Yeah sure I’ll ask my parents

I’ll pull the ‘he rly needs the support rn’

Card 

 

Gothic Gardenia

Oh I should have thought of that,

I was just gonna leave. 

 

Technus’ Variant

w/out telling em ???

 

Gothic Gardenia

Are you really surprised right now?

 

Casper the Angsty Ghost

Soooo ur comin?

 

Gothic Gardenia

Definitely

 

Technus’ Variant

W/out a doubt

 

Casper the Angsty Ghost

Okay good

Now imma go spy on them to 

see where they keep the guns

 

Technus’ Variant

I’m sorry??? 

Danny???

 

Danny turned off his phone, grinning. He quickly ran to his room, dropping his phone on his bed and going ghost. After turning invisible and intangible he flew into Kevin and Oscar’s bedroom. This wasn’t spying, it was scoping out the enemy. Totally. 

 

“Are you sure he’ll be fine?”

 

“Oscar, he has a support system. He won’t have a breakdown because we’re gone for two days.”

 

“Oh don’t lie and say you’re not worried.”

 

“I am, but I know he’ll be fine.”

 

“Fine isn’t okay .”

 

Now Danny really felt like he was eavesdropping. There was such strong distress in the air. 

 

“I know, but we agreed to give him a little space, you know how hard it is to lose both parents.” 

 

Okay maybe Danny shouldn’t be here. So far the only thing the pair had packed was toiletries and clothes. Not a single weapon or ghost related item. The chances of them carrying weapons in the house was getting slimmer by the second, and Danny wasn’t one to listen to things he shouldn’t. Not when they were private. 

 

“I know, which is why I’m so worried. I mean my parents died when I was in my 20s, but Danny? He’s not even an adult, not even close.” 

 

Kevin walked over, putting an arm around Oscar and pulling him to his side, kissing his head.

 

“He has us, and his sister, and his friends. It won’t end up like it did with you, Oz, it won’t.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“I promise. Now come on, he’s waiting for us.”

---

Danny didn’t know why he didn’t leave earlier, something had kept him there. He didn’t know what to make out of the scene. Oscar was in a similar situation to Danny. Danny didn’t know what happened or even when, but something told him he should find out. That’d be a later thing though, for now he had to rush back to his room and act like absolutely nothing happened.

“So Sam, Tucker, how’d you two meet Danny?”

 

Oscar asked, breaking the ice. Dinner so far had been relatively silent, uneventful. A novelty knowing Danny’s childhood. 

 

“Well me and Danny met back in- was it 2nd grade? It’s been so long I’m not so sure. Our families knew each other. Been best buds ever since.”

 

“I met them later, around 5th grade when I moved here. I looked for the two outcasts and stumbled upon these dorks.”

 

“Hey!” “Hey!”

 

Danny and Tucker said in unison, throwing offended expressions Sam’s way, all she did in response was smirk and continue eating her brussel sprouts. They’d made an entire vegan meal for her, even making it before the non-vegan dishes so as to not cross contaminate even a little bit. She appreciated the gesture, and the ratatouille. 

 

“How’d you two meet?”

 

Sam asked instead, her eyes squinting at the couple. She may not have the power of empathy like Danny did, but she could read people pretty well, and these two were no exception. Kevin remained pretty stoned, but his lip quirked up on the side in an almost smile. Oscar slumped slightly, but grinned. Weird.

 

“We met back in college. I was going for my masters and he was just about to graduate.”

 

Oscar answered, taking a bite of his spaghetti. Kevin took over.

 

“During finals week I’d helped him with his philosophy paper.”

 

“He saw me reading Kant’s thesis upside down and decided to take pity on me.”

 

He corrected, smiling and nudging Kevin with his elbow. The trio nodded, exchanging glances. Sam texted underneath the table.

 

Gothic Gardenia

Why are they so… normal

 

Technus’ Variant

RT?? 

I was like we sure
they’re GIW agents…?

 

Casper the Angsty Ghost

I THOUGHT THE SAME

Theyre so domestic 

I feel like im in a sit com sometimes

 

Technus’ Variant

im afraid theyre great parents

like the best

why is it so perfect

 

Gothic Gardenia

Whats the catch?

 

Casper the Angsty Ghost

thats what I keep trynna find out!

theres NONE

 

Technus’ Variant

uh maybe the fact theyre ghost hunters?

 

Casper the Angsty Ghost

yeah but crappy ones!

so they basically aren’t

 

Danny looked up at his phone, paying back attention to the conversation Kevin and Oscar had with each other. They’d joked around a bit more about their college meet up. Kevin slightly peeved by Oscar’s lack of philosophical ability, which wasn’t on Danny’s bingo cards for tonight. He pointedly was ignoring Sam’s glare that clearly said ‘That’s not how that works dumbass’ . 

 

“I may not agree with Kant but how did it take you that long to realize the book was upside down .”

 

“Please, no more, I’m embarrassed enough.”

 

Oscar was covering his face with both his hands, shaking his head side to side. Kevin had this subtle smile on his face, clearly enjoying the teasing. The trio exchanged more looks, before  Danny shrugged and went back to the conversation. 

 

“Let’s give Oscar a little break,”

 

The hopeful look he was sent almost made Danny stop there, almost.

 

“I’m sure tons of grad students struggle to read. They’re so used to the hard stuff they forget the fundamentals.”

 

That hope quickly became disbelief which turned to betrayal. Oscar’s head hit the table, and Kevin’s deep chuckle had everyone at the table smiling in some way shape or form. Even Oscar, who was still currently moping against the wood of the table. Danny could feel the subtle joy, even if it was being largely overshadowed by embarrassment. 

 

“I could have sworn we promised not to speak of that again.”

 

“You brought it up first, babe.”

 

“Right, I did. How could I betray myself like so?”

 

Oscar’s head at least rose from the table, though it was quickly hidden behind his hands with a deep sigh. 

 

Just then, a loud beeping sound went off. It was higher pitched with 3 quick recessions before going off. That was their ghost alarm. Danny tensed up, with Sam and Tucker following after. Kevin took out his pager, looking at it with a frown, his lips in a tight line.

 

“It seems I have to go.”

 

Just as Kevin had begun to get up, the sound rang again, but this time it wasn’t Kevin’s pager, it was Oscars. They were both being called. Danny looked between the two, and soon enough Oscar’s expression matched his partners. 

 

“It seems we’re both being called in. Danny, can you do the protocol we taught you last week? Stay safe and at home, the three of you.”

 

“If it gets dangerous, bunker in the basement, you understand?”

 

Danny nodded a bit hesitantly. He could feel the anxiety going off of them in droves. The pair hurried out the dining room, Oscar calling out quickly before following after Kevin. Their rush did little to quell his own worries. They’d explained once, what them both being called in meant after the first time it happened a week ago. The pair had specifically made sure only one was on call during any given day, that way Danny always had someone with him. Both of them leaving meant bigger troubles. 

 

“Put our food in the fridge?”

 

“You got it.”

 

Danny answered after, watching them leave and hearing the door shut behind them. They were now alone. 

“They’ve never both been called in before.”

 

He answered, a bit quiet and a little out of it. His eyes followed after them and remained where they left. 

 

“What does that mean, Danny?”

 

“You think there’s something wrong?”

 

Tucker followed after Sam’s question. The two sharing looks of concern. Danny shot up from his seat, running upstairs to his room and transforming on the way. The two followed after him.

 

“Danny?!”

 

Sam yelled, her boots making a loud stomp behind him. Tucker wheezed behind them, his stamina the worst out of the three. 

 

“What's wrong!?”

 

Danny slammed the door to his bedroom open, rushing to his bed and pulling the bag from underneath it, taking out a thermos and a blaster.

“If they were both called in, it means there's a higher ranked ghost in Amity.”

 

“How do you know?”

Tucker asked between breaths, his hands on his knees as he rested.

 

“Because they told me. Not many ghosts would bring them in.”

 

“Well what kind of ghost would? Technus? Skulker?”

 

Sam asked, already grabbing Tucker's bag and taking out his laptop for him. She was quick to set up Danny’s room to match Tuck’s own space. Danny went to his dresser, pushing it a foot over to view a metal panel in the wall with a keypad on the front. He input an eight digit code, only putting the dresser back once it dinged. 

 

“No, ghosts like Plasmius, Undergrowth, Nocturn .” 

“Oh fudge nuggets.”

 

“Tucker just say fuck - but yeah, fuck.”

 

“I’ll see you guys, Sam, downstairs?”

 

“Yeah, I got it.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

And with that, Danny flew through the roof and off towards the center of Amity park, trying to follow his ghost sense. Tucker sat at the desk, putting his pda to the side and connecting it to the laptop in front of him. Sam had gone downstairs to put the food away, bringing hers and Tucker’s plate up for them to eat. 

---

“Oh Phantom !”

 

Plasmius called out, the grin obvious in his tone. He shot an ecto blast at a nearby billboard, the peg burning through and breaking in half. The structure crumbled, crashing down to the ground with a large boom. The halfa ignored the GIW beneath him, his bright red eyes searching and searching for one person, just one. 

 

“Right here, Plasmius.”

 

Danny responded, floating a couple feet away from the other, his eyes scoping out the ground. He needed to see where Oscar and Kevin were first. One, so he could avoid them, and two because maybe, on an off chance, he was worried about them. Vlad hadn’t been the same since Maddie’s death.

 

At first he’d moped around, gone into a depressive episode and went dark. Danny had caught him trying to clone her, but it’s not like he’d ever managed to clone Danny correctly, so his mother wasn’t any different. That route served no results. After the denial, after the depression, was just rage . 

 

“Phantom! So you’ve finally shown up and on time this chance.”

 

It was a harsh jab. Vlad had started to blame Amity for Maddie’s death, but not just Amity. He blamed Danny, the hero who didn’t save her. He blamed the world, the planet that failed her. He blamed the GIW, the government that killed her. 

 

But deep down he blamed himself. He blamed himself for not saving her, for failing her, for killing her. He hadn’t been there, which meant his hands were as covered in her blood as the rest of theirs. If he was to suffer in repentance, in agony at the lost soul forever gone, then he’d insure that everyone else responsible would too.

 

Amity was the first on his list of targets. 

 

“Stop it, Plasmius. This won’t bring her back.”

 

“What do you know of return! If I had lived and died, and you had as well, then what is to say that she won’t? Why do you deserve to come back, I , but not her . Not Maddie!” 

 

Danny recoiled, the words dealing damage of a physical hit. Vlad was grieving, of course he was . Danny was too, but Danny didn’t take it out on innocent people. Danny didn’t take it out on Amity Park. Hell, Danny didn’t even take it out on the GIW, even though they were guilty. 

Vlad was hurting everything around him to dispel the hurt he himself felt, but it doesn’t work like that. It’s not that easy, and nothing he’d ever do, nothing he’d break or repair or replace would ever bring her back. Not the same at least, and they both knew she’d loathe being a ghost. 

 

“This won’t bring her back, Plasmius! It- it won’t . I wish it did, but it won’t.”

 

“Oh easy is the hero’s burden ! You held a hand in her death as much as the scum beneath you. You killed her, boy, you didn’t protect her, you didn’t save her! You and I are no different. We both have blood on our hands.”

 

“No, Plasmius. I didn’t kill anybody.”

 

He tried to make his statement sound stronger than his conviction was. He’d played around with the idea, was plagued by it whenever nights got closer to mornings and his thoughts drifted further than his flight could take him. He was there that night, he watched. Why did he just watch? He couldn’t do anything. He knew that. He knew he was occupied and that he’d tried more than anything to save them. That didn’t stop his brain from attacking him. From reminding him about dark Danny, about how he was one step closer from becoming everything he was against. 

 

Who Vlad was now was painting the picture of why he’d become how he had when they combined. 

 

Vlad had Danny to stop him. 

 

Danny didn’t have that. 

 

“Then why is she dead !”

 

He sent an ecto blast at Danny. It was an honestly pathetic attempt. It was clear that this was a breakdown more than anything. Vlad’s voice was heightened with emotion in comparison to his usual solid tone. His attacks were reckless and uncoordinated. The destruction that surrounded them was senseless rubble. There was no greater plan, no secret motive, not direction. He was taking his feelings out on the world, and Danny found it increasingly difficult not to sympathize with him. 

 

“Because the world does that sometimes! People die , Vlad.”

 

He whispered the last part, his voice wobbling and waning close to tears. He trembled, showing a weakness never before. Vlad didn’t fare any better. Below them GIW agents fired away, every shot missing. It was getting dangerous for him, one would certainly get a lucky shot, but Danny didn’t care. Not this time, not when faced with this. 

 

“We didn’t.”

 

“No, and now we have to suffer for it.”

 

Vlad looked stricken, frowning deeply. He backed up however, still floating in the air, but now not as close. His eyes dimmed in color, the bright red becoming a dull maroon. 

 

Maybe Danny wouldn’t kick any ass today, but somehow he was okay with it.

 

“Go home Vlad. Go home and watch tapes from your college days and pet your cat Maddie and eat some shitty ice cream when we both know you could afford better.”

 

Vlad didn’t answer, merely looking down at his hands in a sense of defeat before turning invisible and disappearing from sight. Danny didn’t know where he went, but with the feeling of his ghost sense decreasing, clearly it was far away. He only hoped he didn’t have to fight him again anytime soon. He looked down at the ground, another problem waiting for his attention. 

 

Maybe a little ass kicking, as a distraction. 

Notes:

I genuinely adore Sam, Tucker, and Danny's friendship

so much

They'd do so much for eachother, just a shame that that's hindered by them being minors

koa out <3

Chapter 3: Broken Frame

Notes:

someone please notice my titles from this and last chapter absolutely BEGGING

koa continued <3

“How’s Danny doing?”

 

Sam asked, returning with their food and placing Tucker’s plate (now reheated) next to him. She’d even added a little bit more considering he was bound to get hungry. 

 

“Good, they’re not fighting? Surprisingly.”

 

Tucker said, turning away from the screen to nod thanks at Sam and grab his plate. The screen was from a nearby camera, pointing at the pair in the air. Ghosts didn’t show up on normal cameras, so the group had set up their own surveillance using Fenton tech about a year ago. It proved extremely helpful in monitoring and catching ghost actions before they became big enough to notice. Danny’s ghost sense was good, but it wasn’t omnipotent.

 

“Really? Think he’s still depressed?”

“Nah this is giving more ‘I’m gonna kill everyone in this room and then myself’ vibes because something did in fact happen to Danny’s mom.” 

 

“Oh so rage destroying.”

“Yup.”

 

Tucker popped the p in his response, eating his food after. He stared at the screen. There was no audio, only video, so he couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it wasn’t good from the body language Danny exhumed.

 

“I think they’re talking about Mrs.Fenton.”

 

Sam jumped up from her seat on Danny’s bed, setting her plate and cup aside and sliding right up next to Tucker. She leaned over his shoulder, her arm around the back of the chair as she watched.

 

“Oh definitely. You think we should make comms so we can hear next time?”

 

“How are we gonna do that?”

 

“Danny can do it.”

 

“Yeah, okay. We can bring it up tomorrow.”

 

Tucker rolled his eyes. Their friend was smart, but they’d been using the Fentons’ pre-made schematics for all their weaponry up until this point. Sure, Danny had altered a thing here or there, with Tucker helping on the coding front, but making something from scratch? As if.

 

“Right, cus K and O won’t be here. Why again?”

“Work trip.”

 

Tucker responded, attention still fully on the video. It seemed to get heated over there. The destruction around them alone was enough to consider this one of Vlad’s rage fits, though the man himself was more resigned than anything else. 

 

“It’s weird they’re both going. I mean they haven’t left Danny alone at all since he got here, but now a 2 day trip?”

 

“Sam, it’s normal to not leave your kids home alone for more than a few hours at a time.”

 

“Danny’s not their kid though. I just-”

“You don’t think they think of him as their kid already do you?”

Tucker asked, gasping and turning over to Sam. 

“I mean they are pretty domestic. The family dinners, the house rules, the semi strict curfew, etcetera etcetera.”

 

“As the only person between the three of us to have normal parents-”

 

“Tuck your parents were friends with Danny’s parents, they’re far from normal.”

 

“As I was saying , they’re the most normal between the three of us, at least. K, O, and Danny def fit the poster family.”

 

That wasn’t a lie, they did. They left work and home separate, they ate dinner together at the same time every day, they cooked and cleaned and shared house chores. The couple even had movie nights, and while Danny was always invited, they still respected his space. There was no forcing him to join them or do anything.

 

More than anything, they were patient . 

 

“I would be more happy for him if they weren’t, oh I don’t know, ghost hunters ?!?”

 

Sam said, emphasizing the last part by waving her hand in the air. The ridiculousness of the situation getting to her. It seemed that Danny was no short of guardians that wanted his death or experimentation. The Fentons were ghost hunters and scientists, Vlad was… Vlad, and now with operatives K and O, who were government agents who proceeded with the capture and eradication of ghosts, Danny was short on luck in the parent area. They were heavily concerned at first, but had they not known them by face and literally kept track of every GIW agent to enter Amity park, they wouldn’t have believed they were ghost hunters. 

 

It was honestly ridiculous. Here was this couple, who they had thought were just partners in the field, with a child of their accidental civilian casualties who happens to be the very number one thing they’re trying to capture and destroy, perhaps experiment on. Had they not been amazing parents so far, Sam and Tuck would have pulled out the to-go bag and sent Danny half way over to New Jersey 2 months ago. 

 

As it stands, however, the couple were kind. They were kind, patient, and understanding. They gave Danny space while also letting him know they were there. They told him the truth, the whole truth, if they couldn’t they’d let him know. They treated him like an equal while still balancing the line of a parent and a child. It was honestly incredible and too good to be true. 

Sam had had her suspicions, she had had more than just that actually. She was skeptical to a T and prepared to call out any red flags right then and there, but there was none. The only thing was Oscar's reaction to reminiscing how he had met Kevin. Not that that was any of Sam’s business. She was here for Danny and Danny alone. 

 

“Yeah but they don’t know, and Danny’s not a danger in his own home . Think about it Sam. They don’t keep weapons here, they don’t attack first, ask questions later, they give him freedom. They’re perfect for him, and yes I mean besides the ghost hunter part.”

 

“I still would prefer if he lived with one of us.”

 

“You know he couldn’t’ve. One of our parents would have to foster him. My family doesn’t have the money nor space, they would have done it, but it wouldn’t be feasible. Your parents hate Danny, point blank.”

 

Tucker added in a monotonous voice, glancing back at the computer as he realized that Vlad had gone missing and now Danny was confronting the GIW. He turned fully, giving the screen his full attention as he searched through other viewpoints in the area. 

 

The situation they were in wasn’t the best, to be honest. It was just Danny and the GIW, but he knew Danny wouldn’t leave with such stark destruction. Especially since there could be people under the rubble.

 

“Sam, check this out.”

 

He let the chair slide to the right, making room for Sam to look over his shoulder. Sam breathed sharply, cursing a storm under her breath as she pulled a stool from the other side of the room, seating it next to Tucker. 

 

“Think I should go out there?”

 

The screen displayed 3 GIW agents setting up some unknown machine, most likely a weapon, and aiming it right towards where Danny was lifting the billboard that had crashed earlier. 

 

“And do what? Get shot?”

 

“Distract them, dumbass. Someone has to warn Danny.”

 

“Maybe you were onto something with those comms.”

 

“Yeah, maybe .”

 

She shoved the stool back, grabbing the combat boots she brought in her overnight bag and using the surface to help put them on. Tucker got up as well, grabbing two extra blasters and the fenton shield Danny had made. It was a prototype, based off of the spectre deflector Jack had made last year. This version was more solid, and intended to tank not just ghost attacks but ecto weaponry as well. They hadn’t gotten around to human weapons yet, but that was low on the list of priorities. 

 

Sam strapped the shield on her wrist, making sure it was secure before clipping a blaster to her hip and catching the thermos Tucker threw at her. That also was soon clipped to her belt. 

 

“Know what to do if it gets dangerous for Casper?”

 

“Soup ‘im and run.”

 

Sam answered, rolling her eyes and taking her phone out. She called Tucker then put in one of her wireless earbuds. It was the best they got currently. Tucker put his phone on speaker beside him, turning his attention to the screens once more. 

 

“I’ll be on the lookout, don’t die.”

“How could I when Danny took all the death with him?”

 

She responds before running out the room and down the stairs, closing the front door behind her.

---

Danny was not having a good time. Since Vlad was gone, he’d usually be able to just leave, but the amount of destruction that went on prior to Danny’s arrival was far too much for him to simply leave to the city . Apart from the billboard, an entire building was practically rubble, the roads were indented, some cars thrown, and another building with a giant hole on the side. 

Phantom had to do damage control, so that’s what he did. He started by grabbing the fallen billboard, picking it up and carrying it to an empty parking lot, placing it nicely in one of the spots. He was sure to check if anyone was buried underneath. It was times like these that he wished he could sense people too, voluntarily at least. If it was like his ghost sense he wouldn’t know a minute of peace. 

 

“Anyone under there?!”

 

No response. Which could mean nothing. It could mean that maybe this building was unoccupied and there isn’t anyone to answer.

 

Or it could mean he was too late. Again . 

 

“Please respond if you are!!”

 

He tried again, and again. Vlad wasn’t one to outright murder a soul, let alone get innocents involved, but Danny knew he was grieving, and Vlad’s grieving process was all consuming. As of right now, Vlad did things without reason or purpose. There was no grander scheme or objective, no item to claim or power to take. This was pure unadulterated rage. He was taking out his negative emotions on the world in any way he could. Danny was never one to sympathize with Vlad of all people, but he could understand. 

 

He wasn’t allowed to judge after seeing his future self.

 

Danny had managed to take out a fair amount of concrete and place it on the empty parking lot before he was reminded of the fact that he wasn’t alone . A powerful energy singed his side, making him cry out and crash on top of the stone he had been about to move. The right of his stomach was burning, the pain unbearable as his body tried and failed to repair itself quickly enough. There was shouting all around him, a high pitched scream that sounded distinctly like Sam had him sitting up, regardless of how the movement made him whimper. 

 

Sam was standing tall, a gun in each of her hands pointed right at a group of agents across from her. Three of them laid on the floor unconscious, their suits smoking. Her back was to Danny, gasping for breath as she stood her ground. 

 

“You shoot him, you get me !”

 

She screamed at the top of her lungs, the men before her looking at each other clueless on what to do. Danny could make out Kevin- Agent K and Agent O in the background, around a machine. It looked similar to a canon, just smaller and made of metal with white paint and green accents. That must have been what hit him, and O was the one behind it. 

Kevin and Oscar had shot him. 

 

Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

---

Sam breathed heavy and hard, her heart practically pounding out of her chest. The scream she had let out when she watched Danny crash from the air was visceral. Her throat felt raw with the abuse she had put it through in the last five minutes. Five fucking minutes. That's how long it took for everything to turn to shit.

 

“You shoot him, you get me !”

 

“Sam, how is he?”

 

Tucker asked, worry lacing his tone. Sam could hear the faint sound of a keyboard in the background. She didn’t know what he was doing exactly, but hopefully it’d help. She tried her best to make sure her aim was steady. She was the best among them with a gun, but that didn’t mean her skill outdid her anxiety. Danny wasn’t getting back up as quickly as he usually did. Danny wasn’t quipping away to the crowd. Danny wasn’t moving . Not like he should be. 

 

Sam tried not to let it get to her. 

 

“Tuck. Tuck he’s not moving.”

 

She whispered, the earbud good enough quality to pick it up. She couldn’t see Danny anymore, having intercepted him and the GIW before they managed to fire another shot. He was behind her, but he wasn’t talking. Subtly she could hear his sounds of pain. He hadn’t healed yet, he hadn’t healed yet . 

 

“Okay, it’ll be okay Sam. You know he won’t go down.”

 

He didn’t sound very believable. Sam didn’t want to dwell on it, moving on instead.

 

“Tuck, I need you to find out what the ever loving fuck was the thing they just used on him.”

 

She fired a warning shot at the ground, right at the foot of an Agent who’d stepped closer to her. She kept her eyes on all of them, noting their movements. Distantly, she could hear arguing in the background and a light coming from the machine. 

 

They were gonna fire again. Sam didn’t move.

 

But someone else did.

 

“Put your guns down! That is a direct order!”

 

Agent K had jumped in front of Sam, his body completely covering hers and by proxy, Danny’s. Sam didn’t let her relief show, stepping back a bit and keeping her gun trained on the other’s back. She wasn’t going to trust them so easily, not when they’d shot Danny. 

 

“ I have it Sam. Doesn’t look too good. I’ll debrief at home. We’re gonna need a secure channel.”

 

Sam didn’t respond, not wanting Agent K to hear her. Instead, she backed away further making a run for Danny who was now seated up, laying against a concrete slab clutching his side. 

 

“No innocents! You know the rule!” 

 

Sam ignored the protests, dropping to the floor at Danny’s side and pressing against the wound herself, ignoring the green blood covering her hand. It wasn’t a lot, fortunately. 

 

“Phantom, Phantom can you hear me?”

 

She whispered, rushed in her tone, frantic and worried to all hell. Danny let out a groan in pain at the pressure added to his side, but he nodded.

 

“Loud and a little clear, Sam.”

 

“We have to go. Please, can you get up?”

“Where do you plan to go? Back here?”

 

“As fucking if, back in the house of those bastards? Hell no-”

“We have to.”

 

Danny cut Sam off, overhearing Tucker through the earbud. Sam quickly took out the other side, putting it in Danny’s ear.

 

“Danny! You doing alright?”

 

“Healing, slowly. We have to go back guys, they’ll find out I ditched if we don’t.”

 

“Fuck that! Let them think so.”

 

Sam had started to pick Danny up, his body weighing practical feathers in this form. Agent K was still behind them, shielding them. Though Agent O had begun to argue, pointing behind K. Sam couldn’t hear what was going on, but she knew Danny could. 

 

“I have some ecto-dejecto ready if you need it, since we can’t go to the portal right now.”

 

“Thanks Tuck.”

 

Danny responded, tired and breathless. Sam didn’t like the sound of that, taking out the Fenton thermos and souping Danny. She was quick to clip it back to her belt and make a run for it, ducking beneath the rubble and running through the parking lot Danny had used as his makeshift landfill for the situation. From there she continued until she reached the house.

---

Tucker left the laptop open, watching it from the corner of his eye as he grabbed a vial of ecto-dejecto from the bag and put a towel over the bed. He didn’t know whether Danny would still be bleeding or not, but the easier time they had cleaning the better. 

 

Not even a minute later, Sam barreled into the room, stress obvious on her features. Her hands shook as she unclipped the thermos and handed it to Tucker. 

 

“Are they still there?”

 

“O and K are on their way back, but they stayed for a bit to facilitate things. I think K is an upper management agent.”

 

Tucker clicked the thermos release button, watching as Danny fell right on top of the towel he rested. He breathed sharply at the sight of his best friend, injured and bleeding. 

 

He quickly shoved the vial and gun into Danny’s hand. 

 

“Danny?”

 

Tucker asked hesitantly, Danny looked over to him, his eyes clear but stress in his brow. He was in pain; his friend was hurt . 

 

“All good just- just ouch .”

 

Danny loaded the vial into the gun and shot it into the meat beneath the injury, sighing in relief as his body completely closed up and healed. The energy boost it granted him wasn’t one he would complain about. Tucker sagged in relief, laying on the bed next to Danny, Sam followed suit, sitting instead. 

 

“So what are we gonna do?”

 

Sam asked, breaking the small amount of silence they had. Danny flinched.

 

“What we did before.”

 

“Danny you can’t stay here!”

 

Sam yelled, turning to him and grabbing his shoulder. 

 

“Okay then what do you suggest? Huh?”

 

Danny asked a little heatedly. Tucker watched the interaction in front of him, concerned. 

 

“Guys-”

 

“I don’t know ! But anything is better than this! Danny you’re going to-”

 

“What’s better? Vlad ?! You know what’ll happen then! I can’t be in foster care either, Sam!”

 

“Then what about me! I have room!”

 

“I’m not going to stay hidden like some dirty secret in your attic Sam!”

 

“Guys! Enough! K and O are almost back!”

 

Tucker yelled, interrupting the two of them. Every one of them was breathing heavily. Sam cursed, getting off the bed and standing, pacing slightly. Her hands were in her hair, harsh and pulling. Stress and anger getting to her. 

 

Tucker got up as well, standing in front of her but between them.

 

“Let’s think about this calmly, please?”

 

He asked softly, next to him Danny de-transformed. His human form echoing exhaustion. Sam took a couple deep breaths, in and out, in and out. 

 

“Right, right. I’m sorry, okay? I’m just worried.”

“I know, I know you are Sam but there’s no other option. This is the best one we got.”

 

“They just shot you ! With something that can actually hurt and affect you longer term. Danny soon enough you won’t be able to heal from it.”

 

“I know that Sam-”

 

“Guys-”

 

Tucker tried to interrupt, but to no avail.

 

“-but there aren’t any other options. At least I’m safe here as Danny . Couldn’t say the same with my parents.”

 

“Guys I think we need to stop talking about this-”

 

“That’s still bad ! Danny, do you hear yourself?!”

 

Tucker groaned, he wasn’t getting to them. Instead he rushed to the desk, shutting everything off and shoving it away in his bag. Any other time he’d take more care with his belongings, but not now. He grabbed the slightly bloodied towel and threw it at Danny and Sam’s face.

 

“Guys!”

 

Finally the two looked at him, the towel limp in their hands.

 

“They’re-

 

“ Danny!?”

 

The sound of Agent K’s- Kevin’s voice was loud through the walls. They were home.

 

“...here.”

 

Tucker said weakly, watching as the two scrambled to get rid of all evidence of ghosts. Danny looked at the towel and then at Sam before pulling it from her hold and shoving it in the hamper. He’d have to take it out and hand wash it later. Backpacks of gear were quickly thrown to Danny who then phased them through the floor. 

 

“Okay! Look natural!”

 

“ What -”

 

“Danny? It’s Kevin and Oscar, can we come in?”

 

The three exchanged panicked glances. Danny went to lay on the bed, a book in hand- upside down. Tucker took out his PDA and started hitting each button one by one with his pointer finger, and Sam was sprawled on the floor next to the bed, a coloring book in her hand that no one knew where it came from. 

 

“Yeah!”

 

The trio shared one last nervous look before the door opened, two agents in tow. 

 

Notes:

im sorry! its hard to not write angst, it gets better tho!

hopefully (im not in charge of what my hands do!)

koa out <3

Chapter 4: Hopeful?

Notes:

Guys i didnt read this b4 posting soooo youve been warned

ngl i dead plotted this book then it got OFF TRACK in chapter 3. so really i have no plot

but its okay i have faith in my brain!

koa continued <3

“Kevin, what are you doing ??”

 

“We are not risking civilian casualties for Phantom, especially not Danny’s friend .” 

 

Oscar quieted, his anger falling instantly. Kevin stood firm in front of Sam, ordering his men down.

 

“I’m sorry, O. I know how you feel about this but he can’t lose anyone else. This is an order.”

 

“And if we have a separate group go around and intercept them? She won’t be harmed, Danny won’t lose anyone else.”

 

“No, O, we can’t risk that. One stray bullet and it’s another tragedy.”

 

His voice softened. 

 

“We’ll get him next time, okay, baby?”

 

Oscar sighed.

“Fine.” 

 

Danny didn’t remember much after that, Sam having souped him up and heading off running. 

---

“Looks like Sam’s here too.”

 

Oscar said, his demeanor slightly off, but not negative. Kevin followed in behind him, grabbing the two chairs in the room and sitting down on one. Oscar followed suit.

 

“We wanted to talk about your involvement in ghost matters.”

 

He said, straight to the point. The three tensed, all slowly putting down their items of distraction and getting up, sitting on the bed. Danny sat in front of the other two. 

 

“Usually we’d keep this completely separate from the home, but after seeing Sam out there, we realized we didn’t notice how related you were with the ghost attacks.”

 

Danny stared ahead, a blank look on his face, hiding his anxiety. This was it, his life here was over. Of course it was. At least he hadn’t gotten too comfortable. Right? Right.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Sam asked, all bite and no obvious tell of fear. Danny and Tucker could tell though, of course they could. The two looked at eachother, the halfa wincing. Tucker already had an escape plan in mind, setting a solid path to the bags and out the window.

 

“Nothing! We just want some answers.”

 

Oscar was quick to placate them. His leg was tapping extensively, a habit Danny had picked up on when the man was conflicted or nervous. Which was it?

 

“Where’s Phantom?”

 

Kevin cut in, his voice firm, but not harsh. Maybe they were still in the clear. 

 

“We don’t know.”

 

“I only got him off scene, after that he disappeared on me.”

 

“Right. What’s your relationship with him?”

 

“He’s our friend .”

 

Danny said harshly, tensing. The other two inched closer to each other, Sam’s legs touching the ground in case they had to bolt. Kevin and Oscar looked at eachother, sighing. Kevin had rubbed a hand along his head, back and forth. Another tell, Danny knew. One that displayed his stress. They were stressed. They didn’t want to scare them off but at the same time they had to do their jobs. Danny wondered what they’d choose. Him, or work. His parents never chose him before, would they be different? He hoped they’d be. 

 

“He’s a ghost .”

 

Oscar practically snarled with such conviction, such disgust, that it made Danny flinch back. Was this what he thought? He watched as Kevin put a hand on Oscar’s shoulder, a grounding grip.

 

“What… what makes you believe he’s your friend?”

 

He asked hesitantly, a strange sight from a man so sure of himself usually. Sam and Tuckered had matching expressions of frustration, almost to ask ‘are you serious? ’. 

 

“I don’t know!? The way we talk, or the way he listens to our problems?’

 

Sam raised her voice first, anger and hurt lacing her tone. How dare they imply Phantom wasn’t human enough to form bonds? How dare they imply that he wasn’t a person ? Danny? Awkward, smart, sarcastic, Danny? He was a person, he was a person more than most people in their damn high school. To hear that was equivalent to treason in Sam’s ears, in her heart. ‘You were supposed to love him. All of him!’

 

“He’s funny. He’s sarcastic and teases us and pokes fun. He protects us, and everyone else at that stupid school even if he doesn’t like or agree with them. He’s a hero. Who wouldn’t be friends with him?”

 

Tucker included. His voice was more reserved, hurt, perhaps even shocked. It was so easy to love Danny, the prospect of not viewing him as a friend was so bizarre to him. It hurt. 

 

All Danny could do was watch, his heart swelling at the descriptions of his friends about him. He was waiting, waiting for K and O to jump at the statement, scream how they were wrong, how Phantom- no, Danny was a monster. He waited, and he waited, and he waited before he finally looked at them. Their faces were stone, much like how they were on the field, but unlike outside they didn’t have their sunglasses to hide their expressions. They didn’t have a wall to block their emotions. The eyes are a window, right? 

 

What Danny saw behind the glass sheen of their eyes, were deeply conflicted men. Oscar, Oscar who was the one more against ghosts, who had a visceral and deeply rooted hatred for them, was hesitant. His eyes shook, the pupils buzzing about at each of them, squinting, searching . Danny felt it, felt the confliction: the anger, the sadness. Oscar wanted to scream out, to disagree, but he didn’t. Oscar wanted to believe , to understand, to be what he needed when he first witnessed the ghosts attack, their harm. No one believed him. He couldn’t do that to Danny. 

 

But Danny didn’t see that. Danny saw a battle in those brown eyes. Danny saw anger and hurt, love and loss, grief and restraint. He couldn’t make out what that meant for him. Emotions didn’t tell stories, emotions were scars. He didn’t understand why Oscar felt that way, that was something only the words that didn’t leave the man’s heart could answer. 

 

Kevin was different. Kevin, who had no personal affliction, who’s loyalty didn’t lie with the GIW but with Oscar . Kevin, who was surprisingly the open minded one between the two. Kevin who’s eyes displayed a subtle hope, yet that same confliction as Oscars. This time, there were no personal ties. No, no, what he battled was not traumatic chains that tied him down, but the keys that kept him stationed. Oscar was trapped, and Kevin, free as he may be, would sit there with him, keys in hand for when the other was ready to move. 

He would never be ready to move.

 

Kevin was between his devotion, his loyalties. Oscar and the GIW? Or his new ward. His new ward who came so hurt, so damaged, so wounded. His new ward- no, his new son . His son who was begging to be listened to, begging for someone to care, to love him, to be kind . How could Kevin deny him that?

 

How could Kevin deny Oscar that? 

 

Danny didn’t know. Danny didn’t know what that conflict was for. What the war behind that deep blue meant or showed. Danny saw Kevin waiver. Danny saw Kevin’s eyes droop, go vacant, lost. Danny saw the impenetrable figure that was Operative K dwindle down into a man whose glances shifted from his husband to Danny, not sparing Sam or Tucker even a second. Danny saw strength wither, resolve crumble, and glass shatter. Danny saw worry. Danny saw hope. 

 

Danny knew nothing. 

 

“... Kevin? Oscar?”

He whispered, looking at the two with a flame of hope that was dimming by the second. Kevin’s hand slid down from Oscar’s shoulder to his arm, rubbing his thumb back and forth soothingly.

 

“Alright Danny. We’ll talk about this another time. We won’t ask any more questions, right, Oscar?”

 
Oscar took a deep breath, sighing.

 

“Right.”

 

“You kids get some rest.”

 

Kevin said, finally letting go of Oscar. Oscar got up, leaving them behind and walking to his bedroom. Kevin stood as well, but didn’t make a move out yet.

 

“I’m sorry. About him, and about what happened. Sam, are you okay? You didn’t get hurt.”

 

“I’m just peachy .”

 

She said, harsh and through grinding teeth. Danny winced slightly. 

 

“I’m glad. That was really dangerous, and I don’t want you or the others doing anything like that again, understood?”

 

His voice was firm, his eyes unwavering. He meant it, but they couldn’t agree. 

 

“Stop trying to kill our friend and we won't have to get involved.” 

 

“If it helps I never leave…?”

 

Tucker tried to offset Sam’s fire, but it fell short. Danny just shook his head. Kevin was unimpressed.

 

“ You could die. Ghosts can’t. I don’t want you out there, do you understand? I can’t always be there to stop them.”

 

“...yes.”

 

Danny answered, cutting off any retort Sam or Tucker could have. It was better this way- to agree and comply. To let them think he was listening even if he was lying. It was better this way. 

 

Kevin sighed, the fight leaving him. All that was left was an exhausted man, the years of field work and stress wearing on him. Danny never saw him like that, so tired, so confused. Kevin started to walk, stopping at the door, his hand on the frame as he turned his head. 

 

“I’m… proud of you. All of you.”

 

He shut the door before anyone could even respond. His footsteps quiet as they left, despite his larger stature. Danny turned to the others, confused, bewildered. What just happened ? The three visibly relaxed.

 

“What… what was that?”

 

Danny asked, his voice quiet, a whisper that broke through their silence. 

 

“Did he…?”

 

“No clue. No clue! But guys, you gotta look at this.”

 

Tucker said quickly, practically falling off the bed in a rush to get his bag and by proxy laptop. He opened it, shoving the screen in their faces. 

 

“It’s bad guys, real bad.”

 

Danny took hold of the laptop. His eyes skimmed the form, back and forth, back and forth. They were the schematics to the weapon that hit him. The materials, the angles, the experiments used to test its effectibility- all of it was a giant red flag. For one, they had started using pure ectoplasm as a source of energy, rather than the diluted electrified version previously. This was an issue, a serious issue. To get pure ectoplasm, they needed access to a portal. The GIW didn’t have a portal, but who did? The Fentons. 

 

Danny wasn’t allowed to go back, not for the reasons Oscar and Kevin had told him, but because the GIW was monopolizing his family’s basement to attack him, to hurt him.

 

K and O have been lying to him.

 

“Fuck. You think-”

 

“The Fenton portal. Guys, they’ve been using the portal . How did we not piece that together- I mean they never let me go back ! Safety? My ghostly ass. Safety from them maybe!”

 

Danny raised his voice standing up on the bed and throwing his hands in the air. He started to float, pacing in the air as he rambled.

 

“That’s- that’s so disrespectful ! Trespassing? Trespassing and theft !”

 

“It’s the government Danny. They technically have ownership of the property until you’re 18.”

 

“But Jazz!”

“Jazz didn’t claim it and the house and lab was left to you Danny, not Jazz.” 

 

Tucker reminded Danny, trying to calm him down but only fueling the flame.

 

“So I’m supposed to sit here and let them get away with it? Is that what you’re saying?”

 

Danny’s voice cracked by the end, defeat lacing his expressions as he crumbled down to the bed.

 

“Hell no. We fight back.”

 

Sam said, a sharp grin on her face. She grabbed her bag, a black satchel with chain links along the front in a corset pattern. She pulled a mace out of it, clicking it together and throwing it on her shoulder.

 

“We trash their shit. K and O are gonna be gone the weekend right? I say we break in, destroy whatever they're using- no, steal it, and postpone their operation. Simply, right?”

 

“Except for the, oh I don’t know, extreme ghost defense system ??”

“You got around it for two years, Danny, think we can’t get passed one more time? Plus, Tucker can get in.”

 

“... I can?”

Sam turned to him, an unimpressed look on her face. Tucker, who had a hand pointing at his face with his head tilted, quickly squared up. He nodded along, a faux confidence taking over.

 

“I can! Yup, definitely! Not a doubt in my mind.”

 

“See? Easy peasy.”

 

“That feels like a jinx.”

 

“Shhhh, trust, we’ll be fine.”

 

“Now that’s definitely a jinx!”

---

“Okay you three, we’ll be back in two days. Stay in the house, we mean it. We will know.” 

 

Kevin stated, stern as ever. Danny was honestly surprised the two had still decided to go with what happened yesterday, but hey, better for him. He didn’t know if he really wanted to see them much right now. Sam was sulking behind him, trying to glare but falling short in Danny’s eyes. He doubted the two were even the slightest bit intimidated by her. 

 

“Danny we’ll talk when we get back, okay?”

 

He was a bit surprised to find that Oscar was the one to say it. The man had been subtly (not really) avoiding him since yesterday, leaving rooms and conversations as if they were the plague. He didn’t want to take it to heart, well, he tried not to. Kevin hadn’t shied away from him at all, a small mercy in the light of his newfound strained relationship with one of his foster parents. 

 

Oscar was rather quick to give him a small pat on the shoulder and exit the house, leaving Kevin to sigh behind him. Kevin faced Danny, a little tilt to the corner of his mouth. It was an expression Danny noted as the closest thing to a smile, reassuring. His emotions were calmer in comparison to his husband’s rattled state of anxiety, regret, and subtle betrayal. It was as if Danny was the bad guy for befriending a ghost, or helping one. 

It only solidified that he should keep his secret close to his chest. 

 

“He’ll come around. He’s just worried.”

 

Danny was sure Kevin was trying to reassure him, comfort him, something, but it fell flat when Danny could feel what Oscar felt, and not a bit of that displayed his willingness to be on Danny’s side. Instead of voicing that, he smiled slightly. It was a lopsided thing, filled with unsurety, but it showed something to Kevin that made him nod and head for the door. He ruffled Danny’s hair before leaving, grabbing a bag and closing the door behind him. 

 

“So what now?”

 

Tucker voiced out, unsure. He’d been quiet all morning, probably mulling over what happened and what they could’ve done better. That didn’t matter though, there was no changing how they fucked up. 

 

“Now, we break into a government facility.”

 

“Sam-”

 

“No, Danny, that thing actually hurt you. It took you hours to heal that. We need to find what it is and get rid of it. Better yet, find out how to combat it.”

 

“Sam’s right there Danny. I hate to say it but you’re outmatched here.”

 

“Not you too, Tuck.”

 

“I say we follow K and O.”

 

“How would we do that?”

“You can duplicate can’t you?”

 

Sam was clearly on the offensive side of the group. Danny could make out her rage and resentment clear as day. She was angry, he understood that, but Danny hadn’t been a person of war. He didn’t like fighting on large scales or putting people in danger. A scuffle with Ember or Skulker or even the Box Ghost was fine, it was fun almost, but that’s because no one seriously got hurt . This? This was different. This was a practical war and Danny was a single soldier against a government. There was no revolution, there was no militia, there was just Danny .

 

What would make him enough to combat against this?

 

“I don’t know guys.”

 

“Danny, make a duplicate and have him follow them. It’ll give us a good look at what they’re doing. They’re agents before they’re your foster parents, Danny.”

 

And wasn’t that the thing? Danny was always going to be second to their work. He’d always be one step away from being an experiment. He was the enemy, the danger, the monster surrounded by “heroes” like his parents, like Oscar, like Kevin. They were always going to be ghost hunters before parents, agents before caretakers. Danny was not the priority, and maybe Sam was right. Maybe that was something he should be mindful of. 

 

“Sam, what the fuck?”

 

Tucker hissed, looking at her offendedly, almost as if he was the one it was directed to instead of Danny. 

 

“It’s true! They shot him, Tuck. He could have died for real.”

 

“That’s still a shit thing to say, Sam.”

 

“No, she’s uh, she’s right.”

 

Danny’s quiet admission had the heated argument die in an instant. The two looked at him in varying degrees of expressions and emotions. Sam didn’t look as triumph as she would when Danny took her side. No, instead she looked a little shocked, a little apologetic, and maybe even a little hurt. It was as if she wasn’t expecting for Danny to agree, for Danny to not jump at the chance to defend his fosters as he had his parents all that time ago.  

 

Tucker looked confused, but then worried. Danny barely even had to try to feel the emotions from him. Tucker probably knew what that meant, knew what Danny was thinking in the way he always did. Tucker’s eyes squinted, a bewildered look on his face. 

 

“Danny-”

 

The pair watched as Danny split in half, a duplicate forming and turning invisible in front of their eyes. He looked a little defeated, staring at the space which the duplicate would be. 

 

“Are you sure about this- I mean it could be fine.”

 

“Now or never right? If I wait any long they’ll be too far away.”

 

Only Danny could tell that the duplicate was hovering, probably waiting for Danny’s direct mental order. Sam hadn’t backed down, still believing this was the right course of action. With a sigh and a final look between his two friends, he sent the ghost off. 

 

“Danny I just-”

 

Tucker started, cutting himself off and unsure of what to say. There was a strong amount of sympathy there that Danny couldn’t really interpret, though it was overpowered by Sam’s urgency.

 

“C’mon. We gotta go plan.”

 

Right. Infiltrating the giw and Fenton works. Sam had started to stalk up the stairs and Danny followed for a few steps, stopping when Tucker himself hadn’t moved.

 

“Tuck?”

Sam was already gone.

 

“I just… you know this isn’t your fault, right?”

 

Danny paused, a sharp intake of breath. Right, this whole mess was because he’d gotten distracted, or maybe because he’d refused to go with Vlad. Danny had serial behavior of sticking by unfit parents, unfit people. His allies few and far in between. His enemies being his own parents, and then his own foster parents. Not his fault? Maybe, but a lot of his problems stem from fuck ups he’s made. Images of answer keys and apocalypses filled his head, but Danny was quick to shake it off. 

 

“I’m serious dude, being a halfa is not a bad thing. You’re just really unlucky.”

 

“...right. Cus being half dead is a walk in the park.”

 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

 

“I know, I know.”

 

Danny grinned, trying to convey a calmer attitude. Tucker stressing was good for no one, and if Danny had to subtly skirt by his friend’s keen eyes to keep him happy, he would. 

 

“I’m serious. They’ll come around, they’re different from the Fentons.”

 

“Only time will tell, I guess.”

 

“Gross now I’m thinking about clockwork.”

 

Danny could feel the relief in Tucker when he laughed at the comment. He patted him on the back and pushed him in the direction of the stairs.

 

“C’mon then, any more time and Sam’ll come down and drag us herself.”

 

“Yeah yeah, hands off Danny I’m not the one who’s gotten stuck in floors-”

 

“Hey!”

 

Laughter was the last thing he heard before they both tumbled up the stairs, pushing and shoving to try and make each other slip. Maybe Tucker was right, and maybe they’d be okay. 

 

Danny didn’t want to rid  himself of hope so soon. 

Notes:

I didn't read or edit this so someone tell me if it sucked please

koa out <3

Chapter 5: Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Notes:

hey... guys... guess whos back, back again

so like... i may have gotten distracted but its okay cus ive returned! With a chapter!

this chapter kind of wrote itself idk how it happened but uh shit escalated

koa continued <3

“We’re not blowing a hole through the wall Sam, I can literally go intangible.”

“They deserve it!”

 

Sam and Tucker argued, with Sam obviously being the aggressive one, her methods clear and destructive. Tucker was one of more subtlety, always has been. Danny was self-aware enough to know he wasn’t one for boring secretive missions. So while he was totally for trashing the place in the most disastrous way possible, he didn’t want to get in trouble with Kevin and Oscar. 

 

“Sam, maybe let’s not get me shot?”

 

He offered. Tucker looked at him graciously, a thank you in his eyes. He didn’t have the heart to tell Tucker that his heart was with Sam’s methods. Sam wasn’t too pleased, glaring at him and not even having the decency to hide it. He sighed, dragging a hand down his face.

 

“Getting shot hurts , dude.”

 

At that Sam winced, probably thinking about how he just had a cannon fired at him and actually land . Oh how gracious it was for her to remember that he still felt pain . Really running it home there Sam.

 

“Sorry,”

 

She replied, wincing. At least she had the decency to look ashamed. Danny just waved it off. Sam was always like that, she got her head stuck in the greater good- in the larger battles. She was ignorant of the sacrifices made along the way. It just hurt a little when she forgot he was the sacrifice in her scenarios. 

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“So, my plan. Danny sneaks his hand through the floor and puts one of the cameras in there, we see what we’re dealing with. Too many guys and Sam makes a distraction up front.”

 

Tucker supplied, already grabbing the spare camera they kept. It was the same as the ones they’d placed around amity, just smaller. Sam nodded, grabbing hold of a small pouch in her bag. Inside was one of the fenton blaster bracelets and some ecto-dejecto. They were small, but they packed a punch. 

 

“How big of a distraction can I do?”

 

Danny hummed, thinking. 

 

“Think Lunch Lady.”

 

“Damn. Not even Cujo?”

 

“Definitely not .”

 

Sam grumbled to herself, strapping the bracelet on and shoving the pack back in her bag. Danny and Tucker didn’t comment, careful of redirecting her ire at them. Danny understood, he did, Sam wanted to be on the front line; she wanted a space to help. He got it, really, but she was human and while ecto-weapons weren’t fatal, they still left burns. At least he could heal within the hour, but Sam? Painfully human Sam? He couldn’t let that happen, and neither would Tucker.

 

She could handle herself, he knew, but not against something like this. 

“Danny, just place the camera down and wait for my instructions, okay? Copy everything over with this.”

 

He handed Danny a flashdrive.

 

“Then when you’re done, close the portal, and trash the place. Just ten minutes, that’s all we need, okay, Sam?”

 

“Yup.”

 

She responded, still a little bitter. She was messing with the cuff on her wrist, probably internally doing the math of whether shooting something was worth it. Danny hoped the answer she came up with was no . 

 

“Okay Danny? All good. Take what you can, trash what you don't need. Promise me you’ll trash it.”

 

And that’s- that’s where Tucker got him. Danny was so ready, so ready to destroy what his parents worked years on- he was, but now? Tucker had seen right through him before Danny even realized it himself. How could he? How could he trash the lab- the thing his parents loved most? The space that was so Fenton it made him ache even thinking about it. Danny didn’t think he’d be able to do it. To destroy everything they spent over a decade working on- their life's work, gone, just like that, because of Danny . 

 

No, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t rid his old home of the only proof he had left of his parents existing. Of him existing as the creature he is today. That portal was the start of everything and the end of his everything. He died in it, was reborn in it, he fought with it, and saved lives with it. He couldn’t destroy it, no matter how much he wanted to stop the GIW from using it.

 

Something must have shown on his face, something that displayed his utter disagreement with the idea, because Tucker frowned.

 

“Danny.”

 

He called out, hesitant, but firm. Sam looked up from the cuff, her hands stopping their repetitive movement.

 

“Danny, you have to destroy it.”

“I can’t.”

 

“Danny-”

Sam added, butting in. Her voice was filled with conviction. It was easy for them. It was easy for them to tell him what to do, ask him to destroy the one thing that proved his parents existence, his existence. It was so easy for them , but not for Danny. Why would anything be easy for Danny?

 

“I can’t destroy it, I’m sorry.”

 

“Danny, the GIW are building weapons out of the portal! They’re using its energy against you ! You, Danny. Not Vlad or Nocturn or some other asshole of the week, you . You can’t just let them keep doing that!”

 

“And I’m not!”

 

“How do you plan to do that then, huh?!”

 

Him and Sam were now arguing, somehow they both ended up standing. Tucker was still sitting on the bed, his laptop in his lap. He looked between the two, and Danny could feel his mood sour. He could feel Sam’s anger, large and violent, but all it did was try and cover up her concern. She was worried, they both were, but Danny couldn’t do it, he wouldn’t . 

 

“I don’t know, but I’ll… I’ll figure it out.”

 

“Danny-”

“It’s all I have left! It’s all I have left of them, Sam. Why can’t you see that? I don’t care if I get shot at, I’ll dodge . I don’t care if it hurts, I’ll heal ! But I can’t just get rid of all the proof of my parents I have . Not now, not ever .”

 

He snapped, stepping forward and pointing at her. He looked between her and Tucker, begging for them to understand , to get it- something .

 

“You act like I should just get over it ! They were my parents - not some strangers who died in some fucking accident! My mom, Sam, my dad . I don’t care if they hunted ghosts, I don’t care if the chances they’d reject me are high. I don’t care about any of that ! Why don’t either of you get that?”

 

He stepped away, his voice now thick and strangled, the words barely coming out of his throat. His voice cracked, it showed his emotion, his turmoil, but further than that- his age . He was sixteen. He wasn’t some adult who could handle this better, who could make hard decisions for the greater good. Maybe it would have been better if Sam was cursed with this- with this power and this ability to do things right, but not Danny. Danny was too selfish. He couldn’t do it- risk the only memory he had back for some stupid greater good. What about his greater good- what about what was best for him . 

What about him?

 

“You keep telling me you’re here for me, that you’ll sit and listen to how I feel, that you want me to be okay- well this is not okay !”

 

He started to pace, his body shaking as his words wobbled. He was getting emotional. He was angry at them, at himself, angry at their hypocrisy, and angry at his inability to do what was necessary. He was angry at his parents for being hunters, for doing this to him, for making him have to make this choice. He was angry at them for dying, for leaving him . He was sad. Sad they were gone, sad his life was turned upside down, sad that he didn’t have their shitty cooking, or their over the top extravaganzas, or their excited rants. He missed their stupid science talk. He missed their gross romantic moments of exclamations of love and devotion. He missed his parents , to hell with their research. He’d let them cut him open if it meant they were alive .

 

But no, because Danny Fenton rarely ever got what he wanted, not without a steep charge. It was a lesson engraved in him from young- from birth. 

 

“You hated them, it’s easy for you to destroy their legacy for some stupid war you think we’re fighting, but look at me Sam, I never wanted to fight! I didn’t want to have powers or to be the only one who could save people against Ghosts. I didn’t want to die! And I didn’t want to come back as more of a freak than I was!”

 

He was crying now, his voice hoarse from screaming, his head pounding from the strain. Sam stood silent, backing up from his outburst. He’d feel bad if he wasn’t so done. Done with everything, done with being a hero, done with failing . He finally found a family that paid him some attention and he ruined that too, all because he lived when he should have just stayed dead . 

 

“Danny, I- I didn’t know it meant that much to you.”

 

Sam replied, her voice thick and hesitant. Her arms were crossed, an action Danny was familiar with. She did that when she was unsure, ashamed. 

 

“Yeah, because they were just monsters to you, right? Abusers-to-be.”

 

“Danny that’s not true-”

 

She tried, her voice wavering. There were tears in her eyes now, too. Tucker just stayed to the side, trying to remain uninvolved in the situation at hand. Danny didn’t really know what to do here. They weren’t getting it, and maybe they never would. He wiped the tears off his face with the back of his hands. 

 

“Really? Are you sure?” 

 

He called out, grabbing his phone and opening their messages. He started to read them out, aware his memory was not good enough to recall all of it on the top of his head. 

 

“When I first got adopted, you texted me ‘ Why would you agree to this? You know they’re going to end up shooting you, right?!’ And hey, I’ll give you that, it did end up happening. There was also ‘There’s always a catch Danny, they’re ghost hunters, don’t forget that. ’”

 

“And I was right - they just shot you!”

 

“They shot Phantom , and I don’t know Sam, you constantly being pessimistic is like you’re asking for them to hurt me. Why can’t you just be happy that they were actually nice to me !”

 

He flung his arms up, a big show that only made everyone take a step away. He tossed his phone to the side. 

 

“Constantly you’re putting the worst case scenario in my head, you know how hard it is to actually try and get better when you keep telling me that at any moment they’ll betray me?”

 

“I don’t want you getting your hopes up! You’ll get crushed.”

 

“Oh so it’s better to have no hope at all ? Do you know what happened to me when you all died? I became a monster, I ended the world . I never want to end up that depressed again- and it feels like instead of helping me you’re trying to speed up the process! I mean come on Sam! Every time I tell you they packed lunch for me, or they got me new supplies without asking, or they bought me a gift or made me food that I actually like - you interrupt with something about how this is temporary, how ghost hunters could never be the right fit for me-”

 

“I don’t mean it like that!”

 

“Well to me it sounds like I don’t deserve those things. To me it sounds like you think I’m doomed no matter what, that me dying which was your fault by the way! Means I will never get that chance to be actually loved - chosen! How would you feel Sam?”

 

“Danny I- you know that was an accident! I would never do that to you if I knew what the consequences were- we were just messing around!”

 

“ That’s what you focus on!?”

 

Danny said, hysterical. Sam was defensive, of course she was, she wasn’t prepared for an outburst. He didn’t mean it, of course he didn’t blame Sam for his death. She didn’t do it on purpose- she didn’t know , but it just felt like life was punishing him for skirting death. He toes the line, and fate clearly doesn’t like it. Maybe if he fully crossed over, all of this would stop . 

 

“Enough!”

 

Tucker cut in, standing between the two. Somehow, they had gotten closer to each other, eliciting a screaming match.

 

“Look, how about we find another option that doesn’t trash the lab, okay? I can shut things down- totally reversa-”

 

“It’s not about the lab!”

 

Danny yelled, stepping away from them both and to the door.

 

“You really don’t get it, do you? It’s not about the lab, it’s about you . It’s about how you guys keep ignoring the fact that they weren’t my enemies, they were my parents . It’s easy for you guys to hate them, to think it’s good they’re dead, but me? They raised me, they hugged me and gave me more affection than you guys ever have. They were my parents first, wacko-scientists next. You keep ignoring that! You keep acting like it’s fine to erase them because they didn’t mean anything to you, but they meant everything to me!”

 

The tears Danny had wiped away before returned, his voice shaking as he let that out. He hugged himself, backing away from them when they reached out. 

 

“It’s not just the lab. It’s the comments, the questions of am I okay but never actually caring. It’s the snide remarks, the insults , you think it’s a good thing they’re dead, but it’s not . I’m not safer because they’re gone, I will never be safe, and if I had the option I’d choose to be in danger in my bed at home than somewhere else. I like it here. Oscar and Kevin, they actually care, they’re good to me, me , Danny. For once, can’t you think about me and not my dead half?”

 

He got awfully quiet by the end, the voice cracks infecting his words and scratching them up. He swallowed thickly, trying hard to keep down the sob that was ever so close to leaving his throat. It shouldn’t have to be like this. Why- why does he always have to sit and beg to be listened to- to be noticed . Danny Fenton was always a shadow- a ghost , but Phantom? He got the spotlight. He was loved and hated, popular and infamous. Danny knew what it was like to be loved and admired as Phantom - so why couldn’t he be allowed that as Danny too?

 

The two just sat silent, clearly trying to say something but failing. Right, because what even is the correct response? If there is one. They were teenagers. They were teenagers in really awful emotional territory. Danny’s parents were neglectful, they tried, but trying doesn’t equate success. Still, they were all he had. Jazz is off at college, making him the only Fenton left in all of Amity. Sometimes Danny wished he didn’t push Jazz to go to Yale, to go cross country for the education she dreamed of. Selfish, right? He wanted her here, with him. He wanted his sister in the absence of his parents. 

He’d never stop her from living her life, just sometimes he wished it wasn’t at the expense of his.

 

“It’s… whatever.”

 

Danny conceded, the silence killing him. This was just another thing he’d have to get over. Until Tucker cut his thoughts off.

“No. No it- it isn’t just whatever , Danny. You’re right. I’m sorry, I should have been more understanding. I- I don’t know what I’d do if my parents died. I’m sorry- I’m really, really , sorry.”

 

Tucker said, genuine. He was sniffling, trying his best. It eased Danny a bit but- he couldn’t just believe them. He wanted to, greatly, to say ‘yeah! All’s forgiven’ and move on, but he couldn’t. He didn’t believe him. He’d have to prove it. Sam swallowed thickly next to him. 

 

“Danny, I’m… sorry. I keep trying to just prepare you for the worst and clearly that’s the wrong approach. Your-”

 

She bites her lip, hesitant. It was always hard for her to say sorry, to admit when she was wrong. Even in that statement, she's explaining herself, trying to prove she's somewhat right. There’s no book on how to care for a half dead friend. There's no video or diagram that can tell them where to go. No one knows what they’re doing, but they’re all trying, and sometimes they fall short. They’re falling short, here and now. Danny is beyond his breaking point. He’s tried, truly and wholly tried, to ignore it, to carry on because if he cracks, if he crashes and burns like he so wishes to- aches to- people die. People die that aren’t involved, people die that are innocent, that have no clue about ghosts or weapons or life beyond death. 

 

So no, Danny doesn’t believe them- and by the Ancients he wishes he could, but he needs proof. He needs proof now more than ever, because now - now it matters . 

 

“-right. I should have thought about how you’d feel rather than what, what I thought was safer. I’ll… try to be better.”

 

It sounded half-assed, but that was the best he was gonna get from her. She too, would have to prove it to him. Only then would he forgive her, forgive them. Their apologies just felt empty at the moment. He tried not to beat himself up over it, over not believing them. But his eyes were rubbed red, his skin raw, and his throat even more torn up. He was done, exhausted.  

 

“You mentioned something about a shut down, Tucker?”

 

He answered instead. He couldn’t tell them it was okay, lie . He couldn’t just say he was fine when he wasn’t, okay when he wasn’t. He was a mess, his insides had more rips and bruises than his skin in fights. This was enough. If they couldn’t handle this- him at his worst, him when he’s prickly and hard to be around, then maybe they weren’t the friends he thought they were. Maybe Sam was right, maybe he was truly alone in this. He was the hero, the protector, the fighter, not them. It would never be them. 

 

“Yeah… yeah I uh- I did.”

 

Because Danny was cursed with power, with revival. Danny was cursed in ability, in strength, in possibility . All this, all of this- and he still had his duplicate tailing K and O, tailing his adopted parents , because Sam was right. No matter what, he’ll always be in danger, he can’t get comfortable. He can never get too comfortable. 

 

Because Danny wasn’t just Danny anymore, he was Phantom, a fugitive, a hero, a target. 

Notes:

Okay now before anyone goes hating on all the characters, remember this is uncharted territory and they have a point.

everyones trying- EVERYONES in the wrong and right simultaneously

yes i think some should be more understanding than others but i wanted it to be more realll

i hope yall enjoyed it

koa out <3

Notes:

The idea of Kevin and Oscar being perfect parents apart from being the government force that hunts Danny down is just so funny to me. Like imagine your worst enemy is in the kitchen making you muffins at 8 pm bcs your high school is doing a community service bake sale and your best friend supports the cause

Danny is genuinely getting whiplash, and the poor kid can't have a single home where someone in it isn't trying to kill him

anyways! Hope you enjoyed chapter one, ill prolly post a second chapter in a week

koa out <3