"Wooo-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

Phantom grinned at Ashley, who was currently screaming her lungs out. He pulled back into a loop, ending with a breath-taking dive. He held it until they were mere feet from the ground and pulled up suddenly, sunlight filtering through his hair. Ashley laughed full-heartedly.

Below, Jeremy exited his apartment through the roof door and waved up to Phantom, catching his attention. He pointed to his watch, signaling that their time was up. Phantom landed gently, letting Ashley step out of his arms. He saluted playfully and leapt off the rooftop towards home.

On the way, he saw two familiar faces and landed silently behind them.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tucker walked with Sam to Danny's listening absent-mindedly to the ranting tirade she was indulging in.

"…And if he's not there, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind when I see him again! We haven't seen him since Friday!" she groused. "Where's he been? I know we're supposed to be covering for him over the weekend, but he didn't tell us why, or where he was going to be! What if he's hurt or trapped or…dead?" Here, she shivered slightly. "Tuck, where would he be that he couldn't talk to us?"

Tucker turned slightly to look her in the eye, careful to mask his own worry with a confident grin. "I'm sure he's okay, Sam. Danny's a superhero! He's not going to let anyone just off him, right?"

Sam dipped her head. "Well, no, but…."

"But I'm fine. I can't believe you thought I'd let myself get killed by a ghost, Sam," Danny said teasingly.

Sam and Tucker jumped in surprise and spun around to see their best friend grinning widely at them. "Danny!" they shouted in unison. Sam grabbed him in a tight hug and Tucker greeted him by pounding fists. "Hey, Dude! Where ya' been?" he asked.

Danny winced at the worried undertone and Sam's anxious expression as she pulled away. "Uh…heh, would you believe me if I told you that I was in a girl's mind?"

At their blank stares, he elaborated, "Remember Ashley? Well, I had to go into her mind to bring her out of a coma, and then Dad came home and I had to fight a three-way battle between my parents, Ashley's parents, and a wacked-out ghost. But then my mom convinced Dad that I'm the good guy, so I think we're at a truce right now. Oh, and I convinced the ghost to not be evil anymore." He tilted his head, considering. "Yeah, I think that about sums it up."

Tucker and Sam stared at him for several seconds, and then Tucker chuckled dryly. "You just can't get any friends the normal way, can you?" he joked.

Danny laughed lightly, but someone else answered with a chuckle. "No, he can't, can he?"

Danny's eyes widened at the familiar deep voice, and he spun to face his foe of the previous few days. "Deathscope?!" he asked incredulously.

Deathscope bowed in midair. "The one and only!" He turned to Sam and held out a hand, palm up. "Would the lovely lady care to accompany me to the park? I can sense your attraction…."

Sam's eyes widened, and she started stuttering, drawing the attention away from Tucker's bugged-out eyes and dropped jaw. Danny's eyes morphed into the color scheme that they had changed to after exploring Deathscope's mind. "What did you say?!" he hissed.

Deathscope glanced between the two and sighed. "Alas, for it seems the attraction was not meant for me." Grinning again, he wrapped his arms around Danny and Sam's shoulders. "Well, I suppose I must concede the girl to the one she loves. Have fun, Love Doves!"

With a peevish grin, he disappeared, leaving two blushing teens behind. Tucker's laughter brought their wrath upon him:

"SHUT IT, TUCK!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Maddie sat at the kitchen table and sipped her cup of coffee. Jack sat across from her, mimicking her actions. They regarded each other over the rims of their mugs until Maddie set her cup on the table to clasp her fingers under her chin.

"Well, Honey? What do you think?"

Jack set his own mug on the table and leaned back thoughtfully, ignoring the squeals of protest emanating from the chair. "We never found out what happened between them; by the time we got there, Deathscope was gone. For all we know, this whole thing could have been a plan to make us trust Phantom." He sighed. "I don't believe that, though. From what you've said, Phantom was sincere."

Maddie nodded. "I agree. Here's my idea: we have a truce with Phantom, become allies, even, and we help him when he needs it. If he ever betrays our trust, well…let's just say it won't be pretty and leave it at that."

Jack nodded in agreement. "I like it."

The front door opened. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

Maddie smiled at Jack. "We'll finish this later," she muttered. Raising her voice, she turned to face her son and his friends. "Hi, Sweetie! How was your sleep-over?"

Danny grinned and scoffed, "Oh, blah. Just the usual. Hey, we'll be in my room, okay?"

Maddie waved him off. "Sure, Dear! Jazz's bus will be here soon, by the way."

Danny paused, allowing Sam to speak up, "Bus? I didn't know there was a bus….didn't Mr. Fenton have to go pick her up?"

Maddie shot an exasperated glance at Jack, who was grinning sheepishly. "I thought so, too. Apparently, we missed that piece of mail. I wonder why…." she muttered.

Jack raised his palms defensively. "I looked like junk mail, I swear!" he exclaimed.

Sam and Tucker shook their heads in amusement and followed Danny upstairs.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Jeremy ruffled Ashley's hair playfully as she came in. "Did you have fun, Ashley?" he asked jovially.

Ashley nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! We did loop-de-loops!"

Jeremy laughed, caught up in his daughter's happiness. "C'mon, your mom's making lunch."

They walked down the stairs together and stepped into the apartment, letting the delicious aroma of sloppy joe's fill their noses. Ashley ran into the kitchen and tackled her mom in a hug. "Hi, Mom!"

Jessica set her oven mitts on the counter and swept Ashley up in a hug. "Hi, Ashley! Are you hungry?"

Ashley nodded, grinning. "I'm starved!" She rubbed her stomach for emphasis. "Flying sure takes a lot out of you."

Jessica grinned. "So that's where you've been all this time! Did you have a good time?

Ashley nodded happily. "Phantom's so much fun to be around!"

Jessica set Ashley down and said, "Lunch's almost ready—will you set the table for me, please?"

Ashley shrugged. "Sure." She bounced away to be replaced by Jeremy, who took his wife in a hug and kissed her gently.

"Hi, Honey." he muttered.

Jessica smiled. "Hey."

Ashley shouted from across the kitchen. "Mom? I can't find any napkins!"

Jeremy chuckled and let go of his wife to go help Ashley hunt down the elusive napkins.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Mom? Dad? …Danny? I'm back!" Jazz shouted over the exhaust from the bus. She set her bags down just inside the door.

"Jazz!" Danny shouted. Moments later, he came barreling down the stairway and tackled her in a hug. Surprised, she staggered back a few steps, arms spread wide for balance.

"Whoa, what'd I miss?" she asked half-jokingly.

Sam and Tucker stepped down the stairs. Tucker spoke up, "According to Danny, a lot."

Jazz raised an eyebrow at Danny, who quickly let go of her and backed off. "Yeah," he said, "a lot. I made a new friend or two! C'mon, I'll explain over a shake." He dragged her out the door, acknowledging Sam and Tucker's farewells with a nod while studiously ignoring her protests of needing to put her bags away. "You're buying, though."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So this Deathscope character went from good to bad to good again?" Jazz queried as Danny drained his shake.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, he's really weird. Once he stopped being evil, though, he was actually pretty nice." He shrugged. "Kinda like Clockwork, come to think of it."

Jazz tilted her head. "You said he was the one who gave you to Deathscope, right? Why would he have sent you to him if he know Deathscope was evil? Was he trying to get you killed?"

Danny shook his head. "Clockwork wouldn't do that. He probably figured that I would get Deathscope to turn good, or something like that. Clockwork doesn't want me dead, unlike most ghosts I know."

Jazz stared at him skeptically, but didn't argue. Her brother was somewhat naïve when it came to placing his trust, but Jazz would keep an eye on him. If this "Clockwork" hurt her brother, well…ghost or not, she'd make him pay.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The ghost in question floated in front of his portal, a gentle smile on his face as the portal flickered through scenes with Danny and his sister, Sam and Tucker, Jack and Maddie, and Ashley's family. Everyone was content, and all had new feelings of attachment to their friends and family. Clockwork smiled.

The portal changed to show the last character in the whole parade. Deathscope was skimming the treetops in a small park several miles out of town. His usual snarl was replaced by a peaceful grin, and his aura had shifted to a light blue. Deathscope had evolved the most, and he exuded a joyful contentedness. Below him, a crying child who had dropped an ice-cream cone miraculously stopped crying and ran off, laughing the whole way.

Clockwork turned away from the screen. He nodded, satisfied. "Everything is exactly as it should be."

End