Spectacular Specter
The Origin of Phantom

Summary: Life had always been fairly mundane for Danny Fenton. School, friends, bullies, and family life. But his world gets turned upside down after an accident gives him strange new powers. As he learns how to control his powers, he discovers a purpose for them.

Characters: Dan x Danny

Written: May 2014-?

Note: Inspired by talks with akiwitch and fastpacedfreefall, who gave me advice and suggestions on some things.

Chapter 01

Danny yawned, covering his wide opened mouth with one hand as his sister parked her car in a slot of the school parking lot. When he finished, he glanced up at the building then sank down in the passenger's seat. Another day at school. Wonderful. He already spotted some of the jocks by the back entrance of the school picking on one of the nerds he had seen around sometimes though he wasn't sure of the short man's name. He had stringy brown hair and buck teeth, which earned him a lot of teasing. Danny sighed internally, not looking forward to the bullying he knew was to come.

"You should lay off those late night video game sessions," his sister teased, giving him a poke in the ribs.

"Ugh, Jazz!" Danny complained, swatting at the hand. He twisted around in his seat and snatched up his bag from where he tossed it before climbing into the passenger's seat when they left for school. "We can't all be perfect little students who do nothing but study all the time." After he got out of the car, he slammed the door shut.

"I do more than study," Jazz argued, grabbing her own bag from the back before she got out of the car. "I do have friends, you know." Her aqua eyes narrowed at him as she clutched a baby blue notebook to her chest, falling into step beside her brother as they headed toward the back entrance of the school.

"Do you?" Danny wore a teasing grin as Jazz gave him a shove and huffed indignantly at him.

"You know," Jazz slid her gaze toward him as her mouth pulled downward, "you could really learn to take on some more responsibility. You're not going to be a teen forever. You should try showing a bit more maturity."

Danny rolled his blue eyes and resisted the urge to groan in agony. "Jazz, we aren't going to be teens forever is exactly why you should loosen up every now and then. Come on, sis!" He dropped his hands onto her shoulders and gave her a small shake as he grinned. He felt a smug swell in his chest as he noted he had gained an inch or two over his older sister. "Have some fun for once."

"I have fun," Jazz said as she pulled open the back entrance for them. Luckily, they arrived after the jocks had moved on, spotting their other football buddies to do whatever else jocks did besides act like jerks to everyone they deemed not cool. "You are definitely the one who needs to step it up on the responsibility side."

Danny shook his head as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt. "Whatever you say, Jazz, but I think our definitions of fun differ greatly. I'll catch you after school." He broke away from his sister and headed over to where he spotted his friends hanging out around their lockers.

"I have that student council meeting tonight," Jazz called to him. "So you're on your own for getting home unless you want to wait."

Danny did groan this time, thinking about how boring a student council meeting had to be. He would never understand how his sister could sit through one of them, let alone the weekly meetings they seemed to have. "Okay," he drew out the word even though he knew it made him sound a bit like a whiny brat. But sometimes his sister could sound too much like an overbearing mother hen. "I'll get a ride home then." Or he could simply ride his skateboard home. He always brought it with him, just in case, and Jazz having a student council meeting was a perfect excuse to utilize a bit of afterschool time to work on some skateboard tricks. If his friends didn't offer better afterschool options.

Danny watched his sister continue on down the hall, heading off to meet with her own friends or plan for the meeting with other student council members. With a shake of his head, he reached his locker, spinning the combination lock to open it to get at the books he needed.

"Your sister still bugging you about being responsible?" Sam lifted her eyebrows while she leaned against the lockers with her arms folded.

"Eh, she means well." Danny shrugged and stuffed his books into his bag. "As annoying as that can be." He grinned at his friends. "Well, sounds like I get the afternoon free. You two have plans?" He slung his bag over his shoulder as they walked down the hall, meandering around before the first bell rang.

"I got that robotics club thing today," Tucker said with a frown as he glanced toward Danny. "Sorry, man."

"Hey," Danny reached over and slapped a hand onto Tucker's shoulder, seeing a look in his green eyes that he feared his friend would be hurt because he was busy, "it's okay. You better invite me to that whole robot contest thing. I want to see it when you all finally get it finished."

Tucker joined up with the robotics club in their sophomore year, and he had talked about the robot they were building ever since. Danny liked seeing his friend so passionate about something, feeling eager to see all the hard work his friend did on the robot. The club was supposed to show off their robot in a contest at the end of the year against all the schools in the district, so now the club was working double time to make sure they could actually get it finished in time.

"Of course, man." With a bright grin, Tucker held up a fist, and Danny bumped it with a fist of his own.

"Boys," Sam muttered with a roll of her violet eyes. She reached up to tuck a lock of her ebony hair behind an ear, which, if Danny wasn't mistaken, had a new piercing.

"And what about you?" Danny threw an arm over her shoulders, putting on a charming smile. "Busy after school? We could hit up the Nasty Burger?"

"I wish." Sam groaned, and Danny could already guess what she had to say. "But my mom has 'plans.' And by that, I mean she wants me to attend one of her stupid rich people social benefits where I'm expected to dress up 'like a girl' and put on a fake smile and pretend to be happy and smile at everything everyone says and-"

"You've ranted on this about a million times already," Tucker said, cutting off her grumblings only because it seriously wasn't their first time hearing it. "Can't you," he shrugged, "get out of it somehow?"

Sam's face twisted up like she was getting ready to launch into another frustrated rant about her mother when a thought occurred to her. A wicked smirk curled onto her face as she pulled something out of her bag. "Maybe there is a way I can get out of it." She held up a wad of cash and fanned it out to show off how much money she had on her. "If someone was willing to take me place."

"Sweet money!" Tucker nearly drooled as he reached out to take the money from Sam. Then he snapped out of it and jerked back, folding his arms. "Wait. No. Not worth it to do that again." That being freshmen year when Sam bribed him to dress like her so she could skip school one day when her favorite author was visiting the Skulk and Lurk bookstore for a book signing tour. Tucker, being the type of person who was always looking to make a buck, eagerly snatched up the opportunity to cash in when Sam offered him the money. "Last time, my parents wanted to enroll me into therapy when the principal called them to say I came to school dressed in drag."

Sam frowned, her purple painted lips pursing in displeasure of Tucker's firm rejection. Then she glanced Danny's way. "Think about what you could buy with some extra cash." She flaunted the money in his face with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, so not happening, Sam." Danny laughed, pushing the money back toward her. "I'm not being caught dead like that."

Sam growled in frustration as she stamped a combat booted foot against the floor. "Why couldn't I have been born into your family?" She stuffed her money back into her wallet then crammed it into her bag.

"You really want to be in my family?" Danny laughed. "With Jazz hounding you all the time?"

"I would take Jazz over my mother every day of the week," Sam said flatly, and Danny actually couldn't blame her. He had met her mother before, and the woman hated him on sight. Apparently from the way he dressed, he had to be a delinquent who would only be a bad influence on her daughter. His thoughts were interrupted when Sam sidled up to him with a coy smile upon her face. "You could come with me," Sam said encouragingly. "You know, for moral support. If I have to sit through this with," her gaze turned down the hall and narrowed harshly at a small grouping of A Listers, "her, I might actually launch myself across the table and stab her with a shrimp fork."

"Yeah, whoa there." Danny grabbed Sam's shoulders and turned her around to guide her the other way down the hall. He wasn't too thrilled with the idea of having a run in with Mr. Popularity himself, Dash Baxter, this early in the morning so the change in their wanderings was doubly beneficial. "Let's not go toward homicidal rampage." He sighed, glancing at Tucker for help, but his friend pointedly refused to look at him as he whistled innocently. "Do I have to dress up for it?"

"I have just the thing in your size." Sam grinned and patted him on the cheek as Danny groaned. Tucker snickered beside them until they both reached over and punched him in the arm.

"You totally had that planned out, didn't you?" Danny demanded as the first bell of the day rang through the halls.

"Who? Me?" Sam feigned innocence as she fluttered her eyes.

Danny gave her a nudge with his arm. "I'll see you later." He waved to his friends then headed off toward his first class of the day. As he walked into the classroom, he rubbed a hand over his face. Why did he let Sam talk him into going to one of those stupid social events for her mother? Not only was it going to be a major bore, but he would be forced to wear a ridiculous suit. He shuddered at the thought, hating suits and how awkward he felt wearing one. But it was Sam, and she would be a nightmare to be around if she went to it alone. Danny slid into his seat, leaning on the desk with another wide yawn. Maybe his sister had a point about not staying up late to play video games.

Before he could even get out his things for class, his chair was pulled out from under him. Danny made an attempt, a poor one, to keep from falling, but his legs got tangled up in the chair. He crashed to the floor with a thud and a clatter from the overturned chair.

"Hey, Fentripper," said an obnoxious nasally voice Danny knew all too well, "have a nice fall?" Laughter followed, the whole classroom exploding into peals of chuckles and giggles, and a blush bloomed across Danny's face as he struggled to right his chair and return to his seat.

"Yeah, real funny, Dash," Danny grumbled, shooting a glare at the blond jock. He was tempted to used the jock's given name, spoil the whole big bad Dash image with the nerdy name, but he held it back, settling for a seething scowl.

"That's enough chatter," their teacher said, his voice raising to reach over the noise of the classroom. His sharp brown eyes swept across the room before fixing upon Danny. "Is there a problem, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny's gaze darted toward Dash, who unfortunately sat beside him. The jock glared at him, his hand curling into a tight fist with a promise of pain if he spoke. "No, Sir," Danny answered quickly.

"Good. Then take your seat. I'd like to begin class now." Their teacher turned around to face the board and began writing notes for their day's lesson.

Danny dropped back onto his chair, once he had it righted, and shot a glare at Dash. The jock smirked smugly as he twisted a pen between his fingers, and Danny didn't miss the still healing cuts upon his knuckles. Danny was happy those scars weren't caused by Dash's fist meeting any part of his body. The feeling didn't last long, his body slouching somewhat as he realized it simply meant some other poor student was the target of Dash's rage instead.

Danny would never go so far as to say he and Dash were ever friends. They had gone to school together ever since preschool, but even before that, their mothers brought them to the same park when they were kids. His memories didn't quite reach far back enough to remember all that, but from what his mother had said, they at least seemed to get along, the way children did at any rate. Then sometime around sixth grade, Dash changed, and for whatever reason, Danny found himself being on the receiving end of the jock's fists. Even with how big their high school was, Danny couldn't avoid running into Dash, especially since they shared classes.

Their first class dragged on as the teacher talked in an overly monotonous tone, which had Danny struggling not to drift off to sleep. Dash occasionally chucking spit balls at him, though, helped to distracted his mind from slipping off to the realm of dreams. Danny swatted at a ball which landed in his hair and glared venomously at the jock, who grinned too widely and showed off perfect pearly white teeth. Sometimes, it made him want to groan. Perfect Dash Baxter. Mr. Popularity with his stupid slicked back blond hair and blue eyes like he was a model out of some magazine selling sporty clothing. He pretty much had it all, except he also had a terrible personality.

As class wound down to an end, Dash leaned across the aisle, balancing with one arm on Danny's desk. "Hey, is your sister free this weekend?" His lip curled in a grin, and his fingers flexed as if to say if Danny messed things up for him, he would regret it.

It was just another reason Dash got on Danny's nerves: the jock's constant hitting on his sister. "Even if she was, I doubt she would ever agree to do anything with you," Danny grumbled, trying to keep his focus on taking down notes. It was the wrong thing to say, and Danny knew it the moment he let the words spill from his lips. He winced as the fist slammed into his shoulder, predictably in the same spot Dash almost always managed to hit. It was by some miracle his upper arm didn't sport a constant bruise from the abuse it took.

"Watch it, Fenjoker!" Dash threatened with a finger pointed at Danny's face, practically stabbing at the other man's eye. "Unless you want a beating after school."

"Is there a problem, Mr. Baxter?" their teacher asked, appearing right before them in the aisle between their desks. His brown eyes glared coldly down his nose, and though he only addressed Dash, Danny knew the man was angry with him too.

"Of course not, Mr. Green," Dash said, wearing his charming grin which usually won over all the teachers, and Danny rolled his eyes with a frustrated gritting of his teeth. Dash could talk his way out of any punishment the teachers might give him.

"I should hope not," Mr. Green said, narrowing his eyes. Then he slapped a paper down on Dash's desk before doing the same to Danny's desk. "Be sure to have these permission slips signed by tomorrow or you won't be able to come on the field trip." Then he continued down the aisle to pass the rest of the permission slips out to the other students.

A smile spread onto Danny's face as he read over the form. Field trips were always a good excuse to get out of a day of classes, but even better, the place they were going to visit was exactly his kind of place. Danny stuffed the permission slip into his bag, eagerly looking forward to the trip on Friday.