From the Flames
Pt 1: Strange Meetings

A/N: Well, I guess I should've seen this coming. One thing of my favorite types of fanfics are Danny Phantom crossovers, especially with other superheroes. And after watching Big Hero 6 I became fascinated with the idea of these two becoming friends and decided to write it out, totally taking a superhero crossover and not focusing on the superheroes at all. I also really love the idea of ghost!Tadashi and ya know, Danny Phantom crossover is the perfect place to play with the idea. I hope you enjoy this drabble!

Seeing ghosts in Amity Park was not exactly a rare thing – in fact over the years it had become increasingly rarer to go a week without seeing a ghost at all. Ghosts appearing and attacking were all a part of the daily life of the town. So of course, Jazz did not think much of it when she spotted a familiar blue flame ahead of her on the sidewalk as she made her way home from the library one sunny afternoon. After all, Ember was quite the regular when it came to attacks.

What the 19-year-old redhead did not expect was for the pop star ghost to be merely standing in the middle of the sidewalk, eyes sweeping the surprisingly empty area for something. The young Fenton was also surprised to see an unfamiliar ghost standing by her side, looking relaxed with his hands in his pockets and seemed to be none too worried about the fact that he was out in the open for all to see. Although the ghost looked human, much like Ember herself, there was no mistaking him for something other than a supernatural entity. For one, his skin was a pale teal color that no human could naturally have; for another, his hair was bright white, the likes of which Jazz had only seen on her brother in his ghost form; the ghost also had bright orange eyes, something the young Fenton mentally made note of, having not seen the color often in ghosts; and lastly, he, like all ghosts, had a slight eerie glow about him that confirmed his nonhuman status.

Jazz's walk slowed as she neared the duo, questions racing through her head about why Ember was there and who the new ghost was. She did not stop walking, however, or even change course to find a new way home. For some reason her feet continued forward, as if they didn't care about the potential danger up ahead. It wasn't until she was close enough to make out Ember muttering to herself that Jazz finally came to a complete stop, her eyes wide with terror and curiosity at the strange sight before her.

She refrained from gasping when the mysterious ghost's eyes landed on her. They held eye contact for a brief moment, fright curiously flashing in his eyes before he turned away. Jazz stood silently and watched as he removed one hand from his pockets and gently tapped Ember on her shoulder. This time Jazz could not hold back her fearful gasp as the ghost made her presence known to the flaming haired idol.

When toxic green eyes turned her way, the 19 year old had expected many things: the burning sensation of an ectoblast, the foggy mind of being put under the rock star's spell, maybe even an evil chuckle. When she instead got a relieved smile and a wave calling her over, well to say she was shocked would have been a gross understatement.

Jazz knew better than to trust a friendly face. Ghosts had tried to trick her many a time by acting as though they were reformed and better. She never fell for it in the past, and she was tempted to just turn and run and hope her brother was near by, but something stopped her. She wasn't sure what (perhaps it was the overall oddness of the situation?) but she found herself not running away from the usually vicious ghost. However she did not step forward either, instead stuck in one spot as if her feet were standing on glue instead of concrete.

It did not take long for Ember to become impatient at the lack of movement from the living teen, and so, after gesturing to the new ghost to follow her, began to make her way towards Jazz. Under normal circumstances the young Fenton would have been frightened by the approach; but given the fact that Ember was walking at a fairly normal pace and had not outright attacked her, Jazz simply found herself warily walking towards the duo to meet them half way.

"Hey!" The pop star ghost greeted once the three of them were face to face. "You're the dipstick's sis, right?"

Jazz stared bemusedly at the ghost for a second before slowly nodding her head. "Yes, I'm Danny's sister," she answered slowly, making sure to put emphasis on her brother's name. This only elicited an eye roll from the blue-haired ghost.

"Right, whatever," she grumbled before continuing, "Listen, I need you to do me a favor," here she paused to point towards her companion who had something of an amused smile on his face. "I need you to show this guy around town. I promised to do it but I just saw that jerk fly by and I have something I gotta settle with him."

Jazz frowned, partially due to hearing her brother referred to in such a negative way and partially because how odd the request was. She turned her gaze to the new ghost that stood beside Ember, eyeing him critically. He looked harmless enough, after all it wasn't everyday a ghost went around in such casual clothes or could pull of such an easygoing, friendly smile. Still, subdued though he may be, the 19 year old had learned a long time ago about judging a book by its cover. "Okay," she began slowly, still eyeing the ghost, "I'll show you around. But know that I'm related to three of the world's greatest ghost fighters and know how to defend myself!" At this she gestured to her bag that held a small blaster and the spector deflector that was currently around her waist.

Ember rolled her eyes while the ghost simply laughed and held up his hands. "Alright, I got it. You won't get any trouble for me," he spoke, shocking Jazz as she heard his voice for the first time. For some reason she wasn't expecting it to be so...playful and nice. Perhaps she was hanging around her parents too much to always expect the worst from new ghosts. She smiled at him sheepishly as he lowered his hands and held one out to her. "I'm Tadashi."

Jazz silently noted how Ember huffed at his introduction and muttered something about needing a new name. "And I'm Jazz," she replied, keeping her hands by her side. At his slightly disappointed look she gave him a nervous grin. "I'd shake your hand but this belt kind of shocks any ghost that touches me," she explained.

His eyes widened at the revelation and he eyed the belt curiously. "It's no problem," he told her when his orange eyes met hers once again. Jazz couldn't help but spot the hurt that was buried beneath them.

Ember sighed and began to float off the ground. "Great, you're both buddies and I know he's taken care of," she said as she began to rise higher and higher into the air. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a certain dipstick to beat." And with that she was gone, flying away with incredible speed.

Jazz frowned as she watched her go, her brow furrowing at the ghost's words. Tadashi chuckled slightly as he watched her reaction to the departure. "You know she'll lose right?"

The 19 year old kept her eyes trained where Ember had last been seen as she nodded. "Of course," she replied, inflicting the phrase as if she wanted to add more to it. She evidently changed her mind with a swift shake of her head and turned towards her new acquaintance. "So, you wanted a tour of Amity Park?"

Jazz Fenton had done some strange things in her 19 years of life. Fighting off animal ghosts next to her over-enthusiastic father? Very strange. Finding out her brother is a superhero and keeping it a secret from everyone, including him? Well that certainly wasn't a normal thing. Facing off an evil, future version of her brother? Strange and scarring for everyone involved (sometimes she'd wake up to the sound of her brother screaming due to nightmares even after so many years). Constantly fighting off aggressive food that had mutated due to her parents ghostly experiments? Probably the strangest thing.

Trusting a ghost she just met and giving him a semi-tour of the town? Well, strange as it was it wasn't necessarily towards the top of her list of strange things. And oddly enough, Tadashi was actually pleasant company. He walked beside her as they wandered through the nearly empty streets, keeping a respectable distance and turning invisible whenever someone walked by (for the daughter of local ghost hunters hanging out with a ghost would likely make people talk). He listened intently to the words she said as she spoke of her hometown, pointing out important landmarks and what little interesting history it had to offer. He seemed so fascinated by it, so enthralled, she couldn't help but wonder how long it was since he had last visited the realm of the living.

So she asked. "When was the last time you were out of the Ghost Zone?" He seemed taken aback by her question, for the ghost stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Jazz didn't even realize until she was a good few paces ahead. She turned back to see him stock still, an expression on his face that she couldn't quite read. "Tadashi?"

He looked up and met her eyes, his own burning with pain. Suddenly the nineteen year old regretted her question. "Never," he simply answered, his voice cool and calm, not holding even a hint of the anguish that shined in his eyes. "The last time I walked in this realm was when I was alive."

Jazz winced. "Oh, I didn't realize," she began, silently berating herself while she did, "I'm sorry." She knew that death was a sensitive subject for ghosts, that talking about their life before could cause them extreme pain or make them lash out. Generally she tried her best to avoid such topics when conversing with one, as rare as it was. For her to unintentionally bring it up...

Well she just hoped Tadashi wasn't like how Johnny was when Danny had accidentally asked him.

Her worries dissipated when the ghost before her smiled (although she noted that it seemed forced) and walked forward to catch up with her. "No, it's fine. I haven't been...like this for very long, so it's not as though I've gone decades without any sunlight." He came to a stop next to her and looked up at the sky, closing his eyes as he took in a deep, unneeded breath. "Still," he began as he opened his eyes and looked down at her, "that doesn't mean I didn't miss it."

She gave him a timid smile and shifted nervously. "Even so, I'm sorry," she apologized, awkwardly rubbing one arm as she turned away. "I know that the topic is a sensitive subject, and I should've been-"

"Hey!" Tadashi laughed, cutting her off. She looked back up and met his gaze. "What did I just say? Seriously, don't worry about it. It's fine." But it wasn't fine, she could tell by the shine in his orange eyes and the way his smile twitched as though he was struggling to keep it there.

So Jazz sighed before grinning brightly and walked ahead of him with a slight skip in her step. He watched her bemusedly as she did so, but made no effort to follow her lead. She looked back when she noticed and forced herself to grin wider. "Well come on!" she called out, not once slowing her stride. "We still have a lot of the town to see!" She didn't know why she was so satisfied to see the somewhat crooked smile Tadashi sent her in response, but she didn't dwell on it too much. Soon the ghost was by her side and the duo continued the tour as before; except now instead of it just being Jazz telling Tadashi about Amity Park, they were both actively partaking in the conversation.

The remainder of the tour lasted for quite a while after that, with the two young adults discussing and laughing at random things that came to their mind. It, all in all, turned out to be quite the eventful journey that left Jazz in a somewhat giddy mood. And even if the tour lasted for quite a while into the evening, she was still a bit sad when it was finally brought to an end by a loud explosion from across town that rattled the ground.

The explosion had happened while Jazz was in the middle of telling Tadashi a rather funny story about her parents' cooking. She stopped talking as the ground shook beneath her and slowly turned towards the direction of the noise.

"Jazz?" Tadashi hesitantly asked, his eyes darting back and forth between her and where she was looking. "Everything ok?"

The redhead nodded, turning back to face him. "Yeah, yeah... That must have just been Danny fighting another ghost." While she knew her brother was more than capable of taking care of himself, she couldn't help the sting of worry that shot through her at the thought of her baby brother being in the center of that explosion. She shuddered at the thought of the injuries he would be sporting as a result.

Tadashi's eyes lingered on her briefly, the orange depths shining with something akin to empathy. When he spoke, however, his words were flippant and light. "Yeah, I bet you it's Skulker. He and Ember had a fight last night." He chuckled, "Actually that was the reason Ember came here in the first place." It was obviously an attempt to distract her from the seriousness of the situation in order to cheer her up, no doubt in repayment for when she did the same hours earlier. "I might not be well versed in the ways of romance, but I'm pretty sure they should work on how they vent their frustrations."

Jazz smiled despite herself. While his words didn't quell the worry nagging at the back of her brain, it was nice that he attempted nonetheless. It was strange, he was strange. But she was grateful for his presence nonetheless.

"Come on," she began as she started to walk back towards her home. "A fight that big will likely draw my parents' attention," she did her best to hide the wince at the thought. Her brother had enough troubles facing ghosts without worrying about protecting their folks while also dodging their attacks, "now would probably be the best time to sneak you back into the Ghost Zone without sucking you into a thermos."

Her companion took on a skeptical look. "Are you sure? From what I understand, the fight going on is quite normal between Phantom and Skulker." But right as he spoke the words did the giant gray RV go barreling past them towards the direction of the explosion. Silence stretched between the duo at the sudden appearance, with Jazz simply giving the ghost a smug look. Tadashi blushed (Jazz quietly noted how it was green – just like her brother's in his ghost form) and let out a nervous laugh. "I stand corrected."

She grinned. "A little disappointed that you wont know what its like inside the thermos?" she asked as they began their journey to her home.

"Actually, yes," he answered, much to her surprise. Spotting her questioning gaze, he elaborated, "I was curious as to how it worked. I've heard more than enough stories from the ghosts, so I know what happens, I just...wanted to know the technical side of it."

Jazz nodded and let out a quiet hum. "You could always ask Technus, you know. He has a pretty good idea with how Fenton tech works." She could stop the laugh from bubbling up at the disgusted look on his face.

"No offense to him," Tadashi began, looking somewhat ashamed for the words he was about to say, "but Technus is a bit...much for me. I mean I love technology, I was a bit of an inventor back when I was alive, but... He, I don't know."

"Too much?"

"Too much."

The remaining walk towards Fenton Works was done in relative silence, with the duo simply enjoying the weather and each caught up in their own thoughts. While Jazz couldn't tell what it was that was keeping Tadashi occupied, she knew all too well that her thoughts here focused on her brother and hoping that he would be ok once the fight was over and done with. She silently hoped that his friends were nearby – although she didn't want either Sam or Tucker to get hurt, they could at least help Danny should Skulker or her parents got in a lucky shot. Her thoughts dwelled on the fight until they entered her parents' lab. Tadashi silently watched as she went through the process of opening the portal for him.

A dim green glow filled the room as the portal swirled into life. Jazz stepped forward and stood next to Tadashi, switching off the spector deflector before holding out her hand. "Well, it was nice meeting you."

He stared at her with wide eyes that seemed to shine with amazement. He hesitantly reached out and grasped her hand in his own before giving it a shake. "It was nice meeting you too. Thank you for the tour – It was nice to see the sun again."

She smiled as they let go and allowed their arms to drop to their sides. "It was no problem. I had a good time today."

He nodded and ran his hand through his white hair. He lingered slightly before smiling and moving towards the portal. Right before he entered, though, he paused and turned back. "Would it be alright if I visited every now and then? The Ghost Zone is nice but, you know," he shrugged, leaving the sentence hanging. "You're the only person here that I know."

Jazz grinned. "Sure. It'd be nice to have the company."

Tadashi's face lit up brightly, and she found her smile widening at the sight. The two exchanged their goodbyes before the ghost finally returned to the Ghost Zone and Jazz, after closing the portal, went upstairs to her room.

It was strange to meet ghosts in the way that Jazz met Tadashi. But she had to admit that gaining a possible new friend was worth such weirdness.

A/N: I hope I did both characters justice. I love both of them and really didn't want to mess them up. I'm thinking about continuing this as a set of random drabbles, but I'm not entirely sure if I'll ever get around to it. So I figured I'd go ahead and post this as I think it stands well on its own, and see if anybody has any interest in seeing more of these two nerds interacting. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you so much for reading.