You don't need ghost powers to be a hero but you need to be Butch Hartman to own Danny Phantom.
Vlad Masters' mouth twitched in agitation as he spun his wine glass in his hand. Maddie lay stretched out on his work desk (the cat Maddie not the woman unfortunately) vying for his attention but at the moment he had none to give her. Daniel was getting sloppy over in his little town, putting himself out there too much and drawing the wrong kind of attention. He brought his wine glass up to his lips, but his brow was still furrowed in worry and frustration so the simple act was ultimately futile and he slammed the glass back on the desk causing Maddie to scatter.
He forcefully pushed himself away from the desk, stalking over to his large window glaring in the general direction of Amity Park as if that would put some sense in that young fool's head. The townspeople may be idiots but they had to notice something was different about Danny Fenton. And if he kept up these little acts of heroism, in and out of costume, one day he'd find himself answering questions on an operating table. The thought made his fist clench in fear. Of course he was nervous, if Daniel's secret got out then it wouldn't be long before his own life was in jeopardy. It wasn't as if the thought of that cheeky, reckless boy suffering due to his overinflated sense of humanity caused his heart to skip anxiously.
He made a note to clear some time in his schedule to make his way out to visit his favorite family. He'd glare bullets as Jack between chortles, compliment Madeline and young Jasmine and pull that infuriating boy off to the side and tell him what was at stake. Vlad didn't care for the boy, that's not how it was at all. He was merely looking after his own interests, his own secrets. He reached back and grabbed at his wine taking a long, drawn gulp. A simple act of selflessness could end up having a whole myriad of consequences for both himself and Daniel. He had to clean up after the boy once again and one day, Daniel would be thanking him.
XxX
Tucker Foley was loving this sudden burst of attention being given to his best friend and was taking advantage in full. He had a large crowd surrounding outside of the school as he once again retold the story of Danny's heroic rescue. He'll admit he was exaggerating a little, okay a lot, but the other students were eating it up and who was he to deny them a good time? He himself was fairly unimpressed with Danny's heroics. It's not as if he didn't see his best friend save people every other minute. He guess what makes this time special is that it was Fenton not Phantom doing the rescuing.
Through the crowd he saw Danny and Sam, he was going to wave as he usually did to his best friend but he knew that would alert the crowd to Danny's presence. Instead he winked at them and launched into yet another retelling of the same story allowing the two of them to slip out of the hallway unnoticed. Say what you will about Tucker but he was a pretty good friend, you know, most of the time. He knew neither Danny nor Sam were crazy about this whole fame thing but what they didn't seem to understand is that it would pass. This was Amity Park, weird stuff happened all the time and this would be forgotten before they knew it.
The way he saw it, he was just taking advantage of one of the few moments of fame he'd ever experience in his high school career. Downsides of being a superhero sidekick? Always got to maintain a low profile. But again, if he was out here causing a spectacle and being really obnoxious, then wasn't he drawing attention away from Danny? His shy, too-nice-to-be-real friend was able to avoid the massive surge of people before the weekend and go back to his normal life. By Monday morning, everyone would forget how weird the incident really was. Or they'd maybe remember how much Tucker exaggerated the story out of proportion causing everyone to write off any of the weirder rumors. Yes, he smirked to himself as he excused himself to catch up to his friends, he could be a real good friend when he wanted to be.
XxX
Sam Manson was angry at Danny. This was hardly a new thing but this was a special type of anger she had developed specifically for her best friend. An anger that was hot and wiry but underneath was all fear. Times like these she was absolutely terrified for her blue eyed friend but Sam Manson did not give in to fear so she expressed herself through anger. As she lectured Danny, again, about his idiotic actions the other day she watched him sigh and roll his eyes as nodded and pretended to listen. They'd slipped out of the school, thanks to Tucker's distraction, and were alone for the first time in forever and of course the idiot still wasn't listening to her.
She can't really fault Danny for saving those kids, he was a hero through and through and that's what he did. But she could fault him for charging in wearing the wrong form. Later, after the fire, he'd sheepishly admitted that he didn't even think about going ghost. He just saw the fire and ran knowing that he was there and he could do something. Admirable but totally moronic. He just smiled at her with that adorable dumb grin and told her not to worry. But she had to worry because he wasn't, because he didn't realize how exposed he was now. His powers might still be a secret but his mild-mannered geeky façade was completely blown. Even when this whole thing died down, no one would ever look at Danny Fenton the same way again.
She watched as Danny smiled when Tucker finally caught up him, thanking him for the getaway with a fistbump. She watched her two best friends talk like they always did, as if nothing at all had changed. She didn't want to be the boring one, the wet blanket of the group, but someone had to look out for Danny. If the boys noticed she was a step or two behind them, they didn't comment. Nor did they mention the way she briefly scanned each person they came across on their path. She couldn't really be mad at Danny, he had enough on his plate as it was. So she'd watch out him when he wasn't, try to prevent that big, lovable heart of his from getting him killed. She would do it because he was her best friend and she would do anything to keep him safe.
XxX
Jasmine Fenton had never been more proud in all her life. It was one thing for her to know Danny was a hero, to watch him selflessly give up so much of himself for a town that despised him. It was another to have other people finally acknowledging all the wonderful things she knew about her baby brother. She beamed again to think of Mom and Dad's smiles as they ate Chinese last night, or the way teachers and students had observed Danny with something akin to pride. Finally people were starting to see that Danny really was something special and, to her, it would do him nothing but good.
They were home now after the hustle and bustle of his new celebrity status at school. They were lounging on the couch together in a rare moment of peace, Danny's head just barely leaning into her shoulder. If anyone were to come in right now he would be sitting up and complaining, but for now Jazz was glad he was allowing himself the comfort. He of all people deserved it. Because amid all the fuss, no one but her was thinking of Danny. Not superpowered Phantom or quiet Fenton, but the kind and burdened Danny. An act of goodness in his human form would give him a much needed boost of confidence, allow him to act a little more like himself when at home and school and show he didn't need to have powers to be a hero.
She lazily played with his hair smiling just a little bit when he sighed in contentment. She was of course worried about him, as she always was, and she knew that things would always be hard for her baby brother, but this was still a good thing. He needed to be reminded every now and again that he was important, no matter what form he was in, and he was very much loved. He was a teenage boy after all, he wasn't very good at picking up on subtext.
"Hey Danny?" She asked quietly. He merely hummed in response, not quiet alert enough to give an actual response. "You know that I love you right? That I'm always proud of you. You're my little brother and you always will be." Next to her, Danny shifted deeper into her shoulder. He didn't say anything but she didn't think he would. As long as he knew that she, they, were here for him; he would be just fine. She kissed the top of his head. "Sweet dreams hero."
Gah I'm sorry! I've had this mostly done for a month but somehow I got to Jazz's section and just stopped which is weird because I wrote this whole thing so I could do Jazz's section. This is short and sweet, just analyzing how people in the know would react to Danny's sudden fame. The whole idea of this story wasn't just to give a dose of perspective to characters who don't know about his powers, but also to show what's great about Danny's character, what I believe Jazz would pick up on the easiest. He's always a hero, charging in as Fenton or Phantom, he simply can't stand by and let other be hurt. So while Danny's powers may be hidden depths for some, his goodness is always right at the surface. Thank you guys for your patience and kind words when writing this story. It was truly a enjoyable experience!