Epilogue: Ashes To Ashes
Writer's Note: The end of this story features a little bonus in the form of a link to something. However, as most of you probably well know, links don't show up on this site. So for you to find the site, I will have replaced the usual symbols for the dot-coms with words symbolizing them.
Semi colon equals :
Slash equals /
Period equals .
When you reach the link at the end, replace the bracketed words with their appropriate symbols in the address bar. That will allow you to see the bonus. In any case, the end is nigh…
"Because of the realities of human nature, perfect peace is achieved in two places only: In the grave and at the typewriter."
Richard Nixon
Danny didn't much remember what happened next. His sense of time was completely lost, dreams and blankness occasionally broken by far away words and sporadic blurred glimpses of figures. Some wore white, and some wore other colors. But everything was in a deep fog, as potent as anything London had ever produced.
The drifting was peaceful though, and Danny went with it.
And hence, he was not particularly shocked when eventually the haze lifted enough so that reality once again began to define itself, solidified into a light blue ceiling and part of a wall.
"Hey Maddie, he's waking up!"
A small head on top of large shoulders suddenly looked into Danny's vision. Danny blinked a few times before he fully recognized it as his father, though his lack of fear indicated he had always had an idea of who it was.
"Hey Danny. How you doin'?" Jack Fenton asked. Danny just blinked in response, and then his mother, her face slightly marred with worry lines but now in an expression of joyful relief, was in his line of vision too.
"Oh Danny." She said. She looked like she wanted to hug him: why she didn't was unclear to Danny for a bit, until his mind finally gained enough cohesion to ask a question.
"…Am I?" He said, not quite getting the word 'Where' tacked on at the beginning.
"The hospital Danny. Don't worry, you'll be fine."
"That's right, no car crash is going to keep a Fenton down! It didn't do it with me!" Jack said. And if they noticed the confusion in Danny's eyes, they probably wrote it off to a drug haze of some kind.
Jazz poked her head into Danny's already crowded view.
"You know Danny. You, Tucker, and Sam panicked after the second attack on Casper High and you hightailed it out of town, but you realized you had overstepped your bounds after a bit, not to mention none of you had gotten a license yet, and you turned around to go back. But when you got back the attack had begun anew, but despite the fact that the sky was raining fire you tried to get home to see if we were ok. Your car was caught by one of the fireballs that knocked it over, but you managed to pull Sam and Tucker out and to safety despite suffering severe burns for the act." Jazz said. Danny blinked.
"Yes, but don't worry Danny! You'll be fine! True, it was a little strange for you to go into a mild coma for exhaustion, but perhaps that was balanced by how quick a healer you are! The doctors are amazed: usually burns take twice as long to heal as they did for you! Yes, you come from good stock my boy!" Jack said, and he looked as if he was going to manly slap Danny before his mother intercepted him.
"You need anything Danny?" His mom asked. Danny tried to turn the simple question over in his head, and found it nearly impossible. And his vision was starting to fade again.
He could vaguely hear another voice: someone else had entered the room and was talking to his parents. Danny caught "needs his rest", and that was it as he began drifting out again, and as he did, a thought occurred to him.
His parents still didn't know. They'd been fed another cover story. His father hadn't made the connection between Danny and whom he had spoken to on the battlefield, and his mom's memories of seeing her son turn back while being possessed by Sizzle had been blighted and erased by the side effects of the de-possession. Once again, he was an enigma…which he supposed was good, in a way, but what about all he had gone through, did it mean…
And then, as his vision began to blur and darken again, he sensed more then saw a figure lean in close to him.
"You did good little bro. Real good." Jazz whispered.
And those words accompanied him back into the murk.
He slept.
He spent more time, wandering through the darkness. He saw many strange things. He supposed his brain was completely burned out by what he had gone through and was now taking its time in rebooting itself. Still, some things seemed beyond even the incredible confusing conundrum of images the subconscious was capable of producing.
There was one moment where he saw the world, covered in ice, ice that suddenly vanished.
And another strange, disturbing picture: a white glove holding an eye, an outplucked eye seemingly fresh from its socket.
Once the harsh, gritty taste of sand seemed to fill his mouth…
And another time his hands seemed to be battering against a hard substance, impossibly hard, which he needed so badly to get through…
A twirling handgun and words, "You think you have anything at all, kid?" in a voice overflowing with cockiness…
Other things he only saw briefly and immediately forgot…
And…he could have sworn that somewhere along the way he saw a man, in long black robes, immensely pale skin, and incredibly spiky black hair, and the man may have said something to Danny, but he could not remember it…
And then once again, the dark.
The next time Danny woke up, he was somewhat more aware of it, as he slowly began to come back to the world he knew.
"Danny? Are you waking up?"
"…………..Buh." Danny said, as he tried to open his eyes. They seemed to be almost glued shut.
"Tucker, don't push him. He's still healing."
"Oh right. Sorry Sam."
"…Guh." Danny said. "Guh-guys?"
"Yeah, Danny, it's us."
"…Wah-tuh."
"You got it."
A smooth straw slipped between his lips. Danny drank slowly, as the fog lifted more. He realized he was sitting up somewhat more then he had been last time, in a small room with closed curtains and soft florescent lights. And there were Sam and Tucker, on another side of him. Tucker was sporting a sling, but besides that he and Sam looked perfectly fine.
"…Oh man…" He said, for no real reason.
"Hey Danny, check it out." Tucker said, as he produced a mirror. Danny looked at it and started, just a bit, when he saw that one side of his face was completely covered with bandages, his black hair bristling out from the top, a small hole cut into the bandages to allow him to see with both eyes. "Imhotep got nothing on you!"
"Mmmpphhh…are we talking about the 1932 version or the 1999 version…" Danny muttered. A few minutes and some more water later, Danny was pretty much fully alert.
"How long have I been out?"
"A little under two weeks. The doctors were a tad bit worried Danny: apparently burns like yours shouldn't cause the catatonic state you went into. But we know the truth, and we knew you'd come out of it."
"Heh…my poor parents…they must have been worried…but…why don't they know the truth now?"
"We figured it would be best if you yourself decided to tell them." Came a new voice. Danny started a bit, but Sam just glanced backwards.
"You're slower then I thought."
"You try packing all of Starfire's luggage onto a banged up T-Ship." Cyborg said as he suddenly stepped from a pool of darkness in the corner of the room. Starfire quickly followed, bounding over to Danny's bedside in a motion that almost hypnotized Tucker. Savior, in an almost sneaky way, slipped out behind the two, staying behind them, even as the shadow portal converged into a dark purple cloak that wrapped around the female figure of Raven.
"Friend Danny! I am so joyful to see that you are still alive and possessing all your major limbs and most of your vital fluids!" Starfire joyfully squealed. "I will sing all 1400 verses of the Song of Happy Recovery!"
"Don't Star. I think Flammadea put him through pain and suffering." Raven said, as she stepped up next to the alien. Starfire looked at Raven with confused eyes, not sure of the joke.
"…Flammadea. Sizzle. What happened?" Danny asked, the question having been planted in his brain by Raven's comment.
"The aftermath of the mess here caused plenty of people to show up. Including S.T.A.R Labs and some of the greatest sorcerers on the planet. Apparently the events here caused more then a few ripples in both the physical and mystical worlds. In due course every single inch of the city and the surrounding countryside was tested, both to ensure there wasn't any delayed damage waiting in the wings and also to see if anything could be found of the being called Flammadea who caused all this."
Raven paused, though whether it was for dramatic emphasis or bad news, Danny didn't know. He felt his heart catch.
"…They found nothing. At all. And they went over it three times just to be sure. There isn't a trace of Haley Ann Roxx, known as Sizzle and Flammadea, left. She's gone, Danny. Completely and utterly. It's finally over. It's ended."
Danny was clearly relieved at the words, but at the same time…a slight pallor came over his face. Starfire noticed it first.
"What is wrong Danny? You saved the day, us, and untold millions of lives."
"…She was in so much pain. Sometimes I wonder if she was more of a victim in this then we were. I mean…"
"Whoa, whoa. Danny, stop right there. That path leads down the road to madness." Cyborg said.
"It's true what happened to Haley was utterly inhumane…and it's also true that virtually all evil, human evil anyway, is made, not born. Nurture is far more important then nature in deciding who we will be…but Danny, as you understand that, understand this." Raven said. "We always have a choice. ALWAYS. It might be a hard choice, it might seem impossible, it might even BE nearly impossible…but we always have a choice. Sizzle made hers. She, in some way, let her pain turn malignant, and let that malignancy consume her. It's a tragedy, and we shouldn't forget, forgive, or stand for what drove her to this. But in the end, the choice was hers to make."
Raven sighed.
"Yet…even so…even I can't help but feel there were outside factors at work here. Even though part of her chose it…another part of Sizzle never understand what she had done, what kind of curse had befallen her, a curse that has happened to many before and will happen to many in the future. She hated so much what men had done to her…yet she never realized she was doing everything they had, and worse. That's the curse Danny. You become what you hate. Sometimes you become something worse. Remember that too Danny. But above all else, remember that she made her choice in the end. You tried to pull her back, she wouldn't go. At least she's at peace now, even if that peace could only be found in the nothingness of oblivion."
"Yes Danny. You must move forward. The past cannot be changed. The future can. Focus on that." Starfire said.
Danny still looked saddened, but another drink of water seemed to ease his burden.
"Can I ask how you set it up so it didn't look like I was the guy who saved the day?"
"Wasn't hard. We just came into the hospital carrying you and spouting the cover story. They bought it, and when people asked about the guy who stopped Flammadea, we told them that he said he had to disappear for a bit, to recover from the great exertions that he had made. They bought that too. After all, why would we lie?" Cyborg said, and winked.
"Though Batman gave us one of those glares again. I am free to question his sanity, am I not?" Starfire asked, glancing back to where Noel was. He was in a corner, and while it couldn't be said that he was slouching and sulking there, he didn't quite pull off the illusion of 'too cool for school', though one couldn't be sure if that was what he was going for.
"If we're playing Twenty Questions, can I have one?" Tucker asked.
"Uh…yeah Tuck?"
"Danny…how did you do that?"
"…What Tuck?"
"Danny…what you did out there…it was amazing…how did you do it?"
A pause.
"…I…I don't know." Danny said, as he brought his hand to his head. "All I can remember of what happened…is blurry flashes…brief snapshots…and I have no idea how to connect them. I just can't remember. Any of it."
"It's ok Danny. It's not important." Raven said. "You came through in the clutch. The whys are irrelevant."
"But what if…something this bad happens in the future?" Danny asked.
"I'm not worried." Raven said. "I think whatever may happen…you'll be ready for it. Somehow."
Another pause.
"Um, Friend Danny, I was wondering if you could solve a mystery for us in turn." Starfire asked. Danny looked at the alien.
"Uh, sure Starfire. What is it?"
"Well…I am not sure how to explain this, I find it so unsettling…perhaps one of you could espouse on it better…?" Starfire asked.
"I'll do it Star. Something VERY weird happened while you were sleeping Danny." Cyborg said.
"What?"
"Oh, I better set the scene. As you might remember, you fight with Flammadea pretty much razed every part of Amity Park. Something that the people…"
"Who still don't really want to believe in ghosts, despite the fact that their town was completely trashed by one." Raven interjected. Danny rolled his eyes.
"Something that the people of Amity Park found rather disquieting, to say the least. The Justice League came down afterward and cleaned it up a bit, but they're needed elsewhere on the planet. However, STAR Labs does have a special division that works exclusively on repairing the damage involved with metahuman brawls. They sent most of their entire team here, but they were certain they were looking at at least several months work. So they started, cleaned the roads, patched up the suburbs so some people could come back home for a day or two if they couldn't find or afford to go anywhere else, and then one night they stopped for the day and left to sleep and when they came back the next morning…well, Starfire, will you get the curtains?"
Danny arched an eyebrow in confusion, turning his head to the window as Starfire went over to the curtains.
Then she pulled them aside, and Danny understood why the Titans were questioning him, and why Starfire had seemed so incredulous in her ability to describe what had happened. Because Danny hit her peak of disbelief within a second.
There, outside the window…stood Amity Park. Perfect, pristine, untouched, as if the events a few weeks ago had just been a terrible nightmare. It was a good thing Danny wasn't drinking any water at the time: he probably would have choked to death on the liquid (and wouldn't THAT have been ironic). As such, he nearly suffered severe ocular nerve damage when his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
"…Please tell me that everything that happened wasn't a dream, and I'm not about to wake up in front of the couch having fallen asleep watching your TV show and eating some way beyond its best date food." Danny said.
"Oh no, everything happened Danny. Including your severely damaged town being completely fixed overnight. Even a troop of Speed Force users would have some trouble doing that, and they'd make one hell of a racket. Yet this happened without anyone finding out why or how. We thought you might be able to shed a little light on the subject." Raven said.
"Believe me Raven, I'd like to know as much as you. But I don't have a clue."
"I figured that would be your answer." Sam said. "Raven, the night this happened, I slept overnight in this room. I'm a light sleeper. If Danny had done ANYTHING, I would have seen it, or sensed it, or something. But I slept the whole night through. And I assume Danny did as well. I don't think, as great as it is, that Danny had a hand in this."
"Well…ok. We believe you Danny." Cyborg said. He too had wandered over to the window, looking out about the fully restored Amity Park. "Though I hate to leave this as an unsolved mystery…but at the same time, this completely baffles me. Believe me, we checked the repairs VERY VERY thoroughly in case it was some kind of trap or deleted attack or something, but no. Everything's legit and fixed down to the very smallest detail. What the hell did someone do, rub a magic lamp?" Cyborg said in disbelief.
Well…not QUITE a magic lamp.
"That was a nice thing you did Hun." Wanda said to her charge, the buck toothed pink-hatted Timmy Turner, who also happened to have a pair of fairy godparents.
"Aw, it was nothing compared to what he did for you, not to mention my mom, Wanda." Timmy replied. As expected, the Turner household had had quite the little panic after Mrs. Turner and Wanda had found themselves victims of Sizzle's soul sucking Sumerian ritual (and they couldn't exactly call for help as the same had affected the entire town of Dimmsdale, which resulted in virtually every place in Dimmsdale having quite the little panic). Fortunately, the less then 45 minutes the panic lasted before Flammadea had been defeated had not been enough time for Cosmo to do anything particularly stupid (he was too rattled and hence caused more random things to happen then anything productive), and when the women of Dimmsdale had all sat up wondering what the heck had happened, the town quickly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately proceeded to forget the whole incident (Except Denzel Crocker, who had what his doctors would term an 'incident' as he ran down the street screaming that the sudden female collapse had been the work of…wait for it…wait for it…FAI-RY GODPARENTS!). Cosmo did them one better: he proceeded to forget everything that had happened that day.
Timmy, on the other hand, wanted to know just what had happened, and wished to know. Wanda, to her credit, decided to scan the incident before actually showing Timmy what had happened in Amity Park, and hence was able to snip out all the foul language (By Titania, that fire spirit had a salty mouth!) and other bits that were inappropriate for someone as young and inexperienced as Timmy before showing it to him (though she wished Cosmo hadn't watched as well: without all the bad bits removed for Timmy's sake he had absorbed the whole thing as some kind of pinnacle of action movies and was STILL bouncing off the walls. Then again, sometimes looking at the floor a certain way would make him do that, so nothing she could really do). Timmy had been suitably impressed by Danny's actions, and had wished, for him, that his town be restored…or at least, that was what he had done eventually (and if you're wondering why he took a few days to do it, well…he got distracted. By Cosmo. You're surprised?). And hence it was.
"Well, what do you want to wish for next?" Wanda asked.
"I don't know…doing nice things for people has a certain…charm…" Timmy began.
And then a large book thumped down next to Timmy, who jumped, as Cosmo poofed out of nowhere, laughing in the way he did.
"TIMMY! LOOK AT THIS!" He guffawed, as he flipped open the dictionary. "This word is hair, and THIS word is HARE, and they mean two different things, BUT THEY SOUND THE SAME! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S HARE-LARIOUS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
And Wanda saw that look come into Timmy's eye again. Forget wishes for other people for now: Cosmo had worked his usual benevolent chaos and now Timmy would surely wish for something that would result in a huge mess that they would have to fix.
Well, come what may. At least Timmy had them to fix such messes. Such fortune could not be said to reside with Daniel Fenton (his luck in avoiding his death aside). But Timmy had helped out there. But the NEXT time Timmy did that…didn't look like it would be appearing in the near future.
The look in Timmy's eyes had only increased, as Cosmo continued to laugh, and then disappeared in a puff of light and smoke that said "Some Things Never Change!"
"Well, whatever may have done it, it is comforting to know that not all incredible powers seek the chaos and the destruction and the knocking down of all the buildings and the hurting and shoving." Starfire commented.
"What do I do now?" Danny suddenly asked.
"Well…we hung around, at first to organize things and then to make sure nothing else was going on, what with the whole town reappearing overnight as if by magic and all…but we're getting ready to go back home Danny. And you…I guess you heal and then go back to your not so average life." Raven said.
"…And that's it?"
"You wish for more battle?" Raven asked wryly.
"NO! It's just…I went through all this…and…that's it? All I get is a higher tolerance to pain and a first hand look of just how terrible the human race can be?"
"There are many results which could have been far far worse Danny." Starfire said.
"Yeah, but still!" Tucker suddenly piped up. "Who organizes things so that dead tormented females come back and get god powerups and wreck havoc and never die while the good guys get a hospital stay before they've shoved back into the meat grinder?"
"Tucker, if I had the answer to that, I'd find the bastard myself and kick him in the nuts." Cyborg replied. "But as Star said, all things considered, things turned out pretty good! What do you want, a medal?"
"That would be nice!" Sam said tersely.
A slight shifting noise finally reminded Danny and Co that Savior was in fact in the room, staying silently in the corner. He had just shoved off the wall.
"Let it be said that everyone gets what they deserve…except such a saying is untrue. But sometimes the truth of it shines through." Savior said, as he reached into his jacket and withdrew a large black jewel box. "This wasn't easy to get Danny. Even though we spent every second minute giving you all the credit for the whole saving thousands of lives and preventing a nuclear explosion and all that, the government can be somewhat picky in rewarding people who have disappeared and may very well never show up again. However, we had a secret weapon. You see Danny, Superman hates it very much when bad things happen on his adopted home, things he should have been able to stop himself if he wasn't dealing with some other crisis, and when someone else steps in and does the job for him, at great risk to life and limb, well, he knows who to talk to, what to say, and how to say it. So you can thank him for getting through all the red tape, but you can just thank yourself for everything else." Savior said, and handed the box over.
Danny had discovered his hands were bandaged up fairly tightly, which made the act of opening the box more difficult then it normally would be. However, that just increased the drama, as Tucker and Sam leaned in to see what lay within.
It was, indeed, a medal: a bronze medal with what looked like a Roman Centurion on it, with stars on his collar and an eagle on his helmet.
"That is the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The highest honor that can be awarded to a non-military citizen. It is, as its military counterpart the Congressional Medal of Honor, awarded for conspicuous intrepidity at the risk of life in action with an enemy, as well as extraordinary gallantry in action which influences the outcome of a battle. Awarded to John Doe, the Phantom. And you'll forgive me if I couldn't give them your real name." Savior said.
Danny said nothing. He just stared at the medal, which did indeed say Freedom on it.
"………Thanks." He managed to say.
"Not a problem. Though I suggest you don't let your parents see that Danny. Be pretty hard to explain away."
"I'll keep it." Sam said, taking the medal case from Danny. "Until the proper time."
"Yeah…that sounds good." Tucker said, stunned for some reason.
"…Well, I guess that's everything. Time to move out Titans. Jump City could very well need us." Savior said, and stepped back to let the Titans say their goodbyes. Raven did it with a demure handshake, Cyborg a more powerful one, and Starfire as usual nearly killed Danny with one of her hugs.
"Bring the T-Ship around the front Cyborg." Savior said, as he used a Shimmer strand to open the window in Danny's room. Raven floated out first with a gentle wave, and Cyborg and Starfire (the latter carrying the former down as he pressed buttons on his arm) did likewise. Savior was left alone in the room.
The six eyes of Danny and his friends settled on him. He appeared to be pondering something.
"They also wanted to give you this. I disagreed on the fact that the distance between our bases of operation means that any possible aid we could give would be rather delayed, which can be a killer in this life…but besides that, you could find its functions useful. And I certainly don't think you didn't earn it." Savior said, and then a Shimmer strand offered Danny a Titans communicator. Danny, after the usual pause, took it.
"We'll mail you the special codes. Oh yes, one last thing. Your town, its disbelief aside, is very grateful for "The Phantom", previously known as Inviso-bill, for doing what you did. They might forget quickly, but for now, they remember. Oh, and they arranged for a small statue of you to be built in Casper High. Sorry that the description we gave made it so it won't look anything like you, but why tempt fate?"
"I'd say you have to be sorry for more then that." Sam replied quietly, but tersely. Savior glanced over to her.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't think that this oh so touching outpouring of support makes me forget how you treated Danny beforehand. You put him down at every turn and expected nothing of him, and then he goes and shatters every single expectation you have of him. You, who considers his judgment so important and absolute, because you can't go through your life without everything in its own box. Even if you have to force it in. Which you tried to do to Danny. And I have not forgotten that."
"Yeah." Tucker added, now looking at Savior with an expression of very slight but still noticeable menace.
Savior remained stoic though, as he glanced at the two glaring faces and then at Danny.
"Well Danny? You have anything to say?"
"…You really are an asshole Noel." Danny replied.
Savior arched an eyebrow, and then looked at Sam and Tucker.
"Do yourself a favor. Pretend you never heard that name." Savior said, as he shoved off the end of Danny's hospital bed. It appeared he was ready to leave, except Sam wasn't done talking.
"Just like you're going to pretend what happened here never did, spinning it until it fits your viewpoint of life?" She snarked.
Savior paused, and then he glanced at Sam, and then at Danny.
"All right. I will admit my actions here were at the best un-chivalrous and at worst completely un-conducting of the ideal I claim to serve…but do not think this is because of any self important delusion of mine, young men and lady. No. Understand this." Savior said, as he put his hands behind his back and turned away from the three. "Anyone…well, not anyone, but work with me on this…anyone can get splashed with toxic chemicals, suddenly gain the ability to lift cement trucks with their brain or shoot beams out of their eyes, put on a costume, and call themselves a superhero. But that does not make them a superhero Danny. That makes them a person with some powers and a title. But what it embodies…no."
Savior seemed to be studying the wall.
"This is a very harsh world we live in Danny. You might have an idea of how that is, especially now, but you're still too young to understand it fully. It's bleakness can be merciless and seemingly forever. Even the best of is can find its austerity digging deep into our hearts. It can become easy to lose sight of what we serve, to come to disdain and outright loathe the principles we try so hard to follow. It is easy to look at those we fight, on all fronts, and see how their lives are simpler in a thousand different ways…and part of human nature calls out for that ease, for us to give in to it and take the more traveled, easier road, because resisting brings nothing but grief. Humans are trapped between animal and god, someone once said. And we want all the privileges of the latter and all the responsibilities of the former. By that very factor, that flaw that runs so deep in us…you cannot just acquire powers and a costume and be considered a superhero. No. More often then not, you do not have what it exemplifies."
Savior turned back to face the three.
"These frauds…I see them every day Danny. On the news, in the paper, on the internet, hell I once found a Booster Gold sticker on my banana." Savior said. "But for all their flash and glamour…it rings hollow Danny. Rings with inexperience and misunderstanding if not outright delusion. In this life Danny, you rarely have time to make an in close assessment, and in the swiftness usually required, you must decide if you can find the qualities within a person that will make you certain that person will watch your back. These frauds rarely have it Danny. Usually they never do."
Savior turned around again.
"They don't have the willpower to sacrifice gigantic amounts of themselves to seemingly hopeless causes, willing to take on the most terrible of things for the most pitiful and nonexistent of rewards. That is the mark of a superhero."
Savior turned around and started heading for Danny again.
"They don't have the strength to look in the eye and on the actions of the worst of the worst, and not become infected with a loathing that is just as hard and violent as the one they claim to stand against. They cannot help but think it would be easier to do more then pound the enemy into submission, to take the next step and inflict on them the harm that the villains would surely mete out if the shoe were on the other foot, thinking nothing of being just as merciless as them…never realizing that by doing such an act under the banner of a higher cause, they are worse then these enemies could ever be."
Savior was back at the end of Danny's bed.
"And above all else, in this modern world, where people fight for money, for possessions, for fame, for power, for sex, for jealousy, for revenge, for the need to settle the darkness in their own heart…these people cannot, and maybe never will realize that what you must fight for is ideals. Ideals that are so hard to hang onto, so pitiful in the face of so many things, so easy to discard, mock, abhor. To be a superhero, one must stand tall in the face of all the evidence that was and is to come, the so called verification that such things are foolish, false, repugnant, impossible. One must stand up in the face of all the yelling, all the noise, and say…we can do better then this. The one who stands and does that, with the certainty of gaining nothing but the worst of the world…that is a superhero. Danny Phantom."
Savior locked eyes with the ghost teen.
"Anyone can hold up a world Danny." He finished. "It takes a true Atlas not to shrug."
Savior pushed off again and headed for the window, without speaking. He stopped about three steps from it.
"Oh yes, Tucker." Savior said. "This came in the mail yesterday. Almost forgot to hand it over. And in regards to it, there shouldn't be any blanks."
A Shimmer strand almost whipped across the room and offered Tucker something. He took it.
A photograph. Of all the Titans together. Signed by all the Titans.
"There's your autographs and picture. You don't get DNA because who knows what evil mutant clone it will end up in." Savior said as he hopped onto the windowsill. "If I find that on Ebay, I'm coming back here and making you eat that PDA."
"Uh…k…" Tucker said, once again stunned. Savior turned around.
"See you around Danny."
"Danny? What happened to rookie?" Danny asked jokingly.
"Do you see a rookie around here?" Savior replied.
And then the white haired teen stepped backwards onto thin air, and just like that, he was gone.
"…………….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tucker suddenly screamed. "A one of a kind photo autographed by every Titan! Savior autographs are nonexistent! I need a mylar bag! I need heat-disinfected tweezers! I need a temperature-controlled vault!" Tucker shrieked, as he ran around like a lunatic.
"I need a break." Sam jokingly groaned, and smiled at Danny.
Danny wondered why he felt the way he did when he smiled back.
Ten days later…
"I still can't believe this is all real, sometimes…" Danny said, as he walked through the hallways of Casper High. He had been released from the hospital four days ago: the doctors had been amazed how quickly his burns had healed up. He had been rather amazed himself. But not too much.
"Believe it. Casper High and Amity Park are back." Tucker said, in lockstep, as usual, with Danny and Sam.
"Still. I keep expecting to step on something and have the floor give way, or have the ceiling cave in on me, or for…I mean, this place was a wreck, and it's not like the school system is overflowing with cash. I mean…how do they excuse it away?"
"Teachers are very creative for all the wrong reasons." Sam replied.
"Yet they never think to do anything except assign the same boring homework." Tucker mock complained.
The classes were done for the day, and the students were getting ready to head home. Yes, everything seemed to be back to normal. There was Paulina, in a brand new wardrobe, telling everyone who listened how terrible it was that the Phantom (at long last the Inviso-bill nickname was dead) didn't know she existed. There was Valerie, occasionally glaring at them. Kwan was still recovering in the hospital, but it probably wouldn't be long before he was back. Indeed, the school was back to the way it was.
Except for one thing.
Near the entrance now stood a small, humble statue of silver and steel, of a figure seemingly floating in mid air, his eyes as steely as the metal that was composed him, his fists clenched and his body ready for combat. He also had long hair, narrower eyes, a slightly larger nose, and thinner lips. As mentioned, it didn't look a thing like Danny. But it was the thought that counted.
The three stopped in front of the statue.
"You know, I couldn't grow hair like this. I'd end up with a mullet." Danny commented, looking down on the base, which read: FOR THE PHANTOM. THANK YOU.
"You know who I think you look like? One of the Twins from the Matrix. Which reminds me Danny: ever consider a switchblade?"
"I'd slice all my fingers off before I learned anything." Danny replied. The three stood there for a bit.
"Guys, can I tell you this odd thought I've been having?"
"What Danny?"
"Well…the town's been perfectly quiet. No ghosts since the Flammadea attack. You'd think at least ONE of the stupider ones would have regained their nerve and jumped me by now. But no. Nothing. My powers are back to normal: I've tested them several times, so I'll be ready and refreshed. I just don't have anyone to use them on. And that gave me an odd thought: what if I'm dead?"
Tucker and Sam looked mildly perturbed to say the least.
"Danny, I'm a goth, and even I find that morbid." Sam said.
"Well I don't think I am…but it's just a notion I had. Think about it. All that stuff, I should have died…maybe I did. Maybe this is my idea of heaven. A quiet, normal life. Where I'm not someone special who needs to save the world, but just the average kid I seem to be."
Silence.
"In truth Danny, what kind of life would that be?" Tucker asked.
"Peaceful. Quiet. Unassuming. Normal." Danny said. "…And just as dull as dishwasher."
Sam and Tucker chuckled. Danny allowed himself a wan smile.
"What do you think they'd ever do if they found out?" Danny asked, looking at the statue again.
"Who says they'd believe you?" Sam asked.
"They believe in ghosts."
"Who knows how long even THAT will last?" Tucker took over. "In time, who's to say that the incident that made this statue will go from what really happened to something that supposedly happened? How long before history becomes myth? It might be faster then even we could conceive of."
"Yeah…but all the same…it's just nice to know…" Danny began.
And then it thunked against the back of his head. Danny was a bit startled, but not too much so. From the weight as it bounced off his head and fell, Danny guessed it was another empty juice box. And he had three guesses and the first two didn't count on who had thrown it.
"Hey Fenton! Now that I have your attention, CATCH!"
The full juice box whirled through the air.
Right into Danny's outstretched hand.
"HUH?" Dash Baxter said, as he and his cronies had prepared for some mocking laughter directed at Danny when the juice box had exploded against his head, only to see Fenton turn and catch the box, so carefully it didn't even leak.
Danny regarded Dash with cool eyes.
"You know Dash, throwing stuff at me is all fine and good…" He said, as he tossed the box back to Dash in a lazy underhand, Dash barely catching it in his stunned nature. "But do it someplace where you won't splatter the statue. This guy is the reason you and your friends still get to engage in these simple joys." Danny said, as he shouldered his bag and started walking towards Dash. "Now I have to go home, so I say so long and better luck next time."
And Danny calmly pushed past Dash and left through the door behind him. Dash and his cronies could only stare.
"Whoa. Nice work Danny." Tucker said as he joined Danny outside.
"After Flammadea, Dash doesn't seem so important any more." Danny said, answering the question before it was asked. "Besides, Savior may have been a jerk, but he knew how to talk. Might as well derive something from all his speechifying."
"You're not going to start delivering long rambling monologues on the human condition are you now Danny?" Sam asked.
"Oh I'd love to Sam, but I won't get to do that because right about now HERE COMES THE BOX GHOST!" Danny said, dropping his bag and looking around.
And finding…nothing.
"Uh…The Box Ghost! Beware! Fear him!" Danny said, looking around again.
"Uh Danny…" Tucker said with a pointed finger. "I suppose it can be excused with all the excitement you went through, but you seem to have forgotten you still have ectoplasmic ghost senses that indicates when ghosts show up."
"…Oh. Right. But I was just so certain the Box Ghost would show. He ALWAYS does." Danny said. "So…BOX GHOST!"
Still nothing.
"I think the Amazing Kreskin doesn't have to worry about his job." Sam commented. Danny looked sheepish for a bit, and then his face relaxed.
"Ah, life and my town are back to normal, and no Box Ghost. Life is good." Danny said.
"So Danny, since you're in such a good mood…you want to try out that Karaoke club?" Tucker asked mischievously.
"…Well Tuck, that sounds like a plan, but not now. Now…I actually feel like being alone for a bit. You mind if I bug off for a little while, catch up to you later?"
"Uh…sure Danny. Is there a problem?"
"Oh no…" Danny said. "No I just…no…"
And Danny turned and strolled off through the nearby park, a stroll that swiftly turned into a run, as Danny tossed his bag in some nearby bushes.
And for a moment Tucker believed in the worst. He expected something, or everything, to burst into flame. He expected the nightmare to start all over again. He expected that this time, things would not be the same…
Except that never happened.
A slight flash sounded off in the distance, and then Tucker saw Danny fly off into the sky.
And he relaxed. He'd been wrong. Everything was just fine.
"Can you believe him sometimes Sam?" Tucker asked.
"Oh yes Tucker. I believe." Sam replied.
I believe in the power of our friendship. Sam mentally added, as she watched Danny fly off. I believe that something in it is why we're all alive today.
And I believe that someday…it will be something more.
"Daaaaaaad!" Jazz complained. The kitchen table, the one she had planned to do her homework on, was covered with junk, and there sat her mom and dad, furiously working on whatever doohickey or thingamabob they planned to stick their names on next. "What are you doing?"
"Ghosts never sleep darling! We have to always be ready for the next attack, with new gear and the same old attitude!" Jack Fenton replied.
"But…Daddy, you found out that the former Inviso-bill was a good guy! Who do you need to hunt?"
"Oh, we were wrong about the Phantom honey…" Maddie said, as she snapped a part of something into somewhere. "But we doubt we'll be wrong twice."
"You never know what the future may hold..." Jack said, even as Danny flew by the window behind him. "But I believe in being ready."
"Honey, I do believe you're right." Maddie said.
Masters Manor.
A very crowded dining room.
"Sometimes I wonder why I bother." Skulker muttered.
"But Skulker, we must find out the truth! I, Technus, must…"
"Shut up." Skulker muttered. He hadn't had a fun three weeks. It wasn't a lot of laughs when everything you knew was turned upside down, and that the ghost child you had once wanted to skin may have been heir to a legendary power that supposedly belonged to another.
And Skulker knew that was what this was about. Vlad Plasmius had claimed he was the Primmortal, and that claim had been challenged. Severely. But Skulker was certain that Vlad would be making a counter claim soon enough. Hell, he might have even been right.
That was why all these ghosts were here. Lots of old faces and even a few new ones Skulker only vaguely recognized or didn't know from Adam. The only one missing was Walker, for obvious reasons. Vlad wanted them all to know that despite what many of them had seen, it had only been a one-time thing, and that he was still the power on the throne. And if Vlad was indeed the Primmortal, then chances were all these ghosts would either end up serving him or being reduced to nothing like the fire spirit Sizzle had been. It would be good to know that.
But if he wasn't…
There were things Skulker did not know, and so for now he'd keep his options open. And if it came to pass a certain way…he was still the greatest ghost hunter. It would do well for that not to be forgotten.
A door opened, and the ghosts sat up, or floated up, or adjusted their positions if they were already in they air, or stopped whatever they were doing to look.
But it wasn't Vlad, it was Ember. Skulker snorted. He'd heard there might have been something going on between them, something that should have belonged in the realm of humans. Well, Vlad was half human, maybe Ember was curious? Who knew? In any case, it looked like Ember was going to speak for Vlad for now.
"The master is very glad you could all come…" Ember began, and then a bullet, or rather the spiritual equivalent of a bullet, crashed the wall next to Ember. Within a second Ember had materialized her guitar and blasted a force chord at the shooter, blowing his white hat off.
"I don't have time for your nonsense Rose!" Ember snapped.
"Feisty one, aren't we?" Replied the shooter, a blonde ghost dressed entirely in a white old West uniform. He retrieved his hat and placed it on his head as he fancily twirled an old six-shooter. He spoke with a slight Southern drawl. "You must understand missy, in this modern world there ain't much choice for bedlam, one has to keep ones ear to the ground and be aware of chances. And every moment I sit here waiting for your fancy pants master is a moment where I could be raisin' hell, so forgive me if I'm a bit uppity that your master would rather send his vessel then talk himself. And for you, it's Richard, M'lady." Richard Rose said, and grinned lecherously. Ember ignored him.
"I speak for the master, the true Primmortal! If anyone has a problem with it, speak up!"
Silence.
"When did she get into that position?" Kitty asked Johnny 13, as Ember began talking. She didn't much care for the whole thing, but she sensed that eventually it could play to her and Johnny's favor, so here they were.
"Who knows, don't care." Johnny replied. He was about to say something else when a hand was suddenly offering a small white piece of cardboard with symbols on it…or at least that was what it looked like. What it was in reality was considerably darker.
"Card?"
Johnny smacked the 'card' away.
"Back off Deal. You don't want anything to do with me. Bad luck." Johnny said. His shadow growled under his feet.
The speaker just smiled and withdrew the card from the table it had fallen. He was dressed in what looked like an old tuxedo esque suit, slightly rotted through, like an old high roller. He had thin straggly black hair and mean little eyes over a shark's grin. With a brief flick of his hand, the one card became many, and he began rapidly shuffling them. And while Deal on the surface looked like a pathetic washed up gambler, there was more to him then that. A LOT more. Hence Johnny didn't want anything to do with him. There were more then a few new faces Johnny didn't want anything to do with. Another sat a few tables away, a ghost called Nittichi, who dressed like it was still Prohibition and acted like it too. Nittichi had a habit of forgetting he was still a ghost: strange considering he'd spent a while in Walker's prison. He was also vicious and cruel.
It made Johnny uncomfortable. There seemed to be a lot of new meanness showing up, seemingly from out of nowhere. Johnny didn't know where it was coming from or where it was all heading, but he doubted it was good.
Ember was still talking, still trying to rally the troops, telling them of the great rewards it would mean to serve Vlad the Primmortal. Some believed her, some didn't.
Strangely, one of the ones who did not believe was the man himself.
In the room beyond, Vlad sat on his throne, in his Halfa state, his cape pooled his feet, hunched over, hands interlaced in front of his face, glaring outward at the door from behind which Ember spoke, his black eyes even darker then usual.
Ember was speaking in a sense that declared Vlad as the true Primmortal, and anyone who thought differently was a fool who would do well to change their opinion. And she was good at it. Vlad was fairly sure he could salvage what he had declared before the whole Sizzle incident; indeed, his spies had told him that after several weeks of observation that not only did Danny not seem to be accessing the power of the Primmortal, he seemed to have forgotten about it all together. That played right into Vlad's hands, because that made it seem exactly what Vlad had thought at first: it was a fluke. He and Danny, by being Halfas, were both keys, but Vlad was the destined one. Danny had just stumbled into the door and then stumbled back out before forgetting where it was. He'd lucked out and won one battle. But the war was yet to come, and Vlad would yet see Danny at his side as his son. But only as an inferior son. He was Vlad Plasmius, supreme. Nothing could surpass him.
And yet…
He'd felt the power. Beyond anything he had conceived of. And Danny had wielded it like a master.
And it was completely, utterly unacceptable.
Danny thought he had won. Oh no. What he had done was painted a giant bullseye on his back. He had thought he had been tested before? It would be nothing compared to what Vlad would throw at him now. He would batter Danny down into the dirt where he belonged for even daring to assume his equality to Plasmius.
And yet…
What if…he wasn't the…
NO. HE WAS. HE KNEW IT.
And if he had to go to extreme lengths to prove it…
And so, while Ember tried to rally the troops, Vlad sat and plotted and stewed.
"I believe in power." He found himself saying to the empty room. "I believe in destiny. And I believe that my destiny is POWER. I am the Primmortal, Danny Phantom! Not you!"
And when Vlad's hands dropped…there was something bad in his eyes. Something that had never quite been there before.
"Believe it." He snarled.
Jump City. The T-Tower.
Raven found Savior on the roof, like she thought she would. He appeared to be watching the moonrise, but what he was really doing was thinking. Deeply. Too deeply, for Raven's taste. That style of thinking usually marked that he was obsessing about something, and the last time he had been obsessing about something, it had led to the personal mess they had left behind in Amity Park.
"You're not brooding on how you failed as a leader in THIS mission, are you?" Raven asked as she stepped up next to Noel.
"……..No. And I'm not brooding. I'm pondering." Savior replied. "I think…I finally have an answer to one of our unanswered miracles."
"Which one? That last incident had a list."
"The fact that despite so much destruction, the only recorded deaths of the Amity Park incident were at the beginning, when Sizzle had possessed Jazz and blew up that block of buildings. After that…nothing. Lots of injuries, but no deaths. This after they had a military helicopter tear through the town and later a fire messiah that would have had a kill count in the tens of thousands had it not been for the fact that everyone seemingly somehow saw it coming beforehand and headed for the hills. It didn't make sense that so much hell could happen, yet so few souls were sent to heaven, so to speak. But I think I've finally figured out how that happened Raven."
"How?"
"Danny."
Raven looked at Savior, in the way she did when she wasn't questioning him but wasn't agreeing with him either.
"Are you suggesting…"
"Raven, we never told him what we learned in those books. Remember how the power was supposedly impossible to access? Or more accurately, DIRECTLY access? I think that with his personality and beliefs, the way he directed them towards others and not himself…Danny found a way to access the power. Even when he didn't realize it. He didn't just manifest it in that orb Raven. I think he manifested it in a way that he was able to alter probability itself to ensure the insane odds of no death in the face of such destruction because HE DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO DIE."
Raven thought it over…and a slight chill went through her. It was possible…and scary.
"Now…I doubt this kind of unknowing machination will last. Sizzle placed Danny under a special kind of duress that was probably 90 percent of the reason Danny did that. It might never happen again in his life. But for those three days…Danny was dictating the fate of thousands of people…and he was never aware of the fact."
"…That kind of power is NEVER good in the hands of people."
"…Yes…which is why hopefully the seal will stand. The power will only be truly granted to the worthy." Savior said.
There was a silence.
"What do you think Noel?" Raven asked.
"…I believe that if what I theorized is correct, and if Danny somehow does not stray from the path…one day he may come into a power that would make him a god to GODS."
Another silence.
"And I believe…that if that ever happens…the world has nothing to fear."
And what did Daniel Fenton, as he ran off into the park, suddenly filled with the intense need to fly, believe in?
Well, as he tossed his bag into the bushes, he believed it would not be stolen.
As he ran up a hill, he believed no one was watching, as he smirked to himself.
"I'm goin' ghost!"
As Danny leapt into the air, and the circles appeared around him, he believed he would not fall. And he did not.
And so Danny Phantom flew through the air. He did not have a destination in mind, or a goal. He just flew, not to escape, or rescue someone, or to attack, but just to fly.
Some people saw him and waved. The ones Danny saw, he waved back to.
The city passed beneath him…and for once, neither human or ghost reared their ugly sides to challenge him. Maybe another time…but not now.
I believe this is more of a future then a possibility.
Danny dove and swooped through the air.
I believe in ideals.
I believe in hope.
Danny flew down so fast his eyes watered against the wind and then shot back up into the sky, flying as if he had a one-way ticket to heaven.
I believe this is a burden worth bearing and a life worth living.
And as his city lay before him, Danny did a slow flip and then rocketed across the sky.
I BELIEVE IN DANNY PHANTOM.
(Camera freezes on Danny as he flies towards it.)
(Picture fades. Music starts up as pictures of each character appear on the screen as their names are listed. Originally there were songs here, but they had to be removed. You'll just have to imagine them or ask for the original copy of the story. Anyway, first song before removal: Warriors of the World Unite by Manowar)
Jamie Sie as KwanCree Summer as Valerie
Maria Canals as Paulina
S. Scott Bullock as Dash Baxter
Ron Perlman as Mr. Lancer
Scott Menville as Robin
Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
Ashley Johnson as Terra
Billy West as Gauntlet
Paul Lukather as Scalpel
Kevin Conroy as Batman
Carl Lumbly as J'onn J'onzz/The Martian Manhunter
Peri Gilpin as Desiree
William Baldwin as Johnny 13
Chynna Phillips as Kitty
Tara Strong as Timmy Turner
Daran Norris as Cosmo/Mr. Turner
Susan Blakesee as Wanda/Mrs. Turner
Jim Ward as Chet Ubetcha
Matthew St. Patrick as Skulker
Rob Paulson as Technus/The Box Ghost
Tara Strong as Ember
Martin Mull as Vlad Plasmius
Colleen O'Shaughnessy as Jazz Fenton
Kath Soucie as Maddie Fenton
Rob Paulson as Jack Fenton
Ricky D'Shon Collins as Tucker Foley
Grey Dilisle as Samantha "Sam" Manson
Khary Peyton as Cyborg
Hyden Walch as Starfire
Tara Strong as Raven
Kevin Kline as SaviorB
And…
David Kaufman as Danny Phantom
(Fade Out. Change songs. New song before removal: Reign of a Thousand Flames-Sizzle Remix by Rhapsody)
Conceived and Written By Chrissie "Legend Maker" Brynn'Sumerian Spell provided by Mephistopheles
(Translation of Spell:
"Ancient gods of good and evil, I summon you, demanding your power,
with binding strength! Bring forth the pure, bring forth the tainted,
light and darkness unite!")
Special Thanks To: Zia, Jedi-And, and Prisionero
Read of the further adventures of Savior and the Teen Titans in Black and White, Time and Time Again, The Cutting Edge, and the finally to be continued Wings of the Eagles.
Read the unofficial sequel to Danny's Inferno, Time Phantom, by Chaltab.
Teen Titans copyright of Cartoon Network. Danny Phantom copyright of Butch Hartman. No profit has been made in the use of these two cartoons. Savior and Sizzle/ Flammadea copyright of me. Any attempt to distribute and profit from such work will face severe government penalties and the wrath of the Primmortal!
Danny Phantom will return in...Danny Phantasm.
Heat.
Terrible, destructive heat on Danny's face, heat he was far too familiar with, as he opened his eyes, yanked from his sleep by the terrible heat…
"The end boy?" Sizzle snarled. "IT NEVER ENDS!"
And she fired…
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Danny screamed as he sat up in bed, thrashing about for a few seconds before he realized that Sizzle wasn't there. It had been a nightmare.
Danny went still, sitting up in bed. He didn't even consider trying to go back to sleep.
Instead, he found himself getting out of bed, barely taking the time to put on a robe before he stepped out of his room. His house was dark.
He did not turn the lights on though. The house remained pitch black, Danny somehow walking through it without bumping into or tripping over anything, as he went down the stairs, and then down another pair of stairs.
The room down here was lit, ever so dim, as Danny found himself in front of the Fenton Ghost Portal. He stared at the closed metal circle for a bit…and then, as if his will wasn't his own, he reached out and pressed his thumb on the Fenton Genetic Lock.
The portal opened up.
Nothing came out except the soft, wan greenish light, which spilled over Danny, as he brought his hand back to the side of his body.
He walked up to the portal, stopping right in front of it.
He stared at the shifting energies.
Sizzle was gone…but what would be the next thing to come through this portal?
Slowly, Danny found himself reaching out, until the very tips of his fingers were touching the shifting green mist.
Part of the energy…gave him comfort.
And the other part…
It danced.
Like fire.
November 13th 2004-March 20th 2005
(Hum the closing theme to Danny Phantom here)
http(semicolon slash slash)www(period)deviantart(period)com(slash)deviation(slash)15133834
THE END