Interview

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom

The Challenge: Lance Thunder manages to convince Danny Phantom to let him interview him. After reading the Ghost Zone Experience, I mean come on!

Walker: Here are the rules punks. It must contain an interview with Danny Phantom (duh) and Danny cannot be exposed as Danny Fenton or as a halfa. Jack and Maddie must appear in the studio. Dani may or may not be present.

Danny Phantom was taking a small break from his typical ghostly activities by saving a cat from a tree. He flew the little orange tabby kitten down to the six year old redheaded girl.

"PUMPKIN!" the girl said as she took the cat from the ghost boy. "Thank you Danny Phantom!"

"All in a day's work" Danny said before about to take off as the girl went home with Pumpkin in hand.

"Danny Phantom!" a familiar voice came.

Danny didn't know whether to groan or be grateful it wasn't a ghost hunter or a ghost calling out to him.

"Yes Mr. Thunder?" Danny asked the T.V. guy

"I was wondering if you would like to come to the studio on Saturday so we can do a special on our town hero." Lance Thunder stated

"I don't know" Danny hesitated.

"You WILL be protected" Lance promised

Danny considered the offer. It WOULD be nice to announce to the world that he's not evil and he has no desire for the fame. And he could finally get his name cleared when it came to the mayor incident that brought him to the public's attention.

But then again, if he answered the questions, his secret was at risk.

"If I don't feel comfortable answering questions, I don't have to answer them right?" Danny asked

"Right" Lance agreed hoping that by agreeing to the Ghost boy's terms, he would agree

"What time on Saturday?" Danny asked with a sigh

"Seven" Lance said

Danny winced. Lance wondered if the Ghost boy already made plans. In reality, seven A.M. for a teenager was asking a bit much.

"Fine" Danny reluctantly agreed

"Thank you Phantom"

0000

7 A.M. that Saturday,

Danny was at the studio in Phantom form sitting in an armchair across from Lance in front of the camera. Danny looked behind the camera at the audience and winced at the sight of his parents.

Jack was pouting for some reason (no doubt due to the confiscation of the ecto-weapons). Maddie didn't look happy either and was giving Danny a 'if you try ANYTHING, we'll finish you off' look. Luckily, Jazz smiled reassurely at her brother who returned the smile

"And we're on in three…two…one…" the director said before signaling Lance

"Good morning Amity Park. This is Lance Thunder. And today we have Amity's own hero Danny Phantom. Welcome to Good Morning Amity, Mr. Phantom"

"Call me Danny." Danny said "Thanks for having me"

"So Danny," Lance said "I've noticed that you fight a lot of ghosts, yet you ARE one. Care to explain?"

"Well Lance" Danny explained "Not ALL ghosts are evil Some just want to be left alone. However, there are some ghosts out there that strive for world domination. I for one prefer the order of balance the way it is so I do what I can to help. Better than some others who won't do anything"

"What about the mayor incident when you first became known to the public?"

"I got on the bad side of a ghost a while back by knocking a real world object into the ghost zone by accident. I went to go get it but, well, I won't go into too much detail, but this ghost has been out to get me since. One day he planned the ghost invasion to make my life here a living nightmare so that I would willingly go with him. To ensure this, he overshadowed the mayor, had me in a headlock, and pretended that I was the guy who was doing the attacking. What I find ironic is we have so many 'ghost experts' here in Amity, yet nobody noticed that the mayor's eyes were red or that I was the one struggling. Not to mention the voice was COMPLETELY off"

"What about when you attacked us!" Jack yelled from the audience

"I thought you two were being overshadowed so I was trying to knock the ghost out of you. Practically everyone else was being overshadowed that day" Danny defended

Jack and Maddie turned to each other and blinked in confusion

"You mentioned an accident." Lance said "Can you elaborate?"

"Well…" Danny hesitated. "My parents were inventors. One of their inventions didn't work and they went into a depression. To cheer them up, I tried to fix it myself and well…next thing I knew, I was this. I came to Amity as my parents feel about ghosts about the same was as the Fentons to give you an idea."

"So you were killed in a lab accident?" Lance asked

"Yes. Please don't ask about the details. They're too gruesome" Danny said

"I can respect that. So Danny? Did you have any pets in your life?"

"Nope. I had wanted a puppy when I was little, but my parents wouldn't let me. Probably smart as there was this stray ghost dog a few months ago that wouldn't stay in the ghost zone no matter how much I tried to keep it there"

"More of a cat person now?" Lance teased

"No. My arch foe is though" Danny said with a laugh

"Ah yes. For every superhero, there's a super villain. Who's yours?"

"Actually, I have a few, but my main one is Plasmius. He went to school with my parents YEARS ago and had the hots for my mom. However, Mom chose Dad and Plasmius has been sulking ever since. In fact, he's sworn to kill Dad, marry Mom, and make me his apprentice"

"And your parents are still alive?" Lance asked

"Yeah." Danny said

"So your ghostly foe wants to marry your living mother?"

"He's a nutcase" Danny confirmed. "I just tell him that he's a seriously crazed Froot-loop and to get a cat"

Everyone laughed at that

"Have you seen your parents since the accident?" Lance asked

"In passing" Danny said with a sad sigh

"Why the long face?" Lance asked

"Just, they're so involved in their jobs, I'm not even sure they know I'm dead. The accident destroyed my body" Danny said half-truthfully

Danny noticed Jazz trying not to glare at their parents

"Did you have any siblings?" Lance asked

"Yeah. A sister I still keep in touch with. I asked her not to tell Mom and Dad of…my condition so that we can see how long it takes them" Danny said "She's a little overbearing, but one can't help but to love her"

Jazz bit her lower lip trying not to cry.

"Does ANYONE from your life besides your sister knows of your death?"

"If it's all the same, I'd rather not say"

"That's fine" Lance said "How about telling us where you're from?"

"Again, not comfortable answering. Wouldn't want to mess with the experiment to see how long it takes for my non-attentive parents to realize that they're missing a kid"

"Okay…how about telling us about your name? Where did you get 'Danny Phantom' from? Does it have anything to do with the fact that the Fentons have a kid named Danny?"

"Actually no, though I have met the Fenton kids. Had to save them a few times. Nice kids."

Danny saw his parents' jaws drop and turn to Jazz. He knew he was in for it when he got home about being saved by Phantom and not telling them

"As for my name," Danny said "My name in life had been Danny which happens to be one of the world's most popular names. As for the Phantom part, well, when I first came to Amity, I made a few friends and one of them was teasing me and the name stuck. And before you ask, I won't say who these friends are because I don't want them mobbed by fans to ask them some questions about me"

"Protective are we?" Lane teased

"Better believe it" Danny said. "Part of the reason why I'm so keen on protecting the town. I've grown to love it as my own hometown and I want to do what I can to protect it"

"What about the damages?" Maddie called from the audience.

"I have three answers for that Mrs. Fenton" Danny said taking a half a second to make sure he didn't mess up the name. "One, if the ghost would float still when I shoot it with an ecto-blast I wouldn't miss. Two, if I didn't dodge for the damages caused by the ghost I'm fighting against, then I would be the one hit and you lot would probably be under the rule of Paraiah Dark or Plasmius. Three, if you and Jack would stop trying to interfere by shooting at me, then there'd be a WHOLE lot less damage"

"What about the time you were caught robbing banks and such?" Lance asked as he looked over the notes and found he skipped a question

"I was being hypnotized by Freakshow" Danny said "Again, my eyes were red and yet nobody noticed."

"You know what color your eyes were?"

"I saw some footage from that time" Danny explained

"What kind of powers do you have? I know we've seen some of them, but I think the audience would like a full list"

There was an applauds from the audience indicating that Lance was right

"Fine, but no demonstrations. I don't want to risk any damage to the studio."

"Thank you for that" Lance said a bit disappointed in the lack of demonstrations, but the reason was good enough.

"Well, I can float, fly, create ecto-shields, the ecto-blasts you've seen, I can sense other ghosts which as it turns out was a preview for my ice powers which I can shoot ice-beams, I can go intangible and invisible, I'm working on duplication which is still a bit tricky, but can be done….then there's my Ghostly Wail which is only done in emergencies. Oh. And I can also overshadow people and go into their dreams, but I don't like those last two" Danny listed as he counted them off on his fingers

"So Danny?" Lance asked "When you're not hunting ghosts, what do you do in your spare time? I bet you take full advantage of the fact you don't have to go to school anymore"

"Actually Lance, before the accident, I used to like school. When I moved here after the accident, I would sneak into Casper High and listen in on the lectures. Of course, that's when most of my enemies like to attack the kids who are away from their parents. But to answer your question, when I'm not fighting ghosts, I like to spend time with my Amity Park friends and/or just fly around"

"What was the first ghost you fought?" Lance asked

"Tricky" Danny said trying to think back. "The first ever were ecto-pusses. Just blobs of ecto-energy in the shape of octopi. But my first main ghost was the ghost of a lunch lady who was upset when the menu at Casper High was temporarily changed. That was when I first started using Fenton Tech as during the fight I got hit in the face by a Fenton Thermos that I've kept since"

"I think we have time for a few more questions" Lance said looking at his notes "Most ghosts have what is called 'unfinished business'. What would you say yours is?"

"Truthfully Lance, I'm not sure" Danny said "I've always thought I became a ghost because I was only 14 when I became what I am. I guess when I 'cross-over' I'll find out just why I'm still here"

"What about an obsession? What would you say yours is?"

"I guess I would have to say my obsession is to protect those I've grown to care about" Danny mused before wincing and adding obviously reluctantly. "or ghost fighting"

"Why the wince?" Lance asked

"Because if the latter, then I AM becoming my Dad" Danny muttered with a pout much to Jazz's amusement

"Sounds like your parents and the Fentons would get along splendidly." Lance said. "You said that you enjoyed school in your life. Which of the status quo were you in life?"

"In all honesty Lance," Danny said knowing that his classmates were going to get a HUGE shock "I was a geek in school"

"I bet your classmates back where you came from would be shock to hear how a geek became a hero" Lance laughed

"I'm still shocked" Danny said

"Here's a question I got from a viewer who learned of this upcoming interview. I'm sure most of the teenage female population is eager for this answer. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Back in life or now?" Danny asked

"Either"

Danny sighed before noticing Sam and Tucker in the audience with their parents

"I actually don't have a girlfriend, but I was and still am crushing on a friend from my old school. I won't say if she knows of my…condition though"

"Understandable. We have time for one more question which I've been wondering myself" Lance said checking his notes. "Danny. After doing some research, I learned that you've been fighting ghosts for longer than Amity has known of your existence. Ever since that incident when the Mayor was overshadowed, you have been more or less persecuted off and on. What made you keep wanting to protect us even when we didn't want to be protected by you?"

"Because I can and it's the right thing to do. The Red Huntress is still in school and should focus on that so she can get a good scholarship and the Fentons have two children who still need them. I don't want them getting hurt doing something I can handle"

"Well, that's all the time we have for today. Danny, thank you for talking to us and allowing Amity to get to know it's hero a bit better"

"Thank you for having me Lance" Danny said shaking the man's hand.

0000

Later that afternoon,

Danny was in human form working on his homework when there was a knock on his door

"C'mon in" Danny called

The door opened to reveal Jazz

"Hey." Danny greeted his sister "What story did you tell Mom and Dad for why I couldn't go to the studio to watch the interview?"

"You had too much homework to do" Jazz said "But you were great out there. Mom and Dad are still clueless that you were talking about them"

"I had hoped by not revealing that I'm a halfa, it would throw them off" Danny said

The next thing Danny knew, Jazz was hugging him

"Jazz?" Danny asked

"I love you too" she said

Danny then remembered he had openly stated that 'one can't help but to love her' about his sister.

"You've helped me out so many times, I figured I owed you an 'I love you'. But that was Danny Phantom about his sister who is who knows where and nobody knows just how much older she is so no public show of affection"

Jazz just laughed and messed up her brother's hair

"Well, Mom and Dad were talking in the car about the interview. They've decided that if they catch you, they'll just chat with you and probably run a few tests instead of ripping you apart molecule by molecule"

"Thanks for the warning" Danny said

"And…expect to explain some of how Phantom saved Fenton" she added

"Did you tell them of any?"

"Just when you saved me from Spectra" Jazz said

"Okay. Thanks" Danny said

Just then the door opened and Jack and Maddie came in

"Danny!" Jack exclaimed "You missed it!"

"I was watching on T.V." Danny lied. "I guess you know that Phantom's saved me"

"Yes. Mind telling us about that and why you didn't tell us?" Maddie asked

"Remember when Paraiah attacked and Vlad 'found' me?" Danny asked "Well, if it wasn't for Phantom, I'd be in worse shape"

It was true, but his parents didn't need to know the details.

"In fact," Danny added wondering if he can get off "That's why I've been coming home late. Phantom's been giving me some self-defense lessons as he knows what it's like to be a geek like me"

"Really? Why didn't you tell us?" Maddie asked

"Because I didn't want you using me to get to Phantom." Danny said "Even though he likes me because he understands me, it took ages for him to trust me due to you two. I'm not loosing that trust"

"Well, next time you have a reason for self-defense like if a bully is bothering you or a ghost is after you, come to us, Okay Honey?" Maddie said

"Sure" Danny said relieved his secret was still in tact.

The End

A/N: There will be no sequel. Also, if you have a question about which girl Danny's crushing on, I will leave that up for you to decide. If memory serves me right, the person who issued this challenge is NOT a Danny/Sam fan like I am. So, I made the answer as vague as possible so you the reader can decide if you want it Danny/Sam or Danny/Valerie.