Danny and Poindexter met up with Sam and Tucker in the same classroom. Once the door was closed and he was sure it was just the four of them, he transformed into his human self.
“Thanks for your help,” Danny said to the others. “Those gloves could have been a problem.
“No sweat, Danny,” Tucker said.
“Yeah,” Sam added with a smirk, “it was our pleasure.”
“That was swell!” Poindexter said.
“What are you gonna do next?” Tucker asked. “Should we go to my place and play video games?”
“Not yet, Tuck,” Danny said. “Poindexter and I will pay a visit to his home in the Ghost Zone. He still gets bullied even as a ghost.”
“That blows, man,” Tucker said to Poindexter.
“Do you need our help?” Sam asked.
“Not really, but you can come along until we enter the portal,” Danny said.
“You mean go all the way to your house just to be left behind?” Tucker asked. “Thanks. I’ll pass.”
“We can use my portal,” Poindexter said.
“You have a portal?” Danny asked.
“How do you think I got here?” Poindexter said. “It’s the mirror inside the locker.”
“But how does it work?” Danny wondered. “Why did it take you so long to get free?”
“I don’t know,” Poindexter said uncertainly. “I’ve been watching through that mirror for ages, and today it just opened up and let me out.”
Sam perked up. “It was because you touched it, Danny!”
“What?” Danny asked.
“When you first opened your new locker,” Sam explained, “you touched the mirror at the back. It must have sapped some power out of you to become a portal. Imagine what else you can do!”
“That makes sense,” Danny said, transforming into his ghost form. “Okay, we’ll go to my locker! Sam, Tucker, we’ll meet you there. Poindexter, let’s go.”
The two ghosts flew down the halls to Danny’s locker. He entered the combo and opened the locker door. The mirror hung inside, looking like an ordinary mirror. Danny leaned in for a closer look. Faint images of people appeared deep in the mirror’s reflection. The longer he stared, the clearer the images became.
As his friends jogged toward the locker, Danny popped his head out and said, “I can see students inside the mirror. It looks just like the hallway on the other side.”
“Sweet,” Tucker said.
“How do you get through?” Sam asked. “It’s so small.”
“We’re ghosts, remember?” Danny joked. “We can fit anywhere.”
“Right,” Sam said, smiling.
“See you later!” Danny said, and he floated up and into the mirror portal.
On the other side, students milled around and talked at lockers. They wore 50’s style clothes and hair-dos, just like Poindexter. Even though they were all ghosts, no one floated. They all walked on two legs instead of using wispy tails. The weirdest part was that everything was in black and white, like an old movie.
Poindexter appeared next to Danny, and in an instant, all eyes were on them.
“Look!” someone said. “It’s Poindexter and the halfa!”
“Wow, the halfa!”
“What’s he doing here?”
A crowd gathered around them, reminding Danny of his encounter with Dash earlier. He found himself backing up until his back hit the lockers. Poindexter looked panicked, but the other students seemed excited and curious. Danny nervously cleared his throat to get their attention.
“Um, hi. I’m Phantom. Um…”
The school-bell rang, but no one moved. They were transfixed on Danny. What should he say?
“Well, you know my friend Poindexter. You all need to leave him alone.” He tried sounding authoritative but didn’t think it worked.
The students talked among themselves.
“Whoa, Poindexter’s friends with the halfa?”
“Far out!”
“That’s so groovy!”
Danny’s confidence rose. “Yeah, we’re friends. Tell everyone that bullying Poindexter is off limits.”
That elicited an aggressive reaction.
“We were made to bully Poindexter.”
“Who are you to stop us?”
The crowd pushed in, shoving Danny and Poindexter closer together. Hands reached out and grabbed them. Then the punches started. Danny raised his arms in defense, just like he would against Dash. Poindexter whimpered beside him, getting knocked to the ground and kicked.
“Stop!” Danny yelled. His rage flared hot and fast. It filled his ghostly body, and he realized he grew in size. “Stop!” he repeated. This time, an unearthly echo transformed his voice, and he noticed his teeth were sharp points.
The students backed off, looking up at him in fear.
“You will not harm Poindexter,” Danny growled, “or else you will face my wrath.”
The ghost-students scattered, running into classrooms or fleeing down the hallway. None of them made a peep.
Danny deflated, both physically and mentally. He went back to his normal size, and the anger seeped out of him. Poindexter moaned on the floor. Danny leaned down and helped him up.
“You okay?” Danny asked.
Poindexter jumped back. “What was that? Are you some kind of demon?”
Fear chilled Danny’s veins like ice. He shivered and looked at his hands. They seemed normal, but he knew he wasn’t normal just a moment ago.
“I… don’t know,” he said, his voice cracking. He looked at Poindexter with wide eyes. “What happened to me?”
“I don’t know,” Poindexter said. “I didn’t see. But your voice changed. It was all echo-y and… demon-y.”
“I… need to go home,” Danny said shakily. Without waiting for a response, he turned around and opened the locker.
“Wait,” Poindexter said. “You’re just gonna leave?”
“You don’t need me anymore,” Danny said. He went through the mirror portal without another word.
On the other side, Sam and Tucker waited.
“How’d it go?” Tucker asked. His expression shifted to one of shock. “You look scared. You okay, bro?”
“Let’s go somewhere no one will bother us,” Sam said, walking to a nearby classroom.
They all entered the room, and Sam closed the door. Danny tried to think of what to say.
“Something happened to me,” he managed. “I… I changed over there.”
“How?” Sam and Tucker asked.
Danny said, “Poindexter asked if I was a demon. I don’t know the answer to that. I got really angry and… and grew. I was bigger than everyone else. And my voice… I don’t even know how to describe it.”
“Sounds awesome, man! Ow,” Tucker said. Sam hit him in the arm.
“Can’t you see Danny’s upset?” Sam admonished. To Danny, she asked, “Are you okay?”
Danny transformed into his humans self. He felt more in control that way, more stable. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“I think so,” he said. “It just freaked me out, ya know?”
“Sounds freaky,” Sam agreed.
“What about Poindexter?” Tucker asked. “Did you work things out for him?”
“Yeah,” Danny said and told them what happened. “Anyway,” he finished, “I have homework. See you tomorrow?”
They made their goodbyes, and Danny transformed to fly home.
Danny
The next day was a no school day, but Danny flew to the school to check on Poindexter. He found the ghost roaming the halls in confusion.
“Where is everyone?” Poindexter asked.
“It’s Veteran’s Day,” Danny answered. “No one’s here today. And since tomorrow’s Friday, we get that day off too. You’re on your own until Monday.”
“What am I supposed to do until then?”
Danny shrugged. “Wanna hang out with me?”
“Can I really?”
“Why not? I’ve never hung out with a ghost before.”
“Hot diggity!” Poindexter said, throwing his fist in the air. “Where to first?”
“Where did you like to hang out when you were alive?”
Poindexter shook himself like a dog, startling Danny even more. His tone returned to normal. “Sorry. Automatic reaction. Don’t talk to ghosts about… what you just did.”
“Oh,” Danny said, not sure what Poindexter was referring to. “Um… how should I…?”
“Just don’t say that word,” Poindexter said. “It… triggers something in ghosts.”
“O-kay,” Danny said.
“Here. The proper way to ask is: Where di you like to hang out before becoming a ghost?”
“Ohhh, I see,” Danny said.
“To answer your question, all the kids in my generation hung out at the malt shop. Is that still around?”
“Um, I don’t think so. But we can go to the ice cream shop in the mall.”
“What’s a mall?” Poindexter asked.
“You don’t know what a mall is?”
“Nada.”
“C’mon, I’ll show you.”
Danny
Danny and Poindexter spent all morning at the Amity Park Mall. When they arrived, they flew overhead to get a scope of the sprawling building. Poindexter was amazed at the size.
They went in, invisible to humans but visible to each other—a trick Poindexter taught Danny. Poindexter was just as delighted with the selection of stores as he was at the exterior.
Instead of lunch, they had ice cream, which Danny paid for as a human. They ate on the roof, where they could have a conversation without being interrupted.
“Can ghosts even eat ice cream?” Danny wondered.
“Sure, why not?”
Danny shrugged. “I never thought about it before. I always transformed into a human before eating.” He took an experimental lick of ice cream. It was a little bland, but otherwise the same.
“We don’t need to eat, but it’s still enjoyable.”
“Cool.”
After a minute, Danny asked, “How do ghosts get nourishment?”
“Huh,” Poindexter said. “I don’t know.”
“I mean,” Danny went on, “ghosts still get tired from using powers, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So… you have to get energy from somewhere.”
“That’s a question for the yetis of the Far Frozen,” Poindexter said.
“Yetis?!”
“Yeah. They’re like the scientists of the Ghost Zone. At least, so I’ve heard.”
“I had no idea yetis were real! Are they ghosts?”
“Well, yeah! Otherwise, they wouldn’t be the scientists of the Ghost Zone, would they?” Poindexter finished his ice cream cone. “Where to next?”
“I have plans to hang out with Tucker. I’m sure he won’t mind if you tag along.”
They played video games at Tucker’s house, which fascinated Poindexter. Tucker showed off all of his technology. Poindexter and Tucker bonded over it, leaving Danny out for over an hour. He tried not to mind, but it wasn’t as fun playing video games by himself. It was fine. Danny and Poindexter shared ghostliness at least. It was good for Tucker to have a tech friend. Right? That’s what Danny told himself.
At the end of the day, Poindexter didn’t want to leave, but Danny reminded him that humans needed sleep. Poindexter went back to Casper High School to do whatever ghosts do in their spare time while Danny went home for bed.
Sorry for taking so long. DannyMay 2026 helped restart my writing, so here you go!
Poindexter
Sidney followed the halfa to his next class. They were the first ones into the room, so the halfa spoke to Sidney.
“Stay invisible,” the halfa whispered. “No one knows what I can do, so it would be weird if anyone saw a ghost around me. Stay quiet, too.”
“Talking to yourself, Fenturd?” a large schoolboy sneered as he walked into the classroom.
The halfa winced and spun around. He put on a smooth smile.
“How were the frogs?” the halfa asked.
The large schoolboy pounded his fist against his other hand, and the halfa’s expression fell.
“How’d you know about that?” the large schoolboy asked. “I’ll bet you had something to do with it. Meet me after school. Behind the bleachers. Be there, or you’ll regret it.” He shoved the halfa, who stumbled back into a desk. “Oh yeah, I saw your parents in the hall today. What? Did wittle Danny need Mommy and Daddy to hold his hand?” he mocked and laughed.
The halfa’s eyes flashed green, and his hands, which were balled into fists, briefly turned invisible. The large schoolboy couldn’t notice because he was bustin’ a gut.
By now, the other students were filing in and finding seats. They avoided eyeballing the exchange.
The large schoolboy stopped laughing and poked the halfa in the chest.
“After school. See you then,” he said dangerously.
Sidney knew what “after school, behind the bleachers” meant. The halfa was in trouble. Maybe that meant he wasn’t a bully, maybe it didn’t. Sidney needed to follow him to see more.
That parent remark from the large schoolboy, however…
Sidney waited for the right moment. While the large schoolboy fell asleep in his chair, Sidney pushed his arm out from under his chin. The large schoolboy woke with a jerk and looked around. Sidney laughed silently.
Throughout the rest of the class, Sidney watched the students, looking for anything classifiable as bullying. Anytime a student did something mean to another student, Sidney was there with a retaliation. By the time the bell rang, no one dared bully anyone else.
The same thing happened in the halfa’s next class. And the next. The halfa got bullied a time or two, confirming his story.
Finally, the school day was over. It was time for the halfa to meet with the large schoolboy. Sidney followed the halfa to a locker, where he met up with his friends.
“Word around school is you’re gonna fight Dash,” the girl said. She stood in the middle, as the locker seemed to belong to her.
“‘Fight’ isn’t the word I would use,” the halfa commiserated. “He thinks I had something to do with the frogs down his pants.”
The nerd said, “Well, you did. As a ghost.”
“But he doesn’t know that,” the halfa said.
“What are you gonna do?” the girl asked.
“If I don’t meet Dash,” the halfa said, “he’ll find another way to punish me. I don’t have much of a choice.”
“Is Poindexter still following you?” the nerd asked. “Maybe he can do something.”
“I don’t know,” the halfa said. “I told him to stay invisible and quiet. Come to think of it, kids have been acting strange in my classes.”
“That was me,” Sidney interjected, remaining invisible.
The trio jumped and looked around.
“Still here, just invisible,” Sidney said.
“What did you do in Danny’s classes?” the nerd asked enthusiastically.
“I took revenge for those poor, innocent kids who were bullied,” Sidney said.
“That explains it,” the halfa said.
The large schoolboy walked down the hall and bashed his shoulder into the halfa.
“Whoops, sorry,” he said sarcastically. “It’s time to meet your doom, Fentiny.”
The halfa groaned, as the large schoolboy sauntered away.
“I’m dead,” the halfa moaned.
“I’ll arrange your funeral,” the nerd said, holding up a strange device and stick.
“Poindexter,” the girl said quickly, “you have to help Danny.”
Sidney grinned even though they couldn’t see. “With pleasure.”
Poindexter
Behind the bleachers, a crowd gathered, waiting for the halfa. Sidney flew ahead of the trio to gauge the atmosphere. Excitement permeated the air. Seemed like a standard fight situation.
Now, how to stop the bully without provoking revenge…? Should he reveal himself, or would that cause more problems for the halfa? It might be good to be known as a ghost who stops bullies. Maybe the school would change for the better.
While Sidney thought, the halfa and his friends arrived. The crowd pushed the halfa to the center of the circle where the large schoolboy—the bully—waited, crackling his knuckles.
“Smart of you to come,” the bully said. “You would have regret missing this.”
“Let’s get this over with, Dash,” the halfa said wearily.
The bully moved quickly. Neither Sidney nor the halfa were ready for the first punch. The halfa reeled back, but the crowd returned him to the center.
Time to make his debut. Sidney positioned himself between the bully and the halfa and created a shield. At the same time, he dropped his invisibility. The startled look on the bully’s face made everything worth it.
“Stop!” Sidney said. “There will be no bullying on my watch! This school is now a no-bully zone.”
The bully’s mouth hung open. The crowd went silent. Sidney wondered what the halfa was doing but didn’t want to turn around to see. He had to show a strong front to the bully, and turning would weaken that.
“Did you hear me?” Sidney asked. “No. Bullies.”
“A-are you a ghost?” the bully asked.
Sidney rolled his eyes. “Yes. And you’re a bully.”
“Ghost!” a random student cried out, and bedlam broke out.
Everyone ran toward the school. Sidney rose higher to watch the students flee. The halfa and his friends joined the scurrying kids, probably to maintain cover. The scene made Sidney chuckle.
As students shoved inside, a muscled man wearing giant silver gauntlets forced his way out.
“Where’s the ghost?” the man shouted.
No one stopped to tell him. He spotted someone in the crowd and said, “Danno! Get inside where it’s safe!”
The man strode toward the bleachers, eyes locked on Sidney.
“Hey, ghost,” the man said, “come down and fight me!”
“Why?” Sidney asked. “Are you a bully?”
The man stopped and looked bewildered. “Um, no? I’m a ghost hunter!”
“Why would I fight with a ghost hunter?” Sidney wondered.
“I have Fenton Ghost Gloves made for fighting ghosts, so a ghost should fight me!”
“No thanks,” Sidney said and went invisible.
Ignoring the ghost hunter, Sidney flew toward the school to look for the halfa. He didn’t have to go far. The halfa and his friends watched from the doorway. All the other students were gone.
“Pst,” Sidney said, turning visible again.
The halfa jumped. “Poindexter! What are you doing?”
“Checking in with you,” Sidney answered. “What do we do next?”
The halfa started down the hallway. His friends and Sidney followed.
“We have to get away from my dad,” the halfa said.
“Hold the phone,” Sidney said. “That ghost hunter is your old man?”
“I’ll explain in a minute,” the halfa said. He looked around frantically. “Come in here.”
He led his friends and Sidney into an empty classroom and closed the door.
“That was awesome!” the nerd said.
Sidney preened under the praise. “Thank you! I meant what I said.”
“You’re going to stop the bullies?” the nerd asked.
“We have bigger problems,” the halfa said. “We need to get those gloves away from my dad.”
“Yeah, about that,” Sidney said. “How is it that the halfa, who is half ghost, is living with a ghost hunter for a father?”
“He just doesn’t understand,” the halfa said, frustrated. “My mom is the same way. They don’t know I’m a ghost, and I want to keep it that way. Now, about those gloves…”
Poindexter
The plan had Sidney smiling like a loon. He and the halfa hovered over the roof’s edge, waiting for their tun. The nerd walked up tot he hunter, who boxed the air with his gloves. The plan was for the nerd to ask to see the inside of the gloves. It seemed to work perfectly, and the hunter gave the gloves to the nerd.
“That’s our cue,” the halfa said, looking like he got the zorros.
He and Sidney zoomed down to harass the hunter.
“You achin’ for a breakin’?” Sidney teased. “Well, here’s you go!”
The hunter gaped at them. “Tucker, my gloves, pronto!”
But the nerd ran as soon as the ghosts showed up. The hunter looked around. Sidney took that opportunity to shoot an ectobeam at his feet.
“We’re up here, hunter!” Sidney said.
“Don’t hurt him,” the halfa said under his breath.
“Don’t worry,” Sidney said flippantly, “I’m being careful.”
“What do you two ghosts want?” the hunter asked with narrowed eyes.
“We told you,” Sidney said gleefully, “to fight!”
“That’s all ghosts want, isn’t it?” the halfa asked, sounding sour. His form flickered around the edges as though turning into shadow. Sidney had never seen a ghost do that before, though he hadn’t seen many ghosts other than those in his lair. He wondered if it was a sign of the halfa’s anger.
“Er, right,” the hunter said.
“Ja-ack!” came a woman’s voice.
Sidney turned to see who it was. The woman wore a blue jumpsuit, and she blocked the nerd from going into the school.
“Don’t you need your Fenton Ghost Gloves?” the woman asked. “Tucker, give back the gloves.”
“Sorry, Mrs. F,” the nerd said. “I need these for… for—”
The girl came out of the school and hurried over to the nerd and the woman. She said, “We need them for a science project.”
“What science project?” the woman asked suspiciously.
“We’re um, we’re um…” the nerd stuttered.
“It’s an extra credit project,” the girl said.
“Like the one on the gorilla?” the woman asked, still not buying it.
“This isn’t going well,” the halfa muttered. Then he shouted, “Hey, over here!” That got everyone’s attention. “Wooo! I’m a scary ghost! You should run!”
Sidney didn’t know what the halfa had planned, and at first, no one moved. Then the nerd took off running, faking a scream.
The halfa sailed after him, matching his pace. “Wooo! I hope you trip and drop those gloves!”
The nerd did just that. The gloves went flying, and the halfa blasted them out of the sky.
“Drat!” the woman said. “Those took weeks to manufacture!”
The halfa glided over to Sidney, and they high-fived.
“Looks like our work here is done,” the halfa said.
The two flew back to the roof of the school where they burst out laughing.
“Nifty!” Sidney said. “That was swell!”
“It’s a good thing Tucker followed my lead,” the halfa said. “My mom showing up really put a wrench in things.”
“That lady was your mom?”
The halfa went sour. “I told you, my parents don’t understand.”
“You should change that,” Sidney said. “Tell them who you really are.”
“I can’t!” The halfa’s eyes flashed black, startling Sidney. “They can’t know. They hate ghosts.”
“Why? Ghosts aren’t evil,” Sidney said, then thought better of it. “Except for the ghosts in my school.”
The halfa’s mood settled. “You go to school?”
“It’s my realm,” Sidney explained. “My realm is a direct copy of Casper High in the fifties, filled with ghosts who pick on me all the time. That’s why I hate bullies.”
“Maybe we can do something about that,” the halfa suggested.
“Like what?”
“Let’s go to your realm and scope it out. Maybe I’ll get some ideas.”
They reached the trees where a car waited. He recognized it as Jacob’s car. But Chelsea whipped around before getting to the car.
“Tucker’s in trouble!” she said.
“Where is he?” Danny demanded.
Chelsea silently led him back to the GIW facility. On the side of the building, they could clearly see a standoff. Tucker had his back against the wall and his arms raised. Six agents aimed weapons at him.
“Leave him alone!” Chelsea cried. “He’s not a ghost!”
The agents swiveled their heads at the sound of her voice, and their weapons followed. Danny grabbed Chelsea’s hand and turned the two of them intangible just as blasts came their way. Most of the blasts missed, but one hit Danny’s arm.
“Ow!” he said in surprise. “That actually hurt!”
“Careful, Danny,” Tucker yelled. “Their weapons have been upgraded—”
“Quiet, you!” an agent said, reaming his weapon at Tucker.
Danny and Chelsea pelted the agents with ectoblasts weak enough to not cause permanent damage, making the agents run for cover. They hid among gleaming silver pipes connected to the side and roof of the building. Danny and Chelsea stopped firing.
“Run, Tucker!” Chelsea shouted.
Danny flew down to meet Tucker and hoisted him in the air. The two boys returned to Jacob’s car in the trees while Chelsea watched the agents.
“Get in, Tuck!” Danny instructed when he dropped Tucker to the ground. “We’ll hold them off.”
Danny turned around again to help Chelsea. Sam yelled to stop him.
“What if they catch you again?”
“They won’t.
“Be careful, Danny.”
“I’m always careful!” He saluted her and returned to Chelsea.
She had a shield up. At least that stopped the GIW weapons.
The car sped down the road, much to Danny’s relief. More agents arrived, and some broke off to get into vehicles.
“We can’t let them follow our friends!” Danny said to Chelsea.
“Right!”
The two redirected their efforts to the agents’ vans. This time, they didn’t hold back on their powers. They blasted those vans with everything they had.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The vans were equipped with some sort of shield.
“Aim for the wheels,” Chelsea suggested.
Danny shot his ectoblasts at the wheels, and they exploded.
“Yes!” Danny said.
He and Chelsea destroyed every wheel, assuring their friends’ safety. The Guys in White poured out of their vans and fired weapons. Danny and Chelsea dodged the blasts and headed to Jacob’s car. They shared a high-five on the way.
“That was awesome!” Danny said.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Chelsea said.“We’re right above you.”
“What?” Danny asked.
“Sorry, talking over comms again,” Chelsea told him.
“Oh, right,” Danny said. “Do you have an extra one for me?”
“There might be one in the car,” Chelsea said.
Danny dove into the car and positioned himself in the back seat next to Tucker. The others jumped when he appeared.
“Danny!” Sam said. “Good to have you back!”
“Good to be back,” Danny replied. “Hey, do you have an extra comm for me?”
“Sorry,” Tucker said, “didn’t think to bring another one.”
“Why do you need one?” Jacob asked.
“Just in case the GIW attack again,” Danny explained. “Though I don’t think they will,” he added with a grin.
Thank you for joining me for DannyMay 2026! I had a great time getting back into writing. I’ll have a new chapter of Danny Phantom Revisit soon, so I hope to see you there!
Chelsea fled when Danny got captured late one night. He told her to. It was the only way to save him. Still, she felt guilty.
The device that captured Danny was a net he couldn’t phase through. It also shocked him at the press of a button by the Guy in White holding the other end. Chelsea probably wouldn’t have been bothered by the electricity, but she also wouldn’t be able to phase through the net had she been caught.
So, Chelsea fled. She would help Danny later. After she recruited Tucker, Sam, and Jacob.
“You’re sure this is the right way?” Chelsea asked through comms.
“Positive,” Sam said.
She, Tucker, and Jacob rode in Jacob’s car toward the GIW headquarters while Chelsea flew overhead. They all had comms in their ears to keep in touch in case they got separated.
“I don’t see anything,” Chelsea said, surveying the road ahead. They were pretty far from Amity Park, and farms dominated the landscape. “Wait, I think I see it!”
A hill appeared on the horizon and in front of it, a white government-looking building. The building was only two stories high, but it seemed connected to the hill behind it. Chelsea wanted to zoom ahead but kept her speed consistent with the vehicle below.
“Does it go underground?” Chelsea asked.
“I don’t know,” Sam said. “Only Danny has been inside.”
“Wait, he’s been inside before?!” Chelsea wondered. “How did he get out last time?”
“Their tech wasn’t good enough back then,” Tucker said.
“Plus, he caught them by surprise,” Sam added.
“He was in and out before they knew what happened,” Tucker said with a chuckle.
“Not this time,” Jacob said darkly.
Tucker stopped laughing. “Way to bring down the mood.”
“I’m just trying to keep us on track,” Jacob said.
“What kind of tech do they have?” Chelsea asked.
“Hold on, I’ll pull up their specs,” Tucker said.
“Better hurry ‘cause we’re getting close,” Chelsea said.
“No sweat, Chels,” Tucker said. “I already have it here. The first thing we have to worry about is their ‘Ecto Intruder Alert’ system. It’ll go off as soon as you get close.”
A pit formed in Chelsea’s stomach. She asked, “How do we bypass it?”
They started formulating a plan. When they arrived at the headquarters, they parked the car among some nearby trees in hopes of not being seen. There, they finalized the plan and got to work. Tucker started by sneaking onto the premises to disable the alert system with his PDA.
“All clear,” he said. “Your turn, Chelsea!”
With clammy hands, Chelsea flew invisibly toward the building. Once inside, she searched the rooms for Danny’s location. Tucker hacked into the GIW network and did the same from outside.
So the facility did go underground. Chelsea hurried down to level four.
Danny tried everything to escape. He couldn’t phase through the walls, ceiling, or floor, his ectoblasts bounced, almost hitting him, and even his Ghostly Wail did nothing. How had the Guys in White advanced their technology so much?
He was stuck in a white room about ten feet in all directions. The GIW operatives left him in the net when they put him in the room, but the net was loosened, so he could get out. He tried flying through the door, but it was already shut by the time he reached it. Now it was just him and the net in the room.
Currently, he floated on his back in the middle of the room, tossing an ectoball out of boredom and frustration. What else could he do? He wore himself out when he used the Ghostly Wail and needed time to recover. Once he did, though, he didn’t know what else to try.
Static interrupted his thoughts. Danny floated upright and prepared for battle. Even though he was weakened, he wouldn’t let the GIW agents get the upper-hand this time. The lock clicked, and the door swung open.
No one was there. Danny didn’t waste time. He made a break for it, but then someone materialized in his way.
“I found him!” she said.
It was Chelsea.
“How—?” Danny started.
“Shh,” Chelsea said with a finger to her lips. “They don’t know I’m here.”
She grabbed his hand and led him into the hall. The two agents guarding the far door saw them and yelled into their radios.
“Oops,” Chelsea said.
She flew through the ceiling, still dragging Danny along. They went up several floors until they reached the roof.
“Whoo!” Chelsea shouted. “We made it!”
She let go of Danny and held her hand to her ear as though listening to something.
“We gotta go,” she said, suddenly acting anxious. “They’re coming.”
“Who’s coming?” Danny asked.
“The Guys in White!” Chelsea said.
The roof access door burst open, and two agents raised their weapons at Danny and Chelsea.”
“See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!” Danny said.
It was his turn to grab Chelsea’s hand, pulling her away from the agents.
“This way,” Chelsea said as blaster fire flew past them. She led Danny toward a copse of trees. “Is everyone in the car?”
“What car?” Danny asked. “Who are you talking about?”
Chelsea didn’t answer at first. A look of frustration crossed her face.
“Well, hurry up! Sorry, Danny. I’m on comms with the others. Tucker’s still geeking around with the GIW servers. No, we will not leave without you. Duh.”
“He wants us to leave without him?” Danny asked.
They reached the trees where a car waited. He recognized it as Jacob’s car. But Chelsea whipped around before getting to the car.
Danny and Chelsea were out training in the park one night, as usual.
He said, “The thing you have to remember is—”
A net surrounded Danny, forcing him into a ball. Before he knew what was going on, the net shocked him, rattling his brain and making him cry out. When the shock was over, he tried to phase through the net.
“I can’t phase through!” he realized. “Chelsea, run!”
He couldn’t see her due to his position, but he hoped she wasn’t caught like him.
“What about you?” Chelsea asked. Her voice was full of panic.
“Just go! You can find me later!” Danny commanded.
The net shocked him again. Through the haze, he heard a voice. The Guys in White had come to play.
“Phantom acquired. Sighting of another rogue ghost, but it got away.”
Phew. That meant Chelsea was safe. They must not have planned for her to be with him.
“What are you going to do to me?” Danny asked angrily.
“Quiet, spook!”
The net surged with electricity again. Danny was getting really tired of that. Someone carried him into the back of a van and got in. The van doors slammed closed.
“Cargo secure, we’re good to go,” the GIW agent said, and the van took off.
“Where are you taking me?” Danny asked.
“I said, ‘quiet’!”
More electricity. Danny was already panting in pain. He decided his best option was to remain, as he said, quiet.
“Maybe spooks can learn,” an agent said. There were at least two of them in the van with Danny. They laughed at the remark.
A finger poked Danny through the net.
“Seems solid,” Agent A said.
“Probably a trick,” Agent B said.
“Weird trick. What else can it do?” Agent A wondered.
Danny resisted the urge to retort that he wasn’t an “it.”
“Haven’t you read the manual?” Agent B asked. “It lists all known ghost powers, including this one’s.”
“Yeah, yeah, I skimmed through. I was just trying to make conversation.”
“Well, don’t. The scientists at the Guys in White Headquarters will analyze this spook and add to our knowledge base. Maybe you can ask them about it being solid.”
“Great idea!” Agent A said.
Analyze? What did that mean? What were they going to do to Danny? He had to find some way out of this mess before they did permanent damage!
But how could he escape if intangibility didn’t work on the net?
It seemed like training was taking forever. One night, Chelsea asked Danny, “How long are we going to train? I want to go on an adventure in the Ghost Zone!”
Danny raised an eyebrow at her. “Remember the last time we went to the Ghost Zone? I’d say that was an ‘adventure,’ and it was a disaster.”
“I think we had fun!” Chelsea countered. “Well, until that necromancer summoned you…”
“Exactly.”
If you’re curious about the adventure they went on, read the following prompts from last year: 04 Eyes; 05 Cryptid; 29 Ghost Biology; 08 Lost; 14 Horn; 24 Necromancy; 26 Horror; and 31 Free Day.
This is Chachi. He’s kinda intense, brash, and hard to contain. He has an acid core that eats at his body, so he has to molt every now and then. Instead of using ectoplasm, he shoots acid. It looks similar but eats whatever it touches. He carries around an arrow to remind him of his past life as an archer.
Spoilers for Avengers: End Game. Takes Place after May 23th: Betrayal.
It had been five years since Thanos snapped half the population away. The Avengers tried recruiting Danny again and again, but he was needed in Amity Park and the Ghost Zone. Chaos reigned the worlds, and he did his best to control what little he had left.
Everyone did what they thought was best. Families changed. People moved. Laws were made. Through it all, Danny fought ghosts, preventing them from leaving Amity Park.
Sam and his dad fought by his side. Jazz and his mom were two of the vanished. With Maddie gone, Jack was a different man. He made dark jokes; he spent less time inventing and more time patrolling (even though he didn’t have to); he hardly ate or slept. Danny hated seeing him this way.
But Danny wasn’t much better. He was driven to defend the people of Amity Park and to keep peace in the Ghost Zone. He hardly had a personal life or hobbies. All of his time went to his goal. Sleep and food were necessities he avoided whenever possible.
Sam called off the search for the missing, but others didn’t give up. After that crying session with Danny, she turned hard and wouldn’t let another tear drop. Without Allie to mellow her out, she put all her effort into politics. She needed to be in control which meant protesting legislation and campaigning for a better world. At least she got adequate sleep.
Then there was this girl named Millie. She was only seventeen when the snap happened. But she sought out Danny and asked to join him. He asked why, and she said all of her friends and family were gone. She was an orphan who needed purpose, and hoped Danny would give that to her. So he did. He taught her how to use various ghost fighting equipment, and she went to work. She was a much needed ally.
Then, one day, everything changed. The people who had vanished reappeared exactly where they had been. Danny spent a frantic few days worrying about Chelsea. She was injured in Wakanda before being snapped away. Everyone told him to relax and celebrate who he had. Chelsea would find her way home.
And she did. Her ghost form looked a bit worse for wear, but she finally flew back a few days later. When she reappeared in Wakanda, people around her nursed her back to health. She stayed in ghost form the whole time to maintain her cover. When she was healed enough, a magician portaled her home.
That left one thing left to take care of: Clockwork. Danny went alone to the ghost’s lair. Unsurprisingly, Clockwork waited for Danny, this time in his room of clocks.
“You don’t have to say it,” Clockwork said. He faced away from Danny, staring into the future. Or the past. Danny couldn’t tell.
“Yes I do,” Danny said.
He chose to stand instead of float. Even though Danny was taller now that he was an adult, Clockwork was still taller than him when he wanted to be.
Clockwork remained silent, and Danny found that what he had to say was harder than he thought.
“Look, it’s about my friends,” Danny said looking at the floor. “You told me they would be safe. You also told me I would understand in time.”
“And?”
“I understand, now. You were talking about the blip. That’s what they’re calling it, you know.”
“I know.”
“Of course you do.” Danny smiled at the floor. He looked up, and Clockwork was facing him. “What I want to say is that I forgive you.”
Clockwork smiled back. “I knew you would.”
“Don’t ruin it,” Danny said with a laugh.
“Go,” Clockwork said gently. “Be with your family.”
Danny floated off the ground toward the exit. “Alright. I will.”
“And Danny.”
“Yeah?”
“I forgive you also.”
“What for?”
“For berating me all those years ago.”
Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Oh, right. Sorry about that.”
“Worry not, young ghost. What’s in the past is in the past.” He chuckled at his own joke.
One night after training with Chelsea, Danny arrived home, tired as usual. He flew into his bedroom and transformed into his human self. Too late, he realized someone else was there.
“Finally!” Wes cheered.
Danny turned to see Wes crouched in the corner looking at a camcorder. He didn’t seem bothered that Danny was there.
Danny paled. What did the idiot want now? And how did he get into his bedroom?
“What is that?” Danny asked.
“Just the proof I’ve been waiting for!” Wes said.
Danny’s fears were confirmed. Not thinking clearly, he lunged over his bed to get at Wes.
“Get rid of it!” Danny said.
“No way!”
The two struggled with the camcorder.
“Don’t break it!” Wes pleaded.
“Great idea!” Danny said.
He charged ectoplasm in his hands, directing it into the camcorder. Some of the ectoplasm may have touched Wes.
“Ow!”
“Serves you right,” Danny muttered.
They still fought over the camcorder. Danny had to make sure it was destroyed.
“Let go!” Wes said.
“Not in your life,” Danny replied.
Finally, Danny came away victorious. He held Wes back with one hand while he tried to open the tape of the camcorder. The tape slot was jammed, so he had to let go of Wes and use both hands. Wes reached around Danny, trying to get his device back.
“Give it back!”
“Not until I destroy this tape!”
Danny got the tape slot open and grinned. The tape was fried for sure. The actual tape had melted, causing the jam. There would be no recovering the recording.
“I have my report on that thing!” Wes cried.
“Not anymore,” Danny said. He turned around and gave the camcorder back to Wes. “Here ya go. Good as new. Well, not really.”
“No!”
“Now, get out of my room,” Danny said, shoving Wes toward the door. “How did you even get in here?”
Wes was too distraught to answer.
“You ruined it!” he said instead. “My parents will never buy me a new one!”
“Maybe next time you’ll think before entering someone’s room without their permission. Or recording them without their permission!”
Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War. Takes Place after May 19th: Favorite AU.
“You know I can’t.”
Sam stared at him, her expression both angry and sad. Her chin quivered, and she breathed heavily. Finally, she stomped over to Danny and cried into his shoulder. They sank to the floor, and Danny rubbed her back and cried with her.
A while later, Danny cried himself out. All he could think about was what he would do to Clockwork when he got to the ancient ghost. He pulled away from Sam.
“I have to go,” he said. His voice was husky.
“You can’t go,” Sam said still crying silently. “I need you.”
“I’ll be back,” Danny assured her. “I need to talk to Clockwork.”
“Still?” Sam asked. “I thought I talked you out of that.”
“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Danny said, “but I still want to talk to him. He needs to know what he did to me.”
“He probably knows you’re coming and what you plan to do,” Sam pointed out.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m still going.”
Danny turned into a ghost and turned to leave.
“Come back to me,” Sam said quietly.
“I will,” Danny said. Then he left.
Flying up to Clockwork’s lair wasn’t as intimidating as when he was a teenager. Instead, all Danny felt as he flew into the tower was contempt. Clockwork waited for him in a grand hall at the base of the tower.
“You betrayed me!” Danny shouted, readying an ectoblast.
“Daniel, think about what you’re doing,” Clockwork said. He dodged Danny’s ectoblast part way through the sentence and acted like nothing happened. Danny sent blast after blast at the ghost, but of course, Clockwork dodged them all.
“Hold still, old man!” Danny said. “You’ll pay for what you did! My wife is gone, my friends are gone… Why are you still here when they aren’t?”
“It was not my choosing,” Clockwork said. “Thanos’s wish worked randomly. I would not be surprised if he included himself in the random selection.”
“I don’t care about Thanos,” Danny seethed. “You betrayed me, and now you’ll pay!”
Clockwork created a shield around himself. “You know I know how to stop you. I know how this conversation ends.”
“You told me everyone would be safe! Half of the people I know are gone! That’s not safe!”
“You will see in time what I meant.”
Danny stopped. “What does that mean?”
“I cannot say.”
Danny growled. “Answer me!”
“You are needed in the Human Realm,” Clockwork said. “A ghost is about to attack Amity Park.”
Danny snarled at him, but stayed in place. Part of him wanted to go fend off the ghost attack, but part of him wanted to stay. The protective side of him won, and he turned to leave.
“Just give it back, Boxy,” Chelsea said, exasperated. “You’re surrounded.”
“I am the Box Ghost! This box belongs to me!”
Chelsea hovered above the Box Ghost to keep him from flying away. Danny wrestled to get a box back from him, and Tucker, Sam, and Jacob stood strategically around the Box Ghost at the back of an alley. Sam held the Fenton Thermos at the ready.
“No, it doesn’t,” Chelsea said. “Frostbite gave that to Danny. Now give it back!”
With a little more grunting, Danny succeeded in securing the box.
“Now!” Danny said to Sam.
She activated the Fenton Thermos, and the Box Ghost got sucked in.
“Noooo!” Boxy wailed. “I am the Box Ghost! I will have my revenge!”
With the Box Ghost contained, Danny and Chelsea hovered level with their friends. Danny held the box out for the others to see.
“As I was saying,” he said, “Frostbite wanted me to figure out how to open this box.”
The box was about a four-inch cube. Its surface had various switches and knobs, and it shined with a blue-green iridescence.
“What’s inside?” Chelsea asked.
“Dunno,” Danny replied. “Frostbite didn’t say.”
“Are we allowed to help?” Sam asked.
“I think so?” Danny said. “That’s kinda why I called you all together. I can’t solve it.”
Jacob took the box and asked, “So it’s a puzzle box? How far have you gotten?”
Danny took the box back and started moving some of the levers and gears. After a few moves, he held it out again and said, “That far.”
“Not bad,” Jacob said, admiring Danny’s work. “I think you almost have it.”
“Let me try,” Tucker said, taking the box. He looked at it closely and tried a couple of different things. Nothing moved under his touch.
“I think it’s broken,” he declared.
“No, you just gotta…” Jacob said, snatching the box from Tucker. He moved a switch or two then gave it back to Danny. “See if you can figure it out from here.”
“Figures you would know how it works,” Chelsea said as Danny took the box back.
Danny examined the box closely. His eyes lit up, and he said, “I see what you did! So if I just do this…” With a few quick twists, the box opened. “I did it!”
“What’s inside?” Sam asked.
Everyone peered into the box. Inside was…
“Nothing?” Danny said, dejected. “All that work for nothing?”
Silence descended on the group.
“Well, not nothing,” Jacob said tentatively. “You… you learned problem solving?”
“I guess,” Chelsea said. “Woulda been nice if there was something inside, though.”
“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “Like… like…”
“Like what?” Tucker asked.
“I dunno. Something,” Danny replied.
The group was quiet again.
“What do we do with it now?” Chelsea asked.
“I guess the Box Ghost can have it,” Danny said.
“You don’t want to keep it to solve again?” Jacob asked.
“Nah,” Danny said. He fiddled with the box, closing it up again. “It’ll be funny to see the Box Ghost try to solve it!”
Chelsea’s parents take her and her friends to the beach.
Chelsea worked really hard in physical therapy, and now she was finally walking again. To celebrate, her parents set up a beach weekend at Lake Eerie. When the Fentons got the invite, they insisted on all coming. Tucker and Sam’s parents opted out, though.
Despite the name of the lake, the beach they went to was quite nice, even though it was more rock than sand. Much better than when their class had a summer camp last year, according to Danny, Tucker, and Sam.
The drive was long, so when they got there, they set up camp and ate dinner. They shared marshmallows and chocolate over the fire and went to bed excited for the next day.
In the morning, everyone wore their swimsuits to breakfast. The fun began after eating.
Chelsea used a floaty to carry her out onto the water. She hadn’t swam for years. Since before she got sick. The cold water tickled her legs and felt refreshing.
“This is amazing!” she said to the sky.
Her friends laughed, and Jacob splashed her.
“Get in the water!” Jacob said. “It’s not deep.” He stood in water about chest high.
Holding onto the floaty, Chelsea dipped herself into the water. It sent shivers all along her body.
“It’s cold!” she said.
“It’s not that bad,” Danny said.
“You have an ice core,” Chelsea said. The parents were far enough away that they wouldn’t hear. “Of course you’re not cold.”
Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War. Takes place after May 16th: Alone.
Clockwork! Danny stopped crying and glared at nothing. That ghost better watch out, because Danny was coming for him. But not yet. He still needed to check on people.
Danny went to Tucker’s house next. Tucker had married a woman named Hannah, and they had a kid together named Linus. None of them were home. Instead of wasting tears, Danny went straight to Sam’s house. She had married a woman named Allie Fabel. They adopted a little girl named Jenny. Danny dreaded what he would find at their modest suburban home.
Sam’s house was abuzz with activity, despite the late hour. Always the activist, Sam probably had something planned. Did that mean she was safe? Or was Allie in charge of this chaos. Only one way to find out.
Invisibly, Danny flew into the house. He spotted Sam immediately, directing others and printing out fliers. She had bags under her eyes, and her hair was a mess, but she was as dominating as ever. Danny gave her a tap on the shoulder and whispered in her ear.
“It’s me. Meet me in your room.”
Sam startled a bit, but recovered quickly and told the others to take a break. Then she went upstairs, and Danny followed. He waited until they were safely in her room with the door closed.
“Danny? Where are you?” Despite her commanding presence downstairs, her voice cracked with sadness.
Danny turned human in front of her and squeezed her tightly. She hugged back just as hard.
“You made it!” she practically sobbed. In all their time together, he had never seen her cry. “What happened?”
“Thanos won,” Danny said in a low voice. He was on the brink of another crying session himself. “Chelsea’s gone. Tucker’s gone. Valerie’s gone. Allie?”
“Gone,” Sam confirmed. “And Jenny, too. Where did they go, Danny? Where did they go?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to see Clockwork.”
Sam held him at arm’s length. “Why?”
“He lied to me,” Danny said darkly. He imagined his eyes were glowing green with rage. “He said everyone would be okay.”
Sam frowned. “He probably said that just to get you to go.”
“Yeah, and he’ll pay for that.”
“Danny, don’t do anything stupid,” Sam warned.
Danny had to laugh. “Stupid? Me?”
“I’m serious, Danny. I… I don’t want to lose you, too.”
That shut him up. Sam’s eyes were downcast, and tears slid down her cheeks. Danny hugged her again.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll just have a talk with him. I promise. By the way, what were you doing downstairs?”
Sam broke the hug and turned away. “Setting up search parties.”
“You’re not going to find them, Sam,” Danny said.
“You don’t know that!” Sam said more like the woman he knew: angry.
Danny felt tears in his own eyes. “They vanished, Sam. They turned to ash and disappeared. They’re not coming back.”
“You don’t know that!” Sam repeated, this time less sure.
Danny reached out for her, but she stepped away from his touch.
“No, Danny, I can’t accept that they’re just gone!” she said.
“We have to,” Danny said though it pained him. “We have to find a way to move on.”
Sam turned to him, her arms out wide. “How? Half the population is gone! The world is changed forever! How can we just move on?”
“I… I don’t know—”
“You don’t know?! That’s all you can say?”
“Sam—”
“Don’t ‘Sam’ me! Tell me we’ll find them!”
“You know I can’t.”
Sam stared at him, her expression both angry and sad. Her chin quivered, and she breathed heavily. Finally, she stomped over to Danny and cried into his shoulder. They sank to the floor, and Danny rubbed her back and cried with her.
Chelsea and Danny were training one night when a random humanoid ghost shyly came up to them.
“Um, excuse me,” the ghost said, “are you Phantom?”
“Yeah,” Danny said. “Who are you?”
“My name is Andrew McAfee,” the ghost said. “You can call me Drew. And you are…?” he asked, looking at Chelsea.
“I’m Chelsea Ghost, but you can just call me Chelsea.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Drew said.
“Not to be rude, but why are you here?” Danny asked.
“I’m afraid it’s my graveyard,” Drew said. “It’s being neglected.”
“Neglected? How?” Danny asked.
“The caretakers aren’t doing their job,” Drew answered. “Weeds are growing everywhere, the fences need repair, and the roads are damaged. It’s making the spirits restless.”
“How restless?” Chelsea asked in dread. “Like, are they… dangerous?”
“Some of them are, yes,” Drew said sadly. “But I’m sure you two can handle them. Just don’t hurt anyone, okay?”
“We’ll do our best,” Chelsea promised. “We need to kick the butts of those caretakers into gear. Who are they?”
“Edgar Dickson and his family,” Drew said.
“Do you know where they live?” Chelsea asked.
“Hold on, Chelsea,” Danny said. “What are you planning?”
“I… didn’t really think that through,” Chelsea said.
“Let’s make a plan before we do anything,” Danny countered.
Invisibly, Chelsea floated up to the bed of Mr. and Mrs. Dickson with Danny on the other side. On the count of three, they started moaning.
“My grave, my grave! You’ve desecrated my grave!” Chelsea said in a haunting voice.
“You will pay,” Danny wailed.
Mr. and Mrs. Dickson flipped out. They scrambled to get the covers off of them. Pillows flew through the air. Mr. Dickson fell out of bed, and Danny groaned at him. Mrs. Dickson cowered in the middle of the bed with Chelsea in her ear.
“What’s going on?” Mrs. Dickson screamed.
Mr. Dickson grabbed a bat and looked around wildly. Of course, he didn’t see anything, so he swung his bat at the sound of Danny’s voice.
“You will take care of my grave,” Chelsea intoned. “You will stop neglecting the graveyard.”
“Get away!” Mr. Dickson said.
In his normal voice, Danny said, “Careful. You might hit a lamp.”
Mr. Dickson swung his bat at Danny but still hit air.
“I’m a ghost, you idiot,” Danny said with a chuckle. “You can’t hit me.”
“Ghosts?” Mrs. Dickson shouted. She jumped out of bed and started hitting her husband. “I told you we shouldn’t leave the chores undone!”
“Ow, ow!” Mr. Dickson said. He dropped his bat. “Stop hitting me, woman!”
“I’ll hit you all I want!” Mrs. Dickson said. “You stupid man.”
Chelsea’s jaw dropped, and she turned visible. Danny appeared beside her.
“Do you think it worked?” she asked.
Danny laughed. “I think our job here is done.”
A few days later, Drew returned to visit Chelsea and Danny.
“Thank you,” Drew said.
“For what?” Danny asked.
“For setting the Dicksons straight,” Drew said. “Remember? My graveyard?”
“Oh yeah!” Danny said. “That was fun.”
“I take it they’ve started fixing up the place?” Chelsea asked.
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