Danny Phantom - The Next Chapter

Explanations

Danny stood silently in the icy chill of the Antarctic tundra, surrounded by the cheering crowd of various international scientists, and more importantly, his parents. Both were beaming with pride and showed no signs of reaching for the various ghost weapons that he knew they had on them. His heart clenched and he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around both of them.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' he stammered, 'I should have told you sooner but I was so worried about how you'd react or even if you'd still love me and—'

'There's nothing to apologise for, son,' Jack interrupted him, uncharacteristically gentle, 'Of course you wouldn't tell us!'

'We're the ones who are sorry,' Maddie continued, 'All those times we were blathering on about hunting and destroying ghosts. And we attacked you! You must have been terrified of us!'

'I wasn't terrified...' he protested, 'Just... well. Okay, maybe a little scared.'

'Well you've got nothing to worry about,' Maddie reassured him, 'We aren't going to do anything that will hurt you in any way.'

Danny smiled, and for the first time since he got his powers all those months ago, he felt completely at ease with his parents.

A cold wind swirled around them, and both his parents shuddered, though Danny wasn't affected.

'Come on,' Maddie said, 'Let's get inside. After surviving a giant meteor, dying from hypothermia seems like a poor way to go.'

Danny smiled and glanced back at Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, giving them a thumbs up and a broad smile. They each grinned in response and fell into step behind them. He didn't notice Valerie frowning at him from further back in the crowd.

As they returned to the control room, the weight of what had just happened finally seemed to sink in now that the adrenaline had worn off. All the anxiety and stress that he had felt leading up to the Dis-Asteroid's approach melted away, leaving behind only a deep-seated exhaustion. Getting rid of his powers, subsequently gaining them back, being attacked by practically the entire population of the Ghost Zone, and turning the entire planet intangible were all finally taking their toll. He felt like he could sleep for a year. Sam and Tucker noticed immediately, quickly guiding him to one of the vacant chairs where he slumped down with an exhausted sigh.

'You okay?' Sam asked quietly, now that the eyes of everyone were finally turned away from him.

'Tired,' he replied, 'Really, really tired. Any idea on when we can go home?'

'I think they're just checking to see that the asteroid is gone for good,' Tucker replied, glancing around at the scientists working away at their computers.

'What, do they think it might turn around?' Danny asked sarcastically.

'Well you never know. There might be some smaller ones that came with it that we missed.'

'There better not be. With all the ghosts gone, I doubt I could turn myself intangible right now.'

'Relax,' Sam said, 'They're just being paranoid.'

Jazz quietly made her way over from where she had been talking with their parents.

'How you doing?' she asked, concerned.

'Just need a nap then I'll be raring to go,' he replied heavily, 'How about them?'

He gestured to Maddie and Jack who were in deep discussion, their occasional glances in his direction making it very clear who they were talking about.

'They're still trying to wrap their heads around it,' Jazz explained, 'I think it'll take a while for them to really get used to it. I think it'll help if you tell them exactly how it happened. They are scientists after all.'