Danny Phantom - The Next Chapter

Hunted

Exhaustion was dragging Danny down as he flew onwards. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, and he was sure he was going to fall from the sky at any moment. Dawn had long since arrived, banishing the stars and he just hoped he was flying on course. The only thing that was keeping him going was the lights he had seen in the distance before the sun had risen, indicating a town where he might find shelter enough to sleep. He just hoped the Guys in White hadn't made it there first.
This town was much larger than La Sardina had been. Not a town, a city. It even had a sign planted on the side of the highway that read: 'Bienvenido a Léon'.

'Léon?' he mumbled, sluggishly flying over the outskirts and heading into the suburbs.

He was only just able to maintain his invisibility and keep airborne at the same time, but it wasn't going to last forever. He tried to focus, to find some quiet alley or park where he could collapse and rest, but with the day now in full swing, it seemed people were crowding the streets everywhere.

He sighed and began to zig zag, willing to accept even just falling asleep on someone's roof at this point. He paused, blinking rapidly as he tried to focus. He had seen something familiar out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned back around and scanned the area, forcing himself to focus. There!

Plastered on what looked like an old bedsheet was a spray painted black area with his logo also roughly spray painted. But it was his logo nonetheless.

He frowned and slowly descended, stumbling slightly as he touched down.
The bedsheet looked like it had been stapled to the wall, and the building itself, while looking old, wasn't rundown or particularly shady looking. It just looked like a regular suburban house, much like the ones back home. Not something the Guys in White would use as a base. Unless they knew that he might think that and had planned for this. But why his logo? A trap to lure him in? Or was it actually someone who knew about his plight and wanted to help?

He sighed and slowly approached the building, maintaining his invisibility as he walked up the short pathway and the few steps. After a moment of indecision, he raised his hand and rang the doorbell. From within the house, it chimed, a perfectly normal, pleasant sound. Footsteps followed and he tensed, preparing to flee.

The door opened, and a teenaged guy who looked maybe a few years older than him looked out in confusion at the seemingly empty doorstep.

'Hola?' he called, stepping out and looking around.

He looked like a completely normal teenager and Danny took a deep breath and slowly made himself visible again. The guy yelped in surprise and jumped back, eyes wide with shock, but Danny raised his hands to shush him before any passers-by noticed.

'Danny Phantom!' the guy whisper-shouted, taking in his white hair and jumpsuit, before stepping back inside and beckoning him to follow.

Danny hesitated, wondering if he was about to make a big mistake, before he stepped inside. The teen stepped past and quickly shut the door, and Danny's heart hammered with fear. He was trapped. If a ghost shield was activated, he couldn't phase through.

'Antonio!' a woman's voice called, '¿Quién es?'

'Espera un momento,' the teen called back before turning to Danny.

He seemed to notice his fear for the first time and gave him a placating gesture.

'It is okay,' he said in accented English, 'You are safe here. Follow me.'

He moved further down the hallway and turned left through a wide opening. Danny hesitantly followed, prepared to defend himself at a moment's notice. But they entered a nice looking living room and adjoining kitchen/dining. There was a woman sitting at the table and she half rose with a gasp as she stared at Danny.