Danny Phantom - The Next Chapter

Reforged Links

Danny stepped through the breach and blinked at the sudden light and colour that was surrounding them. It was almost overwhelming how vibrant the real world could be. The sun was shining down on them and while he didn't technically have a body, he could practically feel the warm wind against his skin. It was paradise.

The sound of a car horn honking brought him back to himself and he looked around. They were definitely in Amity Park; he had flown over these buildings enough times. It took him a moment for him to realise they were above FentonWorks which was practically unrecognisable without the Ops Centre balanced on its roof. He supposed it would take a while for a machine that big to be replaced, but he felt a strange sense of loss at the empty space it once occupied.

'Come on,' he said, breaking Dani and Vlad out of their own stupors.

Moving quickly, they descended and phased through the front door, the inside of the house seemingly abandoned. It was to be expected; they were all likely in the lab and he glided into the kitchen before pausing. Jazz was sitting at the table, piles of books spread out around her and looked to be hard at work studying. That was strange. Curious, Danny drifted closer and peered over her shoulder at the text on the pages.

'Can't she see us?' Dani asked, waving her hand in front of Jazz's face.

'Nah,' Danny replied, 'It's not like when we go into our ghost forms. It's more like... we've slipped between planes of existence. We aren't quite here enough for anyone else to see us.'

'Creepy,' Dani muttered, withdrawing slightly.

'It looks to be some kind of medical textbook,' Vlad explained, joining Danny in examining the books. 'Neurology?'

Danny frowned. As far as he was aware, Jazz was more interested in psychology rather than the physical brain itself, but maybe she was branching out.

He moved to the door to the lab, drifting down the stairs to take in the mess that lay beyond. What was usually a pretty neat and tidy work area was now strewn about with machinery and chemicals, whiteboards covered in equations dotted about the room and paper with even more covering most surfaces and taped to the walls. All of the computers were going and looked to be running calculations at such speeds that Danny had no idea what they were for. But dominating the space were three medical beds and he once again got the unnerving sensation of looking at his own body lying prone. The three of them were connected to what had to be some kind of life support machines, monitoring their heartbeats, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. Ventilators were pressed into each of their mouths, forcing air into their lungs. This was way worse than last time. Before, he had just been unconscious, now it was like... he was dying.

'Oh, I don't like this,' Vlad muttered, sounding uncharacteristically shaken.

Maddie and Jack looked to be hard at work at separate workbenches, Jack soldering wires together in some kind of new invention while Maddie was mixing chemicals, some of which glowed with the distinctive green of ectoplasm. But something was wrong... his dad had a definitive limp and he looked down at his foot that didn't look quite right. Was he wearing some kind of metal boot?

Seated next to the beds and out of the way of Danny's frantically working parents, Sam, Tucker and Valerie were talking quietly amongst themselves. Danny gaped in surprise at their appearances; all of them looked like they hadn't slept in weeks, with heavy bags under their eyes and an exhausted slump to their shoulders. But just like his parents, they also seemed to be working; Sam had some kind of magic-related book on her lap and was skimming it at an impressive speed while she clutched at Danny's hand. Tucker was tapping away at his laptop with a deep frown. Valerie also had a book, but this one looked more related to mysticism and spirituality.