Firebreather X Danny Phantom

Chapter 3

            Thursday Afternoon.

It took a while, but Danny decided against telling Duncan and the others of his half-human status. They've got their own problems to worry about, they don't need me to be another one. He reasoned. Also, if I did, Duncan might think I'm imposing on him. This is his hometown. Now in his final class of the day, Danny watched the clock tick the minutes away and counted down until the bell would ring.

"Three....two....one." Danny whispered so softly only he heard himself. The bell erupted into a frenzy of excitement and all students jumped out of their seats. Danny rushed to his bus, which thankfully, wasn't anywhere close to being as cram packed as the one he would take back at Casper High. He sat toward the back, staring out the window. The bus eventually came to life and rolled away from the school. When he got back to the house, he opened the door to...nothing.

"Hello?" Danny called out, hoping someone would answer. Still nothing. Danny set his bag down by the front door and made his way to the living room. On the table, in the middle of the room, there was a note. Danny picked it up and read it.

Danny,

Brandon and I have gone to take Katie and Max to their yearly check-up at the doctor. Don't eat too much, we'll be bringing back dinner. Stay safe!

Allie.

Danny heaved a sigh of relief. Home alone until they get back. Question is, what to do while I wait for them... He looked around. The house wasn't in its pristine, clean state like Allie usually had it.

"I'll clean!" Danny exclaimed to no one. "Goin' ghost!" He yelled, but not loud enough for anyone outside the house to hear. The white rings expanded and enveloped Danny, disappearing once they had finished their task. Danny leapt into the air, only to stop and say,

"What should I clean first?"

Danny flew through the house, stopping in the kitchen. The sink was filled with dirty dishes.

"And here's where I start." Danny chuckled, almost deviously. He shook his head and muttered, "I'm becoming more and more like the twins."

With that, Danny set to work. As he floated in front of the sink, he used his ghost tail to wrap around a large cup that held polished silverware. He used his telekinesis to send the cleaned plates to their spots in the cupboard while using his hands to furiously scrub the dirty ones. Following this pattern for thirty minutes, he finally finished. Danny wiped his forehead with his arm and then flew down to the basement.

"Woah. What hit this place?" Danny floated there with his jaw hanging open. Toys covered the entire floor and costumes of all shapes laid on top of the toys. There was virtually no space for walking, forcing Danny to remain hovering over the sea of fun. Along the edges of the room were shelves and drawers, the spots where the toys and clothes really belonged.

"Man, Katie and Max could have an entire fortress under all of this. There's no way I can clean up everything before they get back..." Danny trailed off, an idea entering his mind. "Unless, I clean it the way I do the lab."

He fired a plasma beam into the middle of the toys. They, the items that were hit, jumped into the air and landed neatly in their respective drawers. Danny grinned. "I'll be done in five minutes." Shot after shot blasted free from Danny's hands and the chaos that was the floor moved around as if alive. The carpet revealed itself, its color being a deep maroon. Danny stopped shooting and looked at a clock on the wall.

"Took two minutes. I am so good." Danny congratulated himself. His happiness was short lived. "Now what am I supposed to do to pass time?" He moaned. How about your homework? His conscience came out of nowhere.

"How about I do something else?" Danny argued. His eyes snapped wide. "I'm such a goof. I'm arguing with myself." He slapped his hand against his face. He touched down on the surprisingly soft carpet to hear the garage door being opened. The white ring quickly passed over Danny as he ran up the stairs.

"Welcome back!" Danny greeted the family.

"Hi Danny!" The two children screeched and jumped on him. For once, Danny managed to remain standing instead of falling over. Katie and Max held on tightly via bear hug. Allie and Brandon walked through the garage door holding large bags from KFC.

"Alright kids, to the table." Brandon gestured the way with his loaded arm. Katie and Max raced each other while Danny stayed back.

"Here, let me carry some of those." Danny offered. Brandon said nothing as Danny grabbed a few bags from both Allie and Brandon and carried them to the table. Once Danny was what they thought out of earshot, Brandon whispered to his wife,

"I still find it hard to believe that no one's been looking for him. A kid like him can't be that easy to miss."

"I know. But here we are." Allie whispered back.

Danny winced, his super hearing allowing him to have heard it all. I bet they do miss me. I wonder if it's been two months over there too. He was silent for the remainder of dinner.

"I'll be doing my homework in my room." He told his foster parents after he cleaned up his dinner. Danny grabbed his backpack and closed his door behind him. He proceeded to lock it. Danny pulled the papers he needed from his bag and looked them over before deciding that homework wasn't going to happen right then. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I wonder... He began thinking. Danny opened his window and looked at the setting sun. The bright colors fought their way across the darkening sky while the moon rose just behind the mountains.

It couldn't hurt to go flying, would it? Danny wondered. He put on a light jacket. Then he turned the light in his room off and quietly crept out the window. He shut it softly, leaving a crack so he could get back in later. By now the streets were quiet and many lights within houses had gone dark. At that point he started walking. Soon he was on the outskirts of the city, facing the salt flats and the mountains with them.

Danny continued his trek until he had gotten behind the first of many rocks jutting out from the base of the mountains. There he turned into Phantom and rose high above the landscape. He soared into the clouds, dipping and diving through each one. His stresses seemed to drift away with each cloud he passed through. Danny closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall away from the clouds. The wind caused Danny's suit to flutter violently against his skin the longer he fell.

Danny opened his eyes and slowly evened himself out from the fall. He glided back to the edge of the city and landed. Danny turned back into Fenton and swiftly walked back home. On the way, he glanced at his watch. That was really two hours long? Danny was baffled. He tip-toed up to his window and climbed in, careful not to make any noise. He slowly closed the window and locked it. The light suddenly flipped on, making Danny have a heart attack and have a slight seizure.

"I thought you were doing homework." Allie's stern voice was full of disappointment.