(Rewrite) Transdimensional Troubles

Chapter 7: A fruitful day

Danny took a deep sigh, being on the edge of the roof of one of many upper ring houses. People rarely looked up, and even a glowing teenager was not going to call any attention. He was in his ghost form, and the night wind was blowing into his face, scattering around his already messy snowy locks. Phantom just lied there, his hands behind his head. Ah, star sky, so unique and always so unusual, no matter how many times he looked there. Especially in that new, unusual world he found himself in, and he would never get tired of telling himself that.

Yes, the lack of many technological advantages surely was a problem, but nothing Phantom couldn't manage. He was not Tucker. At that thought Danny let a sad chuckle. He really missed his best friend. But Phantom knew better than anyone where the grief could lead. He had to move forward, and all the time out on the streets he was doing just that. When you struggle, there is little time for pondering about things gone by. Now, all the memories were starting to resurface. Shaking his head, Danny rose to his legs. The teen had an idea how to distract himself.

"Back to work, I guess."

He jumped off the roof and took off into the sky. The city was huge. There's got to be some mugging to be prevented. It was a nice change from beating the people, the good guys in his book. The criminals could be a nice reliever, making him still feel like a person he was supposed to be, not a pretentious brat. The best place for that would be the lower ring - a place full of slums, filth and poverty. Danny was sure that none would recognize him. Not many actually got to see him in person around there, much less his ghost form, in which he was going to operate.

Buildings in the Lower Ring were generally small, because the Lower Ring housed the majority of the populace and many people needed to be crammed into the space available. The roofs of most buildings in the ring were brown tiled, indicating the poor status of the owners. Phantom kept going around, searching for anything out of place. It wasn't that late, he didn't have anything to do during the day and could sleep a lot, so he could do that for a long while.

Finally, the teen heard a scream. A signal for his ears. People weren't around, they knew better than to go out at night. That meant that he was going to intervene. Peaking from above the roof, he saw a casual attack. Well, better than nothing, you cannot expect each lowlife to be an Al Capone level criminal. At least he wasn't alone, it could be more interesting.

"Alright, girl, hand over everything you've got," one of them said.

"I don't have anything! None of us has!" The teenage girl responded, although seemingly afraid.

"You know, she got a point."

The bandits spun around, Danny was hanging upside down in the air, grinning widely. Seeing the reaction, Phantom laughed.

"Oh, gets me every time. If only I got a nickel each time I heard this same phrase."

"Wh-who are you?"

"Hm...what do I look like?" Danny made a thinking face and flipped into normal position. "Ah, yes, like the one who is going to kick your sorry butts."

A knife went through him. Phantom made a deadpan expression, looking at his attacker.

"I-it's a spirit!" One of the bandits exclaimed.

"And here I thought that the glow made it rather clear. So..."

The bandits ran off, screaming bloody murder. Danny sighed, stretching his muscles.

"Well, that was easy. You alright?" He looked at the girl, putting a white gloved hand on his hip.

"Y-yes. Thank you. Who are you?" She asked.