Chapter Text
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Phantom Fire
Chapter One: A New Assignment
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It’s been a little over four years since Vlad created Dani in his lab. Three years since Danny managed to stabilize Dani. And a lot of things have changed since then. Danny finally told his parents about him being Phantom shortly before he went off to college. Which meant he was able to tell them about her. Maddie and Jack had let Dani live with them whenever she was around. But Dani loved exploring and seeing new things, so she only came to Amity Park every now and then to rest for a while.
But when Dani was in Amity Park, she learned as much as she could from Danny's family. Maddie and Jack taught her how to fight and handle weapons. Tucker taught her about technology and how to hack. Sam taught Dani about history and the environment. Jaz taught her about psychology. And Danny taught her everything he knew about their powers and how to use them.
And then two years ago, Clockwork had offered Dani a job as his apprentice. He would send her off on missions to fix timelines that had been messed with or altered in some way. She’d been all over the planet and in different time periods. Thanks to Clockwork she’d gotten to see firsthand civilizations that had been dead for centuries. He taught her all about the ghost zone and the different languages spoken by the ghosts. Working for Clockwork allowed Dani to fulfill her obsessions to protect people and go on adventures.
At the moment though, Dani was sitting on the couch in Clockworks library reading one of his many books. Out of all the rooms in Clockworks lair, the library was Dani’s favorite room. There was a reading area at the back of the room with two couches on either side of a fire place. So, it was a warm and comfy place to sit and read. And Clockwork had books from all over the world and from different time periods.
Dani was in the middle of reading one of William Shakespeare’s plays when Clockwork floated into the room, shifting from his old man form into his small child form. He floated over to Dani, and glanced over the book in her hand, shifting into his adult form.
“You have an assignment for me?” Dani asked, looking up at him.
He nodded his head, and started floating back towards the door. Dani set her book down on the stand next to the couch and followed after him. The two made their way into the time window room, and Clockwork waved his hand bringing up different windows into a specific timeline. Dani could see different shots of people flash across the screens, but couldn't really make out what was going on because the images where moving too fast.
“I’ve been watching this universe for a while now. And I’ve found some things I’m not liking,” Clockwork stated.
Dani glanced over at him for a moment in shock. She knew he watched over the timelines of a little over a dozen universes, but he’d never asked her to go on assignment in any of these other universes before. She felt excited at the prospect of going to another universe.
“So, you want me to go to this other universe?” Dani asked excitedly, practically bouncing in place.
Clockwork nodded his head. He was silent for a moment as he stared at the screens in front of him, a sad look in his eyes. And Dani felt anxiety shoot through her at the look on his face.
“There’s more to it isn’t there. You’ve never given me an assignment out of this universe before. Somethings different about the universe you want to send me to than the other ones you watch over?” Dani asked, floating a little closer to him.
Clockwork sighed as his form shifted into his old man form.
“This universe does not have a ghost zone. Any ghost that would travel to this universe would become trapped in this universe with no way back, and would eventually fade out of existence from lack of ecto energy. The only ghosts who could travel to this universe would be you or Daniel because of your human half. Only in order for you to survive in this new universe, your human and ghost halves would have to be merged, making you fully human. Otherwise, you would face the same problem as any other ghost,” Clockwork explained, turning to face her.
Dani stared at him for a moment, anxiety rushing through her.
“So, if I take on this assignment… if I go to this universe, I won’t be able to come home. And I’ll lose my ghost powers?”
Clockwork nodded his head, shifting form once more. Dani glanced back over at the time windows, feeling unsure. Clockwork hadn’t specified what she needed to do in this new universe. But that wasn’t actually anything new since he couldn’t really ever tell her exactly what he needed her to do otherwise it could affect the outcome of things. But this felt different. It wasn’t like she was just going to some other time period and then coming back. This was her going off to another universe, and never coming back. It was her losing her powers, something she’d had her entire life. But there were people in this other universe who Clockwork said needed her help. Could Dani really ignore them just to stay in her universe and keep her powers?
An image of an older brown haired man flashed across the time windows, his face was covered in soot, and he looked absolutely devastated. Like he’d just lost everything. Like his whole world had just come crashing down on top of him. Something about the man’s face, the heartbreak there, pulled at her.
“I’ll do it,” Dani stated suddenly, finally looking away from the face of the man on the Time Windows.
“I have some things you will need when you get to this new universe,” Clockwork said, picking up a large black and white duffle bag off a table nearby.
He silently handed the bag to her, and she rifled through it. There were several different changes of clothes inside, and on top of all the clothes was a small silver locket with the DP symbol etched into the center of the face of the locket. Dani picked up the locket and opened it up, revealing two pictures inside. The one on the left was of Jack, Maddie, Jazz, Danny, and Dani standing in front of the Fenton house, minus the ops center. The picture had been taken during one of the rare occasions that the Fenton parents hadn’t been wearing their hazmat jumpsuits. Dani squinted at the picture and realized that one of her eyes in the picture was an acid green, while the other was ice blue. She couldn’t help but wonder what that was about. The picture on the right was of Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Dani standing in the parking lot of the Nasty Burger. She noticed that she had one green eye and blue eye in this picture as well. Dani quickly put the locket on.
“Once I merge your human and ghost halves I’ll open a portal and send you to this new universe. You’ll have to figure things out on your own once you’re there. I won’t be able to help you, but I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Clockwork stated.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Dani replied.
Clockwork floated towards her until he hovered in the air in front of her. He gave Dani a sad smile, then reached out and shoved his hand into her chest. Her knees buckled as a fiery electric pain shot out from the spot where Clockwork’s hand was and down her arms. The only reason Dani didn’t fall to the ground was because Clockwork’s arm in her chest kept her suspended in the air. A wave of energy rippled through her body, and Dani gasped in pain as there was a bright flash of blinding light.
And then suddenly Clockwork removed his hand from her chest and caught her before she could hit the ground. He cradled Dani in his arms as she regained her bearings. When he was sure Dani wasn’t going to pass out he let go. Dani’s feet hit the floor of the room, and she could feel gravity pressing down on her once more.
“Ow!” Dani muttered, rubbing her hand over her chest.
Dani glanced down to see that she was wearing jeans and a tank top now instead of her Phantom suit. And she caught sight of something new. At the spot where Clockwork’s hand had been in her chest there was a large burn, and Lichtenburg figures branched out from it across her shoulders and down both her arms.
“It could not be helped. I was essentially destroying your ghost half, and that kind of thing leaves a scar,” Clockwork apologized, holding out a small round mirror.
“It’s fine, can’t be helped. Would have liked a warning about how much it was going to hurt ahead of time though,” Dani groused, grabbing the mirror.
Dani stared at her reflection for a moment taking in the changes. Her long hair was still snow white, but she now had one ice blue eye, and one acid green eye. Well that explained why she had one green eye and one blue eye in the pictures in her locket.
“I am going to miss you Danielle,” Clockwork stated, pulling her into a hug.
Dani melted into the hug for a moment, enjoying the last moments she would ever get to see Clockwork. And then Clockwork let go, and opened up a portal. The last thing Dani saw before she fell through the portal was the somber look on Clockwork’s face…
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