Work Text:
Custody Arrangements
There was rain. There was thunder. There was lightening. And there was a knock.
~Arushi Raj
Phantom was blasted into the ground as the ghost animal tried to eat him again.
Phantom was very much getting tried of this. Every time he thought he was able to get the ghost, it would disappear and reappear somewhere else.
Phantom was getting drained trying to track the thing down. Sam and Tucker had started patrolling around hoping to help him some and track it when it attacked.
Then the Fentons showed up. Phantom wondered when they would since they hadn’t really had much planned and they were usually hours late to a ghost attack anyway.
Phantom got up and tried to block the force of the beast’s next attack.
He was shoved back into a building. A citizen was standing there staring at him when the Fenton shot at the monster.
Phantom quickly put up a shield and blocked the stray shots from Jack from hitting either him or the random citizen who looked terrified.
“Thank you,” the citizen said as the beast screamed at the Fentons and started in at them. “Are you okay?” Phantom nodded.
“Just getting wore out. I haven’t been able to pin the thing yet,” Phantom said before he blinked. He usually tried to keep up a strong front, but he was so tried.
“Think they can handle it?” he asked, and Phantom shook his head.
“Not likely…if I go back out there…” Phantom trailed off knowing that he’d be fighting two sides, and he wasn’t sure he could do that and come out unscathed. Phantom rolled his shoulders anyway and took off and pummeled the monster back into the ground as Maddie shot it between the eyes.
It screamed and shook the ground. Phantom flew back up in the air and tried to get as far as he could before he felt it.
Maddie had shot him.
He dropped as he felt his powers frizz for a moment before he managed to at least land himself in the grass nearby.
He groaned as he laid there. The beast screamed again and he put his hands on his ears. When the noise was done he looked over and it was gone, but Jack and Maddie were heading towards with wicked grins.
Then there were sirens and police surrounding the area. Phantom blinked as they pointed their very much not ecto-weapons at the Fentons.
“That’s enough, Jack and Maddie Fenton. Put your hands in the air and drop your weapons,” they said as they surrounded the two.
Both of their grins dropped seeing the officers.
The citizen from before walked up to Phantom who was still on the ground trying to catch his breath when he felt his phone vibrate.
Sam or Tucker was trying to get ahold of him then, he looked at the guy confused.
“Hey, kiddo, my name is Detective Harold Markens,” he said as he kneeled next to Phantom’s head.
Jack and Maddie were screaming about how the ghost was dangerous, but Markens didn’t believe it. He always liked to let actions speak louder than words and it hadn’t lead him wrong yet.
“Phantom,” Phantom answered as he focused on not changing in front of everyone. That would just lead to more problems. Markens nodded and held out his hand to help the ghost up.
Phantom stared at it unsure, and Markens could understand why the kid would be wary.
“Come on, you’ve been fighting for us for a while now, and honestly, after living in this city for the past year, if you wanted to do something major, you would’ve already,” Markens said and Phantom just continued to stare before vanishing into the ground.
Markens nodded. That was fair.
Phantom appeared next to Sam as Tucker distracted the beast. He was so tried.
“Danny? Where have you been?” she demanded with a glare before really looking at him. “You don’t look so good.”
“Mom got a shot off,” he whispered as he stared at the beast. It looked smaller at least. “The police surrounded the place and one of the officers seemed a little too interested in me for my liking.”
“Nice, Danny,” Sam said before pointing her ectogun at the beast to get its attention on her and Phantom. Phantom lit up his hands in energy and shot back towards the beast knocking it back as Tucker slid into an ally to take a break.
They traded around until two hours later when they were finally able to get the thing into the thermos.
Phantom planned it leave it in there for the next two weeks. If it didn’t want to remain in a cramped space for that long, then it shouldn’t have attacked his home.
“You good, Bro?” Tucker asked only to get a glare. Tucker raised his hands as Phantom shot into the air and headed home. He had a date with his bed.
He landed in the alley between his house and the neighbors and changed before walking around only to stop seeing officers and cop cars surrounding the area.
“If we weren’t there then the ghosts would have done so much more!” Maddie yelled as she threw her hands into the air in irritation.
Detective Markens was there and Danny swallowed. Why did he follow them there? What was going on?
“Mom, Dad?” he asked as he walked up to them. Markens looked at him before addressing his parents.
“This is the only warning I’m willing to give on the matter. If Phantom is seen, you do not engage in a fight with him. You can either work with him, or not ghost hunt at all. This is getting out of control, you guys have broken numerous traffic laws and put a lot of people in danger, and if Phantom really is trying to keep the city safe, then let him, cause the rest of us feel better not having to run from your weapons,” he said before turning around and heading to his car. The other officers followed except for one.
Maddie rushed Danny inside as she slammed the door behind herself. Jack was sitting on the couch looking dejected.
“They took my license, I’m a good driver!” Jack said before he burst into tears. Maddie walked up to him and gently patted his shoulders.
“We’ll get it back. Maybe Vlad could help us,” Maddie suggested, and Jack cheered right up.
Danny knew it was unlikely that Vlad would help, but there was something else going on here. He looked outside at the cop car that was still sitting out front. He wanted to confront Vlad, but he was not in any condition for another fight.
He walked up the stairs and laid down sending a message to Tucker and Sam that he made it home safe and that tomorrow he needed to talk to them about something important.
Then darkness overtook his vision as he fell asleep.
Danny woke up to the smell of bacon and coffee, which was weird because his parents didn’t cook breakfast and Jazz wouldn’t chance to make it. He got up and went to the bathroom.
He cleaned himself up got some new clothes and headed downstairs.
His mom was cooking eggs and bacon.
“Hey, honey, we couldn’t sleep last night, so we decided to make some breakfast before you head off to school,” Maddie said cheerily, and Danny only studied her warily. She just continued on as if this wasn’t out of place. Danny was a little weirded out as he sat down.
“Where’s Jazz?” he asked. She wasn’t in her room, and it didn’t look like she had come home last night.
“She’s staying with Marcy since it’s before finals,” Maddie answered as she flipped the bacon. Danny simply nodded making sure that the bacon wasn’t glowing.
Nothing was glowing, and Danny had to wonder what was happening here. Something clearly happened before he got home yesterday if his parents were acting like this. He leaned forward to look outside, and the cop car was still there only facing a different direction.
Were they taking shifts to sit outside Fentonworks?
He needed to know what exactly was going on here.
Danny slipped inside the school and got to his lockers without seeing his friends. He was worried for a moment before the bell rang. He figured he’d see them sooner or later. He sat down in class looked at the empty desk next to him in worry.
Tucker should have been here.
Danny swallowed unsure what exactly was going on because Tucker was fine the day before.
He may have been a little tired but should have been it. Danny watched as the teacher turned before pulling out his phone and looking over the texts.
There were confirmation texts that his friends had made it home after all before one message stuck out.
Police are here asking about the Fentons.
Danny felt his heart drop.
Danny walked through the school feeling more than a ghost than a person at this point. Both his friends weren’t there and last he heard; they were talking to the police.
Something was wrong, and he didn’t know what.
Dash was even avoiding him now as well. Almost like the whole school knew that something was happening, and he was the only one not in the know. It was both worrying and driving him slightly mad.
He hated not knowing what was going on.
The last bell of the day rang, and he headed out.
There was a police officer sitting out front and Jazz was looking completely lost in front of it. Danny swallowed as he headed to his sister who looked sick with worry.
“Jazz?” he asked looking at the officer who motioned for them to get in the back.
“Your parents have been arrested,” the officer informed as he opened the door. “For now, you’ll be taken into state custody. Mayor Masters offered to house you until everything gets sorted.”
Danny paused.
“No,” Danny hissed backing away from the officer who startled at the hostility of the teen. “I’m not going anywhere with that fruitloop.”
“Danny,” Jazz warned, but Danny knew that if his parents really had been arrested, that Vlad would do anything he could to make sure that his dad got all the blame and that he could get custody of him and Jazz.
Although Danny’s fairly sure that he wanted nothing to do with Jazz since she wasn’t half ghost.
He also knew that Vlad didn’t want kids anyway. He didn’t want to share attention with anyone.
Danny took off as the officer went to grab for him.
“Yo, Fenton can run,” Kwan shouted as Danny turned a corner as the officer chased him. Danny slipped though a wall as the officer was a beat behind him.
He turned into Phantom and took off for home invisibly.
He was not going with Vlad no matter what.
“Hello?” a woman answered as she glared at the man who was bobbing closer to her rhubarb. She really didn’t want to hide a body. It was nearing harvest too, and she was so sick of people going to piss in her garden.
There was a whole goddamn forest on the other side!
“I’m sorry, she’s been what?” Alicia yelled making everyone freeze. “I’ll be there in twelve hours…Danny’s missing? Look, I’ll help search as soon as I…yeah…I understand. I can afford to feed some mouths, but I doubt they…I’ll see what I can do.”
“Everything alright, Lis?” Bob asked as Alicia glared at the phone.
“My sister and her idiot husband have been arrested on child endangerment and some other stuff, and now there’s two teenagers who need a legal guardian and the only options are me and some creep named Vlad Masters,” Alicia explained. “I’m going to need a way out of here soon.”
“I’ll get the plane ready. You bringing them back?” he asked as he closed his shop.
“Danny freaked out when he realized that Masters offered, so I’d say, more than likely.”
Danny slipped inside Tucker’s room to see his friends laying on his bed playing some game. He looked around carefully before covering Tucker’s mouth as he appeared. Tucker jumped but remained quiet.
“Dude, what’s going on?” Tucker asked as he pulled his friend next to him on the bed as Danny leaned against him.
“Mom and Dad were arrested. I don’t know the details, but…the state was taking us in and told us that Vlad had offered to house us…and I ran away,” Danny explained keeping the tears. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Some Detective Markens came in asking about how they treat you and Jazz. He was asking weird questions, and then…he asked if he could ask me some questions,” Tucker said as he looked away. “I think I said some things that concerned him. I thought I covered everything really well, but I kinda panicked.”
Danny looked at him.
“I didn’t tell them about Phantom, but he did bring it up,” Tucker said. “He said that Phantom saved him and that the Fentons had attacked him for it. He seemed really mad about that.”
“Do…do you think he’s mad because they attacked me as Phantom?” Danny asked and Tucker shrugged.
“No idea, but they were investigating.”
“They took Dad’s license, and he was upset about that,” Danny said before laying back completely. “But I don’t know what they were actually arrested for. I just ran.”
“Dude, I know you don’t want to go to Vlad’s but…I can ask my parents if you can stay for a couple days until it’s all sorted,” Tucker offered, and Danny shook his head.
“No, I’ll just bounce around for a bit as I try to figure out what’s going on. I blame Vlad, cause I’m pretty sure this is his fault somehow. I just don’t want to talk to him either to figure it out. If I confront him and he decides to hit me with the Plasmius Maxmius, then I can’t exactly fight back.”
Tucker nodded knowing his friend really didn’t want to go with Vlad.
“Well, you can stay here for now. What about Sam? Have you stopped by yet?” Danny shook his head no as he pulled the pillow to his chest for comfort. It felt like his life was starting to fall apart.
“So you have no idea where your brother would’ve run off to?” Markens asked Jazz who was sitting on the couch in the Fenton’s living room. Vlad was standing in the kitchen with his arms crossed.
“No, I just know that he doesn’t want to stay with Mr. Masters,” Jazz said softly making Vlad glare at her and flash his eyes. “If he doesn’t want to be find though, you won’t find him. I’ve tried texting him, but he hasn’t answered.”
“What about his friends?” Masters inquired and Jazz just glared at him.
“It’s possible, but even if they know, they won’t tell,” she said as she looked down at Markens. “I’m going to be eighteen next month. Can I just stay here until he comes back? I can…I can figure something out and get custody.”
“Jasmine, that’s very noble, but you don’t have an income and it would ruin your dreams, wouldn’t it?” Vlad said as he tried to sound sympathic. Jazz narrowed her eyes before Markens got between her and Vlad.
She startled as she studied the man.
Suddenly she didn’t feel quite out of sorts.
“Mr. Masters, I’m going to ask you to leave. I need information, and I have a feeling that they are hiding it because of you,” Markens informed as he crossed his arms. Vlad glared at the man.
“I love these kids as if they were my own, I would never harm them,” he defended himself.
“Is that why you were fighting to get Maddie out of the trouble she’s in? You have no problem throwing Mr. Fenton under the bus, but you seem to have a creepy obsession with Mrs. Fenton, and I feel like it’s beginning to be a conflict of interest in my investigation,” Markens said before nodding to the other officer in the room to escort Vlad out of the house.
He turned back to Jazz and sat down.
“Your Aunt Alicia is on her way here. Will she be safe enough to care for you and brother until everything can be settled?” Markens asked and Jazz nodded.
Alicia wouldn’t hurt them, and she loved them.
While she wasn’t normal, she cared about as people at least, and she was family.
“Yeah, Aunt Alicia is safe,” Jazz whispered and with horror realized that was the truth.
Their parents weren’t safe, but Alicia was even though they hadn’t been close, Alicia was always willing to listen to them and their problems.
“That’s good then. She said it’ll be about twelve hours before she can get here though, so I’ll have officers waiting outside just in case,” Markens said before he left.
Alicia had known it was only a matter of time before whatever shenanigans her sister got up to would come up and bit her. She managed to get to Fentonworks within ten hours instead of Twelve. She was glad she had gotten her pilots license and that Bob was nice enough to let her fly his plane.
She knocked on the door and Jazz opened it.
“Aunt Alicia,” the girl smiled, but Alicia could tell it was forced. Alicia opened her arms, and the girl hugged her and cried.
She had been though so much. Alicia wished that Maddie hadn’t moved so far away from home, but Alicia loved Spittoon. It was so far away and hard to get to.
She had hated the city and all the memories it brought back to her and her ex.
That asshole deserved so much more, and she promised herself that she would never let herself go back to that.
“Do you know where Danny is?” Alicia asked as she pulled back slightly and stared at the girl. Jazz shook her head.
“No, he’s not answering his texts, but…” Jazz bit her lip unsure of what all she should tell Alicia. “I know he’s safe at least.”
“Right, and this Masters? Was it? What the fuck did he do to Danny that made your brother run away at just the mention of his name?” Alicia asked and she could see the hesitation on Jazz’s face.
She’d make that man pay for whatever he’d done to harm her nephew.
“Alright then, let’s start with the basics, where would he feel the safest?” she asked, and Jazz just cried again.
Danny sat on top of the hill outside Amity Park and just stared at the stars. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet, but he was definitely not going with Vlad, but this was also the safest he’s felt in a long while.
He didn’t have to worry about invention when he got home attacking him. Ghosts seemed to not to be popping up nearly as often either…
And he jinked it.
His ghost sense went off and as he got up, he noticed Skulker flying across the sky.
He wasn’t heading for him, but it was likely he was looking for him.
Probably for Vlad.
Danny was done.
Amity Park could fend for itself now. Danny changed into Phantom and vanished into the ground as he let his form find his death point.
He landed in the lab and looked over the portal that was closed. He walked up to it and unplugged it. It held for a moment before completely dying, and then he went about destroying everything in it.
He was surprised no one came down, but he also knew it was likely that no one was home either.
Both his parents were in jail and now here he was dealing with the consequences. He blasted the portal with all he had.
His powers drained and he kneeled as tears formed. He wasn’t sure if he was crying because his family was torn apart or because he didn’t know the future.
But he knew that he wasn’t going to be going to Vlad’s.
“You good, kiddo?” a voice asked and Danny startled as he looked over to his aunt. He swallowed unsure of what all she seen.
“Um…there was a ghost?” Danny said not sure what else to blame. It wasn’t really a lie, a ghost did destroy the lab, but the ghost was him.
“Yeah, there was, but I don’t mind,” Alicia said as she walked up to him. “Do they know?”
Danny shook his head as he looked down ashamed. He should have known that someone was here.
“Alright, good news, Vlad didn’t fight for custody of Jazz, bad news, he seems very interested in you. I take it I just figured out why,” Alicia said as she pulled him into a hug. He needed support and she was strong enough for this.
She had to be as there was no other choice.
“Feel okay enough to come with me?” she asked and Danny nodded.
He wanted out of Amity even if it was only for a little while.
“What about mom and dad?” he asked.
“Ah, Masters seems to be under the impression he can blame everything on Jack and get Maddie off, but those two are likely going to be sharing everything. They really pissed off someone,” she said as she rubbed the boy’s arm. “Come on, I can’t stay away too long. Those dumbasses are likely pissing in my rhubarb as we speak.”
Danny couldn’t help but laugh as he got up and followed her out. He stopped at the doorway and looked down in the lab.
Alicia stopped and looked at him.
“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I think you and I both know that it’s never been a safe environment for you kids to grow up in,” she said and Danny nodded.
“It’s what got me killed,” he whispered before turning off the light. “The government’s hunting me and so were my own parents.”
“Yeah, Spittoon doesn’t need a superhero, but I think you just need something stable enough to let you be yourself,” Alicia said as she motioned to the packed bags. “Jazzy didn’t really want to leave, but she knew that there wasn’t much of a choice after Vlad’s little stunt.”
“Vlad has the same powers, FYI,” Danny said, and Alicia blinked as she remembered Maddie telling her about Vlad’s little accident.
“Well, he sure as hell won’t be able to find Spittoon,” she said with a grin. “Internet may be a bit spotty, but I’m sure a smart kid like you can figure it out.”
Danny nodded. He could reroute connections though the Ghost Zone. His parents had done it, and it had helped with connections when he and his friends went exploring in the Zone.
He’d miss it, but there was so much to do. He ran up the steps and looked around his room trying to figure out what all he wanted to take with him.
He’d have to deal with Vlad at one time or another, but he figured it he was due for a break.
And his ghost sense went off again as an explosion sounded from across town. He looked out and wondered if he should go or not.
“Come on, Danny. You’re fifteen and can’t even drive yet. Let the adults handle, and if they can’t, then that’s their problem. They created the mess, let them clean it up,” Alicia said, and Danny nodded.
He’d miss his friends, but he was so tired of everything seeming to crash on him all at once. He just wanted to take a break.
It had taken Alicia all of twenty fours to get them back on the plane to Spittoon.
“Do you think mom and dad are going to be disappointed that we’re not there?” Danny asked as he leaned against the window and stared out at the cities they were passing below.
“I don’t know,” Jazz said still slightly bitter about everything was happening. “They made their decisions.”
Maddie felt tears in her eyes as she and Jack stood in front of the prosecution.
“Look, I’m willing to offer this. Surrender all documentations and blueprints of your designs to the United States government and sign this NDA. All charges will be dropped,” he said as he sat the paperwork. Markens stood there with a glare hating that this was where his plan ended up.
How he’d forgotten about the Guys In White was beyond him. Both types of ghost hunters sucked.
And no one has seen Phantom since that night either.
“What’s our other option?” Jack asked remembering the last time that the GIW had gotten their hands on their stuff.
They nearly destroyed reality.
“What about Danny and Jazz?” Maddie asked.
“They’ve been taken into state’s custody and given to…Alicia Walker,” the prosecutor said as he waited for their answer. “You get the kids back if you sign this.”
Maddie looked to Jack as he studied.
“And if we don’t agree?” he asked.
“Then this goes to trial and you’re likely to get jail time and lose all custody of your kids,” he informed as he leaned back.
Agents O and K were waiting behind them for their decision. Vlad was also waiting for their decision.
Maddie looked at Jack with tears falling down her face. Everything that they’ve been working for their life or their nearly grown kids.
“Take us to trial.”
Fin