Young Danny Fenton, he was just 14 when his parents built a very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen. When it didn't quite work, his folks, they just quit. But then Danny took a look inside of it. There was a great big flash, everything just changed. His molecules got all rearranged! When he first woke up, he realized he had snow white hair, and glowing green eyes. He can walk through walls, disappear, and fly.
That was 3 years ago today.
17 years old Danny Fenton just wanted a full night sleep. Ever since he died in the portal, all he had been doing was hunt ghost regardless of his shattered sleep schedule and school. It doesn't help that since defeating Pariah Dark, his head felt heavy and his chest felt cold. He knew about his cold core but this was just ridiculous! At least he's not freezing from the inside out anymore.
Yawning, he ignored Tucker Foley's grimace at the sight of his latest signs 'ghost puberty'. Apparently, for a carnivore connoisseur like Tucker, seeing fangs the likes of Danny's was too much. Well, there was the incisors, up and down, that had grown longer and bigger than was normal for a human. That's not disturbing, much, but it's the ones behind deeper in that disturbed the dark skinned boy. His first premolars and second premolars, top and bottom, looked just as sharp as his incisors.
At least with his puberty finally kicking in, Dash Baxter and the other jocks stopped picking on him.
Well, he did almost hit 7 foot tall and was almost towering over his old man Jack Fenton. The sudden height increase was a welcoming shock to him. That, and his constant tussle with the supernatural meant that he have muscles on his muscles. He's not exactly the body builder type like Dash. Still leaner than the jock. But at least the Seamstress in the Ghost Zone declared his physique the golden ratio.
Why else would a ghost obsessed with fashion chase after him just to make him a ghost fashion icon?
At least he's not in that tacky Fenton Battle Hazmat anymore.
Tucker scowled, "Seriously, Danny, I like meat but that does not mean that I want to get eaten,"
Danny smacked his lips, "Yeah? I'm hungry..."
He's hungry often since his dad's gene finally stopped procrastinating and kick in. No wonder the man ate all the time. When he was younger, Danny swore he was almost driven up the wall because every time he looked at Jack, the man's chewing something. That said, he dug out the energy bar he had been hoarding ever since his appetite goes into overdrive. Tearing the wrapper open, he popped the whole thing into his mouth.
Tucker groaned, "Dude, I hate this. I hate being shorter!"
Samantha 'Sam' Manson rolled her eyes as she joined them, "Maybe if you eat some greens now and then, you won't stay short for so long,"
Tucker glared at her, "Hey! I'm not that short. Danny's just tall!"
Sam huffed, "Yeah? Stop complaining. I'm going to stay shorter than you two forever at this rate!"
Being a girl and without any tall gene in her family, Sam had ended up being the short one in the group of three. Tucker have been kicking into the mid 6's while Sam was stuck in the range of 5's, almost 6. Although she's a hardcore Goth, she's a whole lot more feminine in her fashion choice. But one can only take away her steel toed combat boots when she's dead...and not a ghost. But the chances of her becoming a ghost the moment someone tried to turn her into a princess for burial was still high.
Danny yawned some more, causing Sam to quirk a brow at him, "Dude, when did you turn in last night?"
Danny shook his head, "No idea. I'm just hungry and tired these days,"
As he's busy trying to walk, talk, and not sleep, he accidentally slammed into someone. Reflex kicking in, he grabbed the other person as he blinked his fatigued away, "Sorry! Uh..."
Shit.
It's the Ice Queen of Casper High; Elsa Glød.
She joined the school at around last year and Paulina Sanchez and the other A-listers were quick to try and get her to join them. However, Elsa wasn't impressed by them. She's not moved by anything. Not their toxic treatment of others and not by their attempt to isolate her. She's the definition of ice and he has icy power, so he would know. If anything, the reason the term Ice Queen came about was because not only was she the top in academic, she was also ahead in sports. She was in the fencing club and had apparently won championships for Casper High, something that the fencing club had never been capable of winning before her, basically carrying the whole club on her back. But above all that, she have immaculate style. Crisp, proper, and no nonsense.
Her platinum blond hair was always up in a tight braided bun. Her clothes were always proper, covering every inch of skin she have barring the head. She was always either in dark blue, dark grey, navy, purple, violets, or black. Unlike other girls in Casper High that wore modern fashion, she was always in a high collared top with long sleeves, high waist skirt that fell to her calves, thick socks, and Mary Jane shoes. But most of all, she wore gloves no matter the weather.
Today she's wearing a dark blue button down complete with a black tie around the neck, a dark grey vest over that, a prim A-line black skirt, and her usual socks and gloves as well as her always shiny Mary Jane. She straightened herself and pulled away from him, "Fenton,"
Danny stepped back, "Elsa,"
She then walked away. Not a shift in her expression, and not a change in her voice. Stiff, stoic, cold, and distant. She turned the corner and entered the class.
Tucker whistled, "Damn. I'm still shivering. How does someone become that cold anyway?"
Sam rolled her eyes, "At least, besides her style, she's a more welcomed company than certain others,"
Danny yawned before coughing out ice, "Damn it. Give me a break..."
As he disappeared, Tucker shook his head, "He didn't even ask us to cover for him anymore,"
Sam huffed, "Because he trust us to do whatever needs to be done. Come on, Tuck!"
Meanwhile Danny grumbled as he chased after a few mindless ghost animals that he once called Blob Ghosts and Ectopus. After he corralled them, he grabbed a few, looked around, and shoved the thing into his mouth. As they burst like grapes inside his mouth, he sighed. He knew that most people would saw the action as a form of cannibalism but really...they were the only thing that can actually stave off the worse of his hungers these days. After he finished them all up, because apparently these blobs of mindless ectoplasm were actually ghost food, he made sure that there was no stain on his mouth or his teeth before changing back and rushing into class.
As he accepted his latest detention slip, he returned to his seat and tried to focus.
Honestly? He doesn't know how to bring this latest revolution to his...biology to his friends. They had been there with him through his whole journey as teenage boy figuring out his ghostly side. But when he started to absentmindedly eat whatever blobs of ectoplasm, he was horrified too. But he was just so hungry and eating human food can only stave it off for so long. Visiting Frostbite explained some things to him.
He's a growing ghost and like a growing teen, he needed to eat. Apparently he was malnourished, that was why his puberty kicked in so late. Well, it wasn't like he have a good diet as a human. What with his parents always more busy chasing ghosts than replenishing the pantry. They were not neglectful, rather more forgetful. Now that he's getting all the nourishment he needed as a ghost, his human side rushes to catch up and because of that, he's hungry all the time.
His stomach growled, causing him to hide his face when it attracted the attention of his classmates and teacher.
Mr Lancer rolled his eyes, "Yes, Fenton, I heard you the first time,"
Danny covers his head with his hands while the class snickered at his misery. He peeked at them through his long, black bangs and saw one person not laughing.
Elsa.
Well, she's as cold as ever and perhaps that was good for him. One less person to make fun of him.
Lunch finally arrived and Danny all but ran to the cafeteria to look at the fare. Blegh! Disappointing as always. But he picked up a few that looked edible. Not that anything they served can kill him all the way, anyway. Joining his friends at the bench, he started to stuff his face like he had been starved.
Tucker shook his head, "Seriously, man. Your appetite these days are just...something else,"
Sam chewed on her...block of Minecraft grass, he didn't know what else to call it, "Leave him alone, Tuck. He's a growing baby," She snorted at his lighthearted glare, "What?"
Danny rolled his eyes before cleaning up the tray of food before him, "What can I say? My metabolism is on overdrive these days. I can eat a lot more than this and still feel hungry,"
What he need was a balance between human and ghost food.
Sam reached over and ruffled his head, "Are you ever going to the barber? Your hair's too long now,"
Tucker smirked, "Yeah, old man! Go get a haircut!"
Danny pulled a face at the needling over his graying sideburns. Dash made fun of him when he started graying but at least that disappeared when he started shooting over the jocks. He pushed his long hair back, showing them the other latest puberty development; pointed ears.
Tucker gawked, "When did that happen?!"
Sam blinked, "Wait...now that I think about it, your ears are pointier as Phantom,"
Danny shrugged, "So I grow out my hair to hide it,"
Tucker nodded, "Make sense. Make sense..."
Danny coughed and raised his hand just in time to raise a shield to catch the rocket heading in his direction. Already, people were screaming as they all sought a place to hide. Danny came out of the dust, transformed and ready for another round with Skulker, "Can't you wait at least for after I finish my lunch?"
Skulker revealed himself with a smirk, "No. I heard someone have been taking their ecto protein and I can see that you will make for a bigger pelt,"
Danny growled, "Shut up. That will never not be gross,"
He took note that his friends had all ran off with the others before phasing himself out of the cafeteria and into the sky. Honestly, his younger self must be dumber for not taking the battle outside and away from buildings. He could have avoided all the property damage suing that he could not and never would pay. Skulker quickly gave chase, "Halt, ghost child!"
Danny rolled his glowing green eyes, "Why do they always say it when they know I will never stop?"
Skulker shot a rocket at him and Danny turned to freeze it with a blow of his breath. It dropped to the ground, dead. Skulker growled, "Now that's just unfair. How did you get even colder?"
Danny twisted his body to avoid more attacks before throwing a few ecto shots of his own. Skulker avoided it like an old dance. Well, with how often the two fight, it made a lot of sense for either to understand each other's battle quirk. After a moment, Skulker stopped to stare, "Wait...is that Madam Edna's work?"
Danny paused mid throw of another ecto shot to look down at his new 'uniform', "Uh...yeah?"
Skulker shouted, "How?! She never make anything for me!!"
Danny shrugged, "How would I know? She just hunted me down one week and started measuring me before having me pose for several pictures and paid me with this,"
Skulker grumbled, taking out the latest Ghost Runaway magazine from...whatever part of him that he kept that in, "So it is you..."
Danny blinked, "What?"
Skulker showed him the magazine, "Her Muse,"
Danny dared to float close to look at the magazine. He's not big on fashion but he can recognize the few pieces that Edna the Seamstress had him pose for. He wondered if the guy in the magazine was really him, "I...are you sure this is me?"
Skulker pouted, "I was wondering the same..."
Danny shifted just enough to avoid the bullet heading for his head, "Damn it, Skulk!"
Skulker grinned, putting away the magazine, "Well, can you blame me, ghost child? I am a hunter after all!" He cackled, "Baiting is the basic of basic for hunting!"
Danny rolled his eyes, "Alright, enough with you!"
They started trading punches and blows more intensely. But Danny had grown in more than just physique and appetite. Skulker's metal arm crumbled as he made contact with Danny's crossed arms. He growled as he realized that the boy had really grown in strength and sturdiness. It did not take long for Danny to kick his metal head off, revealing the little envious amoeba inside.
Skulker screamed and shouted the usual threats but Danny simply ignore him in favor of sucking him up into the upgraded Fenton Thermos, now more like a palm sized mint dispenser. He have no complaint to give. The smaller they were, the easier he got to hide carry it on his person. The thermos design was fun and all, but very cumbersome to carry around. This new one, Fenton Dispenser, can be hidden up his gloves...or his vambrace now. Edna was really putting in fashion and function into his new suit.
Danny started to head back to school, hoping to get back to class before Mr Lancer wrote him up as skipping.
He disappeared from sight and slipped into a boy's bathroom (he made the mistake of slipping into a girl's one once, never again) to transform back. After much practice, he managed to dismissed the uselessly bright halo of his transformation and made it more subtle. The ectoplasmic glow crawled down his body, morphing his battle suit back into his usual casual wear and his hair turned back to black. His almost bluish skin also warmed back with human blood, although the side effect of being half dead meant that he will always be pale and cold like a corpse. The downside of that was that his temperature dropped to the point that he's only ever as warm as a frozen corpse, so he had been wearing black gloves.
His fashion choice also reflected his biological change; gone was the white and red NASA shirt, instead he wore a fitted navy turtleneck sweater with the NASA brand embroidered in silver at the collar. Over that, he wore a dark red zipped up hoodie with the blue NASA logo on the back with grey sleeves. Instead of the loose blue jeans, he wore a more form fittingdark grey jeans. And from the amount of scuffles he had been having for the last 3 years of his life, he ditched his old but beloved red canvas shoes for a sand colored military boots that he paid good money for his 16th birthday present for himself.
His color choice was on purpose. Danny Phantom was known for black, white, and radioactive green. Danny Fenton wore navy, red, and grey. Nope, no half dead kid here. He's not Goth or Emo either, two things that people often suspected Phantom of. Danny Fenton was a certified space nerd with mad scientist bordering super villain parents...who meant good. They just did more damage on the way of doing good.
But most of all, Danny Fenton was casual and laid back.
Danny Phantom was formal...or what passed as formal. Not his personality but rather his style. Thanks to Edna, gone was the hazmat suit with no taste (her words, not his, sorry mom and dad) and instead something more...heroic took the place of the homemade Fenton Battle Hazmat. Like any good modern superhero, he wore lightweight armor instead of hazmat. Granted, the hazmat his parents made were battle proof, most of the time, it was simply not meant for the kind of combat that Danny always got himself caught in.
But she also added flair. She might be against cape but somehow she have nothing against a tailcoats. His gloves were also more structured with armor plating and hidden compartment for things like his Fenton Dispenser. In fact, they were more gauntlets than gloves. The same goes for his boots. They were more greaves than boots. She kept his signature white glove and boots. Apparently, it was too much a part of his image to dismiss. She even gave him pauldron for his shoulders! His shoulders were white, of course, but they were in that thing Edna called 'raglan cut'?
Don't know. Don't ask him. He's not a fashion nerd.
All in all, Phantom somehow shifted from superhero wannabe ghost kid into a serious superhero with a formal flair ghost guy. Seriously, he barely recognized himself in the mirror once Edna was done with him. But he had to admit, the coattails were a nice change. He did not want to look like his alternate perpetually depressed self and Plasmius. One ghost going around in cape was enough.
How she managed to add stars and green constellations on the underside of his coat, he has no idea. Also, what kind of black fabric did she use. It's so black that had it not been for the glowing green piping that she added to highlight the contour of his silhouette, he'll be a solid black. Danny only knew of one type of black paint that did the same thing, adsorbing the light around it to the point that it might have been made of the void. Fortunately, he glowed a ghostly moonlight white so he won't be melting into the shadows anytime soon without going completely invisible.
Still, the jump scares he visited on his friends immediately after was fun.
Mr Lancer looked up to see Danny back in class, yawning and showing off whatever freakish stuff going on in his mouth for the world to see, "Now that Phantom had done away with that nuisance, pop quiz,"
Dash moaned, "Aw man! I wished-!"
"SHUSH!!"
He jumped at the quick scolding from practically everyone around him. They then started to look around for that one particular ghost genie in united paranoia. Satisfied at the lack of wish granting ghost, Dash continued, "Well, it would have been nice if Phantom stretches that fight for a lot longer,"
Paulina gushed, "He's so hot! I mean, he's cute before but these days, he's so hot I'm melting," She purred, "Those arms...they looked so strong..."
Mr Lancer groaned, "Alright! Down with the teenage hormones! Pop quiz!"
The class gave a collective groan of discontent.
Once upon a time, Danny would preen. But these days, he wondered just what he ate to make him so dumb as to fall for a shallow girl like Paulina. She was only nicer to him these days because he looked fit to join the A-list, not as scrawny as he used to be and all that. If anything, these days, Danny hardly even thought about dating.
He already knew that he has a type. His type? Well, pretty and strong. Like his mom, he supposed. But all the girls he had dated so far seemed more eager to fight him than to fight with him. He gave up on dating after the last time and decided to focus on school and ghost hunting. Whenever people managed to catch Phantom out and about during patrol or after an easy fight, they tended to ask about his date 'life'. He just joked and said, "What date life? I'm dead!"
As school ended, Danny wondered if there will ever be a girl out there that will like him regardless of who or what he was or becoming. Stretching his muscles, still sore from fighting Skulker, one of the few hard heads that refused to stay away from Amity Park and insisted on causing trouble for him, Danny looked around. Tucker had a thing to do after school with his parents. His grandma's around, apparently. Also, she have been sick lately. Must be the old age.
Sam...he sighed as Sam quickly escaped after a quick "bye".
She hardly spend anymore time around him without Tucker. Not that he blame her. Things were just complicated between them at the moment. But he tried to keep things light and casual. He can't exactly let Tucker carry their straining friendship alone, not after what he'd done.
Kicking nothing, he made his way out of Casper High.
He smelled winter blossoms long before Elsa walked past him. He looked to see that imposing black limousine waiting for her. Elsa...was what his peers called Untouchable. There was a reason Paulina was desperate to get her under her control and the other reason why she got nominated the Ice Queen of Casper High;
Elsa's filthy rich.