Chapter 2

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Danny Fenton had no idea how he had managed to get himself into this situation.

Two years earlier, his parents found out about his ghost alter ego, Phantom. Though the people of Amityville had long since chosen to regard Phantom as their hero, his parents remained unconvinced.

As inventors and researchers of all things ghost-related, they often created traps and weapons in an attempt to capture him. Most of the time, the tech was easily avoidable or even defective. One day, though, they managed to capture phantom. They kept him trapped, planning to use him to aid their research.

He had been in a big fight before he was captured, causing him to drain most of his energy. When that remaining energy ran out, it was revealed that Phantom was their own son, Danny.

Danny had expected them to let him go; to accept him as he was. They had only been so merciful as to spare his life -or what was left of it.

They warned him that if he ever returned, they wouldn't hesitate to rip him apart molecule by molecule. That was the last time he saw Madeline and Jack Fenton.

Danny's sister, Jazz, was away for college at the time. He had told her that he was living with a friend so she wouldn't worry. In reality, he had wandered the country, looking for a place to lay low.

Eventually, he found Gotham city. What better place to hide than a city full of bizarre crimes? surely nobody would notice a few extra ghosts roaming around.

He had become something of a vigilante while in Gotham, taking care of smalltime criminals and the occasional ghost.

One night, though, he made a mistake.

He had been patrolling the city, sure to stay clear of the gang of vigilantes this city was known for, and after a while decided to quit for the night.

Danny hadn't been sleeping well, and it showed. He landed in a random alleyway and detransformed, forgetting to check for the sound of other heartbeats nearby.

A police officer had noticed the bright light that came from the alley. He rounded the corner to find Danny in his human form.

The half-ghost was apparently seen as 'suspicious', and after he refused to answer the cop's questions (and maybe fought him a little bit. Oops), he was taken to the police department.

Normally, he would be able to escape this situation easily. However, Danny was surrounded by people, which meant he couldn't go ghost without at least a few people noticing.

When they had tried to take his blood to find out his identity, he had fought back as hard as he (within human capability) could, taking down at least 3 officers. They managed to draw a bit of his blood, which was apparently all they needed for their tests, because they left him alone after that.

Just great, now he'd have to break in and steal that blood sample later. If they ran tests and revealed that he wasn't entirely human, or worse the ectoplasm in his blood reacted negatively, he would have a whole new problem to deal with.

After about an hour of people talking about him, a bat furry coming into the station, and people generally staying as far away from him as they could, Danny found himself following a strange man into a fancy black car.

The man had offered to let Danny stay with him until the police found his parents. While he knew he should absolutely not be following a stranger to a secondary location, he figured he could use this as a way to get out, away from all the eyes watching him at the station.

The mention of food hadn't hurt either. While Danny didn't need to eat half of what a normal human did, he still got hungry, and it had been a few days since his last meal.

After about half an hour of sitting in the car in complete silence, the driver pulled the car through a large, intricately designed iron gate.

While it was still extremely dark outside, the moon shone through the thick layer of clouds, enabling Danny to see the silhouette of a giant building.

The older man, who had earlier introduced himself as Alfred, butler to the Wayne family, parked the car in the curve of a long U-shaped driveway.

Danny's door opened. Alfred, watching Danny expectantly, motioned for him to exit the car.

He followed Bruce and Alfred to the massive front doors of the mansion, eyes widening in awe when he saw just how large the building was on the inside.

He could see plenty of doors and hallways, as well as a huge staircase and an equally huge glass chandelier. Before he could take in the entire sight, he was lead into a dining area, with a table that stretched the full length of the room.

"Have a seat, sir. I will bring food for you momentarily," Alfred stated, pulling out a chair for Danny before leaving the room.

He sat down, as Bruce took the seat across from him. The room was filled with an awkward silence.

"So, can you tell me your name?" the man inquired.

Danny avoided his eye contact, and remained silent until Alfred returned. The butler was holding a tray with two steaming bowls of potato soup and two plates of crackers. He placed one portion in front of Bruce, and the other in front of Danny.

"Thank you," Danny muttered. Jazz had always taught him to be polite, and old habits died hard. He cringed at the realization that he had broken the silence he had been keeping up since his run-in with the police.

Instead of the immediate barrage of questions he expected upon them realizing he could speak, he was met with silence from Bruce and a warm smile from Alfred.

"You're very welcome, young man," the butler replied.

With that, Danny ate his food. Though he was extremely hungry, he was careful not to rush through the meal. It wasn't often that he got a homemade meal, and he fully intended to enjoy it. He felt a bit guilty to be in these people's home, eating their food, when he knew he would disappear by morning.

It wasn't a good idea to stay in one place for very long. Trouble tended to be attracted to Danny like a magnet.

After Danny and Bruce had each finished their meals, Danny was led upstairs to a large bedroom with its own attached bathroom and balcony. A balcony! It was almost like they wanted him to sneak out.

"You'll be staying in this room until further notice," said Alfred, "Breakfast will be served at exactly 8:00 every morning, and dinner at 7."

Alfred exited the room, leaving only Danny and Bruce.

"Do you think you'll be up for meeting the rest of the family tomorrow?" Bruce questioned.

Danny nodded, figuring he could at least let the man believe as much. He'd be gone by morning, so he wouldn't have to actually go through with anything. It was a harmless lie.

Bruce smiled, leaving Danny alone in the big room.

Danny decided to take one last look around, finally noticing the large bed full of soft pillows and a warm comforter. It had been so long since Danny had slept in a real bed. Half the time when he needed to rest, he just passed out on a random rooftop.

A quick nap couldn't hurt.

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