The Incredible Danny Phantom

After School

Helen Parr had hoped to pile the kids into her station wagon and get home in time to make dinner. Instead, she was heading to the principal's office. Sash, the Parrs' older son, was in trouble again.

Dash had been born with the Superpower of lightning-fast speed. But of course, since Supers weren't supposed to be Super, he was never allowed to use it, and the Parr family had to keep it a secret.

"What's this about? Has Dash done something wrong?" Helen asked the school principal when she got to the office where Dash was waiting.

"He put thumbtacks on my stool!" Dash's fourth-grade teacher, Bernie Kropp, told Helen. "And this time, I have got him!" Mr. Kropp continued triumphantly. "I hid a camera!"

He dropped a disc into a player. Helen and Dash held their breath and stared at the TV screen. There was Mr. Kropp, about to sit in his chair. He sat and screamed. No sign of Dash at all. "See?" Mr. Kropp shouted, replaying it.

The school principal looked at Mr. Kropp. The teacher sounded nuts. Helen breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bernie . . .," the principal said.

"Don't 'Bernie' me!" Mr. Kropp protested. "This little rat is guilty!"

The principal turned to Helen. "You and your son can go now, Mrs. Parr. I'm sorry for the trouble."

As Helen hurried her son out the door, Bernie Kropp yelled, "You're letting him go again? He's guilty! You can see it on his smug little face! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!"

. . .

"Dash!" Helen exclaimed when she got him into the hover car. "This is the third time you were sent to the office this year! We need to find a better outlet."

Dash slumped in his seat. "Maybe I could if you'd let me go out for sports," he muttered glumly.

"Honey," Helen answered. "You know why we can't do that."

"But I promise I'll slow up!" Dash offered. "I'll only be the best by a tiny bit."

But Helen knew the world didn't want them to be their best, not even by a little bit.

She shook her head. "Right now, honey, the world wants us to fit in."

"But Dad always says our powers are nothing to be ashamed of. Our powers made us special."

"Everyone's special," Helen sighed wearily.

"Which is another way of saying no one is," Dash said, sulking.

Helen drove the hover car to Casper High School to pick up Dash's older sister, Violet. Helen looked around. Violet was nowhere to be seen. Then again, that was one of her talents. Violet had the power to turn invisible. It was handy when she felt shy around boys, especially Tony Rydinger.

Violet also had the power to generate force fields, but that was only good for fights with Dash. He hated it when she used her force fields.

Violet was invisible now as she peeked over the top of a bush and watched Tony Rydinger come down the school steps. He stopped for a second and then looked over his shoulder. Seeing nothing, he walked away. Violet shyly rematerialized and blushed. Then she scampered into her mother's car.