INSIDE OUT (DP+Batman crossover)

Silent tears / Prologue

     It all happened so fast. Danny has been fighting his evil future self when his friend Valerie Grey, a ghost hunter became a practice target for Dan Phantom. She was his friend, so he instinctively rushed to help her. Valerie had some bruises and scratches but nothing serious. Danny took her in his arms and turned them both intangible and flew few blocks away so she wouldn't be endangered by Dan's ecto-blasts.

     He carefully put her down and as fast as he could,  he rushed back to finish the fight. What he didn't know was that his friends Sam and Tucker were now at the mercy of the evil ghost, being held by a ghostly form of telekinesis. There was only one problem. Dan doesn't have mercy. The ruthless killer stepped back, giving them both an evil grin.

        Danny has stopped dead in his tracks. He studied monster's movements carefully, looking for any sudden action or form of an attack. After a few second which felt like hours, the ghost moved. Dan turned his head towards Danny, looking for some sort of reaction. The poor ghost boy was frozen in place, not able to move or to speak.

     Just then, the face of Danny's archenemy twisted into Cheshire smile, baring his perfectly white fangs. His hair glowed even brighter and his burning red eyes flickered dangerously.

     Just as the ghost child saw those eyes, his ability to control his body came back. His mind was occupied only by two things. The first thing was a pathetic one. Just plead the evil ghost to release his friends. The second one was much more dangerous, but the outcome seemed brighter for the boy.

     Danny didn't have much time to think, anyway. The idea of fighting Dan for his own life seemed like the most suitable idea at that moment. He stepped in front of his archenemy, who was shielding his friends with his muscular body.

      Flying around him and grabbing his friends seemed totally irrelevant at that moment. There was zero chance that the older ghost would let him get past him. Then there was a second option; to shoot his burning green ecto-rays. This alternative was also dangerous because his best friends were right behind Dan and if he stepped away, there's a chance he would shoot them by an accident.

     While he was thinking of a more suitable tactic, he decided to distract his opponent to gain some useful time on his side. Every second counted.

     "Hey old man! Ready for a blast from the past?!" Danny shouted the first thing that came to his mind. Just as he shouted at the huge ghost, he got chained up by Dan's glowing green chains.

     "What are you going to do, waste me?" Danny asked him mockingly, poison dripping from his voice.

     "I shall exist, that means you will turn into me." Dan's dark and deep voice echoed in the nearly empty street. The voice of his future self sent chills down his spine. As he was held high in Dan's grip, the older ghost formed a fist glowing with pure ghost fire. He raised it high and with a brutal force punched the ghost boy into his face.

     The chains broke, and he flew to the ground. He hit the ground with so much force that when he rose his head, he found himself lying inside of a huge crater. His whole body ached but the determination to save his friends and secure his future made him stand up.

     Danny's toxic green eyes glared at the adult in front of him. His glare was piercing the male's heart and soon after, his head. Danny even got the courage to look into Dan's evil eyes. They held so much hated and anger inside them.

     The future version of Danny stood high, and he looked down at his weaker form.

     "What makes you think you can change my past." Dan's gravelly voice bounced off of the walls, making Danny flinch.

     "I promised my family!" Danny shouted at the adult ghost with newly found strength. Fighting for his family and his friends always made him go beyond his limits and gave him a strong reason to fight.

     "You promised?" The ghost said mockingly and started laughing. His laughter made Danny even more furious. He stood up even though the older ghost towered him.

     "I said I PROMISED!!!" Just as the last word has been spoken, a huge ghostly wail has been released. It shocked Dan, but he didn't allow himself to stay in that state for long.

     A great idea popped in Dan's evil mind. He was going to kill his former friends but why don't make it a little more interesting?

     As Dan moved out of the way of another ghostly wail, Danny realized the position he was standing in. When Dan stepped aside, the lethal force was heading for his friends and there was no way he could save them. Not with the time passing by so quickly.

     Danny watched as their bodies fell to the ground. The only real friends he ever had were lying dead on the ground. How did he know they were dead? Simple. He couldn't hear their heartbeats even with his enhanced hearing. His heart sank just as he realized what he has done. He has been trying so hard to save the lives of his two best friends before the merciless hand of Dan, that he totally forgot where they were.

     Now that they were dead, there was no way of stopping Danny from capturing the older ghost. His eyes somehow got a darker shade of green, but they were still glowing dangerously.

"I was going to kill them, but I guess you did the job for me." Dan said in a matter-of-fact manner, which infuriated Danny even more.

     Silent tears started running down Danny's cheeks, but he wasn't aware of them. The only thing that mattered to him right now, was to get rid of Dan Phantom. To erase his existence from the human world and lock him somewhere, where there is no way of getting out of.

     He released another ghostly wail but this time it held so much emotion that it caught Dan off guard and pushed him to his knees. Another shocked expression passed his face as Danny took out the Fenton thermos and sucked him inside.

     The devastated boy strapped the thermos to his belt and walked towards his dead friends. As he came closer, he saw what he had done. It looked like their innards blew up from the pressure.

     He couldn't take it anymore. He broke down on the street in front of his friends and started sobbing uncontrollably. Danny thought it couldn't get worse, but he was so wrong.

     After a while, a huge tank-like car showed up. He didn't pay much attention to it, but when the drivers stepped out, he froze.

     Jack and Maddie Fenton.

     The ghost boy was so tired and exhausted from the fight that he couldn't take it anymore and he unwillingly turned back into his human form.

     As soon as the white glowing rings disappeared, they revealed a teenage boy, Danny Fenton. His parents froze in their places, not knowing what to do, move closer and calm Danny or tear him apart molecule by molecule.

     Maybe the city accepted Phantom as their hero but the Fenton family didn't. Jack Fenton grabbed his son by his collar and threw him into the RV.