Behavioral Science and Ghosts

Disclaimer: I do not own either Danny Phantom or Criminal Minds.

Summary: The Guys in White are desperate to finally catch the elusive ghost, Danny Phantom. They enlist the aid of the nation's foremost experts in behavior. Will the BAU be willing to help them?

A/N: This takes place about a month post-"Reign Storm" in the Danny Phantom timeline. In Criminal Minds, it's after Hotch's divorce from Haley, but pre-Boston Reaper case.

Chapter 1

FBI Headquarters, Quantico, Virginia

It was a slow day in the bullpen of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Most of the teams had no active investigations, so they were all doing paperwork from old or inactive cases. Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan looked up when the glass doors opened to allow entry to two men in brilliantly white suits, one of whom was black and the other was white. They were of identical build, being broad at the shoulders and narrow at the hips. They were both bald, had earwigs, and, rather strangely, were wearing sunglasses.

The two strangers looked around the room at all of the agents either working or walking between the desks. Derek recognized which agency they represented; not many of the alphabet soup of agencies had agents so obviously government. Puzzled by their presence, he stood up to greet them. "Morning. I'm Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan. What brings operatives from the Guys in White to the FBI?"

The two men nodded in greeting. The white operative spoke. "Operatives O and K. We need to speak with..." He pulled out a notepad to read. "Section Chief Erin Strauss."

The other chimed in. "It's a matter of great importance."

Derek looked quizzically at them. "Alright. I'll take you to her. If you'll follow me, please."

On his way to Erin Strauss's office, he noticed his friend and teammate, SSA Emily Prentiss giving him a curious look. He nodded discreetly to the operatives behind him and rolled his eyes in annoyance. The GiW had a reputation among the other agencies. Emily turned back to her desk, visibly stifling her laughter.

Section Chief Erin Strauss looked up from the file she was reading at the firm knock on her door. "Yes?"

The door opened to allow SSA Morgan to stick his head in. "Ma'am? There are a couple of visitors to the BAU here to see you."

Puzzled, Erin closed the file. "Visitors? I don't have any appointments this morning. Who are they?"

Grimacing in distaste, Morgan told her, "Operatives O and K from the Guys in White."

The blonde woman sighed. "Ghosts are beyond our purview, but alright. I'll talk to them. Thank you, Agent Morgan."

"Ma'am." The black man nodded respectfully, then opened the door wider to admit the operatives. Once both men were inside, Morgan left, shutting the door behind him.

"Section Chief Strauss." The white operative nodded to her. "I'm Operative O, and this is Operative K." He nodded to the man behind him, who inclined his head in greeting.

Sitting back in her chair, Strauss rested her arms on the desk in front of her. "And how can the BAU help the Guys in White today?"

Operative K said, "We need the assistance of your best team to help us catch the Ghost Boy, Danny Phantom."

Before Strauss could object, Operative O told her, "This ghost is unlike any other ghost we've dealt with. In some ways, he behaves almost as if he were a human. The teams the BAU trains are the foremost experts in behavioral science. Our Director feels that this is what we need to determine how best to catch Phantom."

Strauss rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to decide how best to phrase her next statement. Looking up at the two operatives after a moment, she informed them, "The experts all say that ghosts don't think like humans. They all exhibit an extreme form of OCD that rules their every action. Once you can identify the ghost's obsession, you can figure out how to deal with it. You know this as well as I do. So why do you need the BAU?"

Operative K pulled out a file from somewhere inside his coat pocket. "Danny Phantom doesn't have any recognizable obsession. He shows up all over Amity Park. He's seen in all sorts of locations, ranging from the mall to the school, to downtown. Ghosts of all stripes have been seen in his vicinity."

Taking the file, Strauss flipped through the papers inside. "I see. My final objection is this: the BAU only steps in when we are invited by local law enforcement. We work with these people, so they need to know that we won't simply take over whenever we feel like it. Your agency may have its own rules of conduct, but the BAU can't just investigate this ghost and its usual haunts without the local government's knowledge."

Operative O now handed her an envelope. "You have your invitation, ma'am. Signed by Mayor Montez himself."

Strauss pulled the folded sheet of paper from the envelope and looked over the contents of the letter. It was, indeed, signed by the mayor of Amity Park, complete with the seal of the city. "Well, since you've convinced the mayor to ask us to profile this ghost, I will take you to meet my best team of profilers."

Brushing her hair behind her ear, the Section Chief stood up and led the operatives out of her office. She stopped off at the office of Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner. Knocking on the door, she waited for the younger man to tell her, "Come in." Then, she stuck her head in the door. "Agent Hotchner, assemble your team in the conference room. Have Miss Garcia join you, as well."

Aaron looked up at her, confused. "Ma'am? JJ didn't say anything about a new case. What's going on?"

Erin could only roll her eyes in annoyance. "This just came to my attention, Aaron. I'll brief everyone in the conference room."

The dark-haired man sighed as he closed the file he'd been working on. "Very well, Ma'am. I'll meet you in the conference room with my team."

Ten minutes later, the team began filing into the conference room. David Rossi, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, noted the presence of the two operatives of the Guys in White with only a slight tightening around the eyes to show his displeasure. Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner, the team leader, showed more visible annoyance.

They were followed by a curious Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, the team's Media Liaison. The blonde was rather puzzled that this case hadn't passed through her office first, the usual way they received cases. Her friend Emily Prentiss, a dark-haired woman with a slightly more muscular build, seemed amused to the point of struggling not to laugh when she looked at the Guys in White.

Tall, lanky Dr. Spencer Reid seemed to be running scenarios in his head to see if he could figure out why the Guys in White needed them. His eyes were scanning side to side, as though reading, as he calculated odds.

Derek Morgan entered after him, his dark face looking as amused as Prentiss's face when he saw the two white-clad operatives. Right behind him, Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia furrowed her brows in puzzlement as she came in. "I don't get it, Derek! Why am I here? I'm almost never part of these case briefings!"

Derek turned to put a hand on the shorter woman's shoulder. "Easy, Mama! Strauss will explain as soon as we sit down."

Garcia stopped short and looked at the expressionless face of the older woman who ran the BAU, who stood at the front of the room with the two Guys in White operatives. "Sorry, Ma'am." With a sheepish look, she found a seat next to Derek, sitting on his right so she was less visible behind the bulky former football player.

Hotch looked around to make sure that his whole team was now paying attention. Then, he turned to look at Strauss. "Now that we're all here, what, exactly, are we doing here?"

Strauss nodded to the GiW operatives. One of them stepped forward, looking nervous about having to do this. "I am Operative O and this is my partner, Operative K. We are here to ask for your assistance in catching a dangerous ghost."

There was absolute silence at this. Rossi was the first to speak. "You're kidding, right? Your department is a joke! If it wasn't for the brief disappearance of Amity Park, Illinois last month, we wouldn't even be here to entertain this idea of hearing you out."

O and K looked at one another. Both knew the reputation the Guys in White had in the other government agencies. K said, "The BAU is renowned for the creativity of its agents. The operatives of the GiW have no imagination. It's why they hired us. To catch this ghost, it will be necessary to think outside the box. We aren't prepared to do this; the BAU is."

Reid studied the two nervous operatives. "Okay. Why don't you guys give us a specific rundown on why this ghost is so important to catch."

The two operatives began handing out case files to the team. "The ghost's name is Danny Phantom. He's been haunting Amity Park, Illinois, for about a year and a half. His fights with other ghosts indicate that he's more powerful than any other ghost that regularly shows up. Though the ghost that caused the town to disappear might be more powerful than he is, we don't know enough about it to be certain.

"Phantom's ghost fights tend to cause a lot of property damage, like smashed streets, destroyed electronics, broken glass from storefronts, and the like."

Morgan interrupted the litany. "So why is this ghost more important than any other ghost? Surely he's not the only one doing all this damage?"

Emily answered before either O or K could say anything. "This is the ghost that some anonymous benefactor offered a million-dollar bounty on." She turned an incredulous gaze on the operatives. "You're going to use FBI resources because you failed to be successful bounty hunters?"

Looking very embarrassed, O told her, "Yes, we have been authorized to do so."

K slapped his partner on the back of the head. "That's only one point. Phantom is the most recognizable ghost in Amity Park, and he's different from all of the other ghosts. He's been seen all over town: at the high school, the mall, the record store, the electronics store, the park, the Nasty Burger," the team scrunched their faces in confusion, "which is a local fast food place."

"He also kidnapped the mayor," O put in. "All in all, we can't figure out what his obsession is. That's why we need your help. He's dangerous, and we can't stop him until we know what drives him."

Hotch looked around at his team, each slowly nodding in acquiescence, some more reluctantly than others. Garcia still looked confused about her presence at this briefing. "Alright. We'll come to Amity Park, if for no other reason than to satisfy our own curiosity."