Danny heaved a big sigh as he stepped out of the newly erected Zeta Tube into the bright sunlight. He smiled to himself, revelling in the moment before turning back around and lugging his suitcase out of the Zeta tube behind him. Today was the day he returned home. He grinned as he shifted into his ghost form and flew himself and his suitcase to the bus terminal. Once he found a safe place, he reverted to human before he strolled out of the building and made his way down the sidewalk utilising his ghostly strength to carry his bulging case. He ignored the old posters and banners declaring support for Phantom during his court case abandoned on lampposts and in trashcans. Phantom had been making regular visits back to Amity Park for weeks.

Now that he was protected from ghost hunters, he could safely come back and patrol the town as much as he liked. He had used his newfound freedom to reconnect with his friends and family. He came back most nights and patrolled either in his old trio of himself, Sam and Tucker or with Danielle or one or two of his new team mates. Spending so much time with Sam and Tucker had helped the old friends to refresh their easy-going friendship and reassure them that Danny was doing okay. The same couldn't be said for Danny's parents. Both were still adjusting to fighting alongside their son in ghost fights. Maddie tended to push Danny out of harm's way and take over the fight despite Danny being in full control. Jack on the other hand seemed to forget to listen to Danny's experienced pieces of advice, preferring to jump head-first into a fight and cause issues for everyone involved. Thankfully neither adult had developed Jazz's special aim for him when it came to the Fenton thermos. Danny knew that his parents didn't mean to make things difficult for him. They had yet to adjust to being Phantom's allies. While they had known the truth about their son for almost year at this point, they had yet to experience what it meant to be the parents' of the town hero.

On a completely different note though, Valerie had changed a lot. Once Danny Phantom returned to patrolling the town, she joined him. She helped him at every opportunity and after a few nights of working together, Danny plucked up the courage to ask her why her attitude towards him had changed. Valerie lowered her gaze to the town below them as they lazily drifted through the air on their patrol.

"I've been working on my anger. I started taking these anger management classes and I kinda realised how much I let my anger over what happened cloud my judgement. It took over my entire life to be honest with you," Valerie muttered. Danny blinked in surprise.

"So things are better now?" he ventured. Valerie looked up at him with a soft smile and nodded.

"So much. I didn't realise how much I let that anger bleed into my life. I used to snap at anyone who got in my way. I mean poor Mikey, he tripped as he ran away from Dash once, I practically bit his head off because he delayed me. It wouldn't have been more than a minute. And my Dad, I was always blaming him for stuff that wasn't his fault," Valerie paused to shake her head in shame.

"I used ghost hunting to relieve some of that pent up anger and it made me into a monster. I see that now. Thanks to that thing with Recuerda. So I guess I should thank you," Valerie concluded. Danny smirked at her before he floated close enough to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Nah, that's all you. But thank you for giving me a second chance," Danny replied. Valerie opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Danny's ghost sense and her sensor beeping.

"Let's get that spook," she suggested instead. Danny grinned in response and raced off.

Valerie's attitude to Phantom wasn't the only thing that changed. Her whole outlook had changed and it was only too obvious in her new fighting technique. She no longer spewed death threats at her opponents, instead joining in with Danny's witty banter. She didn't let her anger lead her into an uncontrollable rampage after a ghost, but instead kept her cool and fought with a level-head, making sure to back off if she found her anger getting the best of her. Her new partnership and fighting techniques had increased her popularity, leading to the Red Huntress getting her own news reports and newspaper articles on occasion. Danny knew it made Valerie happy to see the town finally accepting her as one of its heroes, even if she'd never admit it to him.

Danny stopped at a pedestrian crossing before frowning to himself and decided to take a longer, more scenic route home. So instead of crossing the street as the green light came on, he turned down the street and kept going. As he walked, he looked around his town, watching the relaxed citizens living their lives, comforted by the return of their hero. Danny's gaze settled on a store across the street. On the screen a dazzling grin and styled blonde hair greeted him as Lance Thunder reported on how the FBI investigation into the Guys in White was progressing. Danny smirked at the reporter before he continued on his way. The reporter had finally made it big as a national reporter for America, reporting on ghosts. Danny, and most of the town, knew that Lance didn't like reporting on all the ghost attacks, often because he had to be in danger reporting on the scene. But again like most of the town, Danny also knew that Lance wanted to be a big reporter on the TV.

Danny thought back to the other day when the FBI had contacted him through Batman. It had been about Agents O and K. The FBI had taken over the investigation from the secret service. They had been tracking down every Guys in White operative they could and bringing them to justice. They often called on Danny to identify an agent or to ask his opinion on their findings. Most operatives he didn't recognise despite the FBI having strong evidence of them interacting with Danny. Most of the Guys in White hadn't been recognisable or he only saw them once. He tended to only look and see their white uniforms and big guns pointed at him. But others he recognised instantly, such as the head scientist that experimented on him. Danny didn't hesitate to condemn that man to a long sentence, not forgetting a single detail of the crimes that man committed during his time with the halfa. But this time it was Agent O and Agent K. Two of the most recognisable agents, at least for Danny.

"Phantom. Do you recognise these Guys in White operatives?" one FBI agent asked, Rogers if Danny remembered correctly.

"Yes. I do. Agent O and Agent K. I'll be honest though, I can't remember which is which," Danny confirmed with a shrug.

"We've already completed our investigation but is there anything you can add?" Rogers asked, surprised that Danny had known these particular agents so well. Danny considered the men sitting at the table before he crossed his arms and dropped his shoulder against the wall.

"Well, to be honest, they never actually did anything to me. They tried but never succeeded. There were far worse agents than them. I wouldn't be surprised if they were brainwashed and truly thought that they were doing the right thing," Danny admitted, shocking all the men in the room.

"Are you saying that you don't want us to arrest them?" a lesser FBI agent Danny didn't know by name interjected incredulously.

"I didn't say that. They rarely endangered me but they endangered others plenty. They destroyed property to get to me, arrested people and attacked bystanders. I remember once that they charged after a teenager with fighter jets and fired missiles at the Amity Park Observatory, endangering dozens of people. All because one teenager happened to have white hair," Danny corrected, considering the captive Guys in White agents. The FBI agents shared uncertain glances.

"Maybe you could have them professionally examined. You know up here before sentencing them. Just be careful, they could try and trick them into giving them shorter sentences," Danny recommended, gesturing to his head with a shrug.

Lance's fame was only the beginning for Amity Park though. After Danny's court case, the world had been forced to accept the existence of ghosts. There were still some people who claimed that it was a trick or that what was thought to be ghosts was really another type of alien. But Danny's court case triggered the paranormal to become hugely popular, especially tourist attractions claiming to be haunted. As such, Amity Park was thriving with tourists. Danny grunted in surprise when a little kid chattering in Spanish nearly pushed him over in their excitement. Danny rolled his eyes as he continued, noticing a harried woman rush after the child. It both pleased and irked Danny to have so many tourists in town. Tourists didn't seem to understand the concept that ghost fights were dangerous and when one such fight broke out they should run to a safe distance rather than stand in the middle of the battle taking pictures or making videos. But on the other hand, tourists brought money into the town. And that money would help the town in a lot of ways. Funding for schools, healthcare or even ghost attack repairs would be better with the money from tourists. It also made Danny feel better. Phantom had caused so many problems for Amity Park, from attracting dangerous ghosts looking to challenge him to his own reckless mistakes in ghost fights or the occasional time he lost control of his powers. Most tourists came to Amity Park to see ghosts, but more so one in particular, Amity Park's resident ghostly hero, Danny Phantom. If his presence could give back to his town, he would tolerate the annoying crowds of fans chasing him.

As he passed Casper High, which was now shut for the summer, he recalled Red Tornado's visit to the school towards the end of the school year. The android had crafted together a human disguise and posed as the tutor his aunt hired in Spittoon to teach her nephew. He had given all Danny's work to the school and Danny had been surprised to learn that Casper High had gone through the work and sent a report card back to his parents showing that he had gone from barely scrapping a D average to achieving a good B average, including even a couple of As here and there. Danny shook his head with amusement when he recalled his parents' reaction. Red Tornado had resumed teaching Danielle and Garfield but on his last day in the android's class, Red Tornado pulled him to one side and offered to tutor him again if he ever fell behind in his studies because of Phantom. Danny gladly accepted as he had worried that he could fall behind again when he started back at Casper High without anyone to keep him on track of his studies. But with the android offering his services to the halfa, Danny knew that he would be able to maintain his grades, especially with his parents now understanding why he was behind on his chores or homework. But the thoughts of school reminded him of his old classmates. Garfield and Danielle.

Garfield had fully adopted his new name of Beast Boy. Danny would never admit it to Jazz, but it was a good name for the green boy to have. Unfortunately Danny's original theory that having a new name for his new form hadn't helped Garfield to regain his natural human form. Although Garfield hadn't seemed too upset when his attempts to change back all failed. It seemed that Garfield had accepted his new life and put his grief behind him. Danielle wasn't impressed that she was expected to resume going to "Red Tornado School" as she put it, but she had started on her path to becoming a superhero trainer. She had held a couple of ghost fighting lessons with the team under Danny's supervision, but he had only needed to step in once when Danielle started to get a little too intense for such an early lesson. She had been nervous teaching people older than herself and the team had been a little confused why Danielle was training them and not Danny, but both sides accepted the situation and enjoyed the lessons. Danny made sure to let Danielle know how well she was doing or if there was anything she could improve on.

Danny turned a corner and instantly spotted his home. Fenton Works in its neon glory. He had been home regularly over the last month or so but the most recent visit had been for his birthday. The entire team, Danielle and Garfield had joined the Fentons and Sam and Tucker for a day of celebrations and cake. It had been the first time in almost a year that Danny spent the night in his very own bed in his own bedroom. But that celebration had only reminded Danny of the one he had just left. He chuckled to himself. The team had held a massive farewell party just before he left the cave with his suitcase. The joke was on them. He still had plenty left at the cave and would have to go back and get the rest of his belongings.

He breathed another contented sigh, revelling in his official return home, shoving a hand into his pocket to double check if he had the tickets Batman had provided for him as proof of his cover story. One was a plane ticket which had been bought and Danny had even gone through the motions at the airport in Spittoon, utilising Justice League Zeta tubes and his powers to board the plane and disembark without having to endure the flight itself. The other had been a ticket for a bus from the airport to Amity Park. Again to add to his cover story that he had spent the last year or so in Spittoon with his Aunt Alicia. It was important that he hide his tracks as much as possible now that even more people knew that Phantom had a human half. Anyone with brains would make the connection that Phantom's human half would most likely live in Amity Park. It was another reason why Phantom had publicly made his return to Amity Park before Fenton returned home.

Danny resumed his walk towards his childhood home, despite his heavy case, it allowed him to revel in the joy building in his chest as he returned. Almost a year ago to the day he had been taken by the Guys in White. There had been times where he thought he was broken beyond repair. Times where he thought he was doomed to die a horrible death and stay locked up either by his captors or in protection. Times where he thought he'd never come home because he was beyond saving, beyond healing, beyond being Phantom ever again. But here he was, walking home on a bright sunny day filled with hope for the future. The Guys in White were gone. He was part of a team, Young Justice. He was a recognised hero and even had laws to protect him from other ghost hunters. He had earned Vlad's respect, as much as possible considering it was the fruit loop. His parents knew his secret and supported him despite it. He had a stronger support structure than he'd ever had. He had Black Canary to talk to if things ever got too much for him. He had Red Tornado to tutor him if he ever fell behind in his studies or didn't understand something. He had Valerie if he needed help as Phantom, as well as Team Phantom and his parents. He had his team mates if he ever needed to get out of Amity Park for a few hours. Despite the terror and horror he endure at the hands of the Guys in White and the Light later on, even if he couldn't recall exactly who had experimented on him there, he was happy where he had ended up. Black Canary was right all those months ago. His experiences had changed him, he wasn't the same care-free teen the Guys in White took, he knew the dangers the world held for him now. But he was stronger than he was before. Normal was over-rated.

Before he knew it, he reached Fenton Works and was on the front door step. He breathed another deep sigh before trying the door and found it unlocked. He turned to glance back out on to the street with a smile.

"I'm home!" he called as he stepped into the house.

That is that!

This story took me almost exactly three years to write and at times I felt like I'd never finish it. Heh heh.

But there we have it.

So I'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who read this mammoth story from start to finish and thank everyone who left a review. It really does make my day to read your thoughts on what I've written. I'm proud to say that this story is now my highest reviewed story. Thanks to you guys.

Please let me know what you guys thought of the story now that it's finished.

It might be a while now before you see me posting again but I will. I'm currently working on my next story.

Until the next fanfic.