Phantom Revival

Chapter One: Ten Years

Ten years.

It's been ten years since I sent Vlad into space, trapped on the Ecto-asteroid. The Ghost Zone and human worlds alike rejoiced, their imminent destruction averted by bare moments. The two worlds cheered with relief as they were saved from complete annihilation, the combined efforts of my family, friends and yes, even my enemies turning the world intangible for a single, brief moment.

It's been ten years since my identity was revealed as Danny Phantom, the Ghost Boy of Amity Park. My life was shattered that day, my secret identity revealed to those I'd hoped to keep out of my secret life.

It'd been ten years since I saved the world.

Ten years since I'd lived a normal life.

With the Ghost Zone known to the world, the governments of the world formed a series of colleges to help fight the ongoing 'danger' of it and it's inhabitants. My parents were supportive of it, in fact. They helped supply them with the technology to maintain the fight, on one condition.

I was that condition.

I look out at my students, sitting at their desks in front of me. Some were scribbling furiously, jotting down notes from the board, while others stared blankly into space. I take a glance at the topic on the board: "Human - Ghost Hybrids". I sigh.

Cruelty, thy name is Fate.

A student raises their hand; they have a question.

"Yes, Miss Jackson?" I call on her, her hand dropping as I acknowledge her question.

"Professor," she starts, curious. "Aren't you a Human-Ghost hybrid?"

I sigh. Her question is a valid one, given the topic, but all of my students know who I am. The famous Danny Phantom, the first Halfa. I shake my head, not out of denial, but of habit. "I am," I say cautiously. "But the topic at hand is not myself." I turn to the board, taking a piece of chalk and scrawling out the lesson. "Why we don't want a Human-Ghost hybrid to be created," I say simply, "is because there are too many variables involved in the process. I was one of the lucky ones." I look out over my class, all eyes trained on me. "My powers were a result of my DNA mixing with the ectoplasm from my parent's ghost portal, turning me into a completely different being. When I entered that portal, I became trapped between two worlds." I turn to the board, starting a crude diagram. It pictures a double helix surrounded by ectoplasm. "The only way for my body to survive," I continue, "was to take in that which made it stronger. My body, and myself, became a product of two worlds, and of none." I turn from the board to the class, setting my chalk down. "I was the first of my kind recorded in history, and also the last."

"Why the last, Professor?" Mr. Ochran, my transfer student, asked. "Were there not other hybrids, ones who might've been kept secret?"

I turn to the board again, picking up my chalk once more. "In truth, Mr. Ochran, there was one other."

The class draws in a collective gasp, and I can almost hear them leaning forward in anticipation. I gather my thoughts, then set the chalk down.

"However," I say firmly, "I will not talk more in the subject. That is not the focus of today's lecture."

The class lets out a collective groan, obviously disappointed.

"Now, can anyone tell me the reason that Human-Ghost Hybrids, or 'Halfas', are so rare?"

Class ends three hours later, my students exhausted. I dismiss them, giving them their homework as they exit the door. I sigh, defeated, then turn to my desk. With all the classes lately, I've not been able to focus on much else.

A slight rap on the door knocks me out of my depression, my head whipping around to the window set in the wood. A familiar red beanie pokes up, the heart-shaped face beneath it smiling. I smile in turn, motioning my 'cousin' in.

She enters the room in a blur, the door slamming shut as I'm embraced in her arms. I smile softly, breathing in the smell of her hair. She smells of raspberries and orchids.

"Danielle," I say with a smile. "It's been too long."

My clone nods, burying her face in my chest. "Ten years," she says softly. "It took me this long to find you, Danny." She looks up at me, and suddenly I can see all that's changed in her since that day.

She's grown up, in all manners of the phrase. Her petite frame is no more, instead replaced with a limber, svelte figure that makes me blush. She's grown her hair out, her once short ponytail now stretching below the middle of her back. Her lips and bust have filled out, making her into a beautiful young woman.

She still wears that adorable beanie, though she's traded her hoodie for a t-shirt, though it's just short enough to show off her navel. Her shorts have been replaced with an even shorter pair of shorts, hugging her hips as they extend to mid-thigh. I avert my gaze, looking anywhere but at her. "You've… grown," I say lamely.

"Look who's talking, beanpole." Dani fires back playfully. "But seriously. You look like death warmed over, Cuz." She looks around the room, her eyes lighting on the desks facing the lectern. "You're a teacher now?" I nod. "Boring."

"Hey," I object. "It pays pretty well." I look down. "Better than what Mom and Dad pay, anyways."

"The Guys in White put you here, didn't they?" Dani asks bluntly. "The Danny I know would never have put up with teaching snot-nosed little brats about ghosts and ghost-hunting."

I nod, ashamed. "It was the only way they told me I could be free in this world, not be monitored." I hang my head. "Mom and Dad also thought it would be a good position for me." My hand motions out the window, to the campus beyond. "I live on campus, in a house just inside the border."

"Your parents are wrong," Dani bursts. "They couldn't figure out that a ghost was living with them, let alone know what's best for you!" She huffs, pulling away. "Who else knows you're here?"

"Sam," I say slowly. "And Tucker." My cousin stares me down, unbelieving. "Okay, fine!" I blurt. "I may have told Paulina and Lancer."

My doppelgänger eyes me curiously. "Lancer. Really?" I nod. "Why him?" She asks.

"He… ah…" I fumble. "Turns out he's not such a bad guy. We get together every now and then for some coffee and talk about our students."

Dani shrugs. "Whatever floats your boat."

Another knock at the door interrupts our conversation, one of my students poking their head in. "Professor," the young man asks. I rack my brain for his name, but I can't seem to remember. "Do you have a moment?" His eyes dart from me to Danielle, a blush creeping over his cheeks. "I mean, I can come back later if you're busy…"

I wave away the thought. "No, come in, Mr…?"

"Monrey," he says slowly. "Nocturne Monrey. I sit third row, fifth seat in your Ghost Theory course."

Suddenly it clicks, and I facepalm. "Mr. Monrey, I'm so sorry. Please, come in." I motion to my clone. "This is Danielle, my…"

"Cousin," Dani finishes for me, extending her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Nocturne."

My student eyes her hand cautiously, nodding in her direction instead. "Professor," he says softly, "is it safe to talk about…" He trails off. "Well, you know."

I nod. "She's fine." I glance at my 'cousin', our shared secret more ironic than my own lack of powers. "Dani knows about it."

Nocturne breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay." He pulls a small notebook from his bag, opening it to a page filled with diagrams and mathematical equations. "I wanted to ask you a question," he starts, flipping through the pages, "about how to stabilize ectoplasmic energy while maintaining an electrical current through said ectoplasm." He hands me his notebook.

The pages are filled with calculations, sketches and diagrams, and even little notes off to the side. The numbers and equations are tiny, littering the space between lines, even crowding the sides of the pages as they encroach upon the sketches. I flip to the next page, finding even more equations.

"That's an oddly, hella specific question," Danielle mutters under her breath.

"See," Nocturne begins, shooting her a look, "in my experiments, the ectoplasm always destabilizes as I attempt to run an electrical current through it. I thought that putting it in a vacuum would help, but it seems to have only delayed the process."

"What's it doing now?" I ask, still flipping through the notebook. "Is it retaining it's form?"

"Only for a second," my student replies. "After that, it melts."

Dani squeaks, unnerved. "That's bad," she mutters. "Melting is bad."

"Very," I say, half-aware. "What is this for, if I may ask?" I look to Nocturne, closing the notebook with a snap. "You're aware that artificial Ghost Portals are forbidden, right?"

"It's nothing like that," my student stammers. "I'm just…" He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks down in what I imagine is ashamedness. "I'm trying to generate a ghost pet."

I arch an eyebrow. "A ghost pet?" I ask. "Like Cujo?"

"Exactly!" Nocturne's eyes light up. "See, my dog died last year, and I was hoping that if I could create a dog out of ectoplasm, I'd be able to bring him back, in a way. Sort of like imprinting memories onto him."

I shake my head, then offer the notebook back to him. "I would advise against it," I offer firmly. "Creating life is vastly different from imitating it."

Nocturne nods slowly. "But if I were," he prompts.

I sigh. "I would mix saltwater and carbon shavings into the ectoplasm solution," I say slowly. "Then run a minuscule electrical current through it as you cool it with liquid nitrogen." I eye him sternly. "That's what I would do," I say.

My student beams. "Of course," he says, as if it were obvious. "It makes so much sense now! Thank you professor!" He rushes out of the classroom before I can get another word in edgewise, and I sigh.

"What am I going to do with those kids?" I ask to nobody in particular as the door slams shut.

"You could always throw them in the Ghost Zone," Dani suggests. "I'm sure Walker would love to instruct them on the ways of the ghost prison."

I stifle a laugh, but shake my head. "They're human, remember?" I remind her. "They'd walk right out like it's a paper bag."

"On that note," my cousin says cheerily. "Will you be there this Christmas for the annual truce?" She plops down on my desk, scattering papers across the floor. "I'm sure the others miss seeing you." She continues, softer. "I miss seeing you."

I sigh, standing to retrieve my papers and straighten them. "I don't… I can't…"

Dani eyes me, perplexed. "You can't what, Danny?" She takes my hand in hers. "Can't face the world anymore?"

I rip my hand from hers, bolting upright. My chair spins out from under me, clattering against the blackboard behind me. "I can't change anymore!" I snap. "My powers are gone, Dani. Do you know what that means?"

Dani blinks, taken aback. "Gone?" She asks timidly. "What do you mean, 'gone'?"

I whirl on her, arms spread open. "I mean I'm not Danny Phantom," I shout. "I can't 'go ghost' anymore, 'cousin'." I grit my teeth, the memories returning, and with them, the pain. "I'm. Just. Human."

Dani stares, dumbstruck. "But.. how?"

"Unknown to the rest of humanity," I spit, "the amplifier we used to turn the world intangible came at a price: my powers." I bite my tongue, keeping myself from cursing at the one person in the world whom I know shares my pain. "In exchange for the help of my enemies, for the help of the others in the Ghost Zone, I had to give up my powers. It was a fair deal," I say bitterly. "Their help in exchange for my abilities. Sam and Tucker… They understood; we all knew that my crime-fighting days would come to an end eventually. But my family…" I trail off.

"They didn't know," Dani murmurs. "Your parents… they still think you have your powers, don't they?"

"Even Jaz does," I answer bitterly. "Sam and Tucker are the only ones that know, aside from you."

"Danny…" My clone murmurs. "I'm -"

"Don't." I cut her off. "It was for the good of the world," I say. "And the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Don't quote Star Trek at me, Fenton," Dani retorts."Those were your powers. You deserved them."

"They're gone," I say simply. "And the portal is under lock and key. There's no way the Guys in White will let me anywhere near that portal."

Dani sighs, defeated. "Fine," she bites. "But I still think you should try." With that, she slides from my desk and stands. "I believe in you, Danny," she says encouragingly. My clone leans forward and kisses my cheek, then turns away with a flick of her hair. "When you get your powers back, I'll be here." With that, she marches from the classroom before I can conjure a response.

I sigh, then hang my head in my hands.

Minutes tick by as I sit like that, wracking my brain for anything that could solve this problem before ,y head slumps from my palms, thudding solidly on my desk.

"What am I going to do?" I mutter.

A/N: Hey guys! It's me, Discordant Night! I know it's been a long while, and I know I left quite a few of you hanging on my last project: Phantom Rebirth. I am sorry to say that that project is now dead, and I will no longer be updating it. My co-author abandoned me on it, and it's honestly not something I think I could do alone.

However, From the ashes of one project comes another: Phantom Revival! This is something I think a lot of people will enjoy, especially since there aren't many continuations of the DP universe. I'll try to update this and Spirit of Resistance alternatively, as to avoid being overwhelmed. I hope you guys liked the chapter, and remember, Go Ghost Again.

DN Out.