Danny could still work on his portal abilities. While tearing the fabric of reality was no small feat, he had to make a stop in the Ghost Zone. It was relatively easy to get in, but the exit was immensely harder to come by. One should have thought about entering the Infinite Realm as following the river until entering the sea. But it would be much harder to find a river whilst swimming along the entire seashore. Wulf was different, his knowledge allowed for more direct travels. Fortunately, the Realm itself always aided the traveler. No matter where you went, you always ended up where you wanted within the reasonable amount of time. It helped to better control the world that was ever expanding. Sometimes Danny wondered how it could even function, how ghosts could even attempt to bring authority to that chaotic and unreasonable world.

And so, whilst trying to reach familiar locations, Danny took in his surroundings. The world looked the same as the last time he was there, same as it was millennia ago and just as it would look like centuries after. The same endless swirling expanse of green and purple in the front, above and below. There was always something both serene and eerie about the Zone. Perhaps both of his halves reacted at the same time. Sam and Tucker never liked it there, even the former, so enthralled by the occult and supernatural, felt uncomfortable and lost. Still, to Danny it was more than bearable, as long as he didn't stare at the swirling mass for too long. It was akin to staring down an enormous ravine while being afraid of heights. Generally unpleasant, but even that was as good a distraction as any.

Danny kept going for what felt like an hour. An hour of flight through sheer nothingness, mixed with an occasional empty strip of land or a door to some ghost's small domain. The halfa was yet to see anything or anyone familiar, although he was growing more and more impatient, yearning to blow something up to blow off some steam. Yet, when he landed on one piece of land, instead of angrily destroying the floating rock piece by piece, he instead tiredly dropped the bag and fell on the ground. The weight of the recent events was much faster than that of his flight. He was...lost. Even while knowing his destination, it didn't feel like one. He was already chased out from his house, there wasn't any home to come back to. He really was one lost little half ghost in an endless universe. Danny didn't have it in himself to feel depressed, he was just...tired, for the lack of a better word. He needed to stop and think of a better plan. It was the first time in however long since he saw his friends and family.

What was he going to say to his parents, if they even wanted to entertain him? Were they going to shoot him, curse him? Make fun at how he failed at living a life on his own? He really had no clue. To each of those reactions Danny remained clueless how to respond. He had just had way too many painful exchanges. Did he really need another more? Danny shook his head. No. He came to tie up any loose ends left in that world, so that he knew for certain that it could live without him. And that he could sleep peacefully no matter where he was. And perhaps an apology for not consistently keeping in contact with his close ones was also due. In the end, Danny made up his mind. He had personally just cast away people who actually cared about him. Why would a talk with someone like the older Fentons be an issue? He was fully  in the right there, atop of everything. At least the heroes and Tsukauchi had reasons and arguments. Fentons' was unfounded blind hate.

He was probably just overthinking it all. His afterlife was still far from over. Danny pushed away his white locks and got up, before his eyes stopped at his regal attire. Come to think of it...there was a path he was so far to try out. One that seemed so foreign he had largely discarded it. But there was something...tempting about it now. The halfa closed his white-gloved fist in determination. Grabbing the bag, the halfa made a step from the rock and continued his flight.

He flew for an hour more, but could feel that he was getting closer. It was more of a gut feeling, there weren't any landmarks to speak of. But then, something came into view that made the halfa freeze on spot and then snort. The Realm seemed to catch on quickly with his clearly stated wishes. There might have been something concerning about the current wish taking such precedence over his previous one, but who knew, maybe it was the world's pick as well. No time like the present, Phantom thought and decided to land once more, at the edge of an enormous island. Before him lied what seemed like a mile of dead withered trees sprouting from rocky surface — the distance he was willing to actually walk in order to properly take in the sights. Of course, the centrepiece of attention was an enormous structure of red bricks — Pariah's keep. Although, its previous owner was currently busy being asleep. And hopefully it would stay that way.

Danny felt strange coming in there like this — unburdened by the urgency of a stupid high school bet or a world ending disaster. He was free to examine his surroundings all he wanted. The castle wasn't exactly aged, nothing in the Zone aged. There wasn't even any dust. But it was still a mess, both from the battle that took place not so long ago and traps that he had set off even longer ago. The walls were shattered, the weapons and bones were scattered around, and at that point Danny was unsure of his actual goal for coming there. Sure, the thought that the castle was actually his did settle in his mind, and it was probably the intention. Whether he decided to actually make it loud and clear or not, the castle could serve as a good temporary spot to operate from.

The prince dumped his bag on the floor near the main gates. Ghosts didn't dare to come in here, so his belongings were largely safe. Danny turned into his human form and dug out some better clothes than the yakuza-like getup he was still wearing — simple jeans and a hoodie. He looked around the hall once again and at the door at the opposite end. One that lead to the throne room, where one of his most powerful enemies slept, imprisoned within the sarcophagus. Curiosity urged him to go in there and take a look, but he ultimately decided against it. There were more important things to do than to ogle his past enemy. Danny looked back outside and outstretched his palm, succeeding in making a portal that he knew would lead him to his native world. And with that, he stepped in, firmly ready to face everything it had in store.

He came out of the portal in what seemed like a suburb. Having patrolled the city for so long, he had come to learn every nook and cranny of Amity Park. So he knew he hit a strike on that one. The halfa set a list of priorities. Perhaps he needed to hit his friends' places and get to learn what had happened in his absence. Maybe he could make it a surprise, he childishly thought and took a stroll.

However, he soon started noticing something. The streets were certainly less crowded than before at that time of day. Danny asked a passerby for the time, and the miserable-looking man showed him the watch. There clearly was supposed to be more people outside at that time. Phantom narrowed his eyes in thought. Something was horribly wrong. It looked like Amity Park was on its way to becoming a ghost town in more ways than one. Danny was ignoring his ghost sense, but now that he focused on it, he was taken aback. His every breath for a good mile was accompanied by the gusts of cold air despite it being the middle of the summer here. The amount of ghosts was alarming. Back then, his sense actually was useful for pinning someone, but it was useless when there were just so many. It was some strange luck he wasn't spotted yet, but it seemed the ghosts were currently busy if people actually went outside, reduced in number for reasons he didn't want to know. His mind picked up the pace and decided that it was no time for surprises. He needed info and quick.

Danny opened his phone and called the closest person he could get in touch with. As he put the phone to his ear, however, Phantom heard a familiar ringtone sounding right behind him. Turning around, the halfa was greeted face to face by none other than shocked red-beanie wearing friend of his.

"How long have you been there, Tuck?" Danny asked curiously, closing the flip-phone.

"I thought I saw someone familiar," Tuck said slowly, before happily enveloping his friend in a hug, "Oh, man, Danny, we thought you were a goner!"

"Have been for a year," Danny rolled his eyes at his own overused joke. "I'm glad to see you too, dude. Got so much to tell, but..."

"You saw the shit this town has gone to, eh?" Tucker let go of him as the tech-obsessed teen's look turned grim. "Not here. If some ghost sees you it will be chaos."

"Why?" Danny asked as Tucker led him to the closest alleyway.

"Look, dude," he began. "I won't sugarcoat it. This shit is 'cause of you."

"Yeah," Danny mumbled and looked around. "I figured."

"You...don't seem sad about it."

"Had some time to realise that whatever I would see would be my fault. Tell me everything, man. Or better yet, we ought to call the others."

"Ehm..." Tucker started uncomfortably shifting and looking everywhere but his friend, whose expression turned into that of utter dread and horror.

"Tuck, don't tell me..."

"They are alive!" Tucker quickly answered, raising his hands. "But you see...well, when you left we thought we could handle it, but there were too many. And each of those stupid spooks thought they got a shot at luring you out and then making sure you are fully dead. Of course, the weaker ones just lurk at night, but luckily they don't need to eat with so much ectoplasm in the air having leaked from the portal over the year. Most don't come out at this point, like ghosts do, but with so much of the city being claimed by them, it is near impossible to lead a normal life here. So people just pack up and leave before Ember or Spectra get them in their clutches and turn 'em into some twisted juice box to feed off of. I am no better myself, my folks plan on moving soon, but I am glad I got to see ya first..."

Tucker could see Danny's expression change from fear to suppressed anger. His eyes were now glowing, but Danny made no sign to stop the tale.

"And, well, that's what Fentons told Jazz — to stay away until they can 'deal with this mess'. She is in university now, and we all convinced her it would be for the best, despite her wanting to stay. Seeing how Fentons are still trying to be a pain in their asses and Jazz is also so close to you, it would be better if she were away for the time being. Val's father always was a worrywart, so when the situation got out of control, he did his best to find a job somewhere away. But she occasionally sneaks out and flies from another state. But it is harder, because Vlad cut her funding and also decided to just leave Amity."

"Lemme guess, with me gone and Mom showing her true colours, he decided that there was nothing to catch here?"

"Well, I don't have access into the fruitloop's brain, dude. But I think so."

"But why would he still fund Valerie?" Danny rubbed his cheek in thought.

"She said he still makes her run errands getting stuff she couldn't take. Strange stuff."

"Like?"

"Your pillow."

"My...what?" Danny was taken aback, before shaking head. "And...Sam?"

Tucker's look turned sad. "This...well, her parents were the first to pack. They are loaded and could just move to some mountain resort or something," he wasn't hiding his distaste. "Probably took away her stuff, too. She wanted to run off but her grandma, you see..."

"Yeah, she wouldn't want to leave her at the deathbed," Danny realised and sighed, "Fuck."

Tucker blinked at seeing his friend cuss for what felt like the first time in forever.

"And all this just because I decided to ditch my job," Danny muttered.

"Hey, dude," Tucker put a hand on his shoulder. "It ain't your fault. None of us could blame you. I mean, don't think we didn't know you were keeping us in the dark about your nightly patrols. Even during lessons your mind was obviously with your clone and not in the classroom...If anything, you can blame the ghosts or us for failing."

"No, you did all you could. I'd stick with the former," Danny mumbled, the look of his poisonous green eyes gaining newfound confidence. "But I am going to make sure they are never crossing into here again," he growled and stormed outside.

"Wait, Danny!" Tucker called. "There is an entire army of them out there. Lemme get everyone we can first!"

Danny chuckled and turned to him. "Let ghosts sort their own debacle, please. Besides, it ain't going to look pretty. Oh, did Fentons close their portal?"

"Not really."

"Why am I not surprised...Gonna add them to the list of blame. Well, make sure the portal stays open just a bit longer," Danny smirked.

Before Tucker could ask what his friend meant, the furious half-ghost vanished from sight and took to the skies. He needed to start from somewhere. His eyes fell on a concert hall. His sense directed him just there, and it was quite simple to put two and two together. A lightbulb appeared over his head. Yes, that could work. As he flew closer, he could catch the sound of music he knew too well. She really could use a fresh repertoire. With ease Danny slipped inside the building. There weren't any customers or security. Probably all stuck inside, and for a while, too, given how even the snack bar was empty. Just as easily he entered the main hall, immediately being blasted by loud rock music and obnoxious chants, containing only one name — Ember. There she was, at the opposite end, the beautiful teenage-looking ghost with white as paper skin and burning blue ponytail. But one was not to be fooled. Danny knew that for all the smiles the fans had on their faces, ones that he could see as he walked through the crowd, were fake. They were all captives on which the siren preyed. Danny's only saving grace was his ghost half, immune from most of her charms.

He patiently waited until the song was over and the only thing resonating through the hall were the loud cheers and chants that made the girl's hair flutter several feet higher.

"EMBER! EMBER!"

"Yes, tell me who you love!" The girl exclaimed, before her eyes fell on the figure in the hoodie standing in the first row. The person who was quiet. "Hey, that applied to you, Dipstick!"

"Oh, am I figured out already, that's a crying shame."

Phantom smirked as his eyes glowed again, making the ghost freeze. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Or do you call everyone that?" He asked and walked up to the stage, much to the boos of bewitched crowd.

"You..." Ember mumbled, before smirking wickedly. "And here I thought you were six feet under, Babypop," she said and approached. "All the better, I get to end you myse..."

Before she could finish the sentence, Phantom landed a punch in the gut that sent her flying into the nearest giant speaker. Not before ripping the guitar off her, tearing the leather straps.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something? I must have gone deaf from that cacophony of yours," he spoke absent-mindedly as he toyed with her instrument. Then a string on it popped. "Oops."

Ember's eyes glowed brighter than her mane of azure flames. "YOU ARE DEAD!" She yelled and flew right at him. Phantom responded to it by sidestepping and hitting her with the guitar so hard it snapped in half and the ghost's flight came to a halt. Danny put a leg on Ember's chest and leaned closer. He glanced at the crowd that was slowly coming to its senses. Must have been the broken guitar.

"The hell..." she hissed.

"There is something you idiots never seem to realise," Danny looked at her, his eyes still blazing. You are still around only because I allow it. And tonight, you all will come crawling back to the Zone with a late realisation of how much you owe to me."

Danny saw Ember's minion group of musicians coming for an attack, but then icicles appeared in the air and were flung towards them, causing enough damage to make them vanish. His cold look then was turned back to the ghost beneath him. He remembered what she valued most and what he came to do first and foremost. Make sure they never come to the human world to cause chaos, obsession be damned.

"I'll burn you to the crisp," she threatened, summoning a gust of lame in her palm, before feeling a blade of ice near her throat.

"It won't end you, but what would happen to your vocal cords, I wonder?" Phantom wondered aloud, at last seeing a glimmer of fear in her eyes. He pushed away the remembrance of his vile future self. He knew what he was doing.

"You wouldn't do that," Ember called his bluff. "We all know what you are."

"That's exactly why we are introducing a few changes," Danny gave the same smile that made the entire world believe in his relation to the greatest villain. Then Ember's hands were shackled to the ground by ice. "But it would also be such a waste if I don't do this."

He clawed into her skin close to the core, causing the ghost to scream in shock and surprise as Phantom scooped some ectoplasm right from the heart of a ghost. The bright green substance coated his fingers before being completely absorbed into his skin. It was a strange feeling, yet one that Danny was used to. He would still have to test the potential.

"What...did you do?!"

"Can you imagine, I recently learned that I can take all your powers for myself," Danny smiled again. "I deserve some compensation from you guys after everything you did, don't ya think?"

Now the ghost watched him in full horror. Phantom had just violated what was most important to a ghost. And the action did earn the expected reaction. The shackles suddenly vanished as Danny got up.

"Remember your place next time. When I say something, it is not a request anymore. So when I say you have five seconds to enter the portal and get out of my sight," he said and opened one right near them. "You damn well use them."

Ember didn't need to be told twice, she nodded, getting up, picking the pieces of her guitar and flying into the portal. Phantom smirked. Was it really everything he needed to do all along? Perhaps there was a lesson that mere words were not enough for some ghosts. Sometimes you simply got your hands dirty. Speaking of which, there was still a crowd of now panicking people. He sighed and picked up the microphone. Time to test his new power, something that was almost instinct-like.

"A moment of your time," Danny spoke, still not taking off the hood. "Soon this place will be swarming with ghosts. So all of you, get out and hide as far from here as you can! Oh, and do try not to stomp each other to death."

Normally the humans, being humans, would have panicked and killed each other on the way out, if they even listened to a scary hooded man. But that was the power he got from Ember. Whilst not being able to impose subservience, his voice now held an extra persuasive force on those who couldn't resist it. And admittedly, they had got there in the first place, so they could not. But it was not going to work on ghosts, obviously. There were probably other uses, but all in due time. After giving the humans a ten minute head start to get away, he made sure that the sounds from the hall were heard by each and every ghost in Amity Park. He connected to the speakers outside, opened the roof, picked up the mic, tapped on it and grinned.

"Attention all ghosts, spectres and everything in between!" He spoke amidst the empty hall. "Phantom is back from his soul-searching trip and ready to deliver you your due! I am waiting for you at Amity Park Concert Hall and if you don't show up, I'll hunt you down myself! So do save me the trouble and don't make your Prince wait!" He exclaimed and changed into his ghost form, tossing away the microphone.

Phantom cracked his neck. He was having too much fun with this.

-Linebreak-

But the world he left behind was still reeling from the mess of the recent days. True, the time there flowed pretty much at the same pace, so only a few hours had passed for them as Danny was facing his enemies for what he hoped would be the last time. At the moment, nothing very serious to speak of, but everyone with proper sense could realise what had just happened. It was the open glove toss in the face of the Commission that always held a shady and untrustworthy reputation, saved only by heroes actually working under them. And this time the hit was even harder than that of Stain.

For one, that was the hearing news channels actually decided to broadcast, instead of the videos being spread over the internet. It had an even larger spread than of someone he was going to now be compared to. All the while Phantom still enjoyed the reputation greater by miles than a murderous psychopath and actually could play the victim card in the eyes of many. His revelations brought many skeletons right out of their closets which many would use for various scopes. The Hearts and Mind party made sure to use it as an example of how corrupt the current government was and this time the outsider opposition force actually was on the same page as many more people. The journalists were dying to be the first to get a new scoop about the story. However, the Commission and the President were refusing to give commentary other than proclaiming everything a slander.

The Commission was caught unprepared for the fallout, with its leadership left to wonder how much of the events was a deliberate plan or was it all an improvisation? Fenton had seemed so confident about going to jail and enduring it that the President had assumed he really was going to take it and that would be enough of a revenge from him — still leaving them without a pawn whilst being clean after serving the sentence (even if no proper company would have him even as a shipment loader). However, even they were perplexed at how the diligent prosecution learned of what they kept under wraps despite all bluffs. Fenton would have come to them anyhow because of aforementioned poverty after prison. So they logically wanted them to serve as small of a sentence as possible still. But whatever had lead to this, the damage was done, the best course of action would be to wait out until the protestors under the window dispersed. That's how it had always been. What was concerning to the President, however, was what Fenton the wild card would do now. The collar he so easily tore off was a special order made to I-island, and it would seem that even the greatest minds were helpless before the force of the unknown. Yet, what they salvaged in Kamino and the remaining All for One's databases sounded promising. Maybe with that they could make some advancements in a new potential field.

The Police and the U.A. also refused to give further media coverage to the unpleasant story. However, the latter was forced to publicly announce the unavoidable.

"The kid really decided to be an agent of chaos to the end," Present Mic spoke during their emergency staff meeting. "Already signed the papers, principal-san?"

Nezu gave a grim nod. "Yes. Unfortunately, we lost one student in the end. Ironic how it happened when we tried to rescue another."

"He showed great promise," Midnight agreed.

"Yeah, yeah. Our new rising star," Mic sighed and rubbed his temples. "But you have to admit, he was also the most unruly of our students. Is it really true he investigated the U.S.J. plans on his own?"

"He really seemed to be prepared for it," Thirteen reasoned.

"So the kid really had connections to the underworld all along," Mic continued.

"Are you going to bring this up again, Mic?" Midnight asked.

"Look, I am not accusing anyone here. But consider this. The thought of one of our students being a spy never crossed our minds. Fenton may have been a double-agent all along, especially given how THAT guy even went as far as to call him son. Maybe it wasn't on purpose and he just said something he shouldn't have."

"You think a kid who managed to trick all of us for this long just slipped?"

"And again I would ask not to entertain this idea," Nezu shook his head. "Even if it is true, the problem erased itself."

"Yes, but he sure left scorched earth behind," Snipe interjected. "He may have defended our school, but it is a small consolation, given how everything else is going to break trust in the heroes as a whole. And at this horrible time when All Might is gone and Endeavour of all people has to replace him. He is an excellent hero, but reputation-wise..."

"Do we have any idea where the kid may be at?"

"Given his newfound and old abilities, literally everywhere," Mic huffed. "Hey, Aizawa, you were his teach. Any ideas about that?"

The quiet hero sighed. He himself was evidently burdened by the flurry of recent events. "It is either his hometown or the streets of Japan. I don't think he is going to entertain the idea of starting over in yet another country. But we do have to try and capture him nonetheless. Fenton went ballistic, and for his own good he needs to be stopped before it gets worse."

"Yeah...how exactly, though? So far we saw that literally nothing can hold him in place."

"Other than his own willingness to stay. The only way is to convince him, but for that you have to find him. Knowing Fenton, he has probably already got himself in another mess. It is a matter of time until he shows up."

From that point onward Daniel Fenton was expelled from the school, which dismayed his now former classmates to no end. But what could they do? Especially with them being asked to stay with their families for the time being. But they were free to voice their feelings in the class chat, courtesy of Mina's insistence that they were all grateful for.

"You guys saw the school announcement, right?" The girl in question asked first.

"Yeah," responded Midoriya. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"Fenton-san is a wanted criminal now, they can't keep him around. How do you even imagine him continuing his studies?" Asked Sero.

"Yes, and this wouldn't have happened if you guys didn't just rush off there," Tsu scolded them. "I didn't want to see him go like that, but he knew what he was doing. Fenton-san knew the risks."

"We all knew, Tsu," Midoriya argued. "Guys who came with us, you weren't visited by the police, right?"

After receiving several messages confirming his suspicion, Midoriya and the others came to the same realisation.

"Since nobody came, Fenton-san probably kept quiet about us."

The students were saddened by this knowledge. Their class rep stuck to his duty till the end, even if he had to lie to those interrogating him. None of them ever doubted that for all his methods and shady nature he always put their safety first. But even if that would stop him from being there to help, he still was unwilling to compromise on his main principles. He was just like the Commission in the view of the laws in general — to bend them if need arises, but Danny was sincere about it and would not pretend or allow himself to fall into indentured servitude.

"So..." Sero continued. "I hate being that guy, but does that mean we choose a new president?"

There was some time before he received multiple answers. Yes, it was pointless running from truth. Danny was unlikely to rejoin them after his stunt at the court.

"It is logical to make Iida the president," Momo reasoned. "Since he is a deputy already."

That statement caused no objections from most.

"I don't think we should be deciding that in chat," Iida nonetheless argued. "Let us wait until the studies resume and situation becomes clearer."

"I don't really mind."

"Thank you Fenton-san."

Everyone froze and double-checked their screens. It was Danny.

"You guys kinda forgot that I am still in this chat," the halfa wrote. "As I said, feel free to choose a new rep. I am gonna be busy for the nearest future."

"Fenton-san! What are you gonna do now?" Midoriya asked.

"Decided to pay visit home. Just punched a rock star."

He also added a selfie of himself in an empty concert hall.

"By the way, does anybody here know how pyrotechnics work?"

His classmates did not have a response to another attached image of a potential fire hazard.

"So that's a no?"

"Fenton-san, don't pretend like nothing happened!" Iida argued.

"I get it. And I don't regret what I did. I meant it. It was either that or I am an indentured slave to the Commission. Don't worry about me, guys. I will be alright. Just...don't follow my lead, would you? My future may lie elsewhere, but yours is to be the best heroes your country has seen. So give it your best, everyone! Despite all the stupid rules, I had a blast with all of ya."

He went offline afterwards, leaving others to wonder what their friend was up to.

-Linebreak-

The halfa did not have to wait for long. The first cohort of his enemies eventually showed up to see the half ghost sitting on an ice chair. Waiting for them. Phantom examined his first opponents. Riding his motorcycle through the walls and seats was none other than greasy blonde punk Johnny 13 and his girlfriend Kitty. They were inconsequential. Johnny's sentient shadow was the bigger concern. It probably lurked somewhere in the poorly lit part of the hall, where only the stage was submerged in light. There were also uncountable animal looking ghosts that somehow got mixed into all this. And, of course, the rest of his rogue gallery, well, most of it. But the toughest of them all seemed a gargantuan robot-like ghost that Danny immediately recognized, which could potentially surprise the ghost himself. A robotic suit of dark metal had no legs, replaced by spectral tail, its head was a metal skull with burning green fires for hair. Its stomach had a glowing green screen.

"Someone got a death wish here," Johnny was the first to speak. "You've got a nerve calling us here, pal."

Danny lazily shifted on his makeshift throne. "You've got a nerve still being around, Thirteen," he responded, before glancing at the robot. "Hello Skulker, still chasing dreams?" He asked.

"You need to update your info, whelp," the ghost grinned and made a fist pump. "Because now..."

"Lemme guess, you now go by Skulktech? I know you are there Technus," Danny waited until the screen on the suit lit up, showing a face.

"How did you know, ghost child?" The ghost asked in confusion.

"I have my ways," Danny sighed, swiftly getting up from the disappeared seat. "Having the Time Master's patronage is beneficial. But I don't need him to deal with you," he spoke.

"Where is Ember?" Kitty demanded to know. "It is her haunt!"

"This whole city is MINE!" Phantom raised his voice with his power of the wail as his hair flickered. The animal ghosts all retreated back several feet further. "In case your memory needs some jogging. And you have no business being here. Neither did she. She crawled her way back to the Zone, and soon you will too," he gave a fanged smirk. "A pity, isn't it? You have to go back to the world that is also mine to rule."

"Getting ahead of yourself, are you, whelp?" Skulker readied his gun. "I recall the crown being up for grabs if someone ends you," he commented, as every ghost's eyes filled with greed.

"So far you have been nothing but failure, rustbucket," Phantom said. "But if that's how you want to roll..."

He snapped his fingers and the loud speakers started blasting music.

"The hell..."

"Then I shall indulge you. It is showtime!" He exclaimed with a grin and opened his arms wide, before all stage fire sparks went off at once, basking the hall in light.

He did not give any time to act. From his eyes and hands emerged powerful ice beams that drove a wedge right between the distracted small army. Phantom veered to the left and lunged forward, smashing the nearest bestial specter into the ice wall. He then jumped against the wall and fired a powerful explosive blast right into the ghosts. Phantom became airborne, but immediately dodged multiple fists attached to bandages, flung by the mummy ghost Hotep. After dodging another strike, he grabbed the fist before pulling and swinging the specter against the crowd of enemies, before letting go and seeing the rocket aimed directly at him. Skulker fired that one. Phantom managed to dodge the rocket, but, knowing it would just turn around, grabbed it instead and threw it towards his opponents, making it fly so fast it was unable to turn and blew up, with Danny himself getting right up to Skulker through the portal and readying to slice up his costume with his ice blade. However, the ghost blocked it with a retractable wrist blade.

"You too seem to have picked up new tricks, Ghost Child," Technus commented from Skulker's suit. "But your brawn is nothing against my unparalleled intelligence!"

"I am in this fight, too," Skulker grumbled.

"The world's mightiest hunter. Now a mere iron puppet for a megalomaniac coward," Phantom mocked. He then saw Skulker's second arm sparkling with electricity and immediately kicked the robot away, not so difficult whilst in the air.

"What's wrong, whelp?" Now it was Skulker's turn to poke at his enemy. "Reminds you of something?"

"Try it and I will tear off your toothpick limbs," Phantom growled, before throwing a blast through his blade that he then stabbed the first beast that flew up to him and then punched it towards the others.

However, he was immediately grabbed from behind by two arms made of pure darkness. Shadow. Skulker used that moment to punch Phantom in the face, but Danny responded with firing blasts from his eyes, hitting Skulker point blank. Then he used his leg to push both himself and Shadow into the opened portal right behind them. It took them right to the giant light projector, where Danny pinned the ghost right to the source of light, causing it to scream and hiss as it looked like it was receiving burns. Its strength waned enough that it let go, but Phantom stuck it in place with ecto goo, letting it wither and perish. No matter, he would regrow eventually.

"That son of a bitch," Johnny said from another end of the hall about to go down there himself, before seeing Phantom vanish into the portal again.

"Don't think I forgot about you," he suddenly heard the voice by his ear. Johnny turned around to see the smiling halfa before getting punched hard and staggered back. Johnny shook his head and saw Phantom put a hand on the handle of his motorcycle. Then, the next moment, Danny picked up the vehicle and hit him with all of his strength, making the ghost lose several of his teeth and fall on the ground. The handle was also ripped off as the rest of the motorcycle flew away. Danny did not hesitate to fire at it, exploding it again. He examined the handle and noticed a contraption on it.

"I thought I forbade this portal opener," Phantom commented and crushed the small device. "Shows how much you value my word," he sighed.

Kitty fired an ectoblast that he blocked with a shield, before kicking rising Johnny t into the nearest wall, through which he phased. Kitty immediately followed right after him.

"Ancients," Phantom mumbled. Ghosts' resilience would prove to be an annoyance.

The wall was only a temporary hinderance. All ghosts could fly over or simply go around. And he had to be quick and hold the initiative and prioritize if he was to win against such superior numbers. Those weren't even all of his enemies.

Skulker came down upon him once more with a whole barrage of ectoblasts coming from his built-in gun. Phantom remembered All for One and created a portal beneath Hotep, the first ghost of note that came in his sight, and by teleporting him right in front of himself Danny made the mummy ghost take the entire barrage and scream in pain, before Phantom's own palm burning with ectoplasmic fires was put over Hotep's face. He howled in pain at being assaulted from both sides, before finally turning into a sand tornado and enveloping both the Prince and all ghosts nearby. Phantom was hit multiple times by the occasional swapped beast that cared more about him than the tornado, but he quickly adapted and used his ice to summon a wall in front of him to stop uncontrollable flight, fired a small explosive blast to slow himself as he impacted, before pushing himself away from the tornado, using the same explosions to surely propel himself. The second he came out of tornado-granted obscurity, he immediately collided with a ghost and smashed it into a pulp with another hit.

Danny then saw Skulker fire a net his way. He swiftly cut it before it could capture him, and looked at the hunter and his accomplice again. He had to dispatch of him soon or he would keep being the biggest annoyance. But he didn't have time to think up anything before suddenly the roof started coming down, as something massive pummeled on it from the outside. Through the gaping hole, as the light of the setting sun poured in, looked a giant black dragon with green horns. Even Aragon decided to show up. The dragon prince opened his jaw and breathed fire downwards, not caring who was caught in the blast. Phantom himself quickly vanished. That guy could be a problem if not dealt with. He was perhaps the most destructive of everyone present — both because of size and fire.

"Careful, you stupid lizard!" Skulker yelled once Technus switched off the shield that protected them and the fire stopped coming.

"I care not for your nagging, peasant," the dragon responded, looking around. "Only I am of blue blood worthy of claiming the crown."

"The only thing you deserve is a glass terrarium."

Aragon felt someone grab his tail. Danny smirked, before using his strength to pull and throw the surprised beast off the roof and down at the deserted park near the concert hall. With thunderous noise the dragon fell on the ground, crashing into everything on his path as he slid across the ground. He had tried to slow his flight with wings, but it did little, Aragon only hit more trees, but Phantom was also nearby, additionally blasting the dragon in the back. Aragon turned his long neck and breathed fire upon his enemy, but was met with a blast of fire. They pushed each other for a while, until Aragon's tank went dry first and the ice beam hit the insides of his mouth. Aragon tried to melt it, but he needed to recharge. The halfa flew closer, before uppercutting the beast's lower jaw. The ice cracked into pieces, cutting and wounding the dragon howling in pain. The distraction was more than enough for Danny to see the amulet on Aragon's neck, drop down in the air and rip the golden jewelry off. Once he did it and landed on the ground, the dragon began shrinking, until a regally dressed blue-skinned ghost appeared in its place.

"Give back my amulet, you wretch!" The ghost demanded.

"Let me think...oops," Danny dropped it on the ground. "Butterfingers," he said, before stepping on it, crushing the amulet into pieces. Ectoplasmic vapour flowed into his body. "Sheesh, I should look under my feet, too," he said, before picking up Aragon by his collar. "If your sister has no determination to take it from you, then it is up to me. There can be only one prince, remember it well. Now get out of my sight."

He opened a portal and tossed the screaming ghost in it. They certainly got rusty over this time. At least Aragon accidentally took care of some specters. He saw ghosts coming his way, from the distance looking like an ominous flock of birds. Danny took a firm stance in the ground, taking a deep breath and waiting. Not many ghosts ever got to see his ultimate move, but it was time to give them a show. Once they got close enough to all be caught in the crossfire, Phantom released the full power of his wail. The tidal wave of ghosts came to a grinding halt, as their sensitive ears were assaulted by the terrible noise. The weaker ghosts vanished, unable to maintain their form amidst such disturbance that ripped straight into the very frequencies that held ectoplasm together. The windows of all buildings in the closest proximity shattered and lampposts bent as the prince released all his reserves all at once. Finally, the wail stopped, and Danny felt much weaker. Still, the training paid off, he still had energy to spare. The ghosts were scattered and severely reduced in numbers. But would those reserves really be enough? More ghosts would come, and he certainly would not write Skulker off either. He needed...a breather.

Turning invisible, Danny retreated into an abandoned park staff building. There, he sat on the guest couch, wiping his forehead from nonexistent sweat. However, he was not alone for long.

"Poor ghost boy, fighting all alone."

Danny looked to his side and saw a ghost floating there — a dark, Shadow-like figure, only feminine and definitely intelligent.

"Penelope," Danny huffed. "You are here alone, too. And I still have it in me to beat you," he lazily leaned back.

"I could just shout loudly. Besides," her body then gained a human-like shape, revealing a beautiful redhead lady. "Feeding off all those humans did wonders for me. You made them so miserable, Danny-boy. So I guess I have you to thank."

They were quiet for a moment.

"Well?"

"What do you mean, 'well'?" Spectra was taken aback.

"Where is the thank you?" Danny gave a tired smile.

"Don't play coy, kid. I sense your emotions, remember? You can hide these things from everyone but me. You are still unsure, you feel guilty for all this pain and suffering. Oh, you are angry, too?" She smirked and leaned forward. "Not that it would help you. Stay angry all you want."

Danny sighed. "Nothing escapes you, huh?" He asked. "All you do is talk and talk. Preying on helpless like a vulture. I guess that's all a tired hag like you can hope for, I suppose."

"What did you just call me?" The woman asked menacingly.

Danny smirked. "Ah, you ghosts are even more of an open book. Your obsessions make you so predictable. I'm not the only one pretending," he slowly got up. "You pretend you are a top shot. Pretend that you are on top of the food chain. But you are also insecure. You are afraid of age, afraid of how you look, merely looking into the mirror is scary for you. No matter how well you hide it, this appearance is false and we both know it!"

His exclamation faced retaliation from the ghost, as Spectra grabbed him in a purple energy fist and squeezed tight.

"You will regret saying this," she hissed, before throwing him away and into the reception desk.

Phantom phased through and managed to land on his feet. "May I advise seeing a psychiatrist? Oh, wait."

Spectra grit her teeth and fired a purple lighting his way. Danny involuntarily flinched as he dodged, and that did not go by Spectra.

"Oh, right. The little boy played with electricity too much," she cooed. "What an unpleasant memory. But you have to overcome it. The exposure therapy is what I advise!" She exclaimed and hurled more lightings as Danny was purely on the defensive, dodging and blocking, wasting the finite energy. But the image of the past incident kept materialising in his head with more and more clarity. And the more he thought about it, the less he was concentrating on the skirmish. Until eventually, the lighting struck home.

With a scream, Danny fell on his knees, only for Spectra to hit his face with her heeled boot.

"I can't believe this pathetic child is our prince. Maybe I will make a better Queen..." she spoke dreamily before seeing Phantom slowly get up. "Oh, please, so dramatic. You couldn't protect your town so you ran like a coward. Don't start acting like you are anything but."

Phantom stared at her with blazing green eyes, as his hair again began to flow. All those the signs of a very pissed ghost.

"A coward?" Danny asked again, before lunging forward, being hit by the lighting again, but still landing a punch on his enemy's face. "Where were you when Pariah appeared?!" He punched again with an ectoplasm charged fist. "You ran scared shitless!" He yelled again and landed another punch that Spectra tried to block but was overpowered. "Where were you when I alone went to fight him?!" He summoned a blade and pierced her side, leaving it right in her chest, inches away from her core. "Right...you stayed put even unlike the rest, Spectra," he grabbed her face. "That suit only made me and artefact-wearing Pariah equal. You have all the reasons to fear me no less than him," he twisted the blade and even damaged her core, much to her audible pain. "And I assure you," he whispered. "I'm going to give you even more if I see you again."

Danny pushed her to the ground, pulling out the blade, smeared with green, blackish ectoplasm. Spectra watched how Phantom wiped it with his gloved palm and absorbed it. Immediately he sensed something he instinctively knew was fear. He also was assaulted by a myriad of other feelings, coming from all over his proclaimed haunt. But among those there was something in particular. He felt how humans were rooting for him, begging him to survive and succeed. They may have been hiding, trying to stay away, but what they hoped for alone was enough for Danny to feel his energy coming back.

"So that's how it feels," Danny mumbled as the glowing aura around him became brighter. "I guess this energy bank is quite practical."

"You...feed off feelings?"

"Yes. And you were instrumental to this," Danny smirked. "So thank you, Spectra. See? Not so hard to say it, isn't it?"

Spectra growled and prepared to fire lighting once more, but was struck by Phantom's own. After he stopped, the ghost sensed his feelings again, unable to get past one and most prevalent — disdain. Disdain for none other than her.

"Look, you said it yourself," she tried to bargain. "I am a coward. So let me go as far away from you as I can."

"I don't think we are past formalities."

Spectra realised what he meant. Gritting her teeth, she got to her knees and lowered her head in a bow.

"I beg you, Your Highness!"

"Good. Don't forget it. Out with you," he opened the portal through which she ran.

Danny cracked his neck. The break was over. Time for the next round.

Stepping out of the building, he used his ghost sense to find the spectres, but they were looking for him, too, so it did not take long. Especially for Skulktech. Danny put an ice wall in front of the rockets, before removing it and facing two of his prime enemies all in one metal flagon.

"Thought you could run, whelp?" Skulker asked.

"You are gonna wish I did," the halfa responded and grinned.

Then he took a deep breath, and for a moment two ghosts' faces contorted in fear of another use of the destructive power. However, Phantom breathed out a whole blizzard that engulfed the ghost completely, covering the area around in a layer of ice. Skulker found himself unable to move in the glacial prison, leaving room for Phantom to come for his head and prepare for a swing of the sword.

"Predictable," Skulker said, before blasting the ice from the inside and freeing himself and Technus. The explosion forced Danny to make some distance. "I learn too, whelp."

Skulker cracked his metal fists, preparing to beat up his enemy. Phantom took the stance as well, before they came at each other, each taking hits on their unflinching enemy.

"You do realise that none of you will get the crown if you kill me?" Danny huffed after landing a punch on the suit's display and Technus's face in addition. "It is two on one, so it doesn't count."

"To hell with the crown," Skulker responded as they held each other in an armlock. "I want your pelt, whelp."

"Ew."

"Hey, speak for yourself," Technus said. "I, Technus, will graciously accept this honour!"

"Your grace is wasted," Phantom mocked.

Then, now having the sufficient energy, he tapped into another attained power, unsure of what exactly would happen. His core digested it and suddenly Danny's hands now gained strange glowing protrusions, ethereal and see-through, but looking like Aragon's own limbs. So it wasn't transforming into dragon. Rather, gaining some of its aspects. Danny had no time to think it over, because once Skulker came upon him, he struck him with everything he had. The ground shook, and the robot was sent flying with a deafening noise, crashing through the entire park and several buildings. Danny looked at his hands and the glowing spikes vanished. Wasting no time, he went flying towards his enemy, sensing that his location was finally located by the ghosts at large. Perhaps it called for the final demonstration. Standing on the street in front of the downed robot, he nonetheless saw Skulktech getting up, his armour actually mending. Probably Technus's doing, it didn't use to do that.

"What in the name of the Ancients was that?"

As Danny approached, he saw people in the windows, filming instead of getting away from the dangerous area. He sighed on the inside.

"I prefer a more practical showcase, if you don't mind."

"So do we."

Skulker's palm glowed with bright light as he decided to fire their special toy first. And instead they pointed it at the nearest car that still had humans inside. Danny made no indication of moving. He recognized that trick. Instead he just continued to slowly approach Skulker.

"Not a step closer, whelp! Or these humans are a toast!"

"Then why don't you shoot?" Danny put hands in his pockets as he kept approaching. "Is this because your lovely Palm Pummeler doesn't cause damage to anything but me?"

Skulker immediately moved his palm and fired at the halfa, who lazily dodged the blast.

"How...how did you know? We installed it only yesterday!" Technus exclaimed.

"Maybe I just see the future," he said as he could now see the incoming ghosts.

However, before anything could be said and done, Skulker was attacked from behind by a flurry of ectoblasts, chipping away at the armor and leaving him sprawled on the ground, allowing Danny to see the two people he dreaded to meet all along, two jumpsuit-wearing individuals. They were accompanied by Tucker, who still could not allow his friend to fight everyone alone. Danny did not talk to them, instead looking down at Skulker and breaking right into the chest compartment. From there he pulled a struggling ghost in a lab coat and with a ponytail of white hair.

"Hey, Ghost Child," he laughed nervously.

"Hey," Danny responded, before piercing the ghost's chest.

After committing what was quickly becoming a routine, he tossed away the shocked specter and took a look upwards, seeing that the army of the undead was now hesitant to come at him. Once again, the sight of someone's core being ravaged in such a manner was a terrifying concept. Danny raised his voice.

"Such is the fate that awaits all of you! For far too long you have terrorized this town! I promised to give you what you deserve, and your future king is a man of his word! But I am also merciful. If you leave it forever and never come back...I may just look the other way. Just this once," he finished, yet his voice sounded sinister despite the shown mercy.

And the tidal wave of green quickly turned and flew towards Fenton Works, where the only gateway to the realm was located. Everyone watched them leave, as Technus and Skulker got their own personal delivery made by Danny. After they were gone, after several seconds of silence, the people nonetheless erupted into loud cheers. Finally their town was freed from what was all but occupation. People surrounded surprised Phantom and tried to show their gratitude in one form or another. But despite all those cheers, Danny's look was always coming back to the quiet Fentons.

They did need to talk.

A.N. Soo, I've heard a lot of theories about where I may take the story next. In terms of the plot, I am obviously having him back in the MHA universe. But not without stepping up his own game, of course.