[Third Person's PoV]
The food monster's grotesque arms, made entirely of mashed potatoes and gravy, extended unnaturally as it grabbed one of the cafeteria tables. With surprising strength, it swung the table like a baseball bat, hurling it toward Danny. Reacting in the nick of time, Danny turned intangible, letting the table pass harmlessly through him before it crashed into the cafeteria's food counter, sending trays, utensils, and a wave of soup flying.
Danny raised a hand, his tone laced with sarcasm. "You know, I might not be old enough to be a taxpayer myself, but that's still coming out of their wallets. Could you at least try to respect school property?"
The food monster let out a low, guttural roar as Danny sank into the tiled floor, narrowly avoiding a massive swinging arm made of spaghetti.
"They could use the money they stole from those hungry children then! Lunch is supposed to be a reward after a hard day of work, it's not a reward if you have to pay for it!" The Lunch lady retorted.
Danny reemerged from the floor, appearing to the side of the monster. With a quick motion, he extended his arm and fired a glowing green ectoplasmic ray at its legs. The blast disintegrated the creature's lower half, leaving it teetering precariously on stubby, uneven remains.
"I hate to be that guy," Danny quipped, hovering just out of reach, "but this is a private school. Of course they charge for lunch. They're using high-quality ingredients. It's way better than the rubbery mystery meat you'd get at public schools."
Ignoring his words, the Lunch Lady roared again, driving the monster forward. Danny darted toward its torso, his fist glowing with fiery green energy. With a swift punch, he struck the creature dead center. The monster exploded in a splatter of goo and food, scattering into dozens of smaller, wriggling versions of itself.
"Oh, great," Danny muttered, his voice dripping with exasperation as he began blasting the miniature creatures one by one with rapid ecto-rays.
The Lunch Lady, floating in the air with ghostly menace, glared at Danny with burning hatred. Her fists glowed a sickly green as she shouted, "You dare interfere with my justice!" She unleashed a powerful ghost ray, its eerie glow illuminating the cafeteria.
Caught off guard, Danny took the full brunt of the blast and was sent hurtling across the room, crashing hard onto the floor. Groaning, he quickly rolled to his feet just in time to dodge another ray, which scorched the tiles and left a charred crater.
"Well," Danny grunted as he shook off the impact, "I guess it's time to end this." He floated upward, his legs transforming into his ghostly tail, undulating gracefully in the air as he sped toward her.
The Lunch Lady fired ray after ray, but Danny weaved through them with ease, his silver-white hair streaking behind him. In an instant, he was in front of her, swinging his glowing fist toward her face. She dodged with surprising agility, countering with a punch of her own. The two engaged in a furious midair brawl, trading blows and evading strikes with supernatural speed.
Breaking the stalemate, Danny shot upward and brought his foot down in a powerful kick that sent the Lunch Lady crashing to the ground. She let out a ghostly screech as she hit the floor, creating a small crater. Hovering above her, Danny brought his hands together, forming a massive, crackling ectoplasmic sphere between his palms.
"And here's dessert just for you—a plate full of justice!" Danny shouted, hurling the sphere downward. It struck the Lunch Lady with a deafening explosion, the energy dispersing in a bright flash. When the light faded, the Lunch Lady lay unconscious amidst the rubble. The cafeteria returned to normal as the cursed food dissolved into harmless leftovers.
Danny then covered his face as he was embarrassed, "D-Did I really just say that? My god, I'm so glad no one was here to see that."
However, realization quickly hit Danny as he looked down towards the Lunch Lady, 'I don't have the Fenton-thermos!' Danny thought, wanting to punch himself due to his stupidity of not carrying it with him now that he was Danny Phantom.
Just as Danny was planning on carrying her off back toward the portal with his hands, he heard someone clear their throat.
Looking up Danny saw Batman stepping out of the shadows, "Here, I thought you might need something"
Batman reached to his utility belt and threw a silver and green thermos, which Danny caught with one hand.
"How did…"
Before Danny could finish his sentence Batman answered, "I saw it heading towards your general direction, thus I figured it must be drawn to you somehow. I had called Robin to inform me if she appeared here. I collected that while I investigating your parents lab and thought it could be useful"
Danny nodded and aimed it towards the Lunch lady pressing the button which unleashed a powerful suction as it absorbed the Ghost inside the thermos, which he capped and tossed it back towards Batman.
Batman tossed it back, "Keep for today, we don't know if more might appeared"
Danny nodded, he looked down at the thermos with a faint blush as he asked, "Did… Did you hear me earlier?"
Batman just remained stoic and didn't answer his question before he turned around and walked back into the shadow, but not before saying, "Although alot could be improved on and you've made a lot of careless mistake, good work"
Danny smiled before looking up only to see Batman was gone. Danny began to sway side to side with a big smile, "Batman just complimented me, hehehe~"
…
Outside the School
Sam paced near the school entrance, her worry etched across her face. "Danny's still in there! He could be hurt!" she exclaimed, trying to push past the staff blocking the doorway. Tucker was right behind her, equally determined.
"I'm sorry, but we can't let you go in!" one of the staff members insisted, holding up a hand to stop them.
"But Danny—"
"What about me?" a familiar voice chimed in.
Sam and Tucker turned to see Danny casually strolling toward them, looking perfectly fine. His book bag hung over one shoulder, and he held a slice of pizza in his hand, mid-bite. His trademark smirk was firmly in place.
"Danny!" Sam and Tucker shouted in unison, their relief evident.
Tucker jumped forward, talking a mile a minute. "Dude! You missed it! There was this huge ghost in the cafeteria! There was food, and it was throwing tables—total chaos! And then—" Tucker went on a tangent to explain what happened while Danny was in the 'Bathroom'
Which he ended with, "Your parents would have gone bunkers seeing that a ghost really attacked–" Tucker slapped his mouth and looked worried he said too much.
Sam jabbed Tucker in the ribs with her elbow, hissing, "Way to go, Tuck."
Danny, however, just looked down at his pizza with a wistful smile. "Nah, it's okay," he said quietly. Then, with a small laugh, he added, "You're not wrong. My parents would've totally freaked out seeing a ghost attack the school."
Sam and Tucker exchanged a cautious look before Danny glanced back up at them, his expression lighthearted again. "Seriously, though, you don't have to tiptoe around me about my parents. It's fine. Honestly, it's kind of funny when you think about how my dad would've gone full ghost-hunter mode and made things even crazier."
His easygoing tone finally eased their tension. Sam and Tucker let out a collective sigh of relief, grateful Danny seemed to be taking everything in stride.
---
Location: Wayne Manor
Date: January 14th
Time: 8:15 PM
The grand dining room of Wayne Manor was quiet, save for the clinking of silverware. Danny sat at the table with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, enjoying a formal dinner. The long table stretched between them, but the casual banter filled the space.
Danny grinned toward Dick, his pride barely contained. "You should've seen me earlier. I was totally kicking butt! That ghost didn't stand a chance."
Dick leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with a smirk. "Oh, I saw, alright. You called out mid-fight like a total rookie, basically announcing your position to the whole room. Real pro move."
"What are you talking about? That was intentional," Danny countered with confidence. His tone and expression were so genuine that Dick blinked, caught off guard.
"Wait—you meant to do that?" Dick asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah. I needed to divert her attention away from everyone else and focus it on me. It was better her targeting me than anyone else," Danny explained with a shrug, as though it were the simplest decision in the world.
Bruce raised an eyebrow, his sharp eyes studying Danny. He didn't comment, but there was a flicker of approval in his expression.
Before the conversation could continue, Alfred entered the room with a rolling dessert cart. There was a mischievous glint in his eye.
"I have prepared dessert for everyone," Alfred announced, his tone polite yet teasing. He placed a plate in front of Danny with deliberate precision. "And for you, Young Master Daniel—a plate full of Justice."
Danny froze, his eyes widening in shock. His cheeks flushed a deep red as he whipped his head toward Bruce, who was pointedly looking away, his shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.
"You did hear me! And you told Alfred!?" Danny exclaimed, mortified.
Dick's brow furrowed in confusion before realization struck. He pieced the events together and burst into laughter. "No way! You actually said that? 'A plate full of Justice?' Oh, man, that's gold!" He pointed at Danny, laughing so hard he nearly fell out of his chair.
Danny slumped in his seat, his face a bright shade of crimson. He glared at the dessert plate in front of him, groaning. "I'm never going to live this down…"
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