[Third Person Pov]
During his month suspension, apart from training during the day, Danny focused on his vigilante activities at night alongside Batman and Robin.
Over time, he grew more acquainted with Commissioner James Gordon, often assisting Batman and Robin with police work—staking out crime scenes, tailing suspects, etc… Danny quickly learned that Gotham required a different kind of vigilance than he was used to: patience, restraint, and an eye for the smallest detail.
When April First arrived, Danny had his first direct encounter with none other than the Riddler.
Edward Nygma turned the entire day into a citywide nightmare—hostages chained to ticking puzzles, bombs hidden behind clever wordplay, and false leads scattered across Gotham like breadcrumbs meant to waste time. Every riddle was layered with misdirection, designed to split Batman's attention and overwhelm the police with simultaneous crises.
Danny proved invaluable.
While Batman deciphered the riddles and Robin coordinated evacuations, Danny used his intangibility and invisibility to quietly scout locations the Riddler assumed were inaccessible. He phased through walls to confirm which bombs were real and which were decoys, whispered critical intel back through the comms, and evacuated hostages without triggering Nygma's pressure-sensitive traps. When one countdown turned out to be deliberately wrong, Danny was the first to realize it was bait—meant to draw Batman away from the true target.
The confrontation ended in one of Gotham's abandoned subway stations, where the Riddler believed he had cornered the Dark Knight with one final puzzle. Instead, Danny emerged from the shadows and disarmed the last device from the inside out—literally. A well-timed tackle and a burst of ectoplasmic strength pinned Nygma long enough for Batman to finish the job.
By night's end, the hostages were safe, the bombs defused, and the Riddler was in custody.
During the following week, the city was claimed by a relentless series of fires that engulfed entire buildings and swallowed whole city blocks in roaring infernos.
Billowing pillars of thick black smoke rose endlessly into the air, smearing the skyline in ash and shadow, turning daylight into a dim, choking twilight. Sirens wailed without pause, their desperate cries echoing through the streets below as emergency services struggled to keep up.
High above the chaos, Danny flew alongside the Dynamic Duo with a sharp sense of urgency weighing heavily on his chest. Wind screamed past them as flames reflected in his glowing eyes.
"I'll handle the civilian rescue," Danny said firmly, his voice cutting through the comms. "You two hunt down Firefly."
He didn't wait for a response. Danny surged forward in a burst of speed that could outpace any car or train, a white-and-black streak slicing through smoke-filled air. His jaw was clenched tight, the muscles in his face tense as he pushed himself harder, faster. As he sped ahead, Batman's voice came through the comms, low and steady, yet carrying a weight Danny wasn't used to hearing.
"Remember, Danny," Batman said solemnly, his tone different—heavier. "It is not your fault if you can't save everyone. Focus on doing what you can."
"I know," Danny replied through gritted teeth, forcing the words out as he accelerated. His eyes blazed brighter, glowing an intense emerald as conviction surged through him, drowning out doubt and fear alike.
Sirens screamed below—police, firefighters, ambulances—clashing with the violent roar of flames that devoured steel and concrete alike. The fire crackled and laughed, fed by ruptured gas lines and collapsing floors.
Danny descended into the closest burning building without hesitation.
The heat hit him like a physical force, but he raised a shimmering forcefield around himself and pushed forward. Smoke filled the halls, thick and blinding. He moved fast, phasing through fallen debris, calling out, listening for coughing, for cries, for any sign of life.
He found them.
Danny scooped a terrified child into his arms, another clinging to his back as he reinforced his forcefield and burst through a collapsing wall. He handed them off to waiting firefighters, gently but urgently, before turning back without a word. He carried an elderly man bridal-style through a stairwell that caved in moments after they passed, delivered him directly into the arms of medics, then vanished again into the smoke.
Over and over, he repeated the cycle.
When the flames boxed him in, Danny changed tactics. Emerald fire flared from his hands—not wild or destructive, but controlled, supernatural. His ghostly flames washed over the inferno, consuming it. Where Danny's fire passed, the normal flames guttered and died, smothered as if starved of existence itself. He carved safe paths through burning rooms, snuffed out walls of fire to reach trapped civilians, and held ceilings in place with layered forcefields just long enough to pull people free.
But the fires were everywhere. Too many. Too fast.
In one apartment, the floor had already given way. Danny reached her too late.
He stood there for a heartbeat in the smoke-filled room, emerald glow flickering as the realization settled in. Then, carefully—reverently—he gathered the woman's body into his arms. Burn marks marred her skin, her clothes reduced to ash and ruin. His flames dimmed, extinguishing themselves as he phased back out of the building.
Danny emerged from the inferno carrying her.
The noise seemed to fade as he walked past the fire line, head bowed, shoulders heavy. Firefighters stopped. Medics fell silent. He gently laid her down against a stretcher, saying nothing, his face turned away as silent tears traced glowing paths down his cheeks.
From a distance, cameras clicked and rolled.
The media recorded the image: Danny Phantom, streaked with soot and ash, emerald eyes dimmed, walking out of the fire with a dead woman in his arms—his head lowered, grief written plainly across his face.
Danny rocketed upward toward the skies, coming to a sudden halt as he hovered high above the city. From here, the devastation was undeniable—more buildings burned fiercely, flames licking hungrily at the night, while sirens and distant screams blended into a single, unbearable chorus.
"Ahhh!!" Danny roared in frustration, the sound tearing from his throat as his body began to tremble. His fury burned hotter than any fire below. "If I alone am not enough—then I'll just make more of me!"
He clutched the top of his head with both hands, fingers digging into his hair as pain and power surged at once. "Arghhhh!!" he cried out, his eyes flaring violently with raw determination. His form began to split, a process he had never fully mastered.
It hurt—far more than he expected. His body resisted, every nerve screaming as if tearing itself apart. He wasn't ready for this, and he knew it. But none of that mattered. Not when lives were on the line. A world of pain was a small price to pay if it meant he could save more people.
Danny's roar echoed across the burning skyline, mixing with the crackle of flames and the distant wails of sirens. His head split first, skin that had been fused together peeling apart with a sickening snap, as if torn free from glue. More arms emerged, trembling with strain, as Danny forced his second form outward.
The half-formed clone mirrored his movements, the two of them locked together like conjoined twins, ripping themselves apart inch by agonizing inch. They pushed and pulled with every ounce of strength they had, their shared body resisting until, with one final shout, they tore free from each other.
Both Dannys stumbled in midair, barely catching themselves as they hovered unsteadily. They stared at one another, identical in every way, breathing hard, sweat beading on their brows—but alive, complete.
They didn't need to speak. As the same person, understanding passed between them instantly. Each nodded once to the other before turning away.
Then, without hesitation, both Phantoms shot off in opposite directions, streaking across the burning city. The fight was far from over—but now, with double the Phantom, the tide was finally beginning to turn.
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