Chapter Text
The beach was perfect.
It was quiet, warm and most of all, peaceful.
Danny laid back on the sun warmed sand, arms spread like a starfish listening to the waves and feeling the wind.
He was at a private beach owned by none other than Vlad—former villain, obsessive fruitloop, certified manipulative jerk—but when push came to shove, the guy saved him.
Pulled him out of a GIW facility where he was trapped for months, handed to them by his own parents.
His chest ached with the phantom sting of containment cuffs. His ears rang with memory.
His sister's screams. The Fenton's laughter.
....and then the warm embrace of the man who he thought was the enemy.
Danny shook his head and sat down, his sunglasses fell from his head and onto the sand.
He gritted his teeth and shoved the memories down. He's safe now, Vlad made sure of it.
No use of shedding more tears than necessary.
Danny pulled his legs close to him as his gaze took in the blue sea.
He needs a distraction.
'I need to relax.'
Danny slowly stood up then stretched until his back popped.
He wandered down to the shallows, rolling up his shorts. Salt water lapped at his ankles. He paused at the edge, staring down where his appearance, or what could be made out, was reflecting.
Messy black hair was first to make an impression. Sunlight and seawater painting halos around his outline.
But he looked away.
Instead, his hands, scarred and yet still pale, drifted up, almost on autopilot. His fingers curled over his chest, tracing the edge of a rough, raw scar shaped like a Y.
A nasty reminder of the past.
But it's alright now, he's free.
Danny exhaled through his nose, let his hand drop, and muttered, "Not thinking about that today."
But if everything he experienced was to go by, he mind have just found the perfect distraction.
Ghost powers responded to intent, right? His ectoplasm was half-tied to emotion and willpower. In theory, he could reshape himself—not just clothes or limbs, but maybe, change his form.
Other ghosts did it.
He should not be an exception.
Danny grinned, already feeling his core buzz with excitement.
"Alright, experiment time."
This time, consensual of course.
He let the transformation take over him—white hair, glowing green eyes, light rising off his skin like mist.
'Now with that's done, to what should I change into?' Danny thought, letting his body hover above the ground for a bit.
Should he take baby steps but what could he try?
His hair?
Maybe add claws?
How about a change of outfit?
Danny's mind filled with random thoughts and ideas but he couldn't pick anything right up.
He wrinkled his nose, letting his toes sink into wet sand. His thoughts ran in circles, What would even be cool? What would make sense?
His eyes drifted back to the sea—and this time, they stayed.
And suddenly, his thoughts stopped.
A memory surfaced... one from way back. Before everything began.
Sam and Tucker sitting on the school rooftop during lunch, bickering about sea life and whether or not mermaids existed.
Sam had been dead serious. Tucker insisted they were just a marketing myth. Danny hadn't even liked the ocean that much, but the way they argued about it—like it mattered—making him laugh so hard that day.
He smiled.
"…Bet they'd lose it if I showed up with a tail."
The words escaped before he could stop them. There was no one around to hear.
No one else to share this moment with.
His fingers traced the scar on his chest, or where it should've been. The ache never left. Not really. But right now? It didn't hurt to think of them. Not as much.
"Alright," he said softly, turning to face the water fully. "Let's make their dream come true."
What is he going to lose anyway?
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Danny didn't dive in right away.
He slowly let himself sink into the water, but not fully. Just enough to cover him if he did succeed.
He floated back slowly, letting himself sink and even though he might be able to breathe? Underwater, since he's uh dead— he doesn't want to risk it. His hair drifting around his face. The waves rocked him gently.
It felt nice.
Just like space.
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax, willing his core to do its magic.
The change started small.
From his ears, to his chest and lastly his legs.
Danny took his time to just slowly work his way through this. And after what felt like an eternity, he opened his eyes.
What he saw made him freeze.
Gone were the black jumpsuit his ghost form had, now replaced with an...armour like pattern of sort.
The patterns curling along his sides and over his shoulders in a smooth, black and white contrast. It wasn't armour exactly, more like sleek plating formed from natural ectoplasmic energy, hugging his body in abstract streaks that glowed faintly, like light caught in marble.
Thin lines of deep black webbed across it in slow, swirling arcs, mirroring the constellations on his now green tail. His chest glowed subtly and his core purred in delight.
And the tail—oh his tail.
Just like the pictures Sam showed him of merman, his tail was long and beautiful. He couldn't look away.
The scales were tight and fine near his waist, but grew larger and more iridescent down his thighs—if he still had thighs—reflecting every light in shifting patterns of stars!!
Omg his tail shined like space!!!
Silver and black lined the edges very subtly. The tailfin was wide and looked almost transparent, but sparkled nonetheless.
He moved once, just to test it, and the fin moved like he intended.
Danny blinked, dazed.
Then grinned.
"This is awesome!"
Danny didn't even hesitate.
The moment he got a feel for the new form—how natural it felt, how his body wanted to move—he ducked his head, curled his tail, and shot forward through the water with a bubbly laugh.
'Holy crap,' he thought, twisting in a smooth arc, 'I'm fast.'
The water, once chilly and dark, now felt like space to him.
It made him feel free.
Danny grinned so hard his cheeks hurt.
'I could stay in here forever.'
He dipped lower, letting the sunlight fade into rippling shadows around him. The glow from his scales lit up the water in a soft, green haze.
Fish scattered as he passed, some even followed him. 'They'd love this,' he thought suddenly. Sam, with her love for weird and wonderful creatures. Tucker, following right next to him, sharing his joy.
A smile curled at the edge of his mouth again, softer this time.
'I hope you guys see this from above.'
He kicked off the sand in a slow glide upward, the light growing brighter as he neared the surface. Just before he broke through, he spun in one last twist, tail flicking right behind him.
He surfaced with a burst of laughter, flinging water into the air like a dolphin show off.
"This is so cool!"
Danny floated there, face to the sky, hair plastered to his forehead.
He hadn't felt this light in… ancients. He didn't even know how long.
Danny spent hours in the sea, swimming until his muscles ached and the best part?
When he got out of the water, dripping and breathless, he could shift back.
Sort of.
The tail would melt away, replaced with sore legs and tired arms, and he'd collapse on the sand with sand sticking to his hair and a giddy grin stuck on his face.
It was the first time in a long while that he was the one pushing his powers without anyone trying to kill him or skin him alive.
So of course… he pushed further.
"If I can hold the tail in ghost form," he reasoned, "could I reshape it as a human?"
It wasn't like he hadn't toyed with ecto manipulation before. His core could shift his clothes, mimic textures if needed but he'd never tried anything this major outside of ghost mode.
So he tried.
A little shimmer along the spine. A breath through half-open gills. A flash of green in his eyes that didn’t quite fade.
Every day, he tweaked. Adjusted. Blended the two sides of himself, smoothing the lines until he couldn't tell where ghost ended and human began.
And then, one evening, while the sky burned orange and the waves lapped gently at the shore…
He shifted into the tail again.
But when he tried to change back—
Nothing happened.
Danny frowned, floating just offshore. He concentrated, let his core do his magic but still...
Nothing.
Normally he would've panicked, he's literally a mermaid? Merman right now!! Not even a ghost fish!!
Which is, for visuals instead of the green his tail is blue? Danny simply thought it's similar to how his outfit colour changes when he goes ghost.
His chest scar is very permanent though...but oh well.
He's a simple teenager okay.
His tail flicked once.
Then he snorted.
Not the first time his powers decided to go on a little vacation of their own. Between overuse, burnout, and general ghost weirdness, his ecto had flaked out before. It always came back eventually.
Besides, if he had to get stuck in a form for a bit?
This was not the worst after all.
The ocean rocked around him like a lullaby. His tail felt like it had always been there. Even the gills, fluttering gently at his neck, felt more natural than breathing air.
So… yeah.
Why not enjoy it?
Danny curled up in the shallows, letting the water carry him closer to the sea floor where the sand was soft and the waves quieter. Tiny silver fish darted past his glowing scales without fear.
He giggled.
He was really out here. Sleeping in the water.
Jazz would've beat his ass at this point.
He stretched once, tail waving lazily through the water, then folded his arms under his chin and let his eyes drift closed.
He'll deal with the ghost stuff later.
Right now?
Our ghost boi shall rest.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The Phantom Zone was quiet.
Clockwork drifted before his array of crazy crazy screens, each displaying countless timelines.
He was trying to find a suitable dimension for phantom.
Thoughtfully, he murmured, "Plasmius won't agree with a mirror dimension for the young ghost, but what if, it's one where not even he exists?"
It wasn't that clockwork couldn't refuse Vlad, but with the state the young king was in, he couldn't help but agree to their deal.
"Ah, this is perfect."
A dimension where Aliens walking among humans. Gods, mortals, and everything in between coexisting together.
Clockwork watched it all without blinking.
There, the young ghost shall never feel estranged.
He observed as a Kryptonian caught a collapsing bridge midair. Elsewhere, a cloaked detective moved through shadows. A child launched lightning from their hands. A speedster blurred through the streets.
The ancient ghost smiled.
"He will fit right in."
He stepped back, letting the display fade slightly, though it remained active in the background. His eyes returned to the screen showing the baby ghost, still asleep in calm waters, his face softened.
What? To him Danny is practically an infant! He only like...died two years ago.
"Rest well, Daniel Fenton," he said, voice calm. "Time shall forever be on your side."
He lifted one hand and gently moved two fingers.
The screen viewing Danny brightened. Then suddenly, the young boy vanished from where he rested.
"I'll watch over you."
Somewhere in metropolis, deep in the water, laid a young child sleeping peacefully surrounded by sea creatures.
All guarding him protectively.
Well ... Until some ugly sleezy freakshow lunatic, crazy crazy circus owner decided to basically fish him out and kidnap our baby.
But that'll continue on to next chapter of course.
For now, lets leave our protagonist to rest.
Ancients know he needs it.