Chapter 28: Valentines Day (4)
[Third Person's PoV]
Danny stood outside the bathroom stall, a bag of clothes in one hand, his expression utterly deadpan. Inside the toilet, a ghostly head floated just above the water, staring back at him.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The air between them grew increasingly awkward.
"Oooo~ I am the Toilet Ghos—"
Flush.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS! I HATE SWIRLIES!!" the ghost shrieked as it spun in rapid circles, disappearing with the rushing water.
Danny stepped inside the stall, closed the door, and slid the latch into place. Pressing a hand against the door, he lowered his head and sighed.
"…What has my life come to?"
---
A few minutes later, Danny exited the park bathroom in fresh clothes, his old, bloody ones nothing more than ash. He had burned them with his ghost fire—not just to avoid carrying them around but also to ensure no one could ever collect his DNA from them.
As he walked out, he spotted Sam and Tucker waiting nearby.
"You guys ready to go?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, but you're not." Sam reached over and casually pulled the tags off his new clothes.
Danny blinked. "Oh… thanks."
With that, Sam took the lead, guiding them toward the concert.
After a few long minutes of walking around through Central City, Danny swore he saw a red blur skip on by but the others didn't believe him however they arrived in front of a long line of people who were also here for the concert.
"You guys believe me, I swear it was the Flash!" Danny exclaimed in exasperation.
Tucker scoffed. "Danny, if it really was the Flash, you wouldn't have even seen him."
Danny groaned in frustration. "Ugh! Sam, you believe me, right?"
Sam offered a wary smile. "Danny…" she hesitated.
Danny threw his hands up. "You paused! That means you don't believe me either!"
Ignoring their skepticism, Danny pulled out his phone and started messaging Robin.
---
Danny: Baby Bird, Baby Bird, do you copy?
Dick: Don't call me that.
Dick: Are you in position?
Danny: I'm in line, but a few things happened. You?
Dick: Wally and I are inside. In position.
Dick: What happened?
Danny: (Lengthy explanation of The Train Incident)
Dick: …
Dick: Good work. But you still got injured. Be more careful next time.
Danny: You're not mad? Is the world ending?
Dick: The hell do you take me for? Why would I be mad?
Dick: Not to mention you have a healing factor, so I'm not that worried.
Dick: Just make sure your friends don't notice anything weird.
Dick: And get into position quickly.
---
As the line moved forward, Danny looked up from his phone—and did a double take.
Tucker was now decked out in full Ember merch. His all-black outfit had blue flame designs, and he wore a bright fiery blue wig.
Danny blinked. "I took my eyes off you for one second. Where did you even get that?!"
"A vendor passed by while you were on your phone." Tucker grinned. "Come on, Danny, pay attention and get off your phone! We're about to see Ember!! Kids these days and having their heads glued to their phones…" Tucker shook his head in disappointment.
He paused. "Wow. I can't believe I, of all people, just said that."
"Sam, Tucker is scaring me, do something– Why are you wearing her merch as well!?!" Danny exclaimed, turning to Sam for help—only to find her wearing a black crop top with a small blue flame in the center. Her eyeliner now curled downward into a spiral.
She flicked her short black hair back. "Come on, Danny. It's a concert! We have to dress for the occasion."
"Besides," she added, inspecting herself in a nearby reflection, "blue is a great goth color. Never realized how good it looks on me. Don't you think so?"
Danny took a step back as Tucker suddenly pulled out a spare wig and Sam held up a shirt.
"We have to match, after all~" Tucker sang.
Danny threw up his hands defensively. "Get any closer, and I swear I'll scream! Stand back, you heathens!!"
Sam and Tucker exchanged a knowing look before slowly turning back to Danny, their grins widening unnaturally.
Danny shrank back against the wall. "Please be gentle…" he squeaked.
The next few moments were a mess of limbs.
"Ow! My arm!"
"Stop moving so much!"
"You're wrinkling the shirt, Danny!"
"Did you just BITE me?!"
When they finally stepped back, both Sam and Tucker admired their work with proud smiles.
Danny, now fully dressed in Ember merch—shirt, wig, and even black makeup—stared blankly ahead, his soul long departed.
Sam and Tucker high-fived in victory.
Sam and Tucker excitedly marched up the line, and Danny took the opportunity to hide his Fenton Phones under his wig, securing them in place.
They quickly reached the front and showed their tickets. The security checked them over and waved them through.
Inside, a large group was already chanting:
"EMBER! EMBER! EMBER!"
Tucker eagerly joined in, pumping his fist in the air. What really threw Danny off, though, was Sam doing the same.
She had a wild, almost fanatic look in her eyes as she chanted with the crowd.
Danny squinted at her suspiciously, then exhaled sharply as a shiver ran down his spine. A cold wisp of blue air escaped his lips.
His head snapped toward the stage.
There, under the bright lights, was the same blue-skinned, flame-haired ghost girl from the poster—Ember McLain. A guitar slung across her front, a microphone in front of her, and a smirk that oozed confidence.
Even Danny had to admit, she was stunning. The cartoon didn't do her justice.
But something was off.
He narrowed his eyes. Ember wasn't alone.
A full band of ghosts stood beside her, each with bluish-green skin and wielding different instruments.
One had green dreads covering his eyes, a red cap worn backward, and sat behind a drum set.
Another wore glasses, headphones hanging around his neck, and had neon-green hair as he positioned himself in front of a keyboard.
The last one wore a black skull shirt, with spiked bracelets and choker, while his hair was pushed up into a mohawk, plucking at a bass guitar.
Danny's frown deepened.
'Who the hell are they?! Since when does she have a band? I thought she was supposed to be a solo act!'
He turned to Sam. "Since when are you such a big Ember fan?"
Sam turned toward him, eyes still filled with manic excitement. "Since Tucker showed me her album last night! I got hooked immediately—I've been replaying her songs on loop!"
Tucker laughed. "It was the only way I convinced her to come with us!"
Danny groaned. "Of course it was…"
Before he could say anything else, a voice boomed across the venue.
"COME ON, EVERYONE! WHAT'S THE NAME?!"
"EMBER MCLAIN!!!" the crowd roared.
Sam and Tucker were completely engrossed now, as if Danny had ceased to exist.
Danny's eyes flicked back to Ember just in time to see something strange—her flaming ponytail flared, growing hotter and wider.
No one seemed to notice. Probably thinking it was just special effects.
"I KNOW YOU CAN SCREAM IT LOUDER!!"
"EMBER MCLAIN!!!"
Ember ran her fingers along the guitar strings and whispered seductively into the mic, "And don't you forget it, baby~"
Danny's phone buzzed.
It was a message from Dick.
> Dick: We're by the public cubicles out back. Meet us there. Don't worry about your friends—they won't even notice you're gone. The second they heard Ember's voice, they were a lost cause. They're in her grasp now.
Danny looked up at Sam and Tucker, watching how completely enthralled they were.
His lips pressed into a thin line. 'Should I have made extra Fenton Phones for them?'
With a sigh, he turned and made his way to the blue porta-potty.
"Dick?" Danny called out.
Robin's voice came from behind the portable toilet. "I'm in uniform. We're behind the porta-potty. Get inside and transform—quickly. We don't have much time before things kick off."
Danny sighed and stepped inside, locking the door behind him. The sign flipped from green to red: OCCUPIED.
"I'm going ghost!"
A burst of white light flared through the cracks, and a moment later, Danny phased through the porta-potty's back, landing beside Robin and Kid Flash.
Kid Flash blinked at him before smirking. "Did you really have to shout that? I swear, for a second, it sounded like you were announcing you had to take a massive dump in there."
Danny flushed. "It's muscle memory, okay?"
Kid Flash grinned. "Nice look, by the way. Really rocking the style."
Danny returned the smirk. "I could say the same. Red and yellow really is your color."
Robin pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you two are done making heart eyes at each other, we need a plan. Ember's about to start, and after what we found out… things aren't looking good."
Danny's playful mood immediately vanished. His expression hardened.
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