Work Text:
(Shot of a birds-eye view of Casper High School. Cut to the teachers’ lounge as three ghosts, clearly intended to parody the Ghostly Trio, enter through the wall. Catching sight of a table laden with a smorgasbord of meats, they grin in delight, the fat one drooling and the short one rubbing his hands together. Just as they are about to dig in, the sound of someone clearing their throat makes them pause and turn around. Danny, in Phantom form, is hovering a short distance away.)
Danny: Yo, whassup?
(Irate at their meal being interrupted, the three charge at Danny, who simply does an aerial backflip over their heads. The skinny one snarls before lashing out with extending arms, but Danny avoids this attack as well.)
Danny: Ah ah ah, not without a hall pass!
(As the fat one inflates himself like a balloon and the short one belches out a cloud of smoke, Danny curls his hand into a fist and prepares to throw a punch. However, he stops upon seeing his hand glow with green energy. Raising his hand with the palm facing out, he blasts the fat ghost, who goes rocketing around and deflating.)
Danny: Whoa, sweet!
(Nickelodeon logo appears briefly. Cut to Danny in normal form, sitting with Tucker at a table in the Casper High cafeteria. The two are watching Paulina chatting with Star and Valerie.)
Female voice: Mind if I sit here?
(The boys look up to see Sam standing by the table, holding her lunch tray.)
Danny: Uh...sure.
(Tucker gives Sam’s lunch a ‘what-in-God’s-name-is-that’ look.)
Tucker: Do I wanna know what that is?
Sam: Vegetarian option. My idea.
(Tucker hastily turns to focus on his decidedly non-vegetarian food. Cut to the Fenton lab, where Jack and Maddie are trying to turn on the portal as Danny and Jazz watch.)
Jack: I don’t get it. The last one worked just fine.
Maddie: Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll figure it out.
(They head upstairs, Jazz following. Danny is about to follow, but he catches sight of a white jumpsuit with black accents lying in a heap on the floor. Shot of a meter marked ‘Portal Charge’ filling up completely. Cut to Danny, now in Phantom form, looking nervous as he enters his room through the closed door. He lets out a sigh of relief and changes back to normal form, only to hear a crash behind him. Tucker is sitting on Danny’s bed, a broken plate and a mostly-eaten sandwich lying at his feet.)
Tucker: Are you...a ghost?
Danny: What? No! I...
Tucker: Dude, you walked right through the wall!
(Danny tries to speak, but only manages to stutter incoherently. Cut to a high-tech lab full of gadgets and gizmos, where Technus is hovering before a crowd of other ghosts, all in lab coats and similar attire.)
Technus: They called us crackpots to our faces while they stole the credit for our work, our blood, sweat, and tears! And those of us they couldn’t drive to suicide, they had disposed of like trash!
(He picks up a device resembling a high-tech flamethrower and pulls the trigger, releasing a bolt of electricity.)
Technus: Now, we’ll teach them a lesson they will never forget.
(Cut to Danny behind the Casper High building. He glances around to make sure no one's watching, then turns into Phantom form. Cut to Danny flying above Amity Park, clearly having a ball as he does a few loops, barrel rolls, and other aerial acrobatics. Swooping down beside a passing train, he waves to a couple of kids who are looking out the window. As he soars off, the kids watch in awe. Cut to Sam and Tucker in a large room with various bizarre gizmos and strange substances, as well as several weird-looking lifeforms in cages or glass tanks.)
Sam: What were these guys doing?
(Shot of two Guys in White attempting to stop a couple of Technus's henchmen from reaching a door marked 'Restricted Area,' only for the ghosts to pull out weapons. Shot of Technus grinning triumphantly as he holds a mechanical silver orb. Cut to Danny and Technus facing off.)
Technus: You picked the wrong side, boy.
(Shot of Danny carrying Sam as he flies down a hallway. Shot of Tucker hacking into a lab computer, the screen filling up as files are open. Shot of Danny blasting Technus's followers, trying to keep them away from the A-Listers.)
Technus: If you're going to protect these selfish, thieving pigs, then you too will face my wrath.
(Shot of Danny fighting back against a robotic monstrosity. Cut to title card.)
DANNY PHANTOM
(Cut to Danny, Tucker, and Sam sitting at a table at Nasty Burger. Tucker is holding a ketchup bottle like a microphone, Danny is covering his face in embarrassment, and Sam is just staring.)
Tucker: ...then Danny took a look inside of it.
There was a great big flash, everything just changed...
(Sam facepalms.)
Danny: For the last time, Tuck, I don’t need a theme song!
(Tucker puts the ketchup bottle down and folds his arms with a huff.)