The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 22: Ultimate Enemy Part 2

{This chapter takes place right after the previous one.

Just a warning: people who don't like OP Danny/think he's too OP may not like this chapter. Just letting y'all know.

Also: there is mild swearing in this chapter. Blame Dan.

We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.}

     'Old friend'? Danny eyed the newcomer warily. I'm sure I've never met this guy before.

      The ghost's grin gained a sphinxlike quality. "Oh, we haven't met yet, have we? At least, not from your point of view."

      Sam marched forward, placing herself between Danny and the ghost. "What did you do with Skulktech?" She demanded.

      The ghost waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, I just sent him back to his time. Or, rather," the ghost's appearance changed, growing old in the blink of an eye; near-skeletal hands gripped the staff, and a long, grandfatherly beard hung from his chin. He looked like an old wizard, especially with the same scar still on his face. "Forward to his own time. Time does not flow linearly for me." The ghost changed again; this time, he looked like a child, and the staff shrunk in size. The ghost scoffed. "But why should I bother explaining? You're fourteen."

      Was that an insult?

      No. It is the truth, and you know it.

      That felt like an insult.

      Danny clenched his hands as annoyance began to simmer beneath his skin. "Who are you? Where are we?"

      The ghost changed back to an adult and idly turned a dial on his staff. "When you've been around as long as I have, you go by many names. You should know all about that, right?" The ghost gave Danny a sidelong glance, and his unblinking gaze grated on Danny's nerves. "Or should I say, you will know." The ghost shrugged nonchalantly. "But, in answer to your first question, you may call me Clockwork, Master of Time."

      Danny stepped protectively in front of Sam. "'Master of Time'?" Danny scoffed mockingly. "That's a bit pretentious, isn't it?"

      He could feel his friends' eyes boring into the back of his head, and he could practically hear them saying, 'Danny, please don't do something stupid. Please don't pick a fight with this guy.'

      Clockwork's expression was mildly amused as he changed once more into an old man. "I suppose it is."

      "Okay, so if you're the 'Master of Time'," Danny did air quotes with the title. "I'm guessing that you know why Skulktech showed up in my time. Right?" Danny was having difficulty trying to keep his emotions in check as his annoyance bubbled into anger.

      "Oh, that was me," Clockwork answered lightly, now in child form. "I was charged with destroying you, so that," he gestured to the monitor they had been looking at. "Never happens."

      On the display, the image changed again, now showing the ghost—Future Danny—fighting against Annabeth and a guy that looked sort of like Danny, but with tanner skin and green eyes. The scene changed, and the ghost was now facing off against a girl in a green headscarf, a blonde guy with a glowing sword, and a person in a garish pink and green outfit. The scene changed once more. Now the ghost was fighting against a girl with caramel hair and a guy with dark brown hair, both of whom were dressed in simple white clothes.