Recap / Facing The Future Series Episode 1 Facing The Future

Short Summary:

As Danny and Sam work to adapt their new relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend to Danny's ghost fighting duties, a mysterious pair of ghosts appear, who not only wipe the floor with both Danny and Valerie, but are also picking off every major ghost hunting faction in the area. Unfortunately, Team Phantom soon has bigger things to deal with as an old face from Danny's past^note or rather future rears his ugly face again. As thing continue to spiral off the chain, the discovery of the identities of the mysterious ghosts leads Sam to make a decision that will forever change her life, along with Danny's.

Tropes appearing in this story:

• Almost Kiss: In their first scene together, Danny and Sam were inches away from kissing, only for Danny's ghost sense to go off.
• Big Eater: Deconstructed. Jack may be able to chow down on a lot of things, but when he eats the lime-flavored ecto-goop he, Maddie, and Jazz get trapped in, he ends up with a stomach ache so bad that Maddie has to take him to the hospital and be pumped.
  Jack: (Moaning) Uh...lime.
• Bookends: The story begins with Danny and Sam sitting on the roof of FentonWorks stargazing and having a moment. In the final chapter, after the crisis is dealt with, the pair stargaze again, this time, up close and above the clouds, making it feel like they're floating in space. Furthermore, at the beginning, the moment ends when Danny's ghost sense goes off and he has to leave Sam to answer it, while at the end, when Danny and Sam's ghost sense go off, this time it's a moment of anticipation instead of disappointment.
• Brick Joke: When Tucker first arrives at his house on a red carpet and followed by a large chauffeur, Danny comments that he's 'reeeeally milking the whole mayor thing'. Upon seeing Tanya, Tucker's Sexy Secretary, Sam notes the same thing.
• The Bus Came Back: A fanfic version of one for Clockwork and Dark Danny.
• Call-Back:
  • In order to get a look of what's going on while they're stuck in a force field, Tucker once again hacks into one Vlad's Surveillance Drones and uses it to follow Future Danny and Sam.
  • When preparing the Fenton Portal for her own ghostly transformation, Sam once again used the photo from "Memory Blank" in order to set it to the proper settings.
  • Sam's initial ghost training takes place in the same arena in the Far Frozen from "Urban Jungle" where Danny trained to control his ice powers. This time, however, the stands were empty, for obvious reasons.
• The Cavalry Arrives Late: Just after Danny had returned to normal, Dark Danny had been recaptured, and Future Danny and Sam had returned to their own time, the Fenton RV, carrying Jack, Maddie, and Jazz arrives. It's justified by the fact that Jack had gone the wrong way down a one-way street.
• Chekhov's Gun: A couple.
  • Future Danny and Sam trap Danny and the others in a forcefield that can contain humans and ghosts. Tucker and Valerie later attempt to use to help Future Danny and Sam, only for Dark Danny to get a hold of the generator and trap them in it instead.
  • The ghost gloves that shock Danny near the beginning of the story end up playing a major role in the climax when Vlad attempts to use them to steal the powers of Future Danny, Future Sam, and Dark Danny.
• Clark Kenting: Subverted. After realizing how much Danny changes when he goes ghost (along with the fact that she would notice the girl her son was dating), Maddie is quickly able to recognize Sam in her ghost form.
• Comical Overreacting: Brought up at the beginning of the story when Sam mentions that if she didn't get home by her 10:00 curfew, her overprotective parents would have the police department, Texas Rangers, coast guard, national guard, and Navy SEALS all on high alert.
• Crazy-Prepared: Apparently, Tucker has established an underground bunker underneath City Hall to act as a central ghost fighting base.
• Didn't Think This Through: Upon learning about Clockwork, Vlad attempt to seize his power in order to regain his former glory. Unfortunately, it didn't fully register to him that in going up against a ghost that controls time, it's not so much a fight as it is a thrashing.
• Drives Like Crazy: Jack, as usual. Based on an argument he had been having with Maddie and Jazz when they arrived after everything had been resolved, he had gone down a one-way street in the opposite direction. Maddie declares that the next time Danny was in a life-or-death situation, she'd be driving.
• Epic Fail: According to the Guys in White, the time they bought out FentonWorks in "Livin' Large" was so unproductive that it actually caused their portal development research to be set back.
• Exact Words: When Maddie and Jazz were irate with Jack after his latest driving stunt, Jack tried to justify it by saying the sign said it was a one-way street and they were only going one way. Jazz points out the flaw in his logic: the fact that every other car on the road was going in the other direction.
• Foreshadowing:
  • There were many clues scattered about prior to the reveal of Future Danny and Sam's identities:
    • During their initial encounter, they show that they know Danny doesn't read the newspaper.
    • Sam comments that the coat that the female ghost was wearing was the same design she's had in her head.
    • When Jack makes a comment on what could be better father-son bonding than helping him test out a ghost weapon, the male ghost retorts that a baseball game or trip to an amusement park were better options.
  • When her future self creates a motorcycle out of fire, Sam is intrigued and asks when she'll learn to do that. Her future self replies with a wince that when the time comes, she'll know, indicating that it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
  • During the final clash with Dark Danny, Future Danny and Sam reveal they have access to the same kind of Super Mode that Danny had used to thrash him. Not only does this indicate that Danny will eventually get control of it, but hinted that Sam would one day achieve one of her own.
• Future Badass: Future Danny and Sam. Not only are they able to hold their own against Dark Danny, but they also show control of the same Super Mode Danny had demonstrated that caused him to go feral.
• Gendered Outfit: In preparation for becoming half-ghost, Sam took one of the suits Danny wore during his own transformation with a few modifications she made: cutting out the midriff, removing the collar and replacing it with a choker, cutting away most of the gloves save for the middle fingers, and replacing the boots with her own, while topping off with a lace-sleeved coat her mother had gotten her. While she mostly chose the suit because it was the best that could fit her, at the same time, she got a bit of a guilty thrill out of wearing something of Danny's.
• Hero's First Rescue: Sam formally introduces her new ghost form to Danny by saving him from a collapsing building followed by stopping said building from hitting an abandoned gas truck. Danny is both stunned and turned on by the sight.
• Literal Surveillance Bug: In order to keep up with Future Danny and Sam and learn what was going on, Tucker used one of Vlad's reprogrammed camera bugs to follow and watch them. Unfortunately, Vlad detected the activation of his old device and was able to hack into the feed, allowing him to watch everything and learn about Future Danny and Sam as well, along with Clockwork.
• Luminescent Blush: Sam finds herself slightly flushed when she actually refers to Danny as her boyfriend.
  (Dreamily) Heh, 'boyfriend'. It still feels really cool to say that.
• Moment Killer: Just when Danny and Sam were inches away from kissing, Danny's Ghost Sense went off, indicating a ghost was loose.
• My Future Self and Me: For Danny and Sam. Danny actually ends up having two of them: Dark Danny and his actual future self, while the appearance of Sam's future self prompts her to make a decision she's been weighing for some time.
• Mythology Gag: The concept of Danny and Sam's future selves initially appearing as a pair of mysterious ghosts that are opposing the heroes but are actually revealed to be adult versions of said heroes bears a few similarities to Timmy Turner's encounter with own future self.
• Noodle Incident:
  • According to Sam, in the past month since the Disasteroid incident, she and Danny have been on twenty-three dates, but due to Danny constantly being called away to deal with ghosts, they've never finished one.
  • Apparently, whenever Danny has a rough night, he goes up above the clouds and stargazes in order to feel better. According to him, there's a real show whenever there's a thunderstorm...but it's important to bring earplugs.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Danny has this appropriate reaction when he realizes that Dark Danny is back.
  • Sam has one when she realizes she's in for a lecture from Danny's parents over using the Fenton Portal to become half-ghost. Jazz, having been the one to allow her to do it, chose to quietly slip away.
• Painful Transformation: Based on Sam's chilling scream as it happened, with the narration saying Jazz would never forget it even if she lived to be a hundred, it's obvious that Sam becoming half-ghost was just as painful as when it happened to Danny.
• Power Incontinence: After seeing Danny use his powers so often, Sam figured she'd be an Instant Expert with her new ones. Unfortunately, she immediately found herself phasing through the floor like Danny initially did when he first got his powers.
• The Power of Love: When Danny's Super Mode was on the verge of causing him to burnout via Superpower Meltdown, Sam manages to get through to him to change back.
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: For the final line in the story, Sam says this just before she delivers a smackdown to the Box Ghost.
  Sam: ALLOW ME TO RE-INTRODUCE MYSELF!
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Clockwork gives a pretty epic one to Vlad while thrashing him, commenting on all the times he tried and failed to seize control of powers he couldn't fully comprehend, along with saying that Danny was right in that Vlad was a 'fruit loop'.
• Sequel Episode: To The Ultimate Enemy.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Following Dark Danny's defeat, Danny asks Clockwork why he didn't deal with him personally, considering how powerful he was, rather than bring in Future Danny and Sam. Clockwork cryptically says "How are you supposed to learn anything if I have to do all the work?", hinting that Sam becoming half-ghost was his intention.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: According to the newspaper article on their base's sabotage, the Guys in White referred to themselves as a 'plain, ordinary office building'. Of course, since there were still dozens of men in white suits in the photo, Team Phantom was instantly able to figure out who they really were.
• This Means War!: Said by Dark Danny to Future Danny during their clash.
  Dark Danny: You want a war?! I'LL GIVE YOU A WAR!
• Time Skip: A small one, but it's mentioned that it had been a month since the events of Phantom Planet, with Danny and Sam still working on trying to adapt their Relationship Upgrade to Danny's ghost fighting duties.
• Time-Travel Tense Trouble: When Danny is about to go off to help his future self stop Dark Danny, we get this exchange:
  Jazz: "Danny? Is that...Sam?"
  Danny: "Uh, yes...no...well, kinda...Look, it's a long story, okay? Just...can you guys take care of her? I'm running around loose out there and I've got to go help me stop myself!"
  Valerie: (confused) "Uh, Danny? What are you talking about?"
  (Danny sighs)
  Danny: "You know what? I really don't know anymore."
• Transformation Discretion Shot: When Sam triggers the Ghost Portal to give herself ghost powers, rather than mention what she's going through, it focuses on Jazz's perspective as she hears Sam's pained scream.
• What Were You Thinking?:
  • Upon hearing that Tucker kept the Masters' Blasters on as retainer, Danny and Sam are shocked, considering what happened involving them before. Tucker justifies it saying that there may come a time when Danny needs to fight ghosts somewhere else in the world and Amity Park would be defenseless.
  • Danny really gives Sam an earful after seeing she had become half-ghost. Sam retaliated that it was her choice to make, not his.
  • While it's mostly off-screen, it's clear that Danny's parents are no more approving of Sam's decision than Danny is.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Dark Danny says this when his fight with Future Danny causes them to land outside the Nasty Burger, of all places.