[Third Person's PoV]
After Ember finished laughing at Danny's mortification, she puffed into a cloud of pink smoke and reappeared inside the soundbooth.
Danny blinked, caught off guard by witnessing it firsthand. He leaned toward the mic, pressed a button, and asked, "How did you do that?"
Ember, now adjusting the headphones over her ears, gave him a puzzled look. "Do what?"
"Teleport! That smoke trick—how'd you do it? Think you could teach me that later?" he asked, his eyes lighting up with curiosity.
Ember smirked and dramatically flipped her teal fire hair behind her. "You really can't do that? Hah. Sorry, sweetie, but that skill's rare—one in a million can pull it off."
"Oh, please," Danny shot back with a grin. "Do you know who you're talking to? Danny Phantom. Ghost extraordinaire."
Ember rolled her eyes playfully. "Alright, alright. After all our little recording sessions, I'll give you a crash course. Think of it as payment. But if you can't learn it, don't come crying to me. Got it?"
"Deal!" Danny beamed. "Now, shall we get started?" He slid over to the workstation, his fingers dancing across the controls with ease.
Ember gave him two thumbs up through the glass.
They got to work immediately. Ember knew exactly the beat and tempo she wanted, and Danny, to her surprise, was quick on the uptake. He adjusted audio levels in real time, syncing up the tracks perfectly.
After laying down a few vocal takes, Ember paused and looked out at him. "Not bad, Ghost Boy. You sure this isn't your side hustle?"
Danny chuckled, tweaking one of the sliders. "I dabble. Helps when the artist actually knows what they're doing."
'It helps that Batman taught me everything he could in a week,' Danny thought, amused. 'How he knew anything about music editing is beyond me. Probably had to do with analyzing audio recordings—voiceprints, clarity, maybe even some weird interrogation tech.'
Ember leaned into the mic with a grin. "Alright, let's hit the chorus again. I want this one to burn."
Danny nodded and hit record. The booth lit up with Ember's signature blue flames as she belted out the chorus with raw power and emotion.
The first song she chose was still the same one from her concert: "Remember Ember."
It took a little over two hours to finish recording her vocals and laying down the tracks. There were a few retakes, but far fewer than Danny had expected. He really meant it when he said it helped when the artist knew what they wanted.
Once they wrapped up recording, Danny motioned Ember over from the booth. She teleported with a puff of smoke, reappearing beside him.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Now comes the taxing part," Danny said, leaning back. "Editing, mixing, and mastering the song. We've got to blend your voice seamlessly with the track."
"And how long's that going to take?" Ember asked, floating behind his chair and peering over his shoulder.
"That depends," Danny replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Could take a few hours... or several days, depending on complexity."
He glanced at the clock on the screen: 3:04 PM.
"We've got about two hours left before I have to head out," Danny sighed. "And weekdays are going to be tricky. My schedule's packed."
"Huh?!" Ember blinked. "Only two hours?! What's so important? What do you even do during the week?"
Danny looked up at her with an amused smile. "You think all this comes free? I've got what you might call a part-time job... I protect the city from threats—especially at night."
Ember looked down at him in disbelief. "Wait a minute. Are you saying you're, like, a superhero or something?"
"In a way," Danny said with a shrug. "It's a responsibility…An obligation I took upon myself. So my nights are usually busy... watching over the city."
He didn't meet her gaze, already imagining the teasing look she'd be giving him.
But Danny missed the actual expression on her face—a reluctant yet sincere look of respect, finally understanding why he had stopped her back when they first met.
"I see..." Ember said softly. "Then I really can't stop you. Sounds serious. Important to you. Would be selfish of me to ask for more of your time after everything you're already doing for me."
Danny snapped his head up, stunned. "Wait... what?"
"What?" Ember blinked, confused by his expression.
"You actually have empathy. That's... shocking, to say the least."
Ember's eye twitched. She took a swing at him, but Danny phased his head intangible at the last second.
"I'll show you just how much empathy I have—after I kick your ass for that comment," she grumbled.
Danny gave her a teasing sneer before softening into a smile. "The only real time I'll have is on the weekends, so we can meet up then and work on this."
"I'm fine with that," Ember replied with a casual shrug.
Danny looked up at her. "But that doesn't mean I won't still be helping. I'll try to work on the track during my free time, and I can even teach you how to use the equipment so you can make progress when I'm not around."
"Seriously?" Ember asked, surprised.
Danny nodded, though he inwardly sighed, realizing how packed his schedule had become.
'Weekdays are school, followed by training, then night patrols with Batman. Weekends are early morning training, working with Ember for a few hours, then back to nightly activities. I don't really have much free time anymore.'
He exhaled, then added, "On the days we don't meet, you should start figuring out what your next song is going to be."
"My next song?" Ember echoed, caught off guard.
Danny stared at her, blinking slowly. Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Ember…"
"Yeah?" she responded quietly.
"Did… did you really think you were going to make it big off just one song?"
"..."
"No," she finally muttered.
"Are you lying to me?"
"...Maybe."
"Ember," Danny groaned in exasperation.
"Hey! Don't blame me! All it takes is one hit song to blow up!" she defended.
Danny leaned forward on the workstation and buried his face in his hands. "Oh, Ember… your poor fans."
"What!? What's that supposed to mean!?" she snapped.
"Just imagine supporting an artist wholeheartedly—waiting, hoping, anticipating their next big release—only to find out they only ever planned to make one song."
A faint blush rose on Ember's bluish cheeks—a rare sight.
Danny pressed the talk button and leaned into the microphone dramatically. "Get ready, ladies and gentlemen, for the One Hit Wonder… Ember McLain!"
"I am not a one hit wonder! Your face is a one hit wonder!" she shouted back, her voice echoing through the booth.
"Real mature~" Danny teased with mock approval.
Grumbling under her breath, Ember muttered, "Fine… On the days you're busy, I'll focus on writing new songs. Now shut up about it."
"Whatever you say, O.H.W.," Danny said with a sly grin.
Before Ember could hurl another insult, Danny glanced at the time and noticed a few more minutes had ticked by. "Anyway, come on. I'll teach you what I can with the time we've got left. With the two of us working together, we'll get through this faster."
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