Chapter one:
"BEWARE!" The box ghost's obnoxious voice filled Danny's ears only shortly after his ghost sense activated. He glanced around the Fenton living room, but the ghost was not in sight.
"Here, box ghost…." He called quietly as the ever so familiar silver rings appeared at his waist. "Goin' ghost!" He murmured, knowing that if he was too loud, he could very well attract the attention of his nosy older sister.
Danny continued to look around the room, searching for the specter. Suddenly he spotted the small blue-skin, shuffling through a bunch of cardboard storage boxes that Jack kept around for no apparent reason. "Hi." He smiled, poking the ghost on his shoulder.
"AHHH!" The ghost shouted fearfully, taking shelter inside of his current box.
"Come on, Boxie! Where's your psychotic rant? Out ya' go." Danny chuckled, grabbing and shaking the box until he fell out.
"NO! I DO NOT WISH TO BE CONFINED INSIDE YOUR CYLINDRICAL CONTAINER OF DOOM! I WILL DEFEAT YOU, AND OBTAIN MY BELOVED CORRIGATED SQUARENESS!"
"There it is." Danny smiled.
"Danny? What's going on down there?" He heard Jasmine's call from the stairs.
"NOTHING!" Danny shouted back, quickly pulling out the thermos and trapping the ghost inside. He threw the device under the couch and transferred back into his Fenton-form, just as she ran down the stairs.
"Alright, Danny. Tell me if you see a ghost." She sighed, slowly making her way back to her room.
"I will." Danny lied silently.
It was summer in Amity Park, and Danny, Jazz and Sam were alone at the Fenton house-hold. Maddie and Jack were gone to look for more parts for their newest creation, which was yet to be unveiled.
The incident a couple months ago (Phantom Planet), had made the town go ghost crazy, and things had only gotten easier for Danny. The city-wide ghost shield and constant patrols, DNA tests and various things, made ghost fighting almost disappear overnight. Except Danny's little anger let-out, the poor box ghost. Things in Amity Park couldn't be better for the planet's hero. Not to mention that DOOMED had come out with a new game, and Danny had been free to play it all day on the new plasma screen.
"TAKE THAT!" Danny shouted loudly at the television, pressing a series of buttons on his controller in a ridiculous manner. He rocked back and forth on the couch, completely wrapped up in the game. "HA!" He laughed triumphantly as his digitized foe fell dead.
"Danny?" Sam asked softy as she made her way over to the Hybrid's seat.
"What is it?" Danny murmured, barely bothering to look up from his match.
"I'm a little bit hungry, and I forgot where the pantry is. Again."
"Really, Sam?" Danny chuckled, quickly hitting the pause button. "We've been inseparable friends for what, somewhere around ten years, now? And you still can't remember where the pantry is?"
"Sorry." Sam shrugged sheepishly.
"Come on, then." Danny sighed. He heaved himself out of his chair, setting the game controller down on the coffee table, and started towards the kitchen.
"So, what did you want?" He asked plainly, throwing open the thin pine door to the pantry. The scents of many assorted foods and ectoplasmic residue flooded their senses, and they both drew back for a moment, coughing.
"Peaches." Sam replied, fanning the rancid smell from her face. Danny nodded and grabbed a small can from the center shelf, gladly slamming the door shut behind him.
"Here ya go." He handed her the can with a friendly smile. Sam thanked him with a nod of acknowledgement and took the can opener from the table, clamping it down on the rim of the poor can and turning the handle. After a few moments, she pried it open and fetched a fork, throwing the opener in the sink.
Suddenly, a soft ringing sound erupted from the lab and Danny froze. "What was that?!"
"It's probably just your dad." Sam assured him.
"My parents are at the hardware store." Danny murmured fearfully. "And Jazz is in her room listening to music."
"Then it's a ghost?" Sam started to join in his unease. Very seldom did an easy-to-defeat ghost manage to get into the Fenton's. "Then come on, then!" She grabbed Danny's wrist and ran out of the kitchen and down to Fenton Works.
They, of course, expected to see an evil ghost intent on destroying Amity Park and all of its inhabitants, like Skulker or Youngblood. But as they came into the lab, all they saw was an unconscious young girl. "Dani?!" Danny murmured.
"What happened to her?" Sam asked curiously, kneeling down beside the small hybrid.
"How would I know?" Danny grumbled, nearly inaudible. He reached forward and laid a hand on her forehead. "She's really cold…" As he retracted his hand, ice began to cluster on her face and hands.
"Do you think she could be getting her cryokenisis power?"
"Either that, or she's been locked in a freezer for two hours. But in any case, we need to warm her up."
"How?"
"There's a wood stove we keep in the Fenton stockades."
"You have stockades?!" Sam gasped excitedly with a big smile. "That's so awesome! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Uh, because I was afraid you'd kill me with one of the MANY medieval weapons if we ever had a fight… Obviously." Danny said sheepishly. Sam gave a tickled grin. "Now go open that door by the documents shelf."
"I had always wondered what that was for…" Sam murmured, running over to the far wall. Danny knelt beside his cousin, taking her in his arms, and flew over to the open door.
"You'll need to block the door so it doesn't lock us in." He added to Sam, heading towards the wood stove. He shot it with an ectoplasmic blast and the chopped cedar burst into a steady flame. With that, Danielle began to wake.
"Danny!" She smiled weakly. "I knew you would take care of me." Her voice was very scratchy and she winced with every word, looking up at her ghost cousin with green, fearful eyes.
"Don't forget me!" Sam growled as she joined them in the warmth.
"Seems as if you're getting your cryokenisis powers." Danny added to his cousin, giving Sam a humored glare.
"What's that?"
"Ice powers."
"Oh… Is that why I feel so cold?" Dani asked quietly with a shiver.
"Yeah. Just stay and warm up for awhile, I'll teach you how to control it in a bit." Danny nodded, laying her down next to the stove.
"Do you think you could do something about my arm while you're at it?"
"Your arm? What's wrong with it?"
"I think I may have dislocated it or something while trying to get here… It hurts really badly." She held up her right arm, which proved to be bent in an impossible position.
"I'll have Auslynn take care of that for you." Danny nodded. The ghost was his personal doctor, a nerdy WW2 veteran whom Danny had found to be Clockwork's apprentice. They had met during Danny's last visit to Clockwork, trying to locate a ghost doctor. It turns out; she was the only doctor to treat ghosts within the parsec.
She was easily summoned with the push of a button on Danny's wristwatch and soon she had appeared through a blue portal. Auslynn had long, dark brown hair that rippled softly down her back to the base of her spine, with pointed ears peeking out the sides of her head. Her complexion was a light turquoise that darkened around her warm opal eyes. She wasn't very ghostly, though. She had the same soft glow around her, but not the dark aura or desire to kill and destroy.
"What is it?" She asked softly, tying her hair up in a messy tail.
"My cousin, Danielle, hurt her arm." Danny answered quickly, motioning to the hybrid at his feet.
"Oh. You have a cousin with ghost powers?"Auslynn murmured quietly.
"Well… She's kind of my clone."
"What?"
"Long story. Just, take care of her arm, will you?"
"Okay, okay." Auslynn sighed bitterly, taking Dani's arm in her hands. "She's broken it, I'll need better equipment." She turned to Danny.
"Like what?"
"Certain cements, covers and the supplies for a bit of surgery, to correctly place the bone." Auslynn listed plainly.
"I'll see if I can get any of that for-" Danny was cut off rather rudely by Dani's high-pitched scream. The group looked down at her curiously, silent. "What is it?" Danny asked gently. But Dani was still squealing, doubling over in pain.
Suddenly she jumped into the air, turning intangible and phasing through the wall. "What was that?" Danny murmured.
"Weird." Sam growled.
"I'll see if she's okay." Auslynn said quietly, phasing after Danielle. Yet she didn't notice that the others hadn't heard her, all too curious to pay attention.
Dani flew silently through the crisp autumn air, breathing heavily. Out of nowhere she had begun to burn up, and she knew Danny couldn't help her with that. Now there was only one other person she knew of on the planet that could help her now.
She was reluctant to go there, not even sure if he was home, but she had to get help. She came to a large blue building, phasing through the grand doors and landing softly on the plush gray carpet. Attempting to make a cry for help, she found herself losing consciousness yet again. Just as she drifted off, she could hear the mew of a certain white cat as it waddled up.
Dani woke with a startle, finding herself on a couch with the cat snuggled tightly up to her. "Hi." She said weakly. The cat purred loudly.
Suddenly it's ears pricked, and the cat jumped down and made her way across the floor to the foot of her master.
"You're awake already?"
"Yes…" Dani murmured. "How long have I been out?"
"Only an hour or so. How are you feeling?"
"Not very good." Dani sighed.
Auslynn sat quietly outside, peering through a window. "Who's that?" She said to herself, staring curiously at the mystery ghost. He had sleek, shoulder-length black hair, skin that nearly glowed a dark blue, and dark, angular red eyes. "I wish I knew what they were saying..." She murmured to herself. Willing herself invisible, she phased inside. But it was a foolish idea.
Both of their ghost senses went off, immediately rousing them. "Danny?!" Danielle demanded.
"No…Well, umm… Sorry if I'm interrupting anything." Auslynn gave a weak smile, coming slowly back into visibility. "I was just too curious."
"You followed me?" Dani hissed. Auslynn shrugged shyly.
"Who's your friend?" She asked softly, gesturing to the unnamed ghost.
"Plasmius, Vlad Plasmius." He introduced himself proudly.
"Hi."Auslynn waved. "I'm Auslynn Bartholomew."
"Auslynn..." Vlad echoed quietly, trying to think of where he had heard that name before. "You're a ghost medic, right?"
"Yes." Auslynn nodded, starting to relax a bit. It was now that she noticed the ragged state this ghost was in. His suit was battered and a long gash ran along his left side, not to mention the matted black mess that was his hair. "Are- are you okay?" She inquired softly, her doctor instincts kicking in.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine." He replied quietly, obviously more concerned with Danielle. "But, being that you are a doctor, could you diagnose Dani, here? She seems to have fallen very ill, and I can't quite identify the cause or condition. But I would think a trained eye could determine such?"
"Yes, of course." Auslynn nodded quickly, slightly startled. He seemed to love stating simple sentences in such elaborate ways. "You could've just said, 'can you cure her'…" She thought to herself with a tickled chuckle. Though honestly she adored dialogue presented in extravagant and extremely nerdy ways.
Danny stared quietly at his feet, thinking. "I wonder what happened."
"Do you think Frostbite will have the answer?" Sam asked. "He knows a lot about cryokenisis."
"But I know enough to help her. Why would she leave like that?"
"Hey… Where did Auslynn go?"
"Oh… I think she went after Danielle." Danny murmured thoughtfully. "I was distracted at the time."
"Hmm…So where do you think Danielle went?" Sam asked, starting back up to the living room.
"I don't know. She never tells me where she runs off to in times like this." Danny shrugged, following her up.
"I hope she's okay." Sam sighed. "From what you told me about your cryokenisis experience, it doesn't sound pleasant."
"It isn't. It's hard to control if you don't know what you're doing. I'm lucky I had a mentor."
"Hey Danny, what are you guys up to?" Jazz asked as she passed them by, on her way to the kitchen.
"Danielle was just here." Danny replied simply. Jazz froze in her tracks and turned to face him.
"Dani? What did she want?" Her blue eyes were wide with curiosity.
"She was gaining her cryokenisis abilities. She really needs my help, but she just kind of… Flew off. Dramatically, as usual."
"Are you sure it's cryokenisis? Maybe she's going through something else."
"Yeah, right! She had ice forming on her, just like I had. I'm positive." Danny hissed stubbornly.
"Whatever you say, Danny." Jazz sighed, continuing to the fridge.
Auslynn followed Danielle and Vlad silently down a long, broad hallway. Along the wood paneling were several arrays of photos, mainly of American football players and different football references that Auslynn had no hope of understanding. The others were of small trinkets probably from the college Vlad came from, like banners and jerseys.
After awhile they came to a large white door, or at least it appeared to be a door, but it had no knob or opening device whatsoever. Instead, the group simply phased through it. "I guess that keeps out humans…" Auslynn thought to herself, glancing around the new room. It was slightly oval shaped, with no windows or anything you would find in a normal room. Auslynn guessed this was some sort of lab or medical center, based on the large machinery and several white shelves stocked full of scientific devices, samples of unidentifiable organisms and other miscellaneous objects.
"Over here." Vlad pointed to a white table near the far wall. Auslynn and Dani stopped their wandering and immediately trotted over.
"Again with the examination tables…" Dani hissed silently, crossing her arms. Vlad abruptly picked her up and sat her down on the table, immediately silencing the ghost.
"Well, I can easily fix up her arm, but I don't know about the temperature disorders." Auslynn murmured.
"Alright, that's fine. You should find the supplies you need over there." Vlad pointed to an array of large white shelves. Auslynn nodded quietly and floated over to them.
"How do you think we can find them?" Sam asked quietly, still wary of Jazz's presence.
"Well… Maybe Clockwork will know?" Danny shrugged, heading back down to the portal. "Want to check?"
"It's worth a shot." Sam nodded. "Want me to call Tucker over here? He's going stir-crazy."
"Sure." Danny nodded, calibrating the portal. Sam pulled her cell from her pant pocket and quickly dialed Tucker's number.
"Hey, Tuck?"
"Yeah, what is it, Sam?"
"We're going into the ghost zone. You want to come?"
"Say no more!" Tucker replied excitedly just before the call ended.
Tucker arrived in record time, panting, still in his tux. "I'm ready, dude! Let's go!" He grinned brightly.
They jumped into the swirling portal and re-appeared in the ghost zone, giving a glance around. The murky green space was almost empty. Most ghosts had settled down and busied themselves with creating a sort of ghost society -which Danny was unsure about- but it seemed to mean well. Of course, Walker's lead wouldn't do them any good.
Danny led the two past Aragon's Kingdom, far into a bleak part of the zone. This is where the clock tower was. As of now, it was impossible to see, beyond a thick layer of ecto-nebulas. But Danny knew better. He flew carefully past the green clouds into a clearing, where the tower floated. He took his friends by their wrists and phased inside, not bothering to announce his arrival.
The blue-skinned ghost was floating silently, gazing into a portal the teens couldn't see. "Hi!" Danny waved. Clockwork looked over at him, shutting the portal off with a brief wave of his staff.
"You're wondering where Auslynn and Danielle are." He sighed, lowering his head until only his glowing red eyes were visible from under his hood. "They are not here."
"Where are they, then?" Sam asked sourly. As of this time, she still viewed Clockwork as an evil ghost, having only seen him in the dark Danny situation. Clockwork glared blankly at her.
"Auslynn, being a guardian, stands outside of time. Her entire existence is a blur in my knowledge." Clockwork answered, floating quietly over to a blank portal.
"So, in other words, you have no idea where she is?" Danny asked. "Or Dani?"
"They seem to be in close proximity to each other." Clockwork murmured. "I can't tell you anything."
"Well, thanks anyway." Danny sighed. He started towards the exit, Sam and Tucker following silently.
"Wait."
The three turned curiously back to Clockwork, eying him. "What?" Danny asked. "Is there something else?"
"When you find Auslynn, make sure she gets this." Clockwork held out a small crystal-like orb. Danny took it carefully, rolling it in his palms.
"What's that?" Tucker asked.
"She will explain to you." Clockwork murmured. "Just take care of it, do not let the shell break."
"Alright… Well I'll be going, then." Danny took his friends firmly in his grip and took off through the wall.
"Ugh… I don't like that ghost…" Sam sighed.
"Well, considering all the power he has, you should be thankful he's got good intentions." Tucker shrugged. "He's not too bad."
"Then how come he doesn't use his powers to help us? He has a better chance of finding them than anyone."
"He wants us to figure this out on our own. It's not always the best to take the easy way." Danny explained, handing the orb to Tucker. "And if someone as finicky as Auslynn can bare him, he can't be that awful."
"I guess." Sam sighed, watching Tucker pocket the mysterious object. She pushed away her curiosity and turned back to Danny. "Where to next?"
Auslynn looked through the assortment of supplies, stuffing what she needed into her numerous jacket pockets. She walked back to the table and emptied her jacket onto the free space. Taking Dani's arm, she injected an anesthetic –which Dani strongly disapproved of- and started to move the bone back into place. It wasn't broken very much, so the fitting was easy and simple. Auslynn wrapped it in a light tape and started on the cast.
Danielle had fallen asleep by the time the cast was set and drying. Auslynn stepped away from her patient and started to put her supplies back onto the shelves, barely awake. "I'll need to check it again tomorrow, to make sure it's in its proper place." She said quietly to Vlad, who had been analyzing scan reports for the last hour.
"Alright." He nodded as he walked over and took Dani in his arms, taking her out of the room. Auslynn followed, dead silent. Vlad carried on down the hall to a dark purple door. He nudged the door open with his foot and went inside, laying Dani on a beautiful queen-sized bed, tucking her into large white quilt.
"So," Auslynn murmured as Vlad joined her in the hallway, shutting the door quietly behind him. "How do you know Danielle?"
"Well…" Vlad pondered whether or not to tell her the truth. "She's sort of… My daughter." He answered quickly, starting towards a marble stairway.
"Oh. So you have a wife?" Auslynn asked on, hurrying after him. Her curiosity had taken the lead once again.
"No…" Vlad murmured. This was going to be difficult to explain.
"Is she adopted?"
"No, she's more… Synthesized."
"Oh. Interesting." Auslynn smiled as they reached the top of the stairwell. Vlad turned to face her, his face taking on a completely different expression.
"So Danielle said you followed her. From where? Where was she before?"
"Oh, at the Halfa's place." Auslynn answered without a thought.
"Daniel… She must have been searching for answers on her cryokenisis."
"But cryokenisis is supposed to be cold, she felt really feverish to me."
"She must also be obtaining pyrokenisis." Vlad sighed.
"A fire power? That sounds interesting."
"It's very dangerous as well." Vlad murmured thoughtfully. "She could easily kill herself with these new powers. She won't cooperate, either…"
"All she needs is a little training. Anything can be learned over time." Auslynn assured with a bright grin.
Danny gave a tired yawn. By now they had arrived back at Fentonworks and were sitting in the lab, answerless.
"Um… You think Valerie- miss 'any ghost activity must be documented'- will know?" Tucker shrugged.
"You shouldn't talk about your girlfriend that way." Sam giggled.
"Sure." Danny chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"She should be at Axiom labs." Tucker said as he ran upstairs into the living room. "FOLLOW!"
"I know where it is!" Danny shouted after him.
"Hey, you're going to the labs?" Jazz asked curiously, looking up from the book she was reading in the living room.
"Yes…" Danny sighed. "Just routine ghost checks."
"Okay. Be safe, little brother." Jazz shrugged as she continued reading.
"Fine." Danny growled quietly, following the duo outside. He took his two friends in either arm and took off towards Axiom.
Valerie was in her office, carefully studying her ecto-radars. The small room was crammed full of ghost related technology, wrinkled papers, and the occasional mug of coffee.
"Hey Val." Tucker gave a small wave.
"Hello." She murmured absent-mindedly. "Why are you here?"
"We need to find some friends." Danny replied. Valerie jumped at his voice.
"Danny!" She spoke with a tone of anger, but they all knew she still liked him. Just a little. "Ugh, why?"
"One of them is in critical condition." Sam hissed, her patience thinning. "Now will you help, or will we have to track them down ourselves?!"
"Okay, I get it. I'll check. Which ghosts are they?" Valerie sighed, moving sluggishly over to a large monitor.
"My cousin, Danielle, and a ghost you've never met, Auslynn." Danny listed.
"What does Auslynn look like?"
"A blue skin, with elf ears, brown hair… She wears a brown jacket..."
"Found them." Valerie announced. The trio moved in around her, staring at the monitor. Sure enough, the two ghosts were etched out in black and white pixels. "They seem to be headed towards Irving Park, but that's as far as my cameras go." She leaned in towards the screen, squinting. "Gosh, what's wrong with Dani? She looks terrible…"
"She's… well… We don't know." Danny answered quickly. "But, thanks for your help. Bye!" He took Sam and Tucker under either arm and flew intangibly through the roof.
He flew steadily on to the outskirts of town, where Irving Park sat. They landed softly in an empty field, looking around quietly. "What's in Irving Park that Danielle would be interested in?" Sam asked "It's just a forest and some picnic tables."
"Valerie said she didn't have cameras past this point. They may have gone beyond it." Tucker said with a shrug.
"What's beyond the park?" Danny murmured. "I thought it was just open plains."
"Wait… All the big houses and posh neighborhoods are out there, remember?" Sam put in with a smile. "I think I know where they went."
"Where?!" Danny demanded.
"Danielle might be headed to Vlad's old lab, to find a cure. He had a lot of crazy stuff in that place, after all."
"Oh, of course!" Danny grinned, grabbing his friends yet again and taking off.
It didn't take Danny long to re-find the old mansion. He had gone there upon many occasions, seeing what the bachelor was up to, or, nowadays, just for some old memories. The hybrid had never resurfaced after the disasteroid.
They phased inside and landed in the posh kitchen. "Where's the lab?" Sam asked, glancing around."Um… In this house?" Danny murmured. "I think we just phase through the floor. I never really saw a door while I was here."
"Then hurry up, Danny! Danielle could be in peril!" Sam hissed.
"Fine, okay. Snappy pants." Danny growled under his breath. He turned intangible, his friends tight in his grip, and slipped through the floor.