Sam was walking alone through the park. She'd stayed out much too late and then declined Danny's polite offer to walk her home. They'd been hanging out at his house, watching movies and playing video games. As it usually did when she was with him, time had gotten away from her. When the movie had ended and the two friends had looked at the clock, both had blushed in embarrassment. Because it was summer, neither had curfews and so time had not been an issue. It was well after midnight, hardly a safe time for a girl to be walking any where alone. But Sam knew Danny was exhausted from days of ghost hunting. Besides, she was more than capable of protecting herself, she was sure of that.
At least she had been on Danny's porch, with him standing next to her, and the light spilling out from his living room. Here, walking among the dark trees and whistling wind, even a goth like her was a little creeped out. But she had spent years at Danny Phantom's side, she was not afraid of the things that went bump in the night. Of course, that description did not include the two very large, very scary men who had seen her walk under the last street light and then decided she looked like she could be some fun.
When the first twig had snapped behind her, she'd considered stopping and saying something. But common sense won out, and she quickened her pace, not at all surprised, and more than a little worried, when the men following her did the same. In her haste to escape the two men, she took the nearest exit out of the park, hoping to lose them on the city streets. But she was scared and her usually perfect sense of direction had escaped her. She ended up down an alley, with no way out but through the two men. She turned around to face them, setting her feet apart in a stance she had seen Danny take more than once. The wall of the alley was ten feet behind her, a dumpster on her right and another wall to her left, and straight ahead were the two men who picked the wrong girl to mess with.
"Hiya Sweetheart, how bout we go some place quiet and get to know each other?" The goon on the left stepped forward. Sam swallowed; he was easily as big as Danny's father.
His partner stepped forward next, not as muscular as the other, but still impressive. "Yea, doll, I bet a pretty little thing like you knows how to show a guy a good time."
Sam's courage wavered. Facing ghosts was one thing; she had at least five Fenton gadgets on her right now that could make short work of any ecto enemy. But somehow, she didn't think the Fenton Thermos would be of much use against these guys. Just when she was considering how useful screaming would be, she felt it- the temperature dropped. And that could mean only one thing, a ghost. She felt his presence at her back, and the fear left her. She should have known Danny would never let her walk home alone in the middle of the night. The two men looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with her savior and fled. Sam let out a sigh of relief before turning around, "You're timing has really improved, Danny. Thanks for the…" But she didn't finish the sentence, because the ghost at her back was not Danny.
Caught off guard for a second, she froze, eyes locked with the ghost. She recognized him well enough, Johnny 13. But he didn't look as harmless as he did when Danny was by her side. He looked a lot more threatening, much scarier than the two humans he had scared off. It wasn't until he had taken several steps toward her that Sam snapped out of her daze and started moving back. But in her haste to get away, she stumbled and fell backward. Her ass hit the asphalt with a thud. She cursed herself, of all the times to be a klutz, she had to pick now? When normally she was both suave and athletic; a double attack had hit her confidence hard.
She attempted to scramble backward without standing, desperate to put as much distance between her and the ghost as possible. Unfortunately, while she recognized the ghost, she had forgotten all about his constant companion. It wasn't until she saw the alley darken and felt another presence blocking its mouth that she remembered. She risked a glance over her shoulder and swallowed the building scream when she saw Johnny's Shadow.
Her head swiveled back when she heard Johnny speak, "Well, well. If it isn't Phantom's girlfriend. I was hoping to find the man himself and get in a little revenge beating for sending me to Walker's prison, but somehow this seems so much sweeter."
Despite the fear swelling inside her, Sam kept a steady voice. She'd defeated ghosts alone before, she could do it again. "You beat Danny? Every time you've tried, he's sent you packing. Why don't you just give up and stay away from Amity Park?" She tried to fumble unobtrusively for some kind of ghost weapon. The specter deflector was in Danny's father's lab, being repaired from their last run in with Skulker. She did have one of Maddie's lipstick blasters in her purse, but would need a minute to find it. She knew she needed to put some distance between herself and the ghost, but with his Shadow for backup, that was easier said than done.
The chuckle from behind her distracted her and she threw another glance at the Shadow over her shoulder. But when she looked forward again, Johnny was gone. Not ready to breathe a sigh of relief just yet, she turned around to face her only visible threat. But the moment her back was to the back of the alley, she felt the cold arms snake around her, one reaching up to cover her mouth, the other anchoring her tight around the middle, pinning both of her hands to her side. She struggled wildly, more out of instinct than anything else. But Johnny held tight. When her movements became too much, he simply leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Ya know, there's a reason they call me Johnny 13. Of course, after tonight, I'll have to change that number."
His words sent a chill down Sam's spine that had nothing to do with his ghostly presence. For a second she was paralyzed by the image his words evoked. As if being attacked by ghosts almost every day since age fourteen wasn't enough, as if the multiple overshadowings and insults didn't do it, as if the constant amount of trouble their ghost fighting landed them in couldn't turn her away from the life she'd chosen. The thought of what Johnny could do to her under the cover of his Shadow with Danny nowhere near to save her stopped her. How would she ever look Danny Phantom in the eye again? How would she ever look Danny Fenton in the eye again?
Thoughts of Danny calmed her, and inspired her. No way would she let anything that jeopardized their friendship, or possible future, happen without fighting like hell to stop it. She lifted one boot clad foot and brought it down hard on Johnny's. He grunted and loosened his grip. She wasted no time spinning out of his grasp. Still with the Shadow blocking the mouth of the alley, she had nowhere to go. As she looked around wildly for another way to escape, Johnny recovered. Her back to him trying one of the alley facing doors, she didn't see his approach. But she saw the green glow of an ectoblast as he charged his first shot. Tons of practice sessions with Danny had her dodging out of the way just in time. But Johnny didn't let up. He followed his first blast with a dozen more. Sam was able to dodge most of them, but the last two hit their mark, rapid fire in quick succession.
The blasts sent her backward, slamming into a pile of crates that shattered under her weight. Pain lanced through her body. She felt the blood oozing out of several shallow cuts on her bare arms, she knew her stockings were ruined and if she looked down, her legs would probably look similar to her upper extremities. So she didn't bother. She grabbed several pieces of the newly shattered boxes and hurled them toward where Johnny had last been standing. Only problem was that he was no longer there. Cursing ghosts for their inability to play fair, Sam picked up another piece of wood, prepared to use it as a bat.
She didn't hear him behind her any more than she saw him. Johnny reappeared already clutching her wrist, squeezing hard. Sam felt the bones rub together, and knew enough from patching Danny up that her right wrist was most likely broken. Instead of dropping the length of wood, she simply grabbed it with her other hand and swung, another perk from practicing with Danny- she was as decent a south paw as she was a north. Johnny howled in pain from the contact and used his hold on her wrist to fling her away from him.
Throwing her had been a mistake, because she landed right next to the spilled contents of her purse. She looked down and was able to locate the cleverly disguised blaster with practiced ease. She picked it up and aimed, "I think you need a makeover, your manners leave a lot to be desired." The green blast lit up the alley, causing the Shadow to shrink in size. Sam took her chance and ran.
She had just reached the alley's exit when she felt Johnny's hand grab hold of her wrist. She grunted in frustration and pivoted around to throw a high kick at her captor. But Johnny was prepared. He grabbed her ankle in his free hand and swung her around, letting go just in time for Sam to fly out of his grasp and slam against the brick wall of the alley. She both felt and heard the thud her head made as it connected with the solid wall. She collapsed in a heap, her vision swimming and head throbbing.
She lifted her head and tried to clear her vision, knowing she needed to keep her assailant in her line of sight as much as possible. But everything was dark. She feared for a moment that the blow to her head was enough to send her into the land of the unconscious, but soon realized that her inability to see was due not to her injury but due to the Shadow. She tried to scan the alley, looking for Johnny, but the combination of shadows and concussion made it difficult. She didn't see him till he was right in front of her, leaning way too far into her personal space for her own comfort. He ignored her discomfort, pulling her to her feet and then pressing her against the wall. One hand sat low on her hip, a position she wanted no man's hands to be in unless they belonged to a certain halfa; the other cupped her cheek. Again he leaned in close to whisper to her, "Normally, I'd tell you to feel free to scream, but I don't want your boyfriend interrupting us before we're done. So, I guess we'll have to compromise."
Sam opened her mouth to tell him just what she thought of his proposal, but before the words were out, his mouth was on hers. Pressed too tightly against the wall, held in position by both his hands and his body weight, Sam tried to pull away. But the blow to her head and the pain in her wrist, not to mention the fear, had drained her usually powerful body. Tears ran down her smudged cheeks as she continued to struggle with what was left of her strength. His mouth was like a vacuum, draining her of both strength and consciousness. Though she continued her struggle, she knew she would lose. She wondered briefly if it would be better to be out for the next part, at least then she could tell Danny she didn't know what happened, that she hadn't been able to stop it, not because she was too weak, but because she was knocked out. Then again, she was sure he would be the one to find her, and she wondered if after this she'd even want to wake up at all. The last thought she had was that if this didn't kill her, Danny's reaction to it might. The tears continued to fall as Johnny slid his hand down her leg to the hem of her skirt and Sam slipped into the not so comforting darkness.
Danny flew higher. He'd watched Sam turn the corner and closed the door, making sure his parents, still awake and watching TV on the couch, had seen him walk upstairs before transforming and phasing through the window. She may have declined the visible escort home, but she would be getting one anyway. No way would he let his best friend walk home alone in the dark, even if she was a creature of the night. He'd spent too many of his own nights fighting above the streets of Amity Park too be fooled. Bad things happened at night; of course, here in their town, they happened in the day as well. But what kind of friend would he be if he allowed her to go off alone, especially knowing exactly what kind of cretins haunted these streets. And here in Amity, the haunting was literal.
Not sure if she'd taken the longer, but better lit path around the park, or the shortcut through it, Danny paused in indecision. Then he rose higher into the air, hoping to catch a glimpse of her from above. He didn't see the black of her raven hair, but he did catch a glimpse of glowing ecto green. Momentarily distracted, Danny flew toward the other ghost, his ghost sense activating as he moved closer. He rounded a corner and came to a halt. He was face to face with his least favorite ghost of all, Vlad Plasmius.
"Danny, my boy, isn't it past your bedtime?" Vlad's smile grew as his hand began to glow pink.
Already tired of Vlad's banter, and wishing he'd ignored the green glow and kept on his search for Sam, Danny didn't even bother charging the blast before he threw it. It hit Vlad dead on, but the older ghost simply disappeared. Cursing his foolishness Danny began to turn around but the force of the real Plasmius' blast sent him sailing forward before he could.
Danny recovered quickly and sent a barrage of blasts toward his uncle. The many training sessions with Sam had more than paid off, both his speed and aim had improved since they'd started. Only three of the 12 bolts missed. Vlad hit the street hard. Danny was quick to charge an ice blast and aim it at the ghost. As Vlad stared at him from behind a sheet of ice, Danny moved in closer so he could hear, "It may be passed my bedtime, but it's lights out for you." He released the blast he'd been building, breaking the ice, and sending Vlad high into the air.
Danny didn't bother following him. The two half ghosts were locked in a sort of stalemate. Danny couldn't destroy Vlad, because of his strength and his human half, but nor would he join the half man. So, he simply endured Vlad's shadow games, as the older man attempted to sway him or destroy him, whichever happened to occur first.
Danny took to the sky again, scanning the city streets. Who knows how far Sam could have gotten in the few minutes he'd been distracted. He was about to give up and call her cell when he saw it. Up ahead, just outside the park, stood an alley in utter darkness. Not the kind of darkness that comes with night's descent or the outage of a street lamp. This was the wholly unnatural kind that seemed practically solid. Danny had seen that kind of darkness before, and wherever that Shadow lurked, Johnny 13 couldn't be far behind. Danny approached silently, his confidence bolstered when a stream of blue breath escaped his mouth. He'd been right. But what on earth could be going on in that alley that required such darkness?
Deciding it was better to shoot first and ask questions later, Danny charged an ecto blast. When he judged it large enough, he hurled it at the center of the black mass. His shot hit the target dead center, and the Shadow let out a shriek as it shrunk out of existence. It would be back later, but hopefully Danny would have gotten rid of its owner before then. With the Shadow gone, Danny had a clear view of the alley. Its occupants hadn't noticed the sudden absence of their cover, or the sudden increase in lighting. Danny cast a quick glance into the alley, trying to gauge his next move. He recognized Johnny immediately. Seeing the position he was in, he assumed the form pressed against him must be Kitten.
He was about to fly on in search of Sam when his eyes took in the rest of the alley. There was a pile of shattered boxes; he could see the glisten of fresh blood from here. There was a faint glow of ectoplasm on the wall opposite Johnny and his companion. But it was the spilled purse on the ground that drew Danny's eye. The purse was black leather, with silvery white trim, and a pair of small green and blue charms hanging from the zipper. He knew without seeing that the inside lining would match that green charm, a green that matched his current eye color perfectly, at least that's what Jazz had said when she'd pointed it out to him in the mall, where they'd gone birthday shopping for Sam. She'd loved the bag, immediately switching it with her old one.
His eyes shot back to the couple pressed against the wall. His stomach sank even as his body did. The hair of the woman with Johnny wasn't the cropped green bob that Kitten was fond of. It was raven black, and left loose because he'd told her once he liked it better that way. His feet touched earth even as he felt his bile rise. Sam and Johnny? Seeing the ghost with Jazz had been bad enough, but with Sam? He'd been sure that he and his best friend and long time crush were so close to finally crossing the line. But here she was with another guy, another ghost.
That's the thought that rattled his brain. Wait a minute… Sam would never knowingly fall for a ghost, certainly not one that had picked as many fights with him as Johnny. Again his eyes took in the alley, so clearly the scene of a fight. His eyes shot back to Sam, her slumped shoulders, her droopy knees, the way Johnny was pressing her so tightly against the wall, one hand at her chest, the other inching up her thigh. Sam's hands dangled at her side, blood running down her arms from a dozen gauges all up and down them.
He didn't even make a conscious decision to fire the bolt of energy. If he'd been thinking clearly, he wouldn't have risked it with Sam so close to his target. But realizing what he had clearly just interrupted had tinged his vision a hazy red and all thoughts had left his head. When he spoke, his voice was low and menacing, a tone he'd never been able to reach before, no matter the foe he fought. "Get away from her, now." The force of the blow sent Johnny flying into the rear wall of the alley, an indent in the bricks. The sudden absence of his weight against her caused Sam's body to slump to the ground.
Johnny looked up from a heap on the floor. He'd seen the teen half ghost angry before. That was nothing compared to what he was seeing on the young man's face now. Knowing he had better get lost before Phantom decided what to do with him, he turned intangible and shot off. For a second, Danny wanted nothing more than to follow that creep and blast him back to the Ghost Zone. But the low moan from his left had him sprinting to Sam's side.
He pulled her slumped form into his lap. She was still out cold, so he took a moment to take stock of her injuries, as she had done so many times for him. First things first, he checked her pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he found it, slow but steady. He then turned his attention to the rest of her. He moved his eyes up her slender body, starting at her feet. There were a few gashes on her legs, her purple tights torn to bits, destined for the trash. The cuts weren't deep though, a little antiseptic and a few band aids, they'd heal fine. His gaze raked the hem of her skirt, hiked much too high. He took a moment to smooth it back down into place. He'd prefer not to think what its position could mean. There was a slash across her stomach as well, not deep, but long, and several scratches on her arms. He remembered the pile of shattered wooden crates, the most likely culprit for Sam's many cuts. Her arms, like her legs, were nothing serious- he'd simply need to clean and bandage them. He considered pulling her shirt down to its proper place, but didn't want to hurt any more than she had been. Her right wrist was red, swollen. He'd had that injury more than once, sprain. She'd need to have it wrapped.
He brushed the hair back from her face, not surprised to find several tear trails. Her lips were red from the very not gentle ministrations of her attacker, a slight trickle of blood spilling from a small cut. As he cradled her head, he felt a knot, the most likely cause of her current state. "Oh Sam, I'm sorry. I never should have let you out of my sight." He considered his options. Sam needed a doctor, even if the wounds were all superficial, they needed to be tended to. And he needed to make sure that Johnny hadn't had time to do what he was so clearly trying to do. His first instinct was to gather Sam's limp form in his arms and fly her to the nearest hospital.
Of course, he knew better than most that not only would Sam hate the thought of going to the hospital, taking her there would only put them both in a very awkward position of questions they couldn't answer. He was getting ready to just accept the consequences when she stirred.
The darkness receded slowly for Sam. Her whole body ached and her vision was clouded. The first thing she registered was her horizontal position, no longer pressed against the alley wall, now being held on the ground. When her eyes slowly began to open, the ghostly glow was the only thing they took in. It was all she needed. Not sure what had happened while she was out, she was determined to put as much distance between herself and the ghost as possible. Forgetting about the injury to her wrist, Sam struck out with a right hook. She wasn't sure if the pain of the contact or the success of a landed hit was stronger. The blow caused the ghost holding her to loosen his grip and she quickly rolled away, stumbling to her feet. Still disoriented, she didn't realize she had run deeper into the alley until her hands hit the wall. A grunt of frustration escaped her.
The blow had caught Danny by surprise, causing him to release Sam. Before he could recover, she was out of his arms and running toward the far wall. Danny stood slowly, waiting for his best friend to turn around and say something. He was expecting anger for his allowing this to happen, or hate for the same reason. But when she spoke, her voice floored him. Still facing the rear wall, her voice was quiet, he could sense the fear in it. "You won't get away with this. Danny'll destroy you for this." Danny didn't like the way she said it, like she was trying to convince herself.
Realizing Sam thought she was still in danger, he took a step toward her, lifting one glowing hand in order to illuminate the alley. "Sam, it's okay, Johnny's gone." He watched her shoulders stiffen, heard her sharp inhalation of breath.
Not willing to believe that she was safe, and still terrified of what Danny might say, Sam turned slowly. Her eyes, despite the fear, searched for his. Her violet gaze locked on his green. Seeing the worry and fear there, Sam's knees gave way. Danny was there to catch her. His arms wrapped gently around her torso, supporting her. He found her eyes again and was surprised to see tears. "I thought he was you, I thought he was here to save me." Her words didn't make sense to Danny, but that didn't matter. He simply slid one hand under her legs and lifted her up.
"It's going to be okay, I'll take you to the hospital. They'll fix you up." He shot into the air, trying to be as gentle as possible.
"No, no hospitals; can we just go back to your place?" Sam had had enough of strange men tonight. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in Danny's arms and pretend this was all a nightmare.
Danny considered making her go to the hospital. He easily could. But he hated the idea of forcing her to do anything. Besides, how many times had she offered first aid to him? He was more than capable of taking care of her; "Alright, my place."
Sam let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Danny." She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight as he flew over the streets of Amity Park once again. He phased through the window into his own room, and eased Sam onto the bed.
"I'll be right back." Danny shed his ghostly appearance, slipped into the hall, and into the bathroom. Jazz had begun stocking first aid supplies in the cabinet ages ago, and they'd had their fair share of use. He fished through the contents, finding what he would need to tend Sam's wounds. He gathered the various bottles and boxes and returned to his room. Sam was sitting up waiting for him. She'd removed her boots and the remnants of her stockings. Danny knelt next to the bed and began cleaning the cuts on her legs. As Danny did that, she focused on her arms, explaining what had happened as they worked.
Danny's ministrations were gentle, even if she could tell by the set of his jaw that he was pissed. When the wounds were clean and covered, her wrist wrapped and her story finished, Danny met her gaze, "Well, you were right about one thing."
Sam looked at him quizzically. Now that she was once again safe by his side, the fear was gone. Johnny 13 hadn't managed to do anything more than rough her up, something she had managed to do to herself more than once- during hikes, obstacle courses, and ghost hunting. "And what was that?"
Danny's eyes hardened, "I'm going to make him pay." He stood, rings of energy forming, turning his normal clothes black and his hair white. But Sam reached out and took hold of his gloved hand, meeting his newly green eyes.
"Let it go, Danny, please. Just stay with me?" Sam tried not to beg. But she wanted him to stay with her, even if that meant Johnny got away.
Danny wanted to argue, he wanted to tell her that there was no way in hell he could let something like this go, but her eyes begged him to stay. The rings of energy appeared again, turning him into Danny Fenton once again. "Alright, I'll stay." He sat next to her on the bed and she pulled him close, needing both the contact and the heat of another person. Danny resisted for a moment, not wanting to push her too far. But when she laid her head on his chest, he reached an arm out and put it around her shoulders, hugging her close. "It's okay, Sam. I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe now, I'm not going anywhere."
Sam felt a little piece of herself relax. She looked into Danny's eyes, "Promise?"
Danny took her hand in his and entwined their fingers, "Promise." He meant it. He wouldn't leave her for the world. Johnny 13 would get what was coming to him, after all, he couldn't hide in the Ghost Zone, not when Danny had friends like Frostbite. And he was pretty sure that it would be a long time before Johnny risked coming back to the human world. So Danny took a deep breath and pushed all things ghost from his mind. Instead, he decided to focus on the feel of Sam wrapped in his arms and snuggled against his chest. He'd spent ages dreaming of just this moment, and he'd be damned if he let thoughts of any ghost interrupt it.