Wow, the first chapter did better than I thought it would. I probably should wait a while longer before posting this, but I've been too excited to write this story to wait. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of it's characters. Only the concept and OC's featured here are mine.
Danny soared through the air, green eyes scanning the area.
"Okay, that scream came from around here somewhere," he muttered to himself. "But where?"
The sound of giggling caught his attention. Frowning, he landed among the trees to get a closer look. Four figures in black cloaks huddled together.
"My god, did you see her face?!" one nearly shrieked between giggles.
"Yeah, she was so freaked," another one chimed in. "'Willow? Willow, you there?' Priceless. Great idea, Megan."
The tallest one pulled down her hood, revealing a head of short blonde hair. "Of course it was," she chuckled. "It was mine, after all." Danny suppressed a groan. Just his luck. He got worried over a stupid prank.
"You think we should go in after her?" the fourth girl said. Megan snorted.
"What's wrong, Willow? You're not worried about that freak, are you?"
The shortest of the bunch seemed to be glaring at her. "You've had your fun, alright? Let's just get her out of there before she gets in trouble." The girl kicked off the stilts she was wearing and started towards the building. However, she stopped when she realized no one was following her. Willow crossed her arms and looked at the others. "Well?"
"I'm not going in there!" one of the girls shrieked.
"What, you scared?" Willow sneered.
"Aren't you? This is Vlad Plasmius's house!"
The girl just rolled her eyes. "So? That guy's lost in space, remember? Besides, it's just an old house."
Willow took a step toward the building, but before she could enter, someone grabbed her arm.
"That's probably not a good idea," Danny said, pulling her back. A chorus of gasps sounded around him, making him blink and turn to the source.
"Omigod! You're Danny Phantom!" Megan said.
"Yeah, nice to-" Danny said with half a smile, but he was quickly cut off when the blonde got a little to up close and personal. As in half an inch from his face close.
"I can't believe it!" Megan squealed. "You actually came to my party! This is so great! I'm like your biggest fan!"
"Uh, yeah. Thanks for the invite?" Danny found himself backed into the wall by the overexcited teen. Beside him, Willow got out of his grip and folded her arms.
"What're you doing here, then?" she said, none to kindly. "The party's on the next block."
"I could be asking you the same thing," Danny said. He gently moved Megan out of his way. The teen then gestured to the rundown building. "Not sure what you've heard, but this block doesn't exactly cater to trick-or-treaters."
"W-we were just having a little fun, right girls?" Megan said.
"Like scaring helpless kids?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow. Instantly, the girls all looked ashamed.
"No, not kids. It was just Sophie," Willow murmured, but she glanced at her feet. "She easy to scare, and... You know. 'Tis the season."
The ghost boy sighed. "And let me guess, what better place to scare some one-"
"Than the former home of a ghost!" Megan finished. "Or, well, half a ghost."
'Hopefully that doesn't happen at my house,' Danny thought to himself. He sighed before speaking out loud. "Okay, guys. I'm all for a good scare. Hello, I'm a ghost. But this isn't a playground. Someone could get seriously-"
Just then, a scream rang out from the mansion. Danny turned toward the building ready to rush into action.
"Sophie!"
*Bang*
The white-haired teen slammed face-first into the side of the mansion as Willow pushed passed him, running in to find her friend. Danny held his now throbbing nose.
"Hurt... Wait! Hold on a minute!" he called out, following the girl. It didn't take him long to catch up with her. Willow stumbled through the dark house, frantically. She tripped over a loose floor board and landed on her hands and knees. Danny quickly helped her to her feet.
"Sophie, please come out!" Willow yelled. "It was just a joke!" She was about to run off again, but stopped when the ghost teen put a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down," he said. "We won't find her if we get lost ourselves." Raising a palm, Danny used his ghost ray to light the room they were in. If the outside of the mansion was bad, the interior was much, much worse. The once pristine wallpaper was now peeling off the walls. Chunks of wood were missing from the walls and floor, leaving gaping holes that revealed the insulation and insects. Willow dusted off her dress, causing a dust cloud to come up and make both teens cough.
"Well this place's seen better days," she muttered.
"Who is it we're looking for, again?" Danny asked.
Willow sent him a glare that made him gulp. "I'm looking for my friend, Sophie. I don't need your help."
"I'm not saying you do," he said, quickly. "But if we're both looking, she'll be found faster, right? Besides, I got the only light."
Willow grumbled but didn't say anything else to Danny. Instead, the girl tried calling out her friend's name a few more times as she continued on more carefully. Danny followed close behind, lighting the way. He, too, began calling the girl's name, but there was no answer.
Suddenly, Willow saw movement out of the corner of her eye. "Sophie?!" she said, running to the source. They came across what appeared to be a metallic room, wires and circuits displayed all across the walls. Danny frowned. There was something familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
"Hey, ghost boy. Mind shining that light a little closer?" Willow said as she entered the room. Danny did just that, stepping closer to the doorway. Willow scanned the area before stopping and staring at the ground. Slowly, she bent down and picked up a black ribbon.
"She was wearing this," Willow whispered. "She has to be around here somewhere." The girl began to stand up, her hand sliding up the wall. Just then, Danny grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the room.
"Hey! What's the big idea!" Willow glared at him, but sombered when she caught his expression. "What's wrong?"
"I don't think your friend's here anymore," Danny said. His eyes narrowed at the room, now realizing what it was.
"And why is that?" she all but growled.
"Because this," Danny said, gesturing to the door. "Isn't a room. It's a portal. More specifically, it's a portal to the Ghost Zone."
~DP~
The cold was what woke Sophie up. Her skin felt like it was on ice and her throat burned from the chill. She moaned as her head throbbed. She tried to raise a hand to relieve the pressure, but it wouldn't budge. Her eyes shot open. She couldn't move, but not because she was paralyzed. Sophie was tied down to an examination table. The girl struggled against the metal restraints, her hair tossing in the process. Then, Sophie stopped moving. Because instead of seeing her usual black strands of hair, the locks were pure white.
Eyes wide, Sophie took a good look at herself. She was still in the Halloween costume Willow gave her, but it didn't look the same. The colors were all reversed. Her skirt was all but gone, leaving just a slim white belt around her waist.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Sophie cried out. She began to shake, but then Sophie noticed something else.
The entire table she was laying on was covered in a sheet of ice.
"Ah, glad to see your awake," a dark voice said from across the room. Sophie turned her head to the source. Walking toward her, dressed in all white with a cape flowing behind him, was none other than Vlad Plasmius. He grinned down at her, fangs showing.
"You were quite nosy to be poking around my home, Sophia," he said with a chuckle.
"H-how do you know my name. Wh-where am I?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"Oh this?" Plasmius said, gesturing to the room. "Just a makeshift lab I've created in my spare time. As I'm sure you saw, my old one is no longer operational." The man began circling the table, staring down at the frightened girl. "Now, as to my knowledge of your name, it certainly wasn't hard to discern from the cries your friends were giving out while looking for you."
"My friends?"
"Oh, I didn't get a good look at them, I'm afraid. But I'd never forget the voice of that insufferable Danny Phantom," Plasmius growled. Then his face smoothed out as he began to chuckle. "But that's not important right now, Sophia. What is important, is what I'm going to do about you." As he spoke, the evil ghost gently grabbed a lock of Sophie's hair and ran it through his fingers.
Sophie felt her heart hammer in her chest. This was a dream, it had to be. There was no way the most wanted man on Earth was here, toying with her like a cat with a trapped mouse. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to wake herself.
Suddenly, Plasmius jumped back with an audible "gah!". Sophie opened her eyes just in time to see a layer of ice creep up the man's legs. She stared on in slight wonder as he fired a ghost ray at it, melting it away.
"Seems as though your powers are rather strong, my dear," he said with obvious distaste. He shook his cape free of leftover ice crystals.
"P-powers? What powers? I don't-"
"Oh, hush, Sophia. You don't honestly think this is my doing, do you?" He walked over to a nearby computer screen and began typing away. "It's obvious when you began meddling with my portal, the resulting explosion induced the same circumstances that young Daniel and I have both gone through."
All Sophie could do was stare at the man's back. He couldn't be right, could he? It was just too unreal.
"I have to be dreaming," she whispered to herself.
"Dreaming?" Plasmius asked with a laugh. "Oh no, Sophia. I'm afraid this is all very real."
"So then I'm..."
"Half-ghost, yes. But don't worry, my dear. It's hardly as bad as it seems."
A blue-clad hologram formed beside Sophie. It smiled at it's creator and spoke with a sickening-sweet tone.
"The Ectoranium serum, Ecto-cide, is ready for use, oh wonderfully evil one," the hologram spoke.
"Excellent!" Plasmius grinned. With one hit of a button, a vile of dark green liquid was produced from the computer desk. The ghost grabbed it as well as a circular band of metal. Using a syringe, Plasmius filled the object with the serum before returning to Sophie's side. He grinned at her.
"You are familiar with the properties of Ectoranium, I'm sure," he purred.
Sophie gave a small nod. "I-it's a natural ghost repellent. It's what the Disasteroid was made of." She stared at the syringe in his hand.
"That's right, Sophia. And what I have here in my hand is a very concentrated form of it, liquidized, of course. I imagine if I were to administer even a small dose into your blood stream, it would have... lethal consequences, what with your condition and all."
The girl's breath hitched. A single tear rolled down her face as Plasmius lifted her sleeve up to her shoulder. He chuckled at her.
"Do relax, my child. As long as you behave yourself, I'll have no reason to hurt you." As he spoke, the older ghost fastened the metal band onto her bicep. It snapped shut with a click, and Sophie cried out in pain. The band pierced into her skin, keeping it tightly in place. Plasmius held up a remote switch, red eyes narrowing on the girl.
"I've filled this band with the Ecto-cide. Try even once to disobey me, and we'll see how effective my creation is on newly-formed half-ghosts."
More tears came. Sophie didn't make a sound as the villain cupped her face, tenderly. His grin grew wider as glowing, ice-blue eyes stared at him in fear.
"Do we understand each other, Sophia?" he asked her, his voice but a whisper. The man gently wiped a tear from her cheek as her lips trembled.
"W-what d-do you want from me?" she asked softly.
"That's very simple, my dear girl. I want you to kill Danny Phantom."
So how many of you were expecting that? Come on, don't be shy... Well anyway, look forward to the next chapter soon. Bye-bye for now!