Dimension Travel REVISED
Chapter 3 – More Bad Luck

xx

Once Danny had realized Timmy was in danger, he quickly sobered up and leaped through the air with his arms raised, a determined glare on his face. Twin blue rings appeared at his waist and moved in sync up and down his body, changing his casual clothes into a black and white hazmat suit. His black hair turned pure ghostly white, his once blue eyes turned a startling glowing green and his whole body had a white transparent outline around it. Once Danny had transformed into Danny Phantom, he swiftly caught Timmy before he could make contact with the ground and jerked him out of Vlad's surprised grip.

The second thing that happened was with Jimmy. He had witnessed Danny's transformation and was watching with wide curious eyes. But before he could go investigate further, he was yanked out of view by a pair of black gloved hands. Jimmy gasped in shock as he turned around to find Calamitous holding him hostage by his arms. The old man quickly raised a metal bar and whacked Neutron upside his head, knocking him out cold and dragged him off.

The third happenstance was Zim and Dib's reappearance into the room. They'd finally broken out of the closet in their haste to get as far away from each other as they could when they saw the scene before them. The invader's eyes doubled in size as he saw Danny change into a completely different creature. He stood frozen by the closet door, his mouth hanging open in shock. He'd never in all his thousands of years seen anything like that. Dib stood off to one side, his eyes widening for a completely different reason. He, who was the paranormal investigator, finally witnessed a ghost in real life. But not just any ghost. The world-renowned half-ghost that he'd heard was just a rare legend.

But standing there before him, alive just as any was Danny Phantom, holding a very surprised Timmy Turner in his arms. A ghost he would expose to the world.

Xx

The silence in Jimmy's lab was longer than Danny had hoped for. But soon, however, Vlad's chuckle echoed off the walls.

"Well, my dear boy, it seems as if you've just revealed your secret to your allies." The older half-ghost grinned as he turned intangible and began floating up to the ceiling, Plasmius' laugh fading softly after he was long gone. Danny was starting to get a little nervous by all the stares he was receiving, but one in particular was making him uncomfortable. Dib was holding a high-tech camera with the lens cap on, and a silly grin was planted on his face. Standing beside the insane big-headed boy was a very surprised Irken Invader, and even still in Danny's arms was an awe-struck Timmy Turner, gazing at the young half-ghost.

"Um… are you guys gonna…?" But before Danny could finish, Timmy and Dib exploded at once.

"That is so cool! I didn't know you had ghost powers, Danny!" Timmy exclaimed, his blue eyes exceptionally wide with excitement as he bounced in the ghost boy's arms.

"Hey ghost-kid, do you mind if I take some pictures and maybe a few samples to take back to my world? Huh? Come on, it won't hurt!" Dib had his camera up in Danny's face before the half-ghost even knew what had happened. Danny blinked in surprise and as he set Timmy on the floor, he maneuvered up in the air away from Dib. "Hey, come back down here! I can't get good shots if you're moving around like that!" Danny rolled his eyes and his legs turned into his ghost tail, but as he looked around the lab, an eyebrow lowered curiously over one green eye.

"Hey, where's Jimmy?" Danny asked, throwing his arms out. Timmy looked around, spinning on his heel in one spot before shrugging. Before Danny could go search for the boy-genius, a large mechanical claw reached out with great speed and snatched Danny out of the air and brought him back down to the ground. The half-ghost blinked in surprise in seeing Zim's angered expression just a few inches from his own.

"Hey back off, space boy, that's my ghost!" Dib shouted in the background. Zim's lips pulled back into a snarl at hearing his rival, but overall, he ignored him. Once Danny looked away from Zim's intimidating glare, he saw the mechanical claw that had him around his waist was stretched out from Zim's PAK. Danny raised a finger to ask him a question.

"Hey Zim, is that coming out of your--?"

"What are you?" Zim interrupted hotly and Danny winced at his blunt question. "How can you change into a dead being without dying?" Zim continued as the mechanical claw moved Danny up into the air slightly for Zim to observe him. "Tell me what you are!" He shouted again, his patience wearing thin. Danny sighed and crossed his arms.

"Okay, okay! Calm down! I'm a half-ghost, which means I have ghost DNA in my blood." He explained dully. Zim glared at him in confusion.

"That explains nothing to me! If you're a ghost, why are you alive?"

"Well, technically I'm only a half-ghost." Danny reminded him meekly. Zim frowned and dropped the young half-ghost, who hit the ground hard. Dib scowled and jumped in front of Danny.

"Zim, don't hurt him!" Zim snarled and out of his PAK came a large laser weapon, sparkling menacingly. Dib brought out a small laser hand gun from his jacket pocket for protection against the angry Irken. "I need him for experiments!"

"Don't interfere, Dib-worm!" From behind the two rivals, Danny blinked in shock, slowly backing up.

"Don't I get any say in this?" He asked weakly, sliding backwards away from them. Right before Dib and Zim went at it with weapons blazing, Timmy quickly reacted.

"Guys, hurry! I wish their weapons didn't work!" From Timmy's watch, two wands rose, and a loud poof echoed off the walls. The half-ghost and the young boy waited as the smoke cleared, and when it did Danny and Timmy saw Dib glaring at his weapon in confusion before beating it on the ground and Zim was ripping his out of his Pak and chucking it across the lab in angered frustration. Timmy sighed in relief. "Phew, thanks guys." He grinned at his watch.

"No problem, Timmy." Wanda frowned as she examined the Irken. "I don't like the looks of that one, sport. He's a bad guy." Timmy rolled his eyes.

"No he's not. If he was, Jimmy wouldn't have brought him here to help." The 10 year old explained airily, waving his hand in the air. Wanda gave her godson a stern look, but didn't say anything else. Zim's growl brought her back to the present situation.

"Dib-worm, this is your fault!" The Irken screamed, clenching his fists tightly by his sides. The paranormal investigator gaped at his enemy.

"How is it my fault? If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be in this mess!" Zim bared his zipper-like teeth, his eyes glowing red from behind his contacts.

"You dare blame me for your problems?" The Irken shrieked, already beyond reasoning. "You followed me here!" Dib blinked, backing up to the wall. Timmy and Danny exchanged glances. Obviously this wasn't Zim's normal behavior.

"Whoa, Zim, just calm down! I'll stop, okay, I'll stop! I'll go home!" Dib tried to get through to his enemy, but the disguised alien was inching up to the paranormal investigator, making him shrink down the wall in fear. "What's with you?" Dib asked right before a large weapon was brought in front of his face, Zim's menacing face right behind it.

"Now you'll never bother me again, earth-monkey!" The Irken's cackling evil laughter brought chills up Dib's spine instead of the normal irritation. The weapon charged up and his eyes dilated in pure fear of the Irken Invader. Danny shot a panicked look at Timmy before he turned intangible and flew as fast as he could toward the two enemies. Snatching Zim right off the ground, weapon and all, he phased them both through the wall and out of Jimmy's lab. Dib continued to stare in the spot Zim was once in before slumping to the floor in a puddle of relief.

"Phew, I'm glad Zim vanished when he did. I was sure he was going to…" Dib trailed off as he looked around the lab, only spotting Timmy who was giving him a curious look. "Where's the ghost kid?" Timmy shrugged.

"Danny took Zim through the wall so he wouldn't hurt you." He explained simply before turning his back to the paranormal investigator and brought his watch up to his mouth. "Guys, I need to go with Danny. He might need my help!" Wanda sighed, her eyes weary.

"Timmy, we don't know where they went. And I'm sure Danny can take care of himself, sport. Besides, we need to stay with Dib incase he needs our help." Cosmo grinned at his godson.

"Yeah, we can make his head less huge!" Wanda glared at her husband while Timmy rolled his eyes. Outside, as soon as Danny went tangible and set Zim on the ground, the little Irken exploded.

"What did you do?!" Danny winced and rubbed the back of his head, trying to avoid Zim's hateful glare. "I was just about to destroy my greatest and most annoying enemy! You dare interfere?" Danny rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Zim. Don't you think you're being a little too hard on him?" To his surprise, Zim scoffed and crossed his arms with a glare.

"You just don't understand, ghost." He replied hotly, his mouth in a small angry pout. Danny groaned under his breath and slid his hand down his face as he floated above the ground just incase Zim got a little violent. "So, tell me why'd you bring me out here?"

"I thought that much was obvious." Danny responded sarcastically and crossed his arms. Before Zim could retort, his hair rose a bit off his head, making Danny's eyebrows rise up into his hairline. "Hey, why is your hair--?" He began, but was cut off when Zim shushed him and waved a small hand at him. "What is it?"

"I hear someone coming." The Irken spoke softly, crouching to the ground like he was preparing for battle. Danny was about to question him when his ghost sense went off, making him gasp. Raising his eyes to the sky, he glared.

"Who's out there?" The half-ghost shouted and wasn't surprised when Skulker came into view.

"Hello, ghost child." The large mechanical ghost replied, his grin large on his face. Danny glared as his hands glowed with ectoplasm.

"Why are you here, Skulker?"

"As ordered, I'm collecting my prisoners." The grin on Skulker's face was incredibly large. That was when the young half-ghost noticed what was with the ghost hunter. Behind the flaming-haired ghost were about 50 military ghosts with weapons. Danny eyed them all and gulped silently, glancing down at Zim.

"Zim, maybe we should…" He trailed off when the Irken appeared to be laughing. "Uh… we need to go. We're outnumbered, Zim." Danny tried again, but that only made Zim laugh even harder. The half-ghost sighed and hung his head. He had a feeling things were about to go downhill from here. Up in the sky, all the ghosts including Skulker were confused as to why the small green child was laughing. Growing angry, Skulker growled.

"Why are you laughing, puny human?" The mechanical ghost demanded, and finally Zim quieted, wiping his eye as if he were tearing up.

"Oh, this is pathetic!" Zim exclaimed, puffing his chest out and grinning. Skulker blinked in shock, glancing behind him to make sure his army was still there. "You think you can dare capture an Irken Elite soldier?" Both Danny and Skulker blinked in confusion down at the little Irken Invader. Skulker shot Danny a look.

"Is he joking?" The half-ghost shook his head wearily.

"Unfortunately, I don't think so."

"You will all bow before me! I am Zim!" The little alien shouted menacingly into the sky with his arms raised for effect. Danny frowned, something that the paranormal investigator had said brought into his mind. Suddenly, everything made sense. All of Dib's accusations about Zim being an alien, about finally dissecting him, and Zim's green skin, even Zim's green dog. Everything suddenly clicked into place.

Slowly, Danny's green eyes landed on the Irken. "Zim's really an alien." He whispered under his breath, his eyes wide with this truth. Zim paused and turned to glance at Danny in suspicion. Skulker glared, his patience wearing thin.

"That's enough chit-chat! It's time to collect my pay." He called down to them as a giant net extended from his hand. He swooped down and attempted to swipe Danny and Zim into the net when a cage came from the opposite direction and caught the unsuspecting alien and half-ghost inside it, the force of which it was thrown making the door close shut. It radiated a strange blue, making Danny groan from inside it.

"This cage is ghost proof, isn't it?" He called as he eyed the metal of the cage. He punched the bars as caution, getting a shock in return. "Yep, ghost proof." He confirmed dryly. Behind him, Zim growled and beat on the bars.

"Release me! Release me or suffer the wrath of Ziiiiiim!" Danny sighed and hung his head.

"Give it up, Zim. They've tricked us and we've been captured." The Irken glowered and tried to pull apart the cage door.

"Never! I will never be contained in any… container!" The half-ghost sighed. A chuckle made Danny look up. Standing beside them was a short, bald old man wearing round spectacles that wrapped around his head, a white lab coat and black pants. He glared at Danny through the bars.

"And here I thought you'd be difficult to catch." The man grumbled in triumph, a hint of disappointment coloring his tone. "My mistake," He continued, laughing as he walked around the corner of the cage to Zim. "You, my friends, will be most useful to me with your talents." Danny raised an eyebrow and Zim growled with his lip curling.

"Who are you? What do you want with us?" Danny questioned suspiciously, glaring when the old man grinned.

"I am Professor Calamitous, and I'm---!"

"LIES!" Zim cried, pointing through the bars at the scientist. Calamitous and Danny turned to look at the Irken, one curious and one irritated. The old man waited for a few seconds before holding his hand out.

"Can I finish?" Calamitous asked dryly. Zim leaned heavily against the bars of the cage, and didn't hesitate as he responded.

"Can I stop you?" Professor Calamitous growled and clenched his fists.

"Stop it!" Danny blinked at this exchange. Was Zim actually trying to stall this guy? Suddenly, a thought came to him.

"It was you, wasn't it?" The old scientist blinked and turned to face the half-ghost in confusion. "You're the one that kidnapped Jimmy." Professor Calamitous chuckled and waved his hand around.

"Oh now, let's not point fingers." Danny and Zim gave him pointed looks. "Okay, so I did. You'll soon be joining him, so I wouldn't be complaining." Danny sighed and sat down in the cage as Calamitous walked away. "Good job, Skulker. Now, I have another job for you…" Skulker grinned.

"I'm listening." Danny sighed and put his head in his hands. Zim turned to stare at him curiously.

"Well, Zim, it looks as if we're gonna be prisoners. I can't get out of here to help us. My powers don't work in this cage." Again to his surprise, Zim scoffed. "What now?" He asked exasperatedly. Zim grinned as a projector like object came out of his Pak.

"Don't worry, ghost. I'll get us out, for I am Ziiiiiim!" Danny sighed but looked on in confusion when a fuzzy screen appeared before revealing it to be Zim's green dog, but the green suit was zipped down to reveal a robot head. Gir waved and grinned, his tongue coming out.

"Hi!"

"Gir, come to Zim!" Zim commanded. The half-ghost's eyes widened when the dog's little black arm saluted the Irken, his eyes turning red.

"Yes, my master!" The screen disappeared and went back into Zim's Pak. The Irken grinned smugly at Danny, who was still staring at Zim with a shocked expression.

"There, we should be out of here in a--!" Something hit the cage and it rocked over on its side, causing Danny and Zim to hit the bars. After Danny was electrocuted, he moaned as he floated in the air.

"What just happened?" He asked wryly. The alien ignored him as he growled.

"Gir, get me out of here!" Zim shouted as the cage shook again before the bottom of it was ripped clean off, and Gir was standing there, grinning like an idiot. "Good work, Gir. Now uh… go play in mud." Zim offered offhandedly and Gir cheered, running off to God knows where. Danny floated out and looked around, almost wishing he hadn't. Professor Calamitous was standing a few yards away, gaping at them and the destroyed cage. Skulker was standing beside the tiny man with the same expression. Danny winced and hurriedly flew out, snatching Zim off the ground as he did so.

"We have to move!" Danny shouted above Calamitous and Skulker's protests. Zim squirmed in his arms.

"Put me down!" He demanded as his spider legs protruded out of his Pak, causing Danny to drop him in surprise. As soon as he did, they were shot at by Skulker's net gun, captured once again. Danny groaned in remorse.

"I suppose this one's ghost proof too?" Danny called out from the net.

xx

Back in Jimmy's lab, Timmy gaped at the large hole in the side of the wall with Dib trying to hack into Jimmy's main computer.

"So… Zim's dog did this?" Timmy asked, pointing to the gaping hole.

"Yeah, he's a robot in disguise." Dib answered distractedly. Timmy hummed in thought and brought his watch up to his mouth.

"Hey guys, can we fix this?" Wanda eyed the destruction before smiling.

"Sure, sport, but don't you think Dib'll be suspicious?" Timmy turned to glance at the paranormal investigator concentrating on the computer.

"I don't think he'll notice." Timmy remarked casually, grinning. "I wish the wall was fixed!" He called, and in a flash, the large hole was repaired. "That's better."

"Oh yes, much better." A very familiar voice replied. Out of the shadows, Skulker grinned at Timmy as he drew closer, Dib sitting unknowingly at the computer. The 10 year old gulped as he eyed the mechanical robot.

"What do you want?" Skulker's grin widened.

"Well, now that I've seen your magic, I believe I just need you."

xx
A/N: HEEEEY GUUUYS! Sorry for the long wait. I have no good enough excuse, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Anyway, uh… this is sort of okay, I guess. This was worth the wait, I hope. If not, then say so in a review and I'll do my best next time. Which will hopefully not be as far away. Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANY CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THIS CHAPTER. I think this is obvious.