Chapter Four: Back to the Lab…Again?

**MF**

I couldn't believe that I was currently in the lab mixing chemicals in an attempt to help my son destroy, what used to be my best friend's, clone. The conflicting thoughts and emotions made me rub my head while trying to remain calm. With the flickering of the lights in the lab and Jack's incoherent babbling, it was hard to concentrate. I placed a container of blue ectoplasm on the table closest to the Ghost Portal, then I began to walk around in search of a flashlight. I had a feeling that the lights were going to go out for a while, and that meant that I needed to be ready. Sure, we had backup generators but those had been fried a few months ago while Danny had been fighting a ghost named Technus. According to Danny, his friends and his notes, this particular ghost can manipulate electronics of any kind. He can digitize himself into the cyber world, and corrupt any computer programming when given the right amount of time.

Jack had stated that he would fix the generators, but he never got around to it, and I had been much too busy to do it myself. I would've tried to fix them today if I had the time, but I have to prioritize. The Ecto-Dejecto, which Jack invented a while back, was supposed to be used to cause ghostly powers to shrivel up like a raisin in the sun, is the 'new invention' we had been working on prior to Danny's big reveal as being the ghost boy of Amity Park. We had to basically start at the beginning in order to work out why it was only causing ghosts to grow in size and strength instead of negating their powers. Of course, there were a few miscalculations on Jack's part.

What we needed to do now was correct the miscalculations and create the Ecto-Dejecto 2.0 to use on Alucard and the evil combination of my little Danny and Vlad.

I searched through drawer after drawer until I finally felt the flashlight. Taking it in both hands due to its size (being that of a loaf of bread), I carefully sat it on the table that I had retrieved it from. I rubbed my head before turning my attention back to my husband Jack. The look he had on his face was that of a man who was concentrating hard on something. Yes, he was definitely concentrating, but not on what he needed to be focused on.

"Jack?" I asked while taking hold of the flashlight. I began to walk over towards him. He was holding a beaker in his hands which was filled with black ectoplasm, a highly potent and highly dangerous substance.

As I got closer to my husband, I stepped into his line of sight and took a hold of the container of ectoplasm. His grip didn't tighten nor did it loosen, so it took a bit to get the item. When I succeeded in getting the container, Jack suddenly sprang to reality.

"I need some fudge," he mumbled pathetically before he began to absently ascend the stairs to the kitchen.

I didn't try to stop him. How could I when I knew what it was that he was thinking. It was the same thing he had been thinking ever since Vlad finally came clean and told Jack exactly what he thought of him. I placed the black ectoplasm on the table nearest the stairs, then went and retrieved the blue ectoplasm. Once again the lights flickered and I had to stop for a moment. Shortly the lights came back on, but I couldn't help but to worry. It wasn't just the power at our home after all. If the town's Ghost Shield were to go down…we could be looking forward to an entire ghost invasion!

I quickened my pace and grabbed the blue ectoplasm before I scurried back over and up the stairs. I found Jack sitting at the kitchen table with a plate of fudge. I watched him curiously before making my way towards the Ops Center. I wanted Jasmine to be near me just in case things went wrong.

"Jack…" I said silently as I turned back to look at him one more time.

[==Character Transition==]

**Jazz**

I had been in the Ops Center in hopes that I could do something to help in this time of crisis, but the only ones who seem capable of doing anything would be my brother, Dani, Sam, Tucker and my parents. Sam and Tucker had been there for Danny since the beginning. They had been there when he got his powers, and they had been there helping him train and watching him practice. They themselves even practiced with some of the weapons, and so they know them inside and out whereas I only know a few and occasionally get in the way. For Danny's sake, I tend to stay back now so that he doesn't have to worry about trying to save me. It's hard knowing that I'm the occasional moral support and that I can't be out in the field with him, but he knows I'm here when he needs me.

Footsteps behind me alerted me to someone's presence; my mother's presence to be precise.

"Jazz, I want you to come downstairs with me. If the lights do go out, then I want to be sure that you're alright," she said, sounding a little upset.

I knew that she was worried about Danny. I was too, but she had a job to do. Sometimes I wonder how she does it. The strain of being a professional ghost hunter, a scientist, a mother and a devoted wife has to be stressful more than half the time, yet she manages to keep everything together. With a nod of my head, I stand from the chair that I had been sitting on. I followed her out of the Ops Center, down the stairs into the main room, then into the kitchen where I see my dad and a plate of untouched fudge. I couldn't believe it. There was a plate of fudge…untouched…in FRONT of my dad! I knew there was something wrong, but I just couldn't bring myself to ask him what it was. If I had to guess, just by the look of him, I'd say that it was guilt eating away at him. I wanted to tell my dad that what happened to Vlad was an accident, and that Vlad had taken things too far, but the more I say those things, the more my dad denies it or tries to somewhat see things from Vlad's point of view. My dad has a one track mind, and I know that he'll get over it on his own, and hopefully soon.

My mom motioned for me to follow her down the stairs that lead into the lab. I walked past my dad and into the basement and looked around. My mom was already at the table, working on their latest invention. With nothing better to do, I decided to help her by giving her the items that she asked for. At first, the silence was deafening so I started to whistle a tune that I had heard somewhere before. My mother momentarily stopped and looked at me before she gave me a small smile. The silence must have bothered her too.

A few more seconds of whistling and I stopped, not knowing the rest of the song. It was then that my mother started to talk to me, asking me questions about Danny. I knew that there were a lot of things that hadn't been explained, and I wasn't sure if I had the right to tell my mom certain things. It should have been Danny's choice to tell them, and the only reason they even know now that he's a phantom was because I thought that we were all going to die so I blabbed. It wouldn't have been right for them to die not knowing what happened to Danny.

During the time of the whole 'Asteroid hurting towards Earth' thing, Vlad had tried to take over the world. He had promised to get rid of the asteroid by turning it intangible so that it would just float harmlessly through the Earth. It would have worked out fine too if it weren't for a small probably. The asteroid was composed entirely of Ectoranium which, according to mom, dad, and Vlad, was untouchable by ghosts. That meant that Vlad couldn't even get close to it! Danny, who had gone and gave up his ghost powers because he thought that those loons 'Masters' Blasters' could handle ghost fighting and because he had been making a fool of himself, took matters into his own hands…well, at least after he managed to somehow get his powers back.

He and Tucker spoke out to the town of Amity Park, Danny in Ghost form and Tucker as himself, stating their own idea. Danny would turn the asteroid intangible. He'd turn the entire planet intangible. Of course, for one half ghost that task would sure be impossible, right? Right. Tucker had come up with a plan for that. Using a big enough transfer device (By big I mean on a global scale) and a powerful ghostly source, it would be possible. Of course, this meant retrieve ghosts from the Ghost Zone, which Danny had decided to handle himself.

Danny took the Specter Speeder into a natural Ghost Portal that opened up above the Artic which was our base of operations during the final moments. As time ticked away, we thought that Danny had encountered trouble because he had been taking way to long. It was then that the Speeder had sped out of the Ghost Zone. We all cheered, thinking that it was Danny Phantom, but soon our hopes somewhat died. The Speeder crashed into a mountain and exploded. I thought Danny was dead, and so did everyone else.

My dad had said that he loved us and that he was proud of us. My mom had said something like, 'At least we're all together.' I tried to confess right then and there…but I looked over towards where 'Danny' was standing. That was when she noticed that Danny wasn't there, and that it was the old Tuck Bot. The Tuck Bot was basically a robot version of Tucker that Danny had made back when we were rich thanks to mom and dad selling the lab to the Guys In White.

Anyway, the Tuck Bot had been dressed up like Danny to keep everyone from noticing that he was gone. It worked on dad, of course, but mom was much more observant. She asked me where was Danny. At first, I didn't know how to answer her. I didn't want to answer her. That was when I looked at the mountain expectantly; hoping to see Danny while the other half of me tried to tell my mother that he had crashed into it.

My mom asked my dad, quite loudly, 'Where's Danny'.

That was when Sam, who was there with us, along with Tucker and a lot of people from Amity Park, shouted for us to look at the portal. When we did, that was when we saw Danny fly out with a hoard of ghosts. A lot of the ghosts I instantly recognized. I saw Skulker, Technus, that wishing ghost genie girl, Johnny, and a whole lot more. Danny had made it back with help! They all channeled their power of intangibility into the huge transfer device in order to turn the entire planet intangible. It had worked like a charm! After that…well, Danny ended up revealing his secret to the entire world. Statues were even made in his owner, much to his complete and utter embarrassment.

Anyway, mom and I talked about little things pertaining to Danny's powers. She still couldn't understand how he was only half a ghost considering that he should be completely dead. Ignoring that concept, she was also curious as to why he had ice powers and why Danielle was female, which I have to admit I'm curious about too. There were also things like how powerful she rated Danny. So far, he rated an 8. I knew that mom was rambling because she was nervous, but at the same time I knew that I had to keep her focused.

"Mom, what's that black goo for?" I asked as I pointed to the container of, what I knew to be black ectoplasm.

"That, sweetie, is another form of Ectoplasm. This form of ectoplasm is from malevolent spirits. It's highly dangerous to humans, but has the potential to turn a docile spirit into a ravenous monster. It's near impossible to come by, but thanks to Danny, we were able to retrieve a sample from the Ghost Zone."

I nodded my head, not really too much listening. I was just trying to get her back to the task at hand. It seemed to work, for the most part. She began to hum to herself while measuring different amounts of blue ectoplasm. As much as I wanted to know why the ectoplasm came in a variety of colors, I knew better than to ask unless I wanted a very long and very detailed summary of each type. I jumped a bit as the lights in the lab cut off for a few seconds, then came back on. I had a feeling that it was only a matter of time before they went off completely.

I took note of the flashlight that was on the tabletop before I gripped it with both hands and held it close. My mom didn't object. She must have come to the same conclusion that I had. It would be better if someone held it just in case the lights went off permanently, that way no-one would have had to search around for it blindly, and accidently knock something down.

After a few more seconds, my mom started talking again, this time about Danny AND Sam. I giggled a bit at the questions knowing that Danny would kill me if he knew I answered them…even so, it was worth it. It made the atmosphere a bit more relaxing after all.

[==Character Transition==]

**Jack**

*Flashback*

*Setting: University of Wisconsin College Laboratory

"I'm telling you Jack, it won't work," stated Vladdie nonchalantly while pointing towards the prototype Ghost Portal.

"Bogus V-Man, it totally will. This portal is guaranteed to bust open a portal into the ghost dimension," I replied happily before shooting Maddie a confident smile.

She returned the smile then walked towards the desk where the remainder of my notes had been. I didn't see her smile fade as she quickly skimmed over my calculations.

"Jack, these calculations aren't right," Maddie said right before I pressed the button on the remote which started up the portal.

"BANZAI!" I yelled as seconds before my finger jabbed down the big red button.

"BOGUS!"cried Vladdie as a highly concentrated blast of ectoplasm shot out of the malfunctioning portal and into his face, causing his face to break out with ectoplasm filled pimples known as Ecto-Acne.

*Flashback End*

I remembered it all as if it were yesterday. How could I have been so blind to my actions? Sure I wasn't as smart as Maddie and Vladdie. They were A+ students, and I was a B-…solid B- student, but that's beside the point. Now that I looked back on it, I guess I could slightly see how angry Vladdie was with me. How he had refused to talk to me for twenty years, then suddenly invites us to the college reunion he was hosting. It had been to humiliate me, and I think it somewhat worked, although I can't be too sure…

Then there were those comments that he would make casually about how he would steal Mads from me, but those weren't just comments. I was just too daft to hear the truth in his words, or the hatred he had. I had been such a fool, and everyone knows it. Vladdie had been my best friend though…it's hard to cope with a betrayal. I mean, he tried to have me KILLED, tried to take MY son, AND MY WIFE!

I grunted angrily as I looked down at my UNTOUCHED plate of fudge. Usually I can down a plate of fudge in literally no time at all, but this time…the pain I feel sort of outweighs my need for the fudgy goodness.

I turned my head slightly to the side and peered at the clock on the wall. How much time had passed since I came up stairs to wallow in self-pity? I dunno, but I knew that I needed to get back to work on the ED2.0 otherwise Maddie would get upset. I pushed my plate of fudge to the side before I made my way to the stairs that led down into the lab. I could hear my wife and my daughter speaking. When had Jazz got down there? I must have been really out of it. Anyway, I hear them speaking, talking about Danny and his friends. I couldn't help but give a little crooked smile. Danny had been saving the world from ghosts for so long, and we hadn't even realized it.

My smile slowly faded as I realized how oblivious to the world I really am. My own son was Inviso-Bill, the Ghost Boy, Phantom…Danny Phantom. I should have realized it sooner. A side by side comparison of Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton…the hair, the scrawny physique…Even then names…I feel like such a moron. I guess that part of what Vlad said about me was true…

I slowly make my way down the stairs with my head lowered a bit. I still can't help but to think that this could have all been prevented by me just re-reading my stupid calculations for the Proto-Portal. If I hadn't been in such a rush…if I hadn't been so excited…then Vladdie wouldn't have been hit in the face with a rogue blast of ectoplasm which gave him Ecto-Acne and his ghost powers. Ah, the Ecto-Acne…it's like acne, but it's infused with ectoplasm so the little pimples look more like boils.

The first sign of Ecto-Acne was when Vladdie took a hit to the face. He downright refused to let us study him in order to find a cure. He said that I had done enough damage. He had been escorted off the school grounds after that. It had been the last we heard of him, at least for twenty years.

The next case of Ecto-Acne was a little bit after Vlad came back into our lives. Maddie and I were going to go out for 80's Night at the Material Grill, but Danny had left his wallet at home. Being the great parents that we are…well, that Maddie is, we went to give our little Danny his wallet. In doing so, we ended up being late, but in hindsight that was a good thing. If we had left any earlier, we wouldn't have seen Vladdie, Sam, and Tucker, who all had the dreaded Ecto-Acne, only this time it was fatal.

With the help of Jazz and Danny, Maddie and I were able to get the three of them to our lab where we conducted not-so-painful tests and experiments in hopes of quickly finding a cure. The three of them were fading fast. It was then that Danny spoke up, although at the time we were more concerned about the fact that he wasn't in his protective wear so he wouldn't catch the acne. Anyway, he had asked if the abnormalities that we couldn't identify in the acne were consistent with that of diet cola. He had been right. Later when he told us about his powers, his adventures, and his time traveling incidents, it had come to my attention that the Ecto-Acne was also my fault. Instead of putting Ecto-Purifier into the Proto-Portal, I had put in diet cola.

Of course they tried to convince me that it was an accident, and it truly was, but I had been so excited and in such a rush…all of that could have been prevented.

Absently I walked back up the stairs and into the kitchen. I took a few bites out of the fudge that I had left on the plate, then sat down at the table. I put my head down and just sat there, unsure of what I SHOULD do to help. It seems that every time I try to do something extraordinary, I mess it up big time. If it weren't for Maddie, all of the inventions that we have wouldn't work or would backfire. I think it's just best if I tended to the fudge.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize how big a failure I really am. Maddie's the real genius, she's a black belt, she's got great aim, she always seems to know when something's afoot, and right now she was the only one really attending to the Dejecto 2.0 which…I dunno, seems logical.

Silently I continue to eat my fudge until the lights go out. I wait for one minute, then two…then I realize that this time the power was out for good.

"Oh no," I stated as I rose to my feet. "The lights are out!"

I tried to run towards the lab stairs only to run into the wall. As I hit the wall, I think that perhaps running blindly was a bad idea. That was something else to add to my list. I grunt as I back away from the wall and walk forward, only to hit the wall again.

"Jack?" I heard my wife shout from downstairs. A few seconds later I see the light from one of the flashlights that we keep down in the lab.

I rubbed my aching nose, which I obviously hit on the wall, before I turned to look at Maddie. I could tell that she was worried about me, and I felt bad. She had more important things to be worried about, like the safety of our son, his friends, and the town in that order.

"Jack?" she repeated while placing her hand on my shoulder.

I slouched forward and looked at her sadly before turning my attention towards the kitchen window. It had grown darker outside, and the town's Ghost Shield started lowering.

"The kids are still out there," I mumbled before making up my mind.

I still had the keys to the Fenton Family Assault Vehicle, AKA the RV. I snatched the flashlight from a protesting Maddie, made my way to and out the front door. I slammed the door closed behind me, dropped the flashlight so that Maddie could retrieve it, jumped into the RV, started her up, then I began to drive like my life depended on it. I could hear Maddie yelling at me from the porch, asking me what I thought I was doing and where I thought I was going. I would have guessed that the answer was obvious. I was going to save my son. I was going to prove to everyone and myself that I wasn't a failure. I could capture a ghost if I had too. I captured Danny after all! Then again…that's what he had told me, but I'm not sure now if he was being honest…

More to the point, hadn't the kids run off without any weapons? Well, the FFAV had plenty of weapons like the bazooka that Sam used to use before I made her the Fenton Pistols. There was also plenty of Fenton Thermoses in the back as well. I think the Jack-O-Nine Tails was back there as well.

I frowned as I began to pick up speed. There was no-one on the streets which made avoiding people and cars easy. Finally reaching my destination, I stepped out of the car while holding the Fenton Peeler in my hand. I pressed the button on the gun looking device, and in seconds it extended around me until it had me covered in this white armor.

"Alright ghosts, Jack Fenton is on the scene!" I yelled in hopes of getting some spooks' attention.

After getting nothing, I narrowed my eyes before I turned my attention skyward. The first thing I see is that ghost with the flaming white hair and flapping cape. He's just hovering there with his arms dangling at his sides. I don't see Danny or the others anywhere. Maybe they're inside? Maybe now's my chance. If I can catch this ghost that had Danny, as girl Danny put it, 'shaking in his HAZMAT suit', then it would prove that I'm not a moron.

I pointed my arm up towards the fusion of Vlad and Danny and took aim with the Fenton Peeler. Right when I was about to shoot, that darn ghost looked in my direction. His cold red eyes made me shutter and take a step back. I had a feeling in my gut that what I was about to do was bad, but I didn't listen. Listening to my gut gave me a fifty percent chance of success. Half the time listening to my gut was a good idea, and the other half it wasn't so good.

"Alright spook, eat this!" I shouted as I fired a concentrated blast of energy at the ghost.

The ghost merely stood there and my blast dissipated before it even touched him. Of course, I wasn't sure what that meant so I fired again and again with the same effect. I lowered my arm and growled. The blast wasn't making it anywhere near the ghost.

"Maybe I'm not close enough," I thought as I began to move closer. I could feel the ghost watching me as I progressed forward.

When I felt that I was close enough, I began to take aim and then I fired thinking that it would actually connect with the ghost. It didn't. It only dissipated again.

"Blast!" I snarled while momentarily taking my eyes off the ghost. It was then that I felt my body jerk. The pain didn't register yet.

I turned around and noticed that the ghost had moved; he was hovering a few feet above me now. I blinked, frowned and then fired again, but the ghost merely knocked the blast away with the flick of his wrist. I knew that that I was in trouble.

"No ghost is gonna get the best of Jack Fenton," I protested before I tried to fire again.

The ghost just knocked the blast away once more, and slowly descended upon me until it was only a few inches away. I could feel his cold red eyes boring into my soul. I flinched as his hands began to glow a vibrant green. I knew what he was about to do. He was about to attack! I only had moments to do something, so I did what any self-respecting ghost hunter would do.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I rolled out of the way, and not a moment too soon.

The blast missed me, and I was really glad that it had considering it left a huge crater in its wake. I ran behind a dumpster to catch my breath before I poked my head out to see if the ghost had chased me or not. I had to admit that I was surprised to see him hovering in front of the building once again like nothing had happened.

"What the fudge is going on?" I asked myself before I tried to peer into one of the windows of the power plant.

"Where are the kids? Did that ghost already get to them? No, that can't be it! Not my Danny and his friends!"

I narrowed my eyes and watched the building, the ghost, and the ghost shield as it finally went down completely. I gulped. If the town's ghost shield was down along with our ghost shield back home, plus whatever shield I noticed guarding the power plant…well, that wasn't a good sign.

The evil version of Danny and Vlad began to descend until he landed on the ground. His cape bellowed behind him even though there was barely any wind. A few seconds later, Alucard appeared from the door with a grin on his face. He stood beside Dark Phantom, as Danny called him, then stood there and looked around. His appearance was visible thanks to, I guess, the fact that he must have really had to work to shut off the power.

His robe was opened enough for me to take note of it not being an actual robe, but a lab coat that was much too big for him. The clothes that he wore underneath them seemed to be the same ones that Vlad had one back in his college days except that his shirt was a white hoodie which was probably why his lab coat looked like a robe. He used the hood of his top to cover his face while he tightly closed the lab coat around him. He even sport grey/white sneakers! His hair was the same black with grey streak that it had been when I had seen him back at the house. His eyes seemed to dance in triumph. He had succeeded in his plans, obviously, and was now looking for anyone who would oppose him.

The entire time I'm wondering where the kids are and what was going to happen next. I hadn't realized that there was someone behind me.

"Mr. Fenton?" asked a female voice.

I turned around quickly, aiming the Fenton Peeler at the owner of the voice. She flinched hard and put her hands up defensively before saying, "Don't shoot!"

I lowered my arm and took in the sight of the female Danny. She wasn't in her ghost form, and her hoody was torn and dirty. Her face had a few cuts on them, and her hair was drenched with…well, whatever was inside the dumpster I'm guessing, since that was where she seemed to have come from. She smelled bad too.

I watched as she lowered her arms and looked at me. She then looked around as though she was waitinf for someone to attack or something.

"Where're the others?" I asked as she leaned against the dumpster for support.

It took her a few minutes for to respond, and when she did it was just with a shrug of her shoulders.

[==Character Transition==]

**Dani**

There was no way the two of us could get passed this ghost/people shield. Dark Phantom was hovering on the outside of it though, most likely to scare us away despite the fact that we couldn't get passed the shield. In a way, it was quite the confidence booster. Alucard was taking special precautions to make sure that we didn't get to him. Danny, on the other hand, looked as though he wasn't sure why he was there. Occasionally he would hover backwards before moving forward again. I knew he was nervous and unsure. He wanted to get rid of this ghost, but he didn't want to attack it since it wasn't moving. Besides, we had neglected to bring our weapons with us. We all rushed out to stop Danny, but ended up here confronting this Dark Phantom.

I hovered silently while sizing up the guy in front of us. In all honesty, I was confused. Danny had said that this guy was the fusion of both him and Vlad, at least their ghost halves, so where did the flaming hair come from? Yeah, I know it wasn't the right time to be thinking about hair and accessories, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to ask Danny, but before I could he was back on the ground talking with Sam and Tucker.

I hovered away from Dark Phantom and watched as Danny gave Sam the Time Scepter. I had assumed that the only reason he brought it with him was because he was in such a rush that he didn't bother to put it down. Then I figured that maybe he would try to use it. Since this Clockwork guy had been the Master of Time, his scepter should have been able to stop time and stuff, right? Danny hadn't even tried to use it though. He just held on to it for, I don't know, a confidence boost? Maybe he was hoping that Clockwork would appear, say that it had been a joke and would proceed to help us out of this mess.

With a sigh, I watched Danny fly back up, full speed, and head straight for Dark Phantom. I closed my eyes as he shot passed me, but opened them when I heard Danny grunt. I looked towards the two older Phantoms and watched as Dark Phantom held Danny by his fist, then punched him repeatedly in the stomach.

"Danny!" I yelled as I flew forward to assist my 'cousin'.

Before I could fire an ecto-blast, Dark Phantom had chucked Danny in my direction. I quickly turned intangible allowing Danny to fly harmlessly through me. Danny, on the other hand, collided with a building. I didn't have to turn around to know that. Instead, I began firing my own concentrated blasts of ectoplasm. The Phantom just blocked my attacks before sending a flurry of attacks my way. I flew out of the way, doing barrel rolls to dodge and turning intangible to allow some of the blasts to fly through me. The other ghost just kept firing though, leaving me no chance for an opening.

That wasn't my intention though. I was just the distraction. As I dodged, Danny came up on Dark Phantom's blind side and began to fire his ice attacks at the ghost. This momentarily caused Dark Phantom to stop firing at me, which was a big mistake on his part. I turned intangible and flew towards the Phantom while quickly rotating my body like a drill. I shot a ray at the ghost which also seemed to rotate. It was a direct hit, or at least I thought it was. I turned tangible once more and watched as Danny flew beside me.

"What was that?" he asked me with a smile tugging at his lips.

"I haven't thought up a name for it yet," I answered while looking at him.

That was a big mistake, taking our eyes off of Dark Phantom, I meant. The evil ghost multiplied so there were ten of them. Five of them began to shoot at me while the other five began to shoot at Danny. I was taken completely off guard, but Danny managed to throw up a shield just in time to protect himself. I shouldn't say that I was surprised. Danny knew what this ghost was capable of. I, on the other hand, should have been a lot more vigilant. To me, Dark Phantom was a new opponent which meant that I should have been focused on him more than I was.

The last thing I remembered was being sent flying. I had gone intangible so that I wouldn't hit anything, but it did last too long, and I ended up hitting a wall then falling until I landed in something wet and smelly. I must have blacked out because when I woke up, I heard Mr. Fenton shouting and screaming. At first, I couldn't move, but when I got myself free Mr. Fenton was near the dumpster I had been hiding in.

I heard him ask me where the others were, but all I could do was shrug. I was the one that went flying out of control with my eyes closed. I had no idea which way was up or down let alone which direction the others were in. Obviously I couldn't answer him. Instead, I looked up and peaked out of our hiding place. Dark Phantom was now standing beside Al who didn't seem to care that he was no longer concealed by his 'robe', and was wearing a triumphant grin on his face. The next thing I knew, Al had put his hood back over his head and part of his face, and a dark charcoal colored orb emerged from his torso, expanded into a ring that went around his body marking the beginning of his ghostly transformation, and split off into two one of which went upwards while the other went downward.

When the two rings vanished, Al's 'robe' and hood were still over him, but beneath that I could see the new wear he was sporting. It was a dark grey, skin leotard with a black sash around the waist. Where the seams on the side of the arms and legs would be, there was a trail of thick, blood red material that looked as though it had to have little specks of something that made it shine when it hit the light a certain way. From the middle of his chest, I think, down to somewhere beneath the sash was the same design, only it was gold and not red. He wore black gloves and his footwear were black boots that matched the sash and reached just below his knees. From where I was standing, that was pretty much all I could see.

Soon after this transformation, the two ghosts took off in our direction only they weren't coming for us. They were headed towards the OUTSIDE of town. I shuddered. If they were retreating for the time being….well, what were they planning?

The two of us crouched down as the ghosts flew by us. That was when Mr. Fenton whispered to me.

"We have to find the others, now."

"R-right."

As Mr. Fenton ran from out of his hiding place, I transformed back into my ghost form. I then began to hover behind him. I didn't exactly want to leave him to search on his own, but I wanted to get a bird's eye view. I had a feeling that Danny was alright. Sam and Tucker would be with him after all. Then again…

Mr. Fenton ducked, rolled and hid behind everything that he could. It was like he thought he was in some sort of spy movie. I couldn't help but giggle at him. He didn't seem to hear me, or if he did he ignored me. He was determined to find Danny, Sam and Tucker in the most ridiculous way possible, so I wasn't going to stop him.

It would be very entertaining to watch after all, and I needed a little pick-me-up.

After about fifteen minutes of futile searching, we finally came across Tucker who had been looking for me.

"Dani! Mr. Fenton? What are you doing here?"

I smiled at Tucker before looking at Mr. Fenton who was still wearing that armor thing of his.

"I came to help," stated Mr. Fenton as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I saw Tucker flinch at Mr. Fenton's tone before he covered his nose.

"Geez Dani, can't you go intangible and get some of that stink off?"

I frowned at Tucker before trying what he suggested. The only thing that happened was that the excess water made a puddle at my feet leaving me effectively dry, but the smell lingered.

"Eesh," he said while moving away from me.

"Where's Danny?" I nearly growled at Tucker who threw up his hands defensively.

"Well, when you got sent flying I sort of took off after you. Sam is most likely with Danny, so I've no clue."

I turned my attention to Mr. Fenton who had a frown on his face. This was his son that we were talking about after all. Suddenly, Mr. Fenton turned to me. The look he gave me made me want to curl into a tight little ball.

"The two of you have the same strands of DNA and ghost powers. Can you lock on to his ecto-signature?"

I looked at Mr. Fenton with an unsure expression on my face while Tucker's face seemed to brighten.

"That's not a bad idea, Mr. Fenton. Do you think you could do it, Dani?"

"I don't know, Tuck, I've never really tried to before. I'm not sure if I know how."

Tucker looked at me and began to think. Mr. Fenton just started pacing around.

"Well," started Tucker while pulling out his PDA, "like Mr. Fenton says, you guys have the same DNA…most likely near an identical molecular code and ghost powers. If you could utilize your Ghost Sense, you could probably track each other. Heck, you could probably speak telepathically to one another."

Tucker seemed to chuckle at the telepathic communication comment he made, but I was barely listening. Tucker had said, more or less, that if I focused on trying to find a specific ecto-signature, my Ghost Sense would pick it up, and since Danny's signature was so close to mine, all needed to do was look for a signature that was near identical to my own…

I closed my eyes and began to focus on finding Danny. He couldn't have left Amity Park, and he couldn't be too far from where we were, unless he was knocked for miles. If that was the case, then Sam would be with Tucker because it would be pointless to track Danny on foot by herself. The most logically thing would have been to find me first so that I could use my powers to search.

Slowly I opened my eyes as a small blue mist wafted from my lips. It wasn't caused by Danny though.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!" cried a chubby blue ghost with a skull cap, blue overalls over a white shirt and black boots.

He looked like a worker out of some sort of warehouse, probably why he had a thing for containers ranging from square to cylindrical. It didn't matter though. His presence, like with everyone else, annoyed and so, I shot a warning beam at him. He quieted down, looked at me, I think he even sniffed me, then gave a loud, BEWARE, before vanishing. My eyes flash for a moment before I close my eyes to try to concentrate on finding Danny again.

One of the reasons why I was even trying this idea was because…well, maybe if I succeeded Mr. Fenton would like me. It's no secret that he doesn't care for me because of what I am. It's not just that I'm a clone of his youngest child, but that I'm a product of his ex-best friend's hatred. I was created out of rage, spite and jealousy. I felt that every time Mr. Fenton looks at me, he doesn't see Danielle the Friendly Ghost, but Vlad Plasmius, and that's far from what I want. I don't know why, but I feel like I just needed his acceptance. It was one of the many reasons that I didn't linger so much in Amity Park. To many bad memories, and no-one, other than Danny to turn to, at least at the time.

Now I have Mrs. Fenton, who I occasionally call 'Mom' from time to time, under her prompting, Jazz, Sam, Tucker and of course, Danny.

Concentrating as hard as I can, I started to feel something tugging at the core which lies in the pit of my stomach. It's warm and familiar, but at the same it's different. Right when I was about to tap into it, I heard Mr. Fenton's voice.

"Hang on a sec! I have another idea. I brought the RV! It has a radar right there in the middle of the dashboard that can track Danny's unique signature!"

With that, Mr. Fenton ran off to, I guess, wherever he parked the RV. I looked to Tucker who had an identical look of disbelief on his face as I did.

"Why didn't he think of that sooner," asked Tucker with a shake of his head.

I shrugged off Tucker's question before the two of us began following Mr. Fenton back to the RV, or at least what seemed to be left of it.

TBC