Chapter 6

Bite

Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville

"Fenton!" The cry echoed through the hallways as Danny once more found himself on the run from a bulky blue-eyed blonde footballer. It seemed some things would never change. Jay was one of the few people in the school that Danny knew by name. He had decided that he didn't want friends who could get hurt from being near him, or betray him to the GIW. Besides, he felt like he would be betraying Sam and Tucker if he replaced them. He was better off alone in Smallville. Danny Fenton could fly under the radar. "Fenton! Get here now! You owe me a Locker-Plant!" Well, mostly under the radar.

Okay, Danny had baited Jay to protect his intended victim, but the freshman couldn't take the hit. Danny could. Besides, Danny had found out that the football team had apparently strung him up out in a cornfield on the night of the homecoming dance. He'd already suffered enough for one year, so Danny had decided to subtly protect him, and Jay's other victims. If he was the new target, so what. It wasn't like anything Jay did would hurt him. So Danny let Jay chase him through the halls and down the stairs, drawing the attention away from the freshman class.

The bigger problem was that ghosts were appearing in Smallville more often. He'd have to stop a minor ghost once every few hours. It was as if the fight with Undergrowth broke a dam and now there was a big shining beacon saying "Danny Phantom is here!" to the sky. Sure it wasn't as bad as Amity had been, but it was still a nuisance. Perhaps more annoying was the Phantom paraphernalia that had showed up in some of the shops. Some of the kids had switched to the black and neon green shirts that had popped up seemingly overnight. It was actually kind of disturbing. Fortunately there was no-one here out to get him. Or at least not yet.

Although with all the added interruptions Danny wasn't the most popular student for the teachers. When he handed work in it was good. When he was in class he paid close attention. But when a ghost showed up he'd have to leave a duplicate until the end of class and then reabsorb it after the bell to save energy. He wasn't randomly running out anymore, but the teachers were wary of his semi-constant absences. The school had called Uncle Jon and Aunt Martha about it already, but they had seen him on the local news often enough and knew that was only in the longer confrontations. Danny was actually glad to have his guardians know about him. At least he didn't have to deal with the disappointment at home as well.

Danny had been living with the Kent's close to two months now. It was coming up to Halloween. All Hallows Eve was to fall on a full moon that year. That meant that the barrier between the Zone and the Real world would be dramatically weakened. Danny just hoped he could ride it out and not have to deal with the Fright Knight. He was currently free of the Pumpkin, but Vlad tended to keep him on a fairly tight leash. The froot-loop had his uses. Still, the other ghosts were likely to cause trouble. He'd noticed the gradual increase in the number of ghosts around the town. He felt responsible for all the ghosts that came to Smallville, but he didn't know how to stop them coming. All he could do was stop them when they arrived.

Danny turned a corner, but stumbled when two other football players blocked the corridor. Fenton needed to be clumsy and foolish, hiding in plain sight. Danny slowly got up and spun as Jay joined the other three. "Fenton" the larger boy said with a grin as menacing as a human could make "you know, just because you're Kent's cousin doesn't mean you can waltz in here and expect us to bow down to you. Scrawny little loser like you, should be taught your place." Danny let himself be slammed up against the lockers, feigning pain as a punch was delivered to his stomach. The freshman would have gone home with a broken rib. Frankly, Danny had faced worse from the Box Ghost.

The bell rang and Jay dropped Danny, striding away as he headed towards his next class. Knowing Jay wasn't in it Danny moved freely to the classroom and took a seat in the back of the room. They were studying WWII and the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Danny reflected on his lessons from Clockwork about the Zone at the time. Many soldiers had passed on, but they didn't have the will to manifest into anything more than a level 1. Danny smiled; keen to learn about the human perspective. Twenty minutes into the lesson though Danny groaned as he sensed a ghost near. Leaving a duplicate for the last half of the lesson, he flew off to face the ghost. Halloween week had begun.

Line Break

Clark had a lot on his mind. Professor Milton Fine had offered him a position as a research assistant for a book on LuthorCorp, which Clark had accepted. But he had some ethical qualms about having done so. Professor Fine's lectures were interesting, he spent them pressing about battles of power. Clark was not fond of the might means right mentality, but it seemed so many of the great figures in history were. Fine gave many insights into the people in power of whatever time period they were studying, but the underlying message through all of them seemed always to somehow relate back to Lex Luthor. Fine had a very antagonistic view of Lex, and while Clark was not so fond of him anymore, Fine always seemed to ignore his redeeming qualities.

Clark had been at Central Kansas U for over a month now and had settled in well enough. It was a longer distance to run in the mornings, but he enjoyed the liberty of lectures and the more open plan of the University. It was different to Smallville High, but it was good. He often visited Chloe at Met U, she had taken to it like a fish to water, but after all, Journalism was her dream. She had even applied for an internship at the Daily Planet, and Clark thought there was no way that they'd refuse her.

Lana had surprised him by getting late acceptance into Met U. He was disappointed that she hadn't wanted to come to Central Kansas, but could respect that she wanted to do her own courses. At least she'd have Chloe for company. Clark hoped that Lana would find somewhere to stay. She was too independent to rely on always crashing in Chloe's dorm. All he knew was that she was trying out for a sorority. Lana had never really struck him as that type of girl, she was strong, but she was too innocent for it. He loved her with all his heart because she was so kind and honest towards everyone around her. People in sororities were renowned for being shallow and uncaring. Still, if it gave her a bed that was her own Clark was happy for her.

No, what was really pressing on his mind was Danny. In many ways Clark regarded him as a brother, despite their differences. The Kryptonian and the Halfa, both Danny and he were the only one of their kind on Earth. While the kid had let himself be friends with Clark, and his friends, Danny didn't seem to make any his own age. Clark worried as to why, but just hoped it was shock lag from moving to a new town and not having his family around anymore, and not anything more sinister. It was interesting to watch the difference between his characters. When Chloe, Lois or Lana was around he acted a clumsy fool, a kind-hearted but goofy person. When he was Phantom he was powerful, in control, confident and commanding. He acted every part the noble his costume portrayed. When he was on the farm with Clark or his parents he was a strange mixture of the two. He was a kind-hearted strong person who walked with confidence and purpose.

Sometimes Clark wondered who the real Danny was. He seemed to miss his friends and family, but he was not as lost as Clark was sure he would be. Or was his loss just concealed behind another mask? He couldn't understand his cousin, and while Clark enjoyed being around him, he couldn't help but wonder what Danny actually thought and felt. Clark was saddened when the school called his parents to say he was acting up. He knew that it meant that Danny was taking care of ghosts, although Danny never spoke about it. Phantom had been in the Smallville Ledger at least once a week since Undergrowth had come. Every time Danny saw the paper he cringed and switched to a different subject.

There was one other thing that bothered Clark. When they left the Far Frozen, Frostbite had pulled Clark aside. He had asked Clark to continue being a guardian for Danny, whatever that meant. But the thing that got to him was when Frostbite had said "Soon the time will come when he learns what it means to single-handedly defeat a King". Clark had put that aside for a week, but eventually he went to Chloe to talk about it. She was better at searching for information and could better tell between rumour and fact than Clark could.

Flashback

Clark and Chloe were sitting in her dorm room. The other half of the room was empty, and Chloe was hoping that she'd been put into the room alone. The two of them had been discussing their various courses and Clark decided to use that as an interlude. Since he was studying world history he asked Chloe about kings, kingdoms and wars. Chloe pulled out her laptop and spent a few minutes pulling up information on ancient battles and long-dead armies. Sifting through it all she came to one common theme. All the victors seized control of the land they had defeated.

"The Right of Conquest" Chloe announced "Is a part of long-standing traditional law. It doesn't matter much today where all our disagreements are settled on paper and with treaties. In ancient times though, if an army defeated another they had the right to take possession of their lands. That principle is what led to the foundations of the UK."

That still didn't answer his question about Frostbite's words. "What if one person defeated the king alone?" He asked, hoping that Chloe wouldn't read too much into it. Chloe plugged away on her computer for a moment. "If someone were to defeat a king by themself, then they became king. It was not just a right, but a responsibility. The people tended to believe in having the strongest leader. If their king were defeated, it meant they weren't strong enough. The new king had to take responsibility for both his people and those of the king he defeated. Those were the rules."

She looked up from the computer "Good thing it doesn't work like that now, otherwise the President would be responsible for about half the world." Chloe made the comment lightly, but Clark's mind was reeling. Danny had single handedly overthrown Pariah Dark; the King of all Ghosts. All ghosts. That meant that, according to the Right of Conquest, Danny would be King of all Ghosts himself. Wouldn't he? He remembered Frostbite's words. "He has a destiny similar to your own." The message that had come with Clark in his spaceship had suggested that he was to Rule the human race. Could that be what Frostbite meant?

End Flashback

Clark thought back to that day. Danny didn't act like a king. Phantom was a knight, sure, but he didn't do anything that kings did. He didn't have councils or war meetings. He didn't enforce laws. He wasn't a king. And yet it seemed it was his responsibility to be. Did he even know? Clark thought of all the fights between the ghosts and him. If he were King he could tell them to stop. No, he didn't know. And something told Clark that he wasn't supposed to. Maybe, Clark mused, he should help Danny learn to take care of people in all situations. That there was more than just ghost fighting out there. Perhaps that was what Frostbite had intended him to do.

Clark sighed as he headed off to his next lecture. Lex had shown up at the end of the last one, and Professor Fine had put Clark on the spot asking if he would have the courage to stop Lex should he turn out to be a megalomaniac. Fortunately he had been literally saved by the bell and hadn't had to answer in front of Lex. But the real answer... Clark honestly didn't know. He'd helped AC sure, but that wasn't stopping Lex, just a bad project. Clark didn't think he could ever do that to Lex himself. He had been a friend, but more than that, it felt wrong to even think about doing something that might hurt another person.

No, he could never do anything to harm a living person. That was the path he had chosen to walk. The path his parents had started him on. He would always go out of his way to make sure that the people around him were safe, but he would never put someone in harm's way to do so. He would walk the right path, he would not use his gifts to hurt others, and he would help his friends and family with them. This was his path, and he would happily walk it.

Line Break

Chloe looked over her laptop with glazed eyes. Pauline Kahn, Chief Editor of the Daily Planet had lain down the gauntlet. Chloe had to prove herself worthy to her. She desperately wanted the internship, but it was not going to be easy. She knew she'd have to start at the bottom, and she was prepared for it. But she couldn't find the right story. Most of her writing in Smallville had been for a largely ill read peer group, and she'd been able to report on the Meteor Freaks that populated the town. That wouldn't do here. She needed something big, something perhaps damning, and hopefully that played into her supernatural inclination.

The problem was that there was nothing. It was a dry spell for the meteor freaks, and there was literally nothing else happening. A story on Clark would make international headlines, but she would never betray him. She swore that on her grave. There was the issue of Phantom, if anyone could figure out what exactly he was and why he had come to Smallville then they'd have front page material. But short of that first meeting with the ghost Undergrowth she'd not spoken to him. He didn't talk to anyone except the ghost he was facing, and he disappeared at the end of his fights so no one could get an interview.

Ultimately this left Chloe with nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch. She stared at the blank screen at the little flashing cursor with frustration. She randomly searched missing persons, obits, anything to give a sign for something to write about. She noticed that there were a few missing person's reports for young men. Looking into the files she found that most of them worked in the delivery service, but there was nothing else that linked them. This wasn't getting her anywhere. She shook her head and headed off to her lecture. Maybe she could think more clearly when she got back. She picked up her bag and headed out the door. On the plus side, her roommate was still asleep. Hopefully she'd be that way when Chloe got back.

The lecture passed quickly enough and Chloe soon found herself in her dorm room. Problem was her roommate was busy tearing down all her news articles. Gah, that girl... she'd arrived at college late and the best they'd been able to do was manage civility. Chloe stayed on her half of the room and kept quiet. She turned her laptop off before midnight, and had not had Clark over since she'd come in. What gave her the right to come in here and take down the Wall of Weird? It was an intrinsic part of who Chloe was. Not being able to see it would be like losing her hand.

Her roommate stormed out, leaving Chloe with a very out of it Lana Lang. It seemed the Pledge Party had hit her pretty hard. She laid down groaning as Chloe opened the curtains. Lana must have had far too much to drink last night. Chloe watched as she struggled to rouse herself, only to be greeted by Clark. Clark would be better able to take care of his hung-over girlfriend. Chloe had other things she needed to do, like come up with any idea for her story and maybe research ways to kill her roommate.

Chloe headed to the campus library. It had a good wireless network and a pretty decent paranormal section for a University library. Chloe was sitting at one of the tables, a small pile of books sitting next to her laptop. She was distracted from her search by the hushed whispers coming from a table near her. Normally she'd have tried to ignore them, but they were talking about the Tri Psi sorority. That was where Lana had been accepted. "Can you believe we didn't make it?" one of the girls asked angrily. "We were so close; I was excited to be there." Whined another. The third was no less aggrieved "There were so many of us. I don't see why they'd only let one in, much less that Lana girl. She didn't seem all that special to me." Chloe tuned them out, but a smile crossed her face. She'd found her story.

Half an hour of digging left Chloe with a lot more questions than answers. Okay, so what did she know? One, they had the highest number of pledges, but only accepted one person every year, this year it was Lana. Two, Tri Psi had only accepted one new girl every year since the new Leader Buffy Saunders had taken over. Three, no one had graduated from Tri Psi in the six years since that. Twenty minutes worth of hacking gave Chloe four; none of the girls' student ID's looked a day older than when Buffy had taken over, six years ago. And five, the missing delivery people; two years ago a pizza boy had been found on the outskirts of campus, closest to Tri Psi, drained of blood.

So, the girls were seemingly immortal, ridiculously exclusive, and seemed to have developed a taste for human blood. The first thought that crossed Chloe's mind was Vampires but there was no such thing. Then again, if Phantom's real and Clark's real then why not vampires too? It seemed that the only way to find anything out for sure was to actually go there. But how could anyone get into an exclusive sorority house uninvited? Chloe headed back to the dorm. It was time to bring in the big guns. And by the big guns she meant Clark.

Chloe packed up her things, put a few books away and returned to her dorm. On the way she picked up a flyer. It seemed that Tri Psi was having a Halloween party. How fortuitous, she and Clark could get in, do a little digging and get out and no one would be the wiser. A cheeky smile crossed her lips as she called Clark. She'd missed this from the days of Smallville High, a mystery to solve and a paranormal being to stop. They'd bring Lana back in line, and stop whatever was going on at that Sorority. It felt good to be back in business.

Line Break

Phantom shook his head as he fell picked himself up from the ground. It was all Hallows Eve, and the barrier between the worlds was at its weakest. He had been fending ghosts off all week, and had probably missed more than half of school for the week. But protecting people would always come first. That's why he was here as the moon rose. This ghost fortunately wasn't the Fright Knight, today he'd be almost impossible to defeat. But the ghost was of a similar ilk.

Danny had just gotten out of his last class for the day and was going to head out for patrol when his ghost sense had gone off. Danny had hidden behind some of the bushes out the front of the school and transformed, flying off as Phantom. This would be his tenth ghost for the day, and something told Danny this would be the worst. He flew off towards where he sensed the ghost's energy, a tingle from its power shooting up his spine. This one was close to his own power level, and had the feeling of deranged maliciousness that so many of the ghosts that came to the Real World harboured.

Coming close to the scene Danny was overwhelmed by destruction. For two streets there were gutted cars laced with long incisions and burn marks. A few people lay unconscious on the sides of the street. Phantom flew over to check their pulse. Their vitals were all normal, but their auras were empty. It was as if their essence had been taken. Phantom puzzled over this as he followed the trail of destruction towards where the ghost was. He turned around a street corner and caught sight of a large dark figure.

"I am HARVESTER!" the ghost had proclaimed to the sky as Phantom approached. The ghost had his back to Danny, but looked like the grim reaper. Two skeletal hands came out from long black sleeves. A long scythe with a silvery red blade was clutched by one of the skeletal hands. The black robe had an aura of red danger encompassing it, and the sky had become a vicious shade of crimson. This ghost held a fire core, brilliant Phantom thought sarcastically. The ghost turned to face him. From beneath the black hood of his robe was a terrifying rendition of a Jack-o-lantern. Solid blood red eyes sat in the orange-red face. Sharp metallic teeth pointed out of its mouth. The skin of the pumpkin was laced with scars and cracks, all glowing with the same sickening shade as its eyes.

For a moment Phantom lost his holding in the air before he steeled himself for the fight ahead. He shot a warning blast at the ghost, and cried "Hey, Pumpkin Head, Harvest's in, and you're out." The ghost faced Phantom and sneered menacingly.

"The mortal harvest is over, but now it's my turn." The ghost drew out his scythe and swung it towards some of the few people who were still out on the street. Phantom flew in front of the blade and felt as it split through his black tunic, tearing at the flesh of his stomach. Something in the blade pulled at him, it felt like his very essence was being drawn into the blade. Harvester's eyes widened.

"Halfa" it hissed, and sent him a wild grin. "I will harvest your soul and reap your power for my own" the ghost drew the Scythe back and swung it towards Phantom. The red blade struck Phantom's green shield, and the people below scattered, retreating to safety. Phantom felt his stomach; the ectoplasmic blood was already starting to clot. If he could hold the ghost off for a few minutes it would be safe to move again. Harvester continued the assault on Phantom's shield, blow after blow shaking Phantom's energy to his core.

With a strong blow the shield shattered, falling away in a shower of green dust. Harvester grinned, and pulled his scythe back for what could be a killing blow. Phantom retreated for a moment, charging his hand with blue energy. As Harvester's blade swung Phantom dodged in to land an icy punch on the ghost's chest. Ice swelled from around the impact, and Harvester flew back in the air, screaming. He halted his flight, and glared at Phantom.

"Foolish boy! You cannot defeat me!" the ghost sent a barrage of lavender fireballs towards the halfa. Phantom dodged, but one singed the flesh on his right shoulder. Harvester continued his rant "The souls I have already reaped have allowed me purchase in this mortal world. I shall harvest your soul, and be unstoppable!" Well, at least that explained what was wrong with the unconscious people on the street. Danny continued to dodge the ghost's attacks, struggling to form a plan in his mind.

He couldn't just shove Harvester in the Thermos, not until the souls were free, but he had no idea how to free them. Harvester swung his scythe towards Phantom's chest, towards his heart. The blade pierced the skin even as Phantom caught the blade. A thin trickle of glowing green escaped his torn flesh. The blade in his fingers felt weird. The red glow surrounded his fingers, but there was a trace of humanity escaping from the blade. Phantom focused his energy on this, his eyes glowed blue as he poured his own ice around the fiery blade.

Blue ice spread slowly over the scythe's blade, absorbing the evil red, the two combined into an unusual shade of lavender. Phantom felt another tug on his soul, the blade trying to summon his essence. Phantom concentrated, and like with Frostbite allowed his own energy to bleed off that of Harvester's. The blade glowed brighter as the two held their contest of wills, neither willing to back down. The pull on Phantom grew too great and he felt himself being pulled into Harvester's blade.

To an observer, the two ghosts were swallowed in a pool of lavender light, so bright as to eclipse the setting sun. The scythe clattered down to the street below in a loud clamour. The street lay empty for several minutes, tension pouring through the air. After ten minutes a few people ventured out from the shops they'd been hiding in. They went to examine the unconscious people that were gathered on the street. A middle aged man knelt down next to his daughter, she breathed and looked as if she merely slept, but nothing could awaken her. Silently he cursed the ghost Harvester as others confirmed the same for all the unconscious people. A small crowd gathered around the scythe that lay in the street. No-one seemed to want to get close to it, still bathed in a crackling aura of purple light.

Phantom shook his head; last he recalled he was battling the ghost Harvester in the streets of Smallville. Now, he was standing on a rocky platform. There was nothing around except for the rocks. No trees, no grass, nothing but the rocks. The sky above him was a curious swirling mass of ice blue, bright red and purple light. It seethed; the colours of the sky seeming to battle against each other, similar to the colours on the blade. Phantom intuitively knew he was not in the Ghost Zone. Somehow he could always tell. No, he was still in the Real World, but at the same time not. Phantom took a few steps forward and came across a pile of rocks.

The rock pile was probably ten feet high, and Phantom walked around it. He could feel a strange almost human energy coming from inside it. He stopped, steeling himself he let the energy pour out. The front wall of the rocks was blown away to reveal about twenty people trapped in a big cage. Phantom reached his hand out to the cage, but pulled back as the cage tried to pull him in.

"Boy!" the loud voice of Harvester echoed across the plain causing both human and halfa alike to flinch in its sheer power. "Fool, you have trapped us both here!" the monstrous ghost appeared out of a mist, emanating evil, but Phantom noticed he lacked his scythe. Phantom's eyes widened in realisation; they were all trapped inside the scythe. If he wanted to free the trapped souls, he had to defeat Harvester here.

"You shall perish in here, and I shall summon your strength to escape this confinement!" Harvester screeched, sending a blast towards Phantom. Phantom erected a shield to protect the prisoners, and charged off towards Harvester. This time Phantom was not dealing with escaping the scythe. Fast as lightning he struck, ice pouring out from his glowing wrist. Harvester didn't stand a chance; he was entrapped in a block of ice. Even his fire core could not withstand the cold exuding from Phantom's icy one. Phantom looked at the frozen ghost and calmly said.

"You only reap what you've sown. And Harvester you planted nothing." Phantom walked away from the frozen ghost and back towards the cage. He placed a hand on the bars and with all his energy pulled, the ghostly entrapment fading into nothing. The trapped souls vanished from his sight. Phantom blinked in confusion before being overwhelmed. He felt as though there was too much going on inside his head. Too many thoughts and emotions teemed through his mind. Fear poured through his being and he weakened, fumbling across the platform in his confused state.

With all his mental strength he pushed back, creating a barrier between the chaos and his own self. It took a moment to realise that these were the trapped souls that Harvester had taken. Phantom needed to find some way to put them back, to get them home safely. He closed his eyes, and suddenly he knew what to do. Phantom pulled the last reserves of his ghostly energy in towards himself, and pushed out. He was encircled in a flash of golden white light.

Line Break

The people on the street were still gathered around the scythe. It had been twenty minutes since the two ghosts had vanished, leaving behind the tainted weapon. The gathered people watched as the energy around it fought, the red, purple and blue light seething in some form of eternal struggle. "Should we pick it up?" one man asked. The rest of the group stood at a loss, and even the man seemed reluctant to. Occasionally a glance was spared for the unconscious people lying on the street. They had all been found and brought back to lie on blankets on the street together. All in all there were twenty two people in this strange sleeping state.

The ambulance service had arrived not too long ago, but couldn't figure out whether it was safe to move them to the hospital. They simply looked to be asleep, but nothing would wake them. The vitals were different to comatose victims as well; it was weird to say the least. The paramedics were observing the sleeping victims, checking for any sign of change. The crowd had eventually shifted away from the scythe, to try and help in any way they could. Suddenly the scene was enveloped in a pool of pure white light, it was so bright that all had to close their eyes.

The light cleared, and from a pool of silver-blue mist stepped the figure of Phantom. His white cloak fluttered around him, floating in the ethereal breeze. His black trousers and tunic had become a stark white. His snowy hair had traces of black spotting the ends as it fluttered lightly around his face. But it was his eyes that held them all transfixed. No longer were they that bright neon green. They glowed silver, bright as the moon, but encompassed flecks of icy blue and emerald green. To all present he looked more like an angel than a ghost, bathed in a pure white light.

The Phantom didn't seem to acknowledge them; instead he turned to walk towards the closest sleeping figure. He stopped to kneel beside the fourteen year old girl. He moved both of her hands to lie over her heart and then lay his right hand over them. His eyes closed, and a silvery gold mist swirled around him. A small tendril of silver poured from Phantom's right hand and into the unconscious girl. The paramedics stepped forward to stop him, but were held back by the stunned citizens.

The girl gasped, her brown eyes opening in confusion. The father raced over to his daughter to catch her in a smothering hug. Phantom had already moved on to awaken the next person. A paramedic raced over to the girl to check that she was okay. Pulse, breathing, and temperature; she was perfectly fine. "What happened?" the girl's father asked as she gathered the blanket up around her shoulders.

The girl looked over to Phantom and took in as much as she could. She closed her eyes and remembered all that had happened that afternoon. "I was hanging out with Chris and we heard this almighty crash. It sounded like metal tearing against metal and we both tried to run for it. Then this cloaked person came up to us. We didn't think much of it, since its Halloween, but then he swung his scythe thing at us. Next thing I know I'm trapped in this weird place with a blood red sky. I was in a cage and there were seven other people already there before me and Chris got there. We were all stuck in this cage thing, and more people would just appear every few minutes."

The paramedic and the father didn't know what to make of this. The girl had been there the whole time, unconscious. She hadn't gone anywhere with a cage, they were both inclined to believe she'd made the whole thing up. By now Phantom had moved onto the third person, and the second was waking up slowly. Another paramedic went over to this man as the girl continued her story.

"There were lots of us stuck in the cage and it was getting cramped. It had been a very long time since someone had appeared, and we were wondering what would happen next. Suddenly it got cold, and the sky changed. The red was still there, but there was blue too and purple. The colours swirled and it was like some scary battle between the colours. Then everything flashed purple."

The girl paused for a moment to look over to Phantom as he shifted the hands of a thirty year old woman over her heart. "There was a few minutes silence, and then a great green light smashed through the rocks around our cage. Then Phantom was there. He smiled at us, and it felt like the world was going to be okay. He reached out to the cage, but then the ghost was there."

"The ghost yelled at Phantom and shot fire at our cage. But Phantom waved his hand and a green shield protected us. Then Phantom charged at the ghost. In a flash there was a block of ice where the bad ghost had been and Phantom walked back to our cage. This time he touched the bars, and they sort of disappeared into him. Then it's hazy. I felt myself being pulled towards Phantom, and for a moment I think I saw through his eyes. The platform was so much clearer, so sharp and detailed. But then it was gone. I think we were all inside Phantom's head. It was confusing because there was so much going on, so many of us all cramped inside this space."

The paramedic looked confusedly towards the father who asked "So Phantom consumed you, instead of that other ghost?" The girl looked up at her father and quickly shook her head. "He wanted us safe dad. He wanted us away from there and back here with you. Dad, he's different. He isn't like us. His heart doesn't beat, he's not alive. I don't know how to describe it. But for a moment I was surrounded by this feeling of pure bliss. It was like when you and mom give me a hug on a rainy day. It was so loving and caring and purely good, like nothing I've ever felt before. But then it was gone, and I was waking up here, safe, just like he wanted."

Phantom had moved on to the eighth victim by now, and seemed to be growing weary. The other people who had been aroused were telling their own version of the story. For something so surreal surrounding, they all had the same details. Whatever it was that had happened appeared to have actually happened to them. The one place they all got lost was when they described what they had felt in Phantom's mind. They all felt the warmth, the kindness, the purity of his heart, but had no way to describe it. He was an ethereal being placed on Earth, and none present could place what that meant.

Slowly, Phantom made his way through the rest of the people. The silvery golden mist still surrounding him grew weaker with every person he woke up. Finally he stopped at the last person; a second of recognition crossed his otherwise stoic face as he shifted the hands of the twenty odd year old woman above her heart. Once more he closed his eyes, and the golden mist fully disappeared as the woman awoke. Her eyes fluttered open as the Phantom retracted his icy hand. He stood up, and wavered. He still managed to pull out a silver and green Thermos and the Scythe disappeared in a pool of brilliant blue light. He stood unsteadily on his feet. It seemed his energy was virtually gone.

The young woman stood up, probably a bit too fast, but moved to thank Phantom all the same. She waved the approaching paramedic off as she went to face the specter. There was a flash of a camera as someone took a photo of Phantom with his pure white outfit and silver eyes. The Phantom smiled at the woman before he dazedly said "Hello again Lois" but then he staggered. A bright blue ring encompassed his waist and he closed his eyes, concentrating. The rings vanished, but the silvery mist came back.

Everyone present felt the mist pour past them, gathering around Phantom. There was a bright flash of silvery light and a wave of kindness washed over them. Those who had been in the cage recognised this as a fraction of Phantom's soul. As the light and mist cleared their rescuer was back to normal, the white cloak was gathered around a black tunic and black trousers. His hair was once more pure white, and his eyes had returned to their usual green. His eyes were dull, and he looked vaguely dizzy. The girl who he had first awoken ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

For a moment, Phantom's eyes closed in restful bliss, and when he opened them some of the life was back in his eyes. "Thank you for saving me" the girl said; Phantom's cloak fell over her shoulders as she dug closer to his chest. He took one step back and smiled tiredly at her. "That's all right. Thank you for being so brave. May I ask your name?" The girl looked quickly over to her father who nodded subtly, Phantom smiled at the exchange "My name is Katherine, but call me Kat." Phantom smiled down at the young girl, and taking her hand in his own kissed it. There was another camera flash.

"Well, young Kat. I must thank you. Few people could come face a ghost like Harvester and still be as brave and happy as you are now." Phantom led the young girl back towards her father "How?" the puzzled man asked. Phantom smiled at the man. "Kat looked at you for support. You have done a good job as a father; your girl is brave and strong, but wise enough to look to you for additional advice. Thank you." The crowd surrounding the group was shocked, this was the longest that Phantom had stuck around after a fight, he had been exhausted not too long ago, but appeared to be doing better now.

The man who had taken the pictures was going to start an interview since Phantom had stuck around this long. He was about to ask his first question when a bright pink light shot out of the sky and landed on Phantom's back. Phantom threw up his hands and everyone was surrounded in a glowing emerald shield. Phantom groaned, muttering under his breath. He leapt up into the sky as a red suited woman on a floating silver surfboard thing charged onto the scene.

"Ghost" the woman on the surfboard shouted. Her voice held the timbre of a young African-American woman. "Why do you have to make trouble every Halloween?" Phantom visibly slumped as he floated above them. He said something to her that no-one on the ground could hear, but the red-suited woman obviously did. "You kidnapped all those people! I had to fly for an hour to get here just to stop you! Stupid Spook! I'm not going to let you ruin anymore lives!" with that a barrage of red blasts surged from her guns, some speeding towards the large crowd on the ground. Before anyone could react Phantom was protecting them with a large dome like shield.

He grunted as the blasts flung onto the shield. He looked quickly between the crowd and the woman seeming to come to a decision "Red" he yelled "You're going to hurt innocent people..."

"Only because you're using them to protect yourself Ghost!" She interrupted him

"You're going to stop firing for five seconds, and I'm going to come up to you, we need to talk."

"I won't talk with you Ghost. You ruined my life!"

Phantom groaned as another barrage of blasts belted against the shield. The people were confused. This ghost had just saved the lives of twenty people, was visibly fighting exhaustion and yet was still protecting the lot of them against this "Red" girl's assault. Once more Phantom looked at the crowd gathered around him, and determination settled into his emerald eyes.

"Fine!" Phantom yelled "You want me, come get me" and with that the shield was dropped and Phantom leapt up once more into the sky, leading the girl away from the town, and over the road that led to Metropolis. The crowd stood in silence as the moon finally rose over the horizon. "What just happened?" One member of the crowd asked. "Phantom saved us" Kat replied. "He saved us from the ghost and he saved us from Red" a babble of noise broke out. The crowd was silenced by a sharp whistle.

Lois Lane stood to the side, drawing attention with a sharp whistle. "We should get off the street. Everyone who was kidnapped by Harvester gets a coffee on the house at the Talon tonight. Anyone else who wants to come, I'd recommend we figure out what happened where it's safe." With that Lois turned to lead the way back to the Talon. Sure she only worked there, but after this she needed a coffee and she figured everyone else did too. If it was necessary she'd pay out of her own pocket, but she hoped Martha, being the manager would be okay with it. The by now large crowd adjourned to the inside of the Talon to continue the discussion.

Line Break

Clark couldn't believe he'd agreed to this. He was standing at the door to a sorority house dressed up as Zorro, with a stupid black mask that kept slipping over his eyes. Lana, this was for Lana. Chloe was right, Lana was in trouble and he'd do practically anything to save her. So he'd put up with the mask for now. Clark was shocked at the promiscuity of the girl who opened the door to let them in. She was wearing a pink bunny outfit that looked like it could have come out of Playboy magazine. Chloe was rambling next to him, but the girl was gazing at Clark with flirtatious eyes. Eventually they were let in, and Clark focused once again on Lana.

"So, Carlos, huh?" Clark asked, picking on the name that Chloe had chosen for his 'secret identity'. Clark fumbled with the mask once more "Starts with a C" Chloe replied as the two of them headed into the party. After a minute or two Chloe sent him upstairs to do some snooping for anything helpful. That was how he ended up in what was obviously Buffy's room. There was an artificial bat on the door, eclipsing a sign that labelled it as hers. He went in the room expecting dark gothic hangings on the walls, chains and blood hanging from the ceiling. Basically something horrifying and incriminating.

What he found was pretty average. The walls were painted lilac, but it looked like an average bedroom. Sure there were bat lights hanging off the bookshelf, but there was nothing obviously wrong. Clark walked over to the small cabinet that was hanging loosely open. Inside was a lit cinnamon scented candle beside a few photo frames and a little journal sat in the front. Clark picked it up and flicked through. There was a newspaper article of when Buffy was attacked by bats in a cave. He pocketed that just as the door opened.

Clark escaped the accusing glare of Buffy as she came in the room. A few half-drunk people came in and Clark jumped at the distraction. He returned downstairs to the main party, hoping to intersect Chloe with this new bit of evidence. He was searching for a sign of either of them when he heard Chloe's voice, she sounded in pain as she whispered "Clark. Please help me" Clark ran to where he heard the sound of her voice.

He was met with the sight of Lana, teeth buried in Chloe's neck. Lana threw Chloe's limp body at him and backed up, a crazed bloody grin passing her lips. Clark looked down to Chloe, her neck bleeding from two pin-prick marks. Lana had bitten her. Lana was fully one of them. Lana was a vampire. Clark looked up, and she was gone. The most important thing for now was getting Chloe to safety. He heard a thud and a splash outside, but wrote it off as a drunken student as he raced Chloe towards the hospital.

Line Break

Phantom was exhausted. He'd almost reverted back to human in front of a whole crowd of people. Fortunately there was enough positivity in the air to give him a quick fix, so he was at least able to stay conscious. The hug from the girl Kat was beyond helpful, and he was relieved by the surge of energy she gave him, albeit unknowingly. But then Valerie had showed up. She meant well, and she was human, but it was so hard dealing with her after all that had happened so far today. He'd at least not called out her name in public, just calling her Red, but that was about his limit.

He leapt up into the sky, hoping she'd follow him. She fired red energy at him, and he dodged. They kept the aerial play up for the better part of an hour. Phantom was growing more tired, but couldn't risk heading back to Smallville. Somewhere in the distance a clock chimed eleven. Valerie had chased him all the way to Metropolis by the looks of it. They were on the outer fringes of the city, and they flew over a sign that read University of Metropolis. Dazedly Phantom thought I wonder if Lana or Chloe are here. But he shook himself out of it.

"Isn't it your bed-time Red?" Phantom asked; dodging as she sent off what he hoped was the last of her missiles.

Valerie pressed a button and a green light flashed against her visor indicating the late hour. "Dad's gonna kill me." She whispered "Alright spook, the gloves are off. You end here!" Valerie screeched. She fired one final missile at Phantom and then flew off; hopefully back to Amity Park where she belonged. Unfortunately, Phantom was left dealing with a very large missile. He sped away, but it followed him. He soared up, but it was still there. He couldn't do anything to escape it, so he dove towards the ground.

He spun around mid-air to fire an ecto-blast at it. The shell was singed, but nothing more. Phantom soared up again, it was slower to change course. Thinking quickly he iced it, coating it in a layer of crystal blue. He sent a powerful ecto-blast at it and watched as it shattered, a roaring boom penetrated the night air. The blast flung Phantom down towards the earth, and before he could think of anything he found himself splashing into a large hot tub. The other occupants climbed out, sending a few empty cans of beer rolling.

Suddenly Phantom felt himself being dragged out of the water, his drenched cloak hanging heavily on his shoulders. He found himself being dragged through a crowded room. Much as he hated it, he drew energy from the happy buzz that drinking had given the people in the room. He felt the cobwebs begin to clear, and Phantom started feeling much more like himself. He took in a deep breath and allowed himself to feel the auras of those around him. Fortunately everyone was human, so he had no ghosts to worry about. Unfortunately there were several people who had that meteor-infected twang that he'd got off Sean Kelvin. Not the least of which was the person who was dragging him through the party.

Another two followed them as Phantom was dragged up the stairs. He found himself in a blue room, simply decorated with accents of pink flowers here and there. "Cool costume" one of them said. Phantom spun to find himself encircled by three very hot college age girls. Which they probably were, Phantom thought considering he'd last been flying over Met U. "Prince Charming" one of the girls said. She had long brown hair, and was dressed in a very revealing rendition of Snow White's outfit. The second girl had blonde hair, loosely tied around her face and looking like Cinderella. The third who had dragged him up here looked somewhat Latino with long black hair and wearing a leathery dark angel costume.

Snow White came up to him, pushing him up against the wall. "Will you save me?" she asked in a menacingly sweet voice. She leaned in to kiss him, but was stopped by the dark angel. "Stop" she commanded, Snow White glared at her, then backed off. "Doesn't he look a little young to be here?" she asked the other two as she pinched his cheeks, examining him. The other two looked at each other and shrugged. "Does it matter?" Cinderella asked. Phantom found himself surrounded once more by the three girls, but this time he was backed to the wall.

Fortunately they didn't seem to realise who he was, unfortunately that limited him to human skills. "No, it doesn't. It's his fault for coming." Snow White replied, a hint of menace touching her voice. Cinderella and Snow White took to nuzzling into the sides of his neck. Dark Angel pulled at the clasp of his white cloak. She took off her own dark wings and pulled the cloak off his shoulders. In a graceful movement she placed it over her own. Now Phantom was thinking please don't back away, please don't back away. The two girls on either side of Phantom watched Dark Angel as she donned the cloak.

Dark Angel took a step back to show off the cloak, it was beautiful, snow white with elegant green fastenings. Idly she hoped she could keep it once the kid was gone. She hoped it didn't get messy while they fed on him. She heard the rustle as the cloak floated behind her, she twirled one step further back, enjoying the sound. But the weight on her shoulders vanished. The cloak dissipated in a swirl of green mist. She looked to the boy who visibly flinched. "What the hell was that?" Dark Angel demanded. The other two girls backed away to stand behind her as she confronted the white haired boy.

Phantom stayed silent. He was a ghost, if he was in the Real World any part of his outfit disappeared when it wasn't close to him until he summoned it again. It was a weird part of ghost biology and at the moment it really played against him. Dark Angel stepped towards him once more, and looked into his eyes. Still he stayed silent, even as the girl deeply smelled the air. A hungry look crossed her eyes, and she indicated for her companions to do the same. Phantom found himself faced with three gorgeous sorority sisters gazing at him hungrily and yet he found himself completely repulsed by them.

"Isn't he just the most delicious thing you've ever smelled" Snow White asked the others. Before Phantom knew what to do the three were on him again, the wall vanished from behind his back and he found himself staring at the ceiling. Two girls on either side of him and Dark Angel was kneeling over him. Phantom froze, unsure of what to do. "Aww, he's scared" Cinderella whined, and she placed her head over where his heart would be. "He should be" Dark Angel replied as she leaned ever closer to his neck. "Trish Stop." Cinderella said, her voice becoming more authoritative. "Listen" Dark Angel looked at the girl, "Listen to what? He's just another boy, as Buffy says, "we eat boyfriends for breakfast" and he isn't even a boyfriend." Dark Angel snapped at her. Then she leaned forward again, running her hands against Phantom's chest.

"He's not just another guy." Cinderella said. She moved her ear away from Phantom's heart and pressed Dark Angel's there. "Listen." Phantom felt Dark Angel's ear press down into his chest, listening for a non-existent heartbeat. He was stuck; he didn't want to show what he truly was to the girls, because they'd likely get hurt. But he really didn't want to stick around until they threw him to the GIW. Dark Angel pulled back wide eyed. "He's like us" she whispered. "What!" Snow White demanded "He is like us" Dark Angel stated simply. "Buffy needs to know." Cinderella said.

Phantom found himself being dragged once more through the house. "Buffy" Dark Angel called out, her voice echoing throughout the corridor.

"Not now!" an angry voice replied. "Freshman made a stupid mistake. Whatever it is you deal with it!"

The three girls escorting Phantom paused "We think you'd want to see this" Cinderella called.

"NO!" the voice echoed back again. "Have your meal, whatever. I need to follow up on Lana. She let her boyfriend see." The three girls looked at each other and then equally evil grins crossed their faces.

"Fine Buff" Snow White said. "If you need us, we'll be around" Dark Angel said as they dragged him down the stairs and out a back door. Phantom found himself outside in a grass circle under the full moon. One of the girls lit a number of candles so they sat in a circle of candlelight.

"So," Snow White started "What's your name Prince Charming?" she asked trying to sound alluring. "Phantom" Phantom replied.

"Ooh," Cinderella cooed "he's shy. There's no need to be so mysterious. We're a sisterhood, but I wouldn't mind a brother..."

"I'm Patricia" said Dark Angel. Pointing over to Cinderella she said "Elsie" and with another gesture to Snow White she said "That's Sadie" the three of them snuggled up to his chest. "Now you know us, there's no need to hide your name"

"My name is Phantom" Phantom said with a hint of frustration. Had he been human his eyes would have glowed green, these girls were rubbing him the wrong way. He was all too close to using his powers to escape.

"Aww," Elsie sighed, "Mr Mysterious still." The three seemed to realise that they weren't getting else for a name.

"So, Phantom" Sadie asked. "How did you come to be like us?" Phantom paused. These were meteor infected sorority sisters. From the sounds of it they had a freshman called Lana roped in. Whether or not it was his Lana, he was not like them. He was curious as to what they meant; they had picked something up from his missing heartbeat. Phantom listened. Theirs were beating at a human rate, but it was so faint it may as well not be there at all. Oh, well that explains their mistake. "I'm not sure I am like you" He said calmly. With that he slipped into the respectfully distant language he used around Dora's court.

"My fair ladies, I must request we adjourn this discussion, perhaps for another eve. The night draws ever onwards, and it would be appalling for myself to keep you from your own affairs." Phantom stood up, and turned to leave, sending a silent prayer to Hecate that this would be simple.

The three girls pouted behind him "Please, don't leave. Stay with us." The three whined at him. Phantom turned to bow at them politely. Only two were left. The third snuck up behind him and not so subtly shoved him to the ground. "Come now" Trish said "I'm sure you are as curious about us as we are about you monsieur Phantom" she delivered the last two with a flirty French accent

Phantom tried to gently push her away, but she held him down with above human strength. He could get rid of her, but he still didn't want to hurt her. Trish however didn't feel the same way. Phantom wanted to play, she'd play. She leaned her head back and summoned her fangs. Smiling she leaned down to Phantom. "You know, I've never kissed a vampire myself" and with that she sunk her teeth into Phantom's neck. For a moment it felt right, the drawing of blood into her mouth, but the second it touched her tongue it was wrong.

She pulled back even as the icy cold sunk down her throat chilling her from the inside out. She screeched and then slumped over. But the damage was done. The other two caught scent of his blood and flung themselves onto him, not even noticing their sister's prone form. A second later and the three girls were lying unconscious on the grass. Phantom stood up, unaffected by the bite and walked over to them. Their auras had changed. They were no longer infected. Phantom sighed; too tired to hold his ghost form, he let the rings embrace him as he switched back to human.

Danny slumped back in the grass, looking at the stars. It was late. Danny looked at his watch, it read 4 am. He had been in ghost form for over 13 hours. It was now All Saints Day, and the barrier would be returned to normal. Thank goodness. He felt exhausted, he allowed himself to rest in the November morning, but then he heard movement from in the sorority house. The three girls who had bit him had been vampires, but his ectoplasm – blood – whatever – had cured them. He sighed, he had a duty to save the others, and his obsession wouldn't let him stop to rest until that was done. He pulled himself into Phantom form and drifted towards the house.

"Nice work. He's quite a catch. One hundred percent corn-fed Kansas beef. Let's eat." The same voice from before, Buffy was it? echoed down to him. It was disturbing how cavalier she was about human life.

"Wait, isn't there something else we can do with him?" That was definitely Lana's voice. How on Earth had she gotten caught up in this mess? Clark had said she was going to Met U, but nothing about joining a sorority, especially a vampire's nest. Danny floated through the corridors. Most of the girls were either asleep or intoxicated, and paid no attention to the ghost within their walls.

Buffy was talking "Like what? Barbecue?" Phantom heard the laughter of maybe four girls. He floated in that direction, ignoring the walls in his way.

"No, like convert him. Into one of us." Lana's voice sounded excited. Phantom wondered how much of this was from the meteor infection and how much was that streak of darkness that he sensed in her. This was dangerous. Phantom came into the room invisible. Lana was standing in front of a blonde girl who he assumed to be Buffy. Lana was wearing a skin tight black leather cat costume. The other girls were in more ordinary clothing. Buffy had three girls behind her as backup. The lot of them laughed.

"We're a sorority," Buffy stated. "Not a fraternity." The blonde next to her commented. "No boys allowed" a brunette finished off. Phantom looked over to the fireplace and there laid the prone form of Clark. Half of him desperately wanted to pull him away invisibly and keep his cousin safe. The other half realised that he had a job to do, and not the strength to duplicate to do both. For the time being Phantom watched invisibly.

"You don't understand. He's special" Lana said, and she was right. Clark was one of a kind on Earth. Phantom hoped that he could keep him safe from the ravenous vampire meteor mutants.

"Not to me. Get out of the way." Buffy snapped at Lana, "No" Lana defied.

"Excuse me" Buffy demanded, drawing herself up close to Lana. Lana looked her square in the eyes and said "He's mine. You're not touching him."

The lot of them laughed, and Buffy slapped Lana, sending her flying. Buffy crouched down in front of Lana and hissed. Phantom was mildly impressed, as a ghost he could growl, and he had his Ghostly Wail, but he couldn't manage a hiss.

Buffy spoke to Lana with a dripping superior tone. "I'm really disappointed in you, Lana. Looks like you're not Tri Psi material after all."

Lana looked up at Buffy, and her eyes glowed red. The same way Clark's did when he used his heat vision. Buffy screeched as the burning hit her and she dissipated in a cloud of smoke and mist. Phantom felt sick. He'd failed to protect an innocent. He lost his purchase in the air and landed on the ground with a thud that nobody heard.

"Looks like I'm making the rules now. Anyone have a problem with that?" Lana walked over to the other girls who babbled saying it was fine. Lana sent them out and Phantom flew after them. He would save them at least. He followed them as they raced outside, racing down the outside staircase. On the wind Phantom heard Clark croak "Listen to me. You're sick." In that tone Phantom knew that it would be okay, Clark had his own cure. Lana would be safe. Now he need only worry about the three terrified vampires running around outside.

The three of them had found the other unconscious girls and were standing stunned in the circle of grass. Phantom stopped to stand in the middle of the circle and dropped his invisibility. He said the two simplest and most stupid words he could possibly say. "Bite Me." The three girls were on him. He felt a sharp sting on his neck and two others on his wrists. Soon enough those three had joined their sisters in their sleep on the grass. Phantom moved to try to rouse them, but was disrupted by a scream from the house.

Phantom flew back to the room where he'd left Clark and Lana to find Lana slumped over Clark, a large syringe rolled away from them. It had probably held the cure. It would have been a sweet tableau if it wasn't all so dire. Using the sword pendant Phantom slit open his wrist and instinctually allowed two drops to fall onto the bite on Clark's neck. Slowly Clark's eyes flickered open. Phantom sighed relief and smiled at him. "Thank goodness you're okay." Phantom felt the effects of the day coming back to hit him full force. Wearily he said "I'd advise you take Lana to the hospital. There's six girls, cured outside. If it's all right, I'll... pass out now." With that Phantom faded into unconsciousness, leaving a sleeping Danny Fenton, an unconscious Lana and and a very confused Clark Kent all sitting in front of the flickering fire.

Line Break

Danny had ended up sleeping away most of Saturday, which was unusual since he typically only needed four hours of sleep a night. The news of the ghost Harvester hit the Smallville newsstands first thing in the morning and Clark was curious as to the description of the "Phantom Angel" that had landed on the front page of the Smallville Ledger. What amazed Clark was that Danny had done that, then been chased by Red, and had somehow managed to cure six "vampires" by himself all in the space of fourteen hours.

It was six in the evening when Danny finally came down from his room. He still looked tired, but not as exhausted as he had been. Clark had tried to rouse him for lunch, but Danny slept like the dead when he wanted to. Okay, maybe that was in poor taste, but still. Danny tiredly waved at Clark and went to pick an apple off of the counter. Danny moved back to the lounge to sit near Clark, and a warm smile crossed his face. The apple sat forgotten on the table. "Aren't you hungry?" Clark asked looking at the apple.

Danny seemed too tired to filter out his answers "Wrong half." He said and Clark understood. Danny was 'eating' but not human food. Sometimes it was disturbing to think he drew energy from emotions. Especially after what Lana had just gone through. But Danny always tried to make everyone happy. That was the difference. The vampires had taken for their own ends, killing people for blood where Danny gave out more than he took in. Yet he was subtle in the whole process. He made anyone near him feel good, and in return they gave him the energy so he could continue.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, and Clark watched fascinated as some of the colour came back onto Danny's cheeks. Eventually he became curious and pulled out the Ledger. "Care to explain the Phantom Angel?" he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. Danny frowned as he looked at the page. There were two photos of him on the front. The first was him as he kissed the young Kat's hand. The second was a version of him that he'd never seen before. Black tipped hair, pure white clothes and silver eyes. He had no idea what to make of it.

"I don't know. Harvester had collected their souls, he wanted to do that to the whole world for power, but I couldn't let him. We fought, and I eventually trapped him in ice in his own Scythe. But the prisoners were still trapped. I don't even really know what I did. That's a better description in the paper than what I can give. I just... I needed to get them back safe and I didn't know how. I think I've told you before, my obsession means I have to protect everyone even if I don't know how. Angel there could be a new power, or it could be something unique to the situation. Don't know. I'm weird like that." Danny finished with a shrug and sat further back into the sofa, picking up the apple to eat it.

Clark's parents came down the stairs then, probably planning to get ready for dinner. They came into the lounge to see Danny and ask if he was okay. Danny said yes, just tired. He briefly explained that he'd pretty much drained his ecto-energy putting everyone's souls back in place. The flight with Red had driven him to Met U, and she'd eventually left, but then he had to save the "vampires". He was still ill because he hadn't saved Buffy, but was going to be okay. He hoped. Part of his exhaustion came from fending off ghosts all week, unbeknownst to any of them.

Danny briefly explained about the power of Halloween and the full moon on the barrier, but it was back to normal now. Eventually Danny excused himself to return to bed, he absently floated through the ceiling. It was then the Kent's realised how exhausted the kid must have been. Usually he avoided using his powers in the house, giving him the illusion of normality. He had let his subconscious control the discussion and probably wouldn't have said half of what he had normally. Clark's respect for Danny went up for his persistence in such a long and trying day, but it also raised his concerns since Danny was still a child, younger than Clark.

Line Break

Chloe had finally finished her story. Tri Psi had been shut down; the Centre for Disease Control had a full report on the case. It turned out that meteor rocks had infected the water table of a colony of vampire bats. When they'd attacked Buffy she'd gotten a disease that exhibited the symptoms of vampirism. LuthorCorp had developed a cure when one of their workers had become infected, that's what Clark had given Lana. It turned out that Milton Fine had put Clark onto it. All the infected girls were treated by LuthorCorp; well, all except six who had come out of it seemingly on their own, Chloe didn't quite know what to make of that.

Chloe was ready to present herself to the Daily Planet once more. Her story "Vampire Sorority Bites The Dust" met all of her own specifications and she just hoped that it would impress Patricia Khan enough. Ms Khan read over the article, keeping her in suspense. For a moment it felt like she'd failed. But then she was given a position, at the Daily Planet. Alright, it was in the basement. But it was the basement for the Planet. Her life's dream since she could first read. So far as Chloe was concerned there was no place to go but up, up, and away.

AN: What do you think? Was Harvester okay? I didn't want to call him "Reaper" because he isn't as powerful or as awesome as the Grim-Reaper would be, but he'd still be scary to face.

Yay, Chloe is finally working at the Planet. I loved the scene at the end of the episode where she quoted Superman's catchline, so I had to use it.

Once again I'd like to thank all my reviewers. I love getting your feedback.

To LuNa: At the moment Chloe is too much like Jazz for Danny and her to get together. But I may play around with that later.

To Anon: Clockwork's a special case when it comes to cores. That will be further explained in a later chapter.

'Till next time

Bluerose