Eddboy5: "Elemental" is Vicky's name when she's in superhero mode. I'm sorry if you were confused about it being mentioned as it was in the preceding chapter; Vicky was complaining to herself that she picked that name. "Crush" would fit for some of her powers, but Vicky has control of earth, water, fire, and wind, so it wouldn't be totally accurate to call her that. Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Quill in Hand: Yes, Vicky is cool. Not so much when she's sadistic, but I notice she's very popular in episodes when she's not being a jerk to Timmy or Tootie. As I said before, I personally think something happened that made Vicky go all wonky; probably something very traumatic at that. And don't worry; the big meeting is only three or so chapters away. As for Harry Potter, I must confess I have not read it, but I support anything that expands someone's imagination for the better!


Next up we have Danny, Sam and Valerie Grey from Danny Phantom. To get the story on how Sam got her powers, please see the stand-alone "Learning to Fly" in the Danny Phantom section, which can be found via my profile. The Peach Creekers will be back for the entire next chapter.


"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Old Proverb

Fenton Residence, Amity Park, Illinois, Earth

"Ooh, you're so cute!"

Jazz Fenton cooed as she swept her little brother Danny and his girlfriend Samantha Manson up into another hug. The two had finally admitted there was something happening between them six months ago, and everyone had been teasing them about how cute or perfect a couple they were. Jazz was among the more emotive of the others; the touchy-feel-y Fenton was hugging them at least once a day.

"Jazz!" Danny whined, squirming.

"Oh, be quiet, Danny, and let your big sister be happy for you. I think it's very sweet how you two have clicked... Sam, you have him eating like a vegetarian now," she teased as she gave him a peck on the head.

"Ew!" the raven-haired boy shrieked, frantically wiping at the point of impact. He crossed his arms and huffed.

"Oh, Danny, be nice," Sam scoffed. "Your sister's just showing she loves you, that's all."

"Yeah, well, I've had enough to have our dead great aunt giggle," the teenager growled.

"Oh, you're so serious," Jazz teased as she put them back on the couch. "You two have fun, I'll be upstairs reading." With that, Jazz left. The two teenagers snuggled up against each other and resumed their movie.

"Jazz is creepy sometimes," Danny muttered.

"She just cares about you, Danny," Sam replied.

"Yeah, I know. But, it is nice to have the house almost to myself, what with the 'rents in Gettysburg for that paranormal summit..."

"You should look at the positive more, Danny. You're no fun when you're all serious and mopey."

"Shut up," Danny muttered with a smile as he poked Sam in her side. She poked him back; as she did, her arm phased through him and she smacked against him with a fleshy thud. Danny helped Sam into a sitting position, and her arm solidified. "Still having trouble with that, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, just like you did," Sam sighed with a nod.

"It took me a bit to adjust too; I still flake out sometimes. It'll get less and less, though. Like, a couple months or so. It'll pass, Sam. Honest."

"I sure hope so. It's great flying and helping you and all... but, the reason I can do all this wasn't too fun in the beginning..."

"Hey, it wasn't any fun for me either," Danny replied. "It was bad enough having Spectra trying to steal my DNA and kill everybody, then I find out you're still infected and nearly lose you..." the boy continued as he pulled her close. "It was a nightmare for me."

"Uh, Danny," Sam replied with a raised eyebrow, "I was the one who nearly shriveled away, remember? And, let we forget, I didn't die. And personally, I like the perks of the cure," she finished with a sly green glow in her eyes. "And don't tell me you don't like the help and what we can do."

"I know, I know," Danny answered. "You're right... about everything. Including Paulina," he sighed as he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"You're darn right I am," she smirked with a sly grin before giving him a hug. "You're darn right."

"And here we are, half a year later," Danny thought to himself as he played with Sam's hair. Initially, his fears seemed to be proved true; the rookie halfa was under attack constantly in the first month, making her more of a strictly defensive fighter. But "Sammy Spectre" was a fast learner. Together, the two had successfully beaten back everything the Ghost Zone had thrown at them; they'd even picked up a psychic connection and a few unique tricks on the way. Few ghosts confidently entered the world of the living in this town if they knew "the ghost children" were here.

"I still think you should have gone with 'Intagi-Betty,'" Danny teased.

"Shut up, 'Inviso-Bill,'"Sam shot back. Danny was about to counter when Jazz ran down the stairs, looking shocked. "Jazz!" Danny whined. "We were just sit--"

"Turn the TV to CNN or something, now," the redhead snapped. Confused, Sam typed in the channel on the clicker. She raised her eyebrow at the caption.

"'Earth Under Attack?' Was there some sort of attack a--" Before Sam could finish, file footage of massive machines strolling through Berlin played on the TV. "Okay, that's not good..." she observed.

"Heard it on the radio just now. They say they're all over the place. Nearly a hundred cities," Jazz continued. "And they think more are coming. Some just landed in Chicago." Danny and Sam looked at each other, faces moving as if they were having a silent conversation. They nodded, then got up.

"Uh, we're gonna go see if Tuck's okay," Danny said as they headed for the door. "Sam and I'll be back soon..."

"You guys are going to go fight them, aren't you," Jazz said.

"Uh, with what?" Sam said, eyes darting as if she had a secret.

"Look you two... I know."

"...know what?" Danny asked with a slight gulp.

"Well, I saw you change when the Spectra thing started, Danny... and when a girl showed up that you were so protective of and vice versa... it didn't take a rocket scientist now did it, Inviso-Bill and Intagi-Betty?" Jazz smirked, leaning against a wall.

"Actually, it's 'Danny Phantom' and 'Sammy Spectre,'" the boy mumbled as he scuffed a shoe. Jazz's smile faded, and she sighed.

"I know there's no way I could talk you out of it. Just... promise me you'll come back home okay," she urged.

"We promise," Danny replied. He gave his sister a hug; after a moment she swept Sam up too.

"Well, good luck then..." she managed. The young teenagers nodded, transformed into their ectoplasmic alter-egos, and took off for Chicago.


Chicago, Illinois, Earth

Speeding in from the south, the young halfas gaped at the scene below them. The Windy City was being pounded by whatever those things were. Multiple skyscrapers had been damaged; the Sears and John Hancock both had large, glowing scars. One machine seemed to be having a perverse pleasure in demolishing the city's famous Loop train; some managed to stop before the chasms, some did not.

"Well, this is certainly encouraging," Danny mumbled aloud.

"Oh, yes," Sam added. "Uh, Danny? Can we even fight aliens?"

"Why not? A few good plasma balls and ripped circuits should do the trick, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess, but I'd like it if we knew for a fact what we could do against these guy--"

"I should have known you two were involved," a voice snarled from behind. The teens whirled around to see an all too familiar pink-jumpsuited mounted on her levitating board, aiming a weapon at them. It was none other than the ghost-hunting vigilante and fellow classmate Valerie Grey. "I just get into town, and look who I find floating here."

"You know, we really don't have time for this," Sam groaned, annoyed.

"Yeah, dunno if you noticed," Danny said snidely as he jerked a thumb towards the smoldering Chicago skyline, "but, the human race is kinda getting its butt kicked right now. Maybe we should focus on that?" The girl lowered the gun slightly.

"Why should I trust you?" she growled, flying over to them slowly.

"Again. Human race. Big metal things. Bad," Sam repeated.

"Look, I know we've had our troubles in the past, but maybe we could worry about that later," Danny offered. "After we stop civilization from being blown up, you can chase us all you want, okay? How's that sound?"

"Okay, I suppose..." Valerie muttered.

"So, truce?" Sam said as she and her boy stuck out their hands. The vigilante hesitated, then shook their hands.

"Truce."

"Good. Now, let's go kick their butts," Danny suggested as they swooped towards the helpless city.


"Okay, here's what I think we should do," Sam said mentally to Danny as the two crouched behind a pile of wreckage. "We take 'em by surprise from in, and start ripping stuff out until the thing stops."

"I was thinking some sort of direct strike,"the boy replied. "These things have to have some sorta weakness..."

"I guess, but I still think sneaking up works better."

"We don't know what's in there. Getting ourselves killed won't help anyone. For all we know, they have guns that could even fry ghosts."

"Oh, like those laser things are safe?" Sam scoffed.

"Look, let's just try this, okay?"

"Fine," Sam sighed. After a moment, the two jumped over the pile and started firing everything they had at the machine in front of them. Their attacks were deflected away from the metal beast before them. Annoyed at the at the assault, it took aim on the small forms. They quickly dove out of the way of the shot, which carved a gash in the building behind them.

"Okay. What now," Danny muttered aloud.

"We do it my way?" Sam growled.

"Fine, fine. Now, how do you suppose we get through that forcefield thing they got over those things?"

"We teleport, duh?" Sam said in an irritated voice. "We've been practicing that for months, Danny."

"Okay, that sounds fair. Ready?" he asked. Sam nodded, and the two willed themselves behind the field. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite the way they wanted, and the two found themselves against the field. It felt like being electrocuted. Their slightly smoldering bodies dropped to the ground; the machine walked on as if they never existed. "Okay," Danny coughed, "What's Plan C?"

"How about cloning, then our 'special attack'?" Sam replied as she helped him up. "That should confuse them enough."

"Sure, why not," Danny replied. The two closed their eyes and concentrated. After a moment, a cloud of Dannys and Sams began firing at will and soaring around the machine. Confused, the monstrosity bucked and twisted, weapons firing randomly. As their clones covered the machine, the real articles took hands. Their bodies turned into a green smoke, then reformed as a massive, ghostly bull. It pawed the cracked pavement, then charged headlong against the machine. Off balance, it crashed to the ground. The job done, the halfas re-assumed their human forms and their clones vanished. Taking a chance, they quickly flew towards the underbelly, hoping the forcefield didn't extend around the feet. It didn't. They grinned victoriously.

"Now, let's see who these creeps are..." Sam said as they phased inside.

Their jaws dropped at what they saw.

Inside the downed craft were several of the most hideous creatures they'd ever seen. Huge, scaly, and winged, they jabbered quickly in their native tongue angrily. Tails and talons swung as the creatures struggled to right their machine. One, in a more impressive garment, barked at the crew in rage, smacking one with his tail and jabbing a talon towards an empty console. The man meekly nodded and rushed to man the post.

"...what are these things," Danny muttered. He quickly clamped his eyes shut, realizing they must have just given themselves away. Amidst the sparks and angry screaming, they hadn't heard him.

"Yeah, let's talk like this now," Sam snapped in his mind with a glare. Danny blushed. "Now, let's start ripping stuff out and see what happens..."

"No, I think they're out for the count," Danny replied. "Look. They can't get this thing moving, and they know it." Sam was about to reply when the garmented one, now clearly the commander of this alien tank, stood up. He growled something in a low voice that all seemed to understand, pulling out a dagger and pointing it skyward. The others complied, and repeated the last part of his cry. Then, all of them brought the daggers down upon small, blacks squares at their stations. The machine started to shake and hiss violently, sparks flying across the room.

"...I don't like where this is going..." Sam said, wincing.

"Let's get lost, now," Danny replied. Sam nodded, and the two quickly phased out. They were just leaving the underbelly of the downed craft when the self-destruction charges went off, and a massive fireball devoured the machine.


Valerie was faring no better.

Her jumpsuit was torn, blood trickling from a gash on her left shoulder. Her silver board was coughing smoke, and her main weapon was starting to grow hot from the rapid shots she had been pulling off. But still, she hadn't made a dent in the damn thing. She cursed under her breath, bringing herself around for another pass. A weapon swiveled and fired. It missed, but the heat and force knocked her from her perch. The board flew away, and the teenager plummeted back first for the ground. She screamed, flailing her limbs uselessly. Just as the shattered road below was about to receiver, two pairs of hands scooped her up and away.

"You... you guys saved me?" the shocked Valerie mumbled.

"We're the good guys, it's what we do," Sam replied. "Fighting HG Wells rejects? No, not so much." She and Danny were covered in soot, their jumpsuits in tatters. Green goo oozed from several wounds on their bodies from shrapnel.

"Okay, I don't think this is gonna work," Danny said, coughing up more of the ectoplasmic blood. "There's too many of these things, we all nearly died... and I think I lost a tooth," the boy finished, whistling slightly as poked at his mouth.

"So, that's it. We just give up. Just lay down and die," Valerie growled. "You call yourselves the good guys? You hear the people screaming down there!"

"We can't help them. We tried. We knocked over one and got lucky," Sam sighed. "They've probably adapted or something by now. Look, here's your board," she continued as they deposited her gently on the wayward craft. "If you wanna stay here and fight, go for it. But back in Amity Park, our families are defenseless. So's yours." Valerie scoffed, crossing her arms.

"You just said you couldn't destroy these things. What makes you think you will at home?"

"Because I'd rather die trying to keep my family safe than curling up in a ball and waiting for them to die thanks to those creeps," Danny replied. "Good luck," he finished as he flew for Amity Park.

"Me too," Sam replied. "My parents may be chirpy, possessive jerks, but they're still my parents. See ya," she called out as she took flight. Valerie prepared to turn back to Chicago when images of her father, trapped in their blazing apartment building, washed over her mind. Sighing, she deactivated her weapon and followed the halfas.