(A/N: Okay people, we're averaging 5 reviews per chapter, but I think we can do better, so don't be afraid to press that little button and tell me you think. Please Read & Review (and a fav is always nice and I really appreciate it).)


The next day at school, Danny was in the zone. Having now gotten his priorities straightened out, he looked forward to gym most of all, so that he could train for the battles ahead. Ever since Troxel, the gym teacher, began teaching him Krav Maga over a year ago, he had progressed into an athlete in his own right.

Finally, after English with Lancer, he went to the locker room and changed into his training duds. Double checking his protective gear, Danny climbed into the ring. "Okay, Danny-boy," said Troxel, "No holds barred, no time limit, full contact."

"Like always," said Danny with a nod. He charged at Troxel, and subsequently found himself kicked three times and knocked on his ass.

"You're getting sloppy, Fenton," said the gym teacher with a sad shake of his head, "You could barely take on Dash and his goons, for Chrissake!"

"Perhaps," said Danny, "but I could do it." Quick as lightning, he swept his legs toward Troxel's. Just as Troxel jumped to avoid them, Danny rolled under him and hit him with enough force to knock him out of the ring.

"Very good, Daniel," said Troxel, removing his gear, "You've been practicing. That long-term feint was brilliant."

"I only wish everything else was as easy," said Danny, more to himself than to Troxel.

"What's wrong?" asked Troxel. Danny's silence told him that it was something big, "You can tell me anything, Danny."

For a minute, Danny considered telling him anything. He had never felt right about keeping his mentor in the dark after all Troxel had done for him, but the fewer people that knew about his alter ego, the better. Suddenly, however, a fiery explosion ripped through the school's north side.

"Danny," said Troxel quickly, "Follow me. I know a way – " He turned to see that Danny had completely vanished.


Danny ran, quickly and quietly, making sure he was alone before going ghost. A steam of luminescent blue gas appeared every time he exhaled, indicating a powerful ghost presence. The vibrations in his skull from this one were . . . oddly familiar.

"Whoever it is," said Danny, "at least I know I've fought him before." Turning intangible, he flew through the roof to face this ghost. And he got the shock of his life.

"Hello, whelp," said Skulker, "I've made some upgrades since we last fought."

"Skulker?" said Danny, caught completely off-guard, "This isn't possible. I saw you destroy yourself."

"Not quite, ghost-child," said Skulker smugly, "I merely shed my robotic armor so that my frail, inner body could escape. Now that King Pariah has given me new, more powerful armor, I shall have my revenge."

Suddenly, there was the sound of a phone ringing. Danny pulled out his cell and said, "Jazz, eu sou um pouco ocupado agora. Apenas esteja perto com o QuikClot e o negativo de O. Eu estou falando o português assim que meu oponente não saberá o que eu estou dizendo. O que ele importa?! Sim, eu pegararei o leite no repouso da maneira. Adeus!"

Danny ducked by mere centimeter as Skulker fired a massive energy ball at him. Danny countered by firing back at him. Skulker spiraled toward the ground, but managed to correct his flight pattern. Danny flew to the ground and stood in a defensive stance, ready to engage him.

"Give up now, whelp," snarled Skulker, his voice rising maniacally, "Pariah Dark has given me power beyond anything I had before! You haven't got a CHANCE against me now!"

Skulker's armor opened to reveal a variety of weapons. Machine guns, grenades, surface-to-air rockets, lasers, even miniature ICBMs! And he began directing all of it toward Danny. Danny quickly surrounded himself with an ectoplasmic forcefield.

My shield is holding, thought Danny as he gritted his teeth, but the strain is unbelievable! Can the Ghost King really be so invincible that he can afford to let his subordinates be this strong? He began to feel fluid running across his lips, and Danny knew that his nose was bleeding. Suddenly, his ghost sense went off. Turning inside the shield, he saw a small man, then his world went black.


Danny screamed as he became conscious, the searing heat of a red-hot fireplace poker being pressed against his chest. He felt as thought he had been beaten viscously. As his vision cleared, he noticed that he was strapped to a chair in a dungeon-like room, the short man holding the poker and Skulker and Miss Spectra standing by the door.

"Don't bother trying to change form, Daniel," said Spectra as she slinked closer, "You've been injected with a genetic paralyzer to make sure those nasty powers of yours don't interfere."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Danny, staring at her through swollen black eyes. She had always been one of his favorite teachers, always been so nice to him.

"It's simply a case of backing the winning horse, Danny," she replied, holding his chin in her hand, "When King Pariah rules this world and the next, I'd rather be at his side than in his path."

With that, she kissed him and left the room. Skulker looked at the short man and said, "Continue to have your fun, Bertrand, but make sure that Daniel Fenton is alive when I return. I'll finish him off myself."

"You got it boss," replied Bertrand as Skulker left, "But not too alive, right?" Bertrand walked over to a table and put on a pair of disposable rubber gloves.

"I mean," he said, grabbing a power drill, "you don't exactly need kneecaps to stay alive, right?"

Danny glared and spat blood at Bertrand's face. "Fuck you, asshole," he sneered.

"Oh, yes," said Bertrand, putting down the power drill, "'Fuck you,' 'Fuck me,' 'Fuck this,' 'Fuck that.' Why is everything got to be 'fuck' with teenagers these days?" He went back to the table and picked up an electric eggbeater.

"I think," said Bertrand, plugging it in, "that kids today just like the word a little too much. Well, maybe you won't care to say it so much if you can no longer perform the act." He turned it onto its highest setting and pointed it at Danny's crotch.


(A/N: Don't get me wrong; I like a short, sweet review as much as the next guy, but if ya'll could just follow this link and read it before you review, I'd be a very happy man. Replace the words in parentheses with their corresponding keyboard symbol:

http(colon)/cordria(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/How-To-Leave-a-Review-82562960

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TO BE CONTINUED.