Sorry for the delay, folks! Had a small case of writer's block. All fixed now!

I had to include some OC's of my own. Those missing girls need names too you know. They are fictional characters, anyone bearing the same name, living or dead, is coincidental... you get the drill.

Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Return to the Everglades

Danielle struggled to get out of the cube she was trapped in but to no avail. The thing was disrupting her powers. Skulker just ignored her protests and various insults. Eventually, Skulker descended into an abandoned cabin in the middle of the Everglades.

"Lydia!" called Skulker. "I've brought the Ghost Girl! Where do you want her?"

Lydia looked up from a magazine she was reading. She shrugged and pointed to the room where the other girls were being held captive. Skulker phased through the wall and into the room. The girls in there shrieked.

"Be quiet or I'll mount your heads on my wall!" Skulker threatened. The girls shut up. He placed the cube down on the floor in front of them. He then pulled out a Plasmius Maximus and shocked Danielle who howled in pain.

"Wh-What did you do to me?"

"This device will cancel out your abilities for the next six hours," Skulker explained. "In case you somehow escape from your containment unit. That should give my employer plenty of time to come and pick you up."

"I don't need my powers to take you on," Danielle hissed trying to act brave like her new friends. "Let me take you on without your suit! You're not so tough without it! I could squash you like a bug!"

Skulker just laughed as he left the room. Danielle continued to struggle out of the box. She looked to the other girls for help. Like the CSI's said, all three girls had black hair and blue eyes. Sure enough, they were all wearing their pajamas.

"You must be the missing girls everyone was talking about," Danielle said to them.

The oldest one, a Hispanic girl, spoke up. "Yes. Who are you?"

"My name is Danielle Masters. Can you get me out of this thing?"

The Hispanic girl looked at the other two. She then looked back at Danielle. "Yes, we'll help you out." The three then examined the box Danielle was trapped in.

"What does this button do?" the youngest asked. She pressed the button. The box then released Danielle and shrank back to the size of a Rubix cube.

"Thanks," said Danielle. She picked it up and pocketed it. 'This might come in handy.' She then saw the girls huddle back into their corner. "Well, you know my name. What about you guys?"

"I'm Luna Rivera," the Hispanic girl said. "I'm thirteen years old."

"Gwen Seabrook," the youngest said. "I'm eleven."

"Leila Saturn," the other girl said. "I'm twelve years old. What about you?"

"I'm also twelve," said Danielle. She knew that she was only over a year old but who would believe that? "How long have you guys been here?"

"Three, maybe four days," answered Luna. "Did that other girl escape alright? Molly?"

Danielle's face fell. "No, she didn't. She ran into me two nights ago but she had an asthma attack and…she didn't make it."

Gwen started sniffling. Leila silently wept.

"I was afraid of that," Luna muttered her eyes misting. "She kept on saying that she needed her inhaler. She was having trouble breathing. The fact that she was kidnapped was making it worse. I thought if we could distract that freaky bald man and his girlfriend, she could escape and get help. I guess I just sent her to her death instead."

Danielle, remembering what Horatio said about Molly, disagreed. "That's not true! It's not your fault!"

The girls looked up at her in confusion. How can this girl not be scared right now? They were hostages for crying out loud!

"What are you talking about?" Leila asked skeptically. "If she just stayed here, she might still be alive!"

"No," Danielle argued, "She had bad asthma. She would have died a slow and painful death if she stayed here. She died knowing that you three helped her escape! I saw her the night she died. I protected her when that green lady tried to find her. She'll never forget what we did for her and neither will her family!" Danielle paused, realizing how grown up that sounded.

Luna stared at the ghost clone. "How do you know this?"

"A wise person told me that," Danielle said fondly remembering everything Horatio and the rest of his team told her. "He and his friends will find us."

"What were you doing in the Everglades in the first place?" Gwen asked.

"Uh…I…ran away from home," Danielle stuttered. She wasn't as good as lying as Danny.

"That would explain why you're wearing boy's clothing," Gwen muttered.

"So, why did that robot guy taser you? What was he talking about?" Leila pressed.

"Uh…I think it has something to do with…my blood!" Danielle fibbed. "I have a very rare blood type: Double A negative blood."

"So you're like a drug mule," Luna presumed. "They keep you alive so they can harvest your blood and sell it on the black market. I guess you'd be a blood mule. My uncle went to prison for drug trafficking. That's how I know."

Danielle shivered at the thought. 'I don't know what's worse: being a blood mule or a puddle of ectoplasm!'

"I want to go home," Gwen whimpered.

"And you will," Danielle assured her. "Why don't you just make a run for it? That robot guy isn't so tough without his suit on."

"You're obviously not from around here," Leila sneered. "Everyone knows that if you get lost in the Everglades you're as good as gator bait out there! You'll be lucky if a ranger finds you."

"How did Molly escape anyway?" asked Danielle.

"I tackled the bald man while Gwen and Leila distracted the green lady," Luna explained.

"That lady isn't human!" Gwen exclaimed. "The tattoos on her body came to life and chased her! It's true! I saw it!"

"The bald man looks like a cross between Dr. Evil and the Joker," Leila described. "He also seems jealous of his girlfriend. I would too if someone I know could do something like that."

"Are you always this skeptical?" asked Danielle irritably.

Leila glared at the ghost girl. "You would be too if you've been here for three days."

"Why don't you just do the same thing again? Fight back! You're not damsels-in-distress!" exclaimed Danielle.

Before Leila can come up with a reply, something blasted at Danielle. She was horrified to see that she was suddenly restrained. Freakshow, Skulker and Lydia came into the room. Skulker had what appeared to be a device that extracted blood…complete with a very big needle. The other girls screamed and huddled into a corner.

"Well now! If it isn't the little Ghost Girl that Plasmius was talking about!" exclaimed Freakshow. "You're not as slippery as the Ghost Boy, thank goodness! So hopefully you'll cooperate with us and we'll let you go, no strings attached."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Danielle screeched.

"Don't worry. You'll only feel a slight pinch. Lydia, get her hooked up to the machine!"

Lydia put a needle into Danielle's arm, ignoring her screaming. "DANNY! VALERIE! NATALIA! HORATIO! SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Luna gasped when she saw what Danielle was hooked up to. "That's the machine that extracts blood from you at the blood bank! She's too young to do this!"

Freakshow laughed. "I don't care if she's a five-year-old girl! She has what we want and we're going to drain every last drop from her." At that moment, a mixture of green and red blood started filling the blood bag. "Lydia, make sure those girls behave themselves."

Luna, Leila, and Gwen watched helplessly as Danielle's blood was slowly drained from her body.

Horatio decided to change the plan. Instead of waiting for morning to come, he started the search immediately despite the fact that night was quickly approaching. He and Eric sped off toward the Everglades in his Hummer. The rest of the team was following close behind (Ryan managed to catch the last Vulture on their way to the garage).

"This is Lieutenant Horatio Caine! A child has been abducted from the Miami-Dade Crime Lab! Her name is Danielle Masters, twelve years old. She has black hair and blue eyes. Suspect heading towards the Everglades; considered armed and extremely dangerous! Approach with caution!" he shouted into his radio.

"Copy that," replied a woman's voice. "Canine units and helicopter units heading to the Everglades and on standby. An Amber Alert has been issued."

"H, do you really think Vlad Masters is after this girl?" asked Eric.

"He's like a puppet master, Eric. He's using other people to do his dirty work so his hands stay clean," Horatio rumbled.

"How are we going to be able to fight these guys? Ryan has the only ghost catching device. What if one of us finds one of these guys and we don't have the Thermos?"

"I'd rather not think about it right now," Horatio said irritably. He was too busy figuring out a way to rescue Danielle before it was too late.

The team met with the Feds at a ranger's station. Horatio told them that the girls would most likely be found in the northern part of the Glades. They would start their search there. The helicopters started flying all over the area.

Danielle tried breaking free so she can rip the needle out of her arm and make a break for it but nothing worked.

"Ha ha! The more you struggle, the more blood you'll lose!" Freakshow exclaimed.

Lydia observed the other girls. They were talking amongst themselves. Leila then tackled Lydia, pulling her hood well over her face. Gwen then ran over to Skulker and hopped on his back.

"Where's the off switch on this guy?" Gwen yelled.

Freakshow tried to help Lydia but Luna tackled him too.

"Leave this girl alone! You're killing her!"

Skulker then threw Gwen off of his back. He went over to Danielle, ripped the needle out of her arm, and took the blood bag. "This should be more than enough for my employer," Skulker said. He then turned intangible and flew out of the cabin. Gwen then started wrestling with Freakshow.

"Get off of me, you brat!" Freakshow exclaimed.

Luna then went to a bleeding semi-conscious Danielle. "She's lost a lot of blood! We have to get her out of here!" Luna tore off a piece of her sleeve and used it as a bandage.

"Wh-Wh-Why are you helping me?" Danielle groaned.

"Molly died with dignity because we helped her escape from this hellhole," Luna whispered. "We just had to hear it from you to realize that."

Danielle's vision was starting to blur. "The cube…my pocket…Freakshow…" She then became still. Luna grabbed the cube from her pocket.

"Gwen! Get off of him!" Luna called.

Gwen let go of Freakshow's cape. Luna threw the cube at him. The cube enveloped Freakshow. "Hey! What is this? Get me out of this thing!"

With Lydia turning her attention to Freakshow, the girls then fled the room and out the cabin (Luna was carrying Danielle piggyback style).

It was now dark outside. Leila groaned. "Great! We'll be dead by morning!"

The girls kept running through weeds, mud, water, and more mud. The light of the moon was their only guide. The four girls were now at the mercy of the Everglades and the creatures that lived in it.

It's not my best work...but those girls need names. I'm not going to call them Girl 1, Girl 2, and so on! I'm just going to call the Spectral Energy Neutralizer the cube. Name's too long.

I'm curious...should Dani stay in Miami till after Phantom Planet? She's obviously not safe in Amity Park with Vlad as mayor...it's common sense! Of course, she'll also have to let Danny know about it if she stays.

Don't worry! Those girls will get help from an unlikely source...