Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait. Writer's block hit, the chapter is the longest yet (3,016 words and almost a full 7 pages on Word to be exact), and I lost my motivation temporarily while writing. And if that wasn't enough, I also have a life outside of writing and my parents won't let me sit around the house working on my story. It's summer, I gotta do something.
Anyways, here is the long-awaited chapter fourteen. Enjoy it. A lot of work was put into this.
Immediately after the button was pressed, the portal lit up. Sam saw sparks surround her body and she flinched instinctively. But the Fenton Painkiller began blinking rapidly and she felt no pain.
A whooshing noise alerted her to the Ghost Zone and the real world uniting again. Behind her was the familiar sight of swirling green light. She made her way to the front of the portal and stepped out of it.
She had been watching the floor up until now. She lifted her head to see everyone's reaction.
Wulf was unimpressed, still licking away on his icicle. Jazz was smiling proudly at her friend. Tucker seemed slightly shocked. Has my appearance changed that much? Sam wondered. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were overjoyed that both the bracelet and the portal had worked. Jack was actually dancing around. Dani was beaming, her face aglow with excitement. Her love for her parents' work was surprising, considering what she had been through with Vlad.
Sam glanced at Danny out of the corner of her eye before facing him head on. His face was unreadable and his arms were folded. He opened his mouth and asked, "So how does it feel to be a halfa like me?"
She narrowed her eyes, concentrating. Being a ghost was indescribable. Struggling for words, she said, "Different. I don't know how exactly to explain. I just don't feel… human anymore. I didn't even know I felt human before."
Danny nodded, green eyes still free of any emotion. "I know what you mean. I felt the same way after the accident and basically the opposite when I removed my powers." He stared at her, and Sam stared back, wondering what he was thinking. All of a sudden, she just knew.
Danny's voice filled her mind. Wow, she's beautiful even as a ghost. Sam gasped aloud. Had she imagined that?
Danny gave a start when he heard Sam's gasp and then her voice. He thought to himself, she's not talking so how…? Am I going crazy?
No, I don't think you are, said Sam's voice.
Can you hear me? he inquired silently.
Sam spoke to prove it, "Yeah, I can."
Danny's eyes grew wide. "How…" He trailed off, too shocked to speak properly.
Everyone else in the lab was baffled. "What are you two talking about?" Dani asked.
Sam and Danny turned to the other half-ghost. "I think we can communicate by thought," they said together. They blinked and gazed at each other again, confused.
"You mean telepathically? Sweet!" the thirteen-year-old exclaimed. Her parents gaped at her. "What?" she asked them, offended. She glanced up at both parents separately since they were on either side of her. Placing her hands on her hips, she said, "You think I can't know words like that? I've been studying all week. It'd be a shock if I didn't have a high vocabulary. Anyways," she said, turning back to her brother and his girlfriend. "How is that possible?"
They couldn't answer her—they were wondering the same thing.
Jazz offered, "Maybe it's a ghost power."
"I know how we can know for sure," Maddie said. "Jack and I invented a machine that can identify a ghost's abilities. And it doesn't hurt the ghost at all."
Jack added, "We call it: The Eidolon Exposer! Jazz helped us with the name."
"Well, it's worth a shot," Sam said. "Where is it?"
Maddie pointed to an object on a table. It appeared to be a hand-held metal detector - the kind you see with a security guard—although this one was bright green and plugged into a computer. She picked it up and turned it on. She was about to use it when she remembered something. Looking at her son, she said, "Danny? Shouldn't you close the portal?"
"Oh, right." He hurried over to lock it.
Maddie faced Sam again. "Now hold still." Maddie used the device to scan the half-ghost's head.
"That's not going to cause any brain damage, is it?" Sam asked warily.
Maddie shook her head. "It's a hundred percent safe."
The Eidolon Exposer beeped and an image appeared on the attached computer screen. It was a photo of Sam in ghost form. Her hair was white and in its usual hairstyle; ponytail held back with a green hair tie. She was wearing a black tank top that exposed her midriff, black pants, purple boots and purple gloves that reached her elbows. On her chest was a green emblem of the letters S and P interlocking. Her eyes were identical in colour to Danny's; bright green.
Sam examined her appearance. Not bad.
That's an understatement. You look really pretty. Sam blushed as she heard what Danny was thinking.
He walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. Reading off of the list that was onscreen, he said, "Powers of Sam Phantom: Ghost ray, flight, intangibility, invisibility, duplication, overshadowing, telekinesis, light manipulation, can shape-shift objects, psychic connection with Danny Phantom/Fenton. Half-ghost, also called Sam Manson."
"What does 'light manipulation' mean?" Sam asked, eyes on the Fenton Painkiller as she removed it from her wrist and placed it on a laboratory table.
Maddie stepped forward and tapped at the keyboard before answering Sam. "Apparently, you can remove light to see by for a short period of time."
"Sweet! I can create darkness!"
Danny spoke up. "Psychic connection? What's that?"
Sam explained, "It's a link between two people. They can either sense each other's emotions or converse in thought, although sometimes it's both."
"How do you know these things?"
"I read, Danny. Something I think you should do more often," she replied, smirking. Abruptly, her smug smile turned to a frown of uncertainty. "So how do I use my powers?"
A slight smile played at Danny's lips. Finally, something that I know and she doesn't. She heard this and moved to hit him. He dodged her hand. "You have to think about it. You'll somehow just… know what to do."
Sam nodded, her expression serious. "Can we practice now?"
"Sure." He pressed the button which brought up the ghost containment cell.
Sam moved towards it, but she began to phase through the floor, her legs intangible. She let out a "Huh?" of surprise. Danny had anticipated this and nonchalantly lifted her up. Her legs became tangible again and he set her back on her feet. "Thanks," she said sheepishly.
"No problem." He held her hand and led her into the chamber. The others gathered around it, eager to see Sam's first time using her powers.
Closing the door behind them, he asked her, "So which power do you want to start with?"
"Ghost ray sounds good," replied Sam, her tone suggesting this was as normal as ordering a lunch.
"Alright. When I use mine, I basically think of pushing someone back. You'll know it's working if you feel energy building wherever you want it to be coming from." She was quiet and motionless. "Sam? What's wrong?"
"I'm just a little nervous," she admitted, slightly annoyed at herself for showing weakness.
"Don't be. You can't even destroy anything since we're in this thing." Danny gestured to the walls that surrounded them. "Do your worst. It'll contain it."
Sam's expression became a determined one. She extended her arms out in front of her, hands outstretched and fingertips pointing to the ceiling. She willed power to surge to her palms. Feeling it building, she pushed it out. A purple ghost ray shot out of each hand and collided both with the wall. It made a loud boom, but nothing and no one was harmed.
"Cool!" Sam cried. She was so excited, she didn't notice that her feet had left the floor and she was now floating in the air.
Watching her hover, Danny thought, Well, at least we can check flying off the list.
Sam glanced around when she heard this. She was a couple feet off the ground. She began to maneuver herself around; left to right, up and down. Piece of cake.
Now try landing, Danny's voice said.
Sam did. But, every time she neared the floor, she'd shoot right back up. Eventually, she gave up and just hovered. She exhaled sharply in irritation, crossing her arms. Slowly, she began to sink and her boots finally touched the floor. Ugh! This is just like the time I got infected with Spectra's ghost bug. Why is it so hard for me to land? It was never a problem for you.
Danny shrugged. It's different for each person, I guess. Wanna try invisibility next?
Sam nodded.
Think of no one being able to see you, then will it to happen.
Sam followed his directions, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. A cool sensation spread throughout her body.
There. You did it. You're invisible.
Sam looked down at herself. As far as she could see, she wasn't there. Yet at the same time, she could still see her body. Not with her eyes, but with her mind. She reached out her hand and knew precisely how far it was from the wall.
Creepy feeling, isn't it?
Yeah… Sam made herself become visible again. So how do I become intangible?
That one's harder to control at first. To do it by choice, just think about it. You'll know what to do.
Sam did as she was told. She felt tingly and knew she had become intangible. She instinctively prevented herself from phasing through the floor. On an impulse, she flew over to Danny and overshadowed him.
It was weird being in someone else's body. Sam still felt like herself, but at the same time, she knew she was perceiving everything through Danny's eyes. She could even tell what he was feeling. Wait… Was she supposed to be able to? Didn't overshadowing someone mean taking control of their mind to some degree?
Danny's thoughts answered hers. Yeah, it does. This is weird. I shouldn't be able to think. Whenever someone's overshadowed, they're basically put into a coma. He experimentally moved an arm. And I'm still in control of my body. See if you can move anything.
Sam made Danny walk a few steps.
Weird. That feels like an involuntary movement. Try overshadowing someone else. Maybe our psychic link is interfering.
Sam exited Danny's body and phased out of the containment cell. She flew into Jazz before the red-head could protest. Although she did protest after she was overshadowed.
"What are you doing?" Jazz cried. "Get out of me!"
Sam replied in her own voice via Jazz's mouth. "I'm working on overshadowing people. It's a little weird, as you can tell. You're still able to use your mouth and everything else." Sam flew out of the other girl's body.
Jazz shivered. Having a ghost in your body sure was a bizarre experience.
Sam was perplexed, evident by her facial features. "Why is it that my control isn't as strong as any other ghost's? It's more like I'm sharing a body than taking it over."
"Perhaps your love of free will and individuality renders you physically unable to. It could be purely psychological and therefore difficult or even impossible for you completely override their mind and body." Everyone stared at Jazz, bewildered by her psycho-babble and use of adverbs. She sighed and reworded her analysis. "Maybe something in Sam's brain makes her power work this way."
There was a round of "Oooh!"'s as everyone understood.
"Could be," Danny and Sam said in unison.
Whoa, their synchronized talking is really freaky, Dani thought. "I've got an idea. Sam, overshadow me." The newest halfa obeyed. Once Sam was inside of her, Dani raised her hand and fired an ecto-blast. It was purple rather than the usual green. "Ok," Dani said as Sam phased out of the thirteen-year-old. "So it looks like whoever Sam overshadows gets her powers along with someone sharing their body." She paused for a second. "That's so cool!"
Maddie commented, "I'd like to see how her ability to shape-shift objects and manipulate light turn out."
"Don't forget her telekinesis! I wanna see that!" Dani put in.
Her mother acknowledged her statement by nodding. "Think you can try those next, Sam?"
"Sure!" Now with a little more comprehension of how to access her powers, Sam stared hard at an empty beaker that was on a nearby table. It began to tremble as she focused on moving it with her eyes. She felt the sensation of touching it, but with her brain rather than her hands.
The beaker rose slowly off of the tabletop. Sam made it float over to herself before letting it drop. Catching it, she decided to conquer her shape-shifting capability next. She moved her energy to her hands and then into the laboratory item, both of which began to glow purple. On a whim, she determined what to change it into. With a pop, the glass container disappeared and in its place was a dinner plate-sized purple and black tarantula.
Danny and his parents were unaffected by its presence, while Tucker eyed it warily and Jazz let out a high-pitched scream prior to hiding behind her boyfriend. Dani walked over to it and Sam. "Aww! It's so cute!" Dani chimed. Sam grinned—she was liking Danny's little sister more and more as time went on.
The spider's eight eyes blinked blankly all at once. Suddenly, it jumped out of Sam's outstretched palms, hit the floor and scuttled towards Jazz and Tucker.
"Keep that thing away from me!" the eldest of the Fenton children squealed.
Sam rolled her eyes at Jazz's phobia, but obeyed. The arachnid was picked up into the air, legs jerking horribly. Sam visualized the beaker that it once was and, with another pop, the tarantula became it. This is a lot like recycling, she mused to herself (and Danny). She moved the beaker and rested it on the table again. All of this was done without lifting a finger.
Ok, now to create darkness. I can see where this skill is going to come in handy, she thought, remembering the way her parents had started her mornings in the past. No more bright sunlight. Yes! She smirked devilishly.
Danny smiled too as he heard this. The telepathic bond was really quite amusing.
Sam concentrated on the ecto-energy that was coursing through her veins. Her eyes closed of their own accord. She could tell that darkness was a very difficult accomplishment. She felt the energy building in her core. Pinpricks of light sparked behind her eyelids. Finally, she forced the power out.
Purple light flashed out of her body. It was so bright; everyone flung their arms up to shield their eyes which they also squeezed shut.
Sam opened her eyes and caught her breath. The entire lab had taken on a green tinge—as if she was using night-vision goggles. Although it was pitch-black to everyone else and practically robbed them of their sight, she could see everything clearly.
Maddie, Jack, Jazz, Tucker, Dani and Wulf were scanning the room—or at least trying to—with wide-open eyes and puzzled faces. Danny, however, was moving around the lab with ease, a smug smile on his face. Sam realized that their psychic link was allowing him to see where he was going. Just to aggravate him, she cut off that part of the connection temporarily, somehow knowing how to do that. The task was difficult and she began to simmer (Goths don't sweat). Her head throbbed. It was like pulling back on an already stretched sling-shot, but with her brain.
Hey! he complained.
Apparently they could still communicate by thought.
She smirked even though no one could see it. Just experimenting. She let go of the metaphorical elastic and gave him back the night-vision. There. Happy?
Yep! He proceeded to fly around the room to prove it, performing back-flips and loop-de-loops. She rolled her eyes but smiled. His childishness was both entertaining and irritating.
Sam tried to give the ability to see in the dark to Tucker. It was tricky, but she managed to after her fifth try. Once she succeeded, the techno-geek blinked. "Hey, I can see again! But why is everything green?"
"Because things are still dark." Sam noticed that her vigor was waning. Every second of manipulating light was slowly draining her of her strength, but she shook it off. She only had to keep it up for a few more minutes tops. She attempted to grant Jazz sight in the darkness, but it was too much. Two green-white rings spread from her middle of her torso, one going up and the other going down. Soon, Sam Manson stood where Sam Phantom once had. The room was plunged into light, temporarily blinding everyone but the light manipulator.
Sam panted slightly. That last power had really been hard on her. It sucked out every last drop of her energy, leaving her exhausted.
"Sam!" Danny rushed over to her, flying in the process, overreacting once again. "Are you ok?"
Sam gave a frail laugh, still breathing heavily. "I'm… fine," she gasped out between gulps of air. Ugh, I hate sounding feeble. She managed to gather enough oxygen to talk properly again. "That power weakened me, that's all." Somewhat unexpectedly, she scowled. "Darn it!" Seeing Danny's confused look, she continued. "I didn't get to try out duplication!"
Danny chuckled, relieved that she was alright. "You can try it out some other time. Besides, you're more experienced than I was when I started out," he remarked.
She shrugged half-heartedly. "What can I say? I'm a fast learner. Plus, I already knew what all my powers are thanks to Science." She motioned to the Eidolon Exposer when she said this. "And on top of that," she continued. "I have a very skilled and powerful half-ghost as a teacher." Sam looked meaningfully at him. He ignored her compliment, but his cheeks flushed lightly in spite of himself. Sam refrained from grinning with difficulty.
"Well," she said, clapping her hands together and glancing at her Gothic watch. "It's lunchtime and I'm starved. Who wants to eat?" Not waiting for an answer, she jogged up the stairs, combat boots thudding with every step, Tucker on her heels. It was amazing how fast he could move once properly motivated. The others followed soon after, Jack leading.
Author's Note: It would be greatly appreciated if you check out my blog. The site is in my profile. It'll provide information on my writing progress.
By the way, you may have noticed that Danielle's age is now thirteen. I realized that Danny met her during the summer and this story takes place the summer after. Therefore, Dani would be a year older. I went back and edited past chapters so there are no continuity errors.