"The aspect of secrets is that they leak out. If they didn't leak, they wouldn't be interesting."

-CLAMP

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It was pure, almost unreal luck. Danny never considered himself a lucky person, but when he and the gang escaped, his lucky stars shined brighter than the Sun. But, we need to remember that this is Danny Fenton, and everything good that happens to him comes with a nasty catch.

Better watch your back, Dannykins.

Everyone in the Specter Speeder was on edge. Vlad could pop out in front of them at any moment, and there would be nothing they could do to stop him. Every time they heard a noise, they jumped. Even with Danny flooring the gas pedal, it wasn't fast enough. Vlad would notice they were gone. Skulker couldn't argue over Danny's pelt forever. Vlad would track them down.

He might even be tracking them down as we speak.

Is the suspense killing you yet?

Anyway, Jazz finally broke the silence that was lingering through the Speeder. "Danny?" She asked.

"Y-Yeah?" Her brother replied.

"What…what exactly happened? I mean, why did Vlad want to—"

Sam noticed Danny tense, and she quickly stopped Jazz from finishing her sentence.

"Let's focus on finding your parents." Sam said calmly.

Jazz nodded solemnly and returned to staring out the window. Really, she didn't understand what was going on. She knew that Vlad had been involved with Danny's sudden strange behavior right from the start, but she still hadn't been told what he had done. Obviously, Sam and Tucker knew what was going on. She could see that. But they hadn't known in the beginning! She had invited them over for secret meetings to discuss the fact that no one knew what was going on! Jazz was at a loss.

And she also felt very left out.

"Okay, you know what?" Tucker said, breaking the silence. "We can't just drive around and wait for him to come to us. Where's our game plan? I mean, come on guys, we don't even know where your parents are! We can't keep counting on our luck to save us."

It was true. And everyone knew it, too. Team Phantom always had a plan—either that or the task would be so easy, they could wing it.

But now, they had no plan.

And they definitely couldn't wing it.

"I don't know, Tuck." Danny sighed, swerving the Speeder around a floating rock. "The best we can do is search all around and try to find them. Do you know approximately what time Vlad hit me with the Plasmius Maximus?"

"Was there a clock in that room?" Jazz asked.

"No." Sam sighed. "How are we supposed to—"

"Got it!" Tucker interrupted. "My PDA alarm went off automatically at 5:00 p.m.—that's my evening feeding time. Danny, you were shocked with the Maximus shortly after that…probably about five minutes after, by my estimating. So, I'm guessing your powers will come back around 8:05 or 8:10."

"You're sure?" Sam asked.

"It's an estimate. But I do know that his powers will come back shortly after eight. I can't give you an exact time, but I can give you that." Tucker replied.

"What time is it now?" Jazz questioned.

"6:50. If we can avoid Vlad for approximately an hour and ten minutes, then we might have a chance."

"Okay, we can work with that." Danny said, letting out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding.

Back at the Wisconsin mansion, Vlad was still trying to shoo Skulker away.

"For the last time, I was not trying to kill him. I was going to kill his little friends. Now for the last time, Skulker, get the hell out of my sight." Vlad growled.

"Fine, Plasmius, you can do whatever you want, just do not kill the Ghost Child. He's mine for the taking."

"That's great. Now leave."

"Cranky old man…" Skulker mumbled. And with that, he floated through the ceiling and out of the mansion.

Vlad sighed, and held the bridge of his nose to regain his patience with the world. Finally, he continued doing what he had been before he was interrupted.

"I suppose I must thank you children for remaining so politely quiet. But, I must do what has to be done." Vlad turned to face the teenagers who he thought were still there.

Vlad's eyes shined a satanic shade of crimson, and he blew a hole in the ceiling with an ecto-blast.

"What in the name of—"

Gone. They were just gone.

"Cute, Daniel, very cute."

He floated down to the lab, where the teenagers had parked the Specter Speeder.

He growled in rage when he found that was gone too.

"I've had enough of your nonsense, Daniel." Vlad hissed to himself, slamming his fist down on the button that opened the portal. "So now, you can die right along with them. And I'll deliver your 'pelt' to Skulker, when I'm finished."

Jack and Maddie Fenton had just finished fighting off the duplicates that had brought them to the Ghost Zone. Maddie always came prepared with extra weapons hidden in her suit.

"We can't stay out here forever, Mads," Jack sighed, holding his wife close. "We'll run out of oxygen soon."

"I know, Jack." Maddie said quietly, looking down at her son's handwritten notes. "This happened right under our noses. And we didn't even suspect that…"

"I know, baby, I know. And when we get out of here, we'll beat that excuse of a man into the dirt!"

"But he still has the kids, Jack! They could be…they could be…"

"Don't think like that, Maddie! We have to remember that our son is…that our son's…"

"That he's…"

"That he's Danny Phantom." They said together.

"I just can't believe he hid it from us that long. Who knew? Our son's a superhero!" Jack exclaimed happily.

"But we hunted him, Jack!" Maddie cried. "We could have hurt him! And…and the other thing…"

"It'll be okay, Mads." Jack said comfortingly to his wife. "It'll all be okay. We'll find them."

…

"MOM!"