Author's Note: Fasten your seatbelts.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Monster
Ten paced the floor of Vlad's room, the part of the floor that was still intact anyway, foolish boy. He heard the boy's screaming even from this distance and was waiting with bated breath for the news. Would he die? Would the future be secure? Would he live and bring destruction upon the world? Would that future truly come to pass? Had something significant already shifted?
Only that infuriating trickster Clockwork would know, and he couldn't be trusted.
Ten groaned, digging his fingers into his hair. Vlad needed to be here. Vlad would know what to do. As it was, Ten was alone. No Eight, or Seven, to banter with even, thanks to the boy again. Ten had no idea what the right course of action was, and that was unsettling.
The screaming stopped.
Silence. Nothing more.
Maybe the boy lived? Maybe not.
Ten paced, counted to fifty in his head.
He had to go check. He needed to know. Needed to know what part he played in the future that would come to pass. He needed to know if he had…if he had just set the world on a crash course to hell.
The building shook. Something large, heavy, made a dull thud on the ceiling.
Ten, eyes narrowed, waited. Vlad phased down into the room. Ten sighed, then gasped. Two Vlads, each carrying…a human.
"Ten," one of the Vlads said, surprised, but weary. He was still injured. "Take her, please. I have no more strength."
Ten took hold of the young girl and the Vlad clone disappeared.
Two more ghosts entered the room, with another human.
Jack Fenton, Ten realized with a jolt. "What is—"
Vlad shook his head, cutting Ten off. "It's complicated. Clockwork has asked me to take care of Daniel's family."
Ten's rebuttal at following Clockwork was forgotten at the mention of Daniel. "The boy," he said quickly. "He's in the lab. He was dying. I don't know—"
"Dying?" the female ghost gasped, exchanging a frightened look with the beast next to her. "Take us to him, now."
Ten looked to Vlad, who nodded grimly, and spun on his heel. "Follow me."
…
Dora couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. It was unbelievable that she would come all this way, Clockwork would give Plasmius this task, if it would all come to naught because Phantom was…
Phantom…dead. The words didn't even align.
Wulf held her hand. She squeezed and shook her head, clearing her eyes of the moisture.
"Danny," she whispered as they darted through the walls, the quickest route down. "You have to live. You have to…"
…
"Wake up! Danny. Please." Tucker sobbed, clutching Danny's body, his head on Danny's chest, listening for a heartbeat, something, anything. But there was nothing. No breathing. Only sobs. He couldn't… This couldn't… Sam was wailing, beating her fists raw on the floor. He couldn't… This couldn't… "Danny."
He never apologized for being the most rotten best friend. Never got to say he still cared. Still considered them friends after everything. He would never…could never…just abandon him. They never talked. Never reconciled. He couldn't… This couldn't…
"Danny."
This couldn't be real.
…
What have I done?
What—what have I—I don't—please—no—what have I—please—Danny.
…
Ten froze at the sound of Sam's wails. Vlad muttered a curse and deposited Maddie in the stairwell. Dora entered the room wide-eyed, jaw slack, tears streaming. Wulf busied himself setting Jack down beside Maddie, his eyes squeezed shut as if that would block out the keening song of a heart rent in two.
"No," Dora whispered. She stumbled, fell to her knees.
Vlad rushed to Danny's side, pried the body out of Tucker's grasp.
"Please! Wake him up. Please," Tucker gasped.
"Ten!" Vlad shouted. "Ecto Dejecto!"
"But you used it—"
"Check for more!"
Ten flew across the room and started tearing doors off their hinges, ripping out drawers and dumping their contents on the ground.
Wulf bounded toward another end of the lab to do the same.
Sam quieted, splayed her fingers on the ground, and remained motionless aside from a quiver in the shoulders. Dora crawled next to her, rested a hand over hers, tried to bring solace perhaps. Still, Sam didn't move, didn't so much as register the presence beside her. All thought gone. Mind blank. Body numb.
Dead.
…
It was this scene he was greeted with. This scene that brought a quirk to his lips and stirred old feelings of nostalgia, old memories long buried and forgotten. It was in this moment that he decided he would quite enjoy watching her spit fire in his face one more time before his touch wiped her from existence. Again.
"Sammy."
He watched her body jerk. Distantly, he heard Vlad's sharp inhale, practically smelled his fear, but his eyes were for Sam alone and he watched as she slowly angled her head back, tears falling, expression dead. Violet clashed with red and he suppressed a shiver.
She made no reaction to his presence and he chuckled, remembering that she had never encountered him until this moment.
"You're so young," he said. "You were a woman when I saw you last."
An ectobeam zoomed into his periphery. He swept it aside with a flick of his wrist and turned to face the perpetrator. "You. You look familiar. Didn't I kill you five minutes ago?"
The ghost's eyes, first wide in horror, quickly narrowed, ethereal fire bursting to life in his palms.
"No!" Vlad shouted, but the ghost whose name he didn't care to know charged at him regardless.
Smirking, he vanished, reappeared behind the ghost with a hand fisted around his neck and hurled him into the wall. The room trembled at the impact. Debris rained on the floor. It was then he noticed the others in the room. "Tucker," he said with a sneer. He saw the body in Vlad's arms and his mouth tightened into a thin line. "I see."
"He's dying," Vlad said loudly, though his voice was far from confident. "You won't survive here, Phantom."
Tucker's gasp reverberated in the room, followed by Ten's groan.
Dan smiled and turned to look at Sam. She watched him, lips parted, but her dead expression was still far from the Sam he knew. He shifted his gaze to the female beside her.
"Ah, Dorathea. Still alive and well," he said with a nod of his head. The ghost merely hugged herself and scooted backward, a puzzled expression on her face. "And Wulf." He put a hand on his chest. "I wonder if absorbing you twice will make a difference in the power I stole. Ah, but you don't understand English. Sorry. I've forgotten Esperanto, friend."
Wulf growled. "No friend."
"Debatable."
In the split second after the word left his mouth, Dan appeared behind Vlad and flung him aside.
Stunned, Tucker watched him kneel beside Danny's lifeless body. "What are you—"
"Kill him!" Vlad yelled. "Kill Danny now!"
"No!" Sam shrieked, surging to her feet.
Ten rocketed towards the body on the floor, hands glowing.
Snarling, Dan barricaded his path, dodged the oncoming jab, slammed his fists into the ghost's stomach, and turned him to ice in seconds.
Vlad scrambled towards Danny from behind, a block from the crumbled wall in his hand.
Tucker tackled him seconds before the blast Dan fired could hit its mark. The heat of the blast singed Tucker's back and he screamed, the sound of it drowned out by the impact of the blast. More debris fell. Tucker covered his head. Vlad pushed him off with a snarl and headed for Danny. Dan was at the boy's side, hand on the boy's chest, light pulsing from his palm. Sam blocked Vlad's path, eyes raging, fury twisting her expression into something ugly.
"Don't. You. Dare," she hissed.
"He'll kill us all!" he snapped, wild, hands on her shoulders, forcing her out of his way.
Languidly, Dan flicked his wrist. A green bolt flew and Vlad screamed, crumpling to the floor.
"You never learn, old man," Dan whispered, brow furrowed. Both hands hovered above Danny's chest, palms glowing green. He brought his hands down, hard.
"Stop! You'll hurt him!" Sam grabbed his arm, tried to wrench him away.
He fixed her with a glare, shook her off, and brought his hands down again.
Tucker stopped her from moving with a hand on her wrist. "Wait, Sam."
Dan smirked, bringing his hands down once more.
Her smile was etched in his sight long after the light engulfed him. No, he thought even as he screamed. Please. I need to see… I need to see her again.
He screamed until his throat was raw.
His lungs shriveled. Heart exploded. Legs melted beneath him. His body tore from the inside-out.
He screamed until he had no screams left, until he had nothing left. Until he was nothing more than a weightless, floating mass with no physical form to stay grounded.
Dead. Dead dead dead.
He wanted to sob but he had no throat, no vocal cords, nothing, just a floating bundle in a vast, unyielding darkness.
"ill us—!"
He heard a voice. Muffled. Distant. Undulating like a wave, speaking no words he could grasp.
"Sta—! Ull—him!"
"—Sam."
Light exploded in the darkness.
He gasped, flew into the light, retching and coughing, shaking uncontrollably. A dull, throbbing ache steadily spread throughout him, a weight descending, dragging him down to Earth.
Something cold, icy, frigid rested by his legs. Something warm at his side.
Then that voice was in his ear, warm breath on his cheek, arms around his chest, lips in his hair. "Danny. Oh, Danny."
He tried to speak her name but there was nothing but a soft rasp of a voice left in him. No words, just heavy breaths and shuddering coughs. Shakily, he lifted a hand to her arm, then the other, and held tight.
Her lips left his hair, descended to his cheek, his nose, she turned his head towards her, filled his vision with violet, and pressed her lips to his chastely, once, twice. "Danny," she whispered against him, reverent, a prayer, and leaned her forehead on his. "Thank you. Thank you."
For what? he wanted to ask.
Then another warmth grew at his side, a hand on his shoulder, a tear dripping onto his cheek.
"You scared me, man," Tucker said, voice low, trembling. "Don't do that to me."
Danny angled his head, saw Wulf and Dora standing in the stairwell, Dora covering her mouth behind her hand, Wulf with eyes narrowed, saw bodies hidden behind them, then he looked at Tucker, who was openly crying, his hand clutching Danny's shoulder in a vice-like grip and Danny cringed, the dull, throbbing ache growing stronger, pulsing behind his eyes, throughout his skull, pumping his heart, filling his lungs. He leaned heavily into Sam's embrace, and she shifted to bear his weight.
"You fools," he heard a voice mutter, laced with pain.
Danny glanced in the voice's direction, saw Vlad crumpled on the floor, arms around his stomach. He glanced to the other side, saw a figure made of ice behind Sam's head. His lips parted, his mouth formed words, his voice remained absent.
Then he heard the laugh. Deep. Rumbling. Mad.
A laugh that haunted his dreams.
"This is all so touching. But I'm afraid I have to cut the reunion short."
Sam and Tucker whipped their heads to stare.
Danny curled deeper into Sam's arms. He didn't want to look. This couldn't be happening. It was impossible. He must be dead. He must be in hell.
"Hello, me. It's a good day to be alive."
Monster.
Vlad's strangled roar cut the pleasantries short. He barreled into the—the monster's body and the two grappled, Vlad snarling, the monster chuckling.
"Danny," Sam whispered. "Who is that?"
Danny shook his head, put a hand on her shoulder, tried, in vain, to push her away. Too weak. No strength. He looked at her pleadingly, then looked towards Dora and Wulf.
Sam's grip on him tightened. "We need to get out of here," she hissed to Tucker.
He felt them heft his weight, his arms slung across each of their shoulders.
Pointless, he thought, but he can't fight it. They dragged him and Wulf quickly rushed over to lift him over his shoulder.
Vlad cackled behind them. "You can't kill me here! You know you can't."
"True."
Wulf turned at that moment, and Danny lifted his head, saw the monster—white hair dancing like fire, red eyes flashing with mirth—saw the clone behind Vlad, huge, clawed gauntlets on its hands, saw Vlad whirl, eyes wide with terror, saw the gauntlets tear into Vlad's chest, rip him apart, a Plasmius, a Vlad, saw the monster's clone slam a gauntlet fist into the Plasmius's face, sending him straight into the monster's arms, which manacled around him, Plasmius's hands froze, were encased in ice, and he screamed, the Vlad trembling on the floor scooted backward, the monster'sclone slammed the gauntlets down beside Vlad's body, shattering them, sparks flying— "Now, I can kill you," the monster said as the clone looked down at Vlad with a vicious smile.
Vlad's panicked eyes met Danny's and he stretched his arm pitifully. "Help me!" he yelled just as Dora's roar filled the room.
Wulf jumped onto her dragon hide and they soared.
Dora snatched up Vlad and phased through the wall, past the ceiling, into the air. Danny saw the smirk on the monster's face as they passed. He opened his mouth, tried to yell, tried to tell them to stop, but his rasp was swallowed by the air.
The monster trailed behind them, red eyes locked on Danny's. The sight caused Danny to let out a strangled whimper, burrowing his face into Wulf's furry back.
Puzzled, Wulf turned and caught a glimpse of the monster just before he flew beneath Dora's form.
Growling, Wulf bounded towards Dora's neck, where Sam and Tucker were clutching onto her for dear life. He settled Danny in-between them and they each secured an arm around his waist without question. Then he jumped, landing on Dora's foreleg where Maddie and Jazz were held.
Vlad was screaming, thrashing in Dora's grip. The ghost was grinning at him, throwing harmless blasts near his face. Dora swerved, trying to shake the pest off, but he returned with an even wider grin.
Wulf jumped. The ghost looked up seconds before Wulf pounced, sliced the air, and hurled the ghost down into a portal to the Ghost Zone.
Dora swooped down swiftly and Wulf landed with a grunt on her back. He patted her twice in thanks, then headed to where the human trio was huddled.
Something hit his back and he fell, claws digging into Dora's hide.
"The penalty of not knowing English, friend. Where do you suppose I got the power to make portals?"
Wulf roared.
Danny cringed. It's a nightmare. He can't be alive. This is hell. Hell.
He glanced back and saw Wulf drag the monster—me, he thought and swallowed hard—into a portal to the Ghost Zone. Just as the portal closed, another opened, and Wulf careened through it, pain etched across his face.
This can't be happening. He can't let this happen. It was a nightmare. The monster was laughing. He was toying with them. He was going to kill them all. Kill everyone he— Unless he— He had to—
"Sorry," he croaked and Sam and Tucker both glanced at him sharply. He dragged himself forward, but they grappled with him, stronger than him, too weak, too weak.
"What are you—"
"Danny, stop it—"
He heard Wulf squeal in pain, he bit his lip, he kneed Tucker, rolled over Sam, and got taken up in the current of the wind.
"Danny!" Sam shrieked.
Dora wheeled, smoke spewing from her nostrils.
Danny prayed she didn't reach him in time. Her hands were full. Full, he finally noticed, with his parents, and Jazz, and he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. His eyes locked with red, a sharp-toothed grin. The nightmare came for him, snatched him up, and vanished above the clouds in the midst of a terrifying dragon's roar.
Dora searched, Wulf searched, Sam and Tucker tried to search. But they saw nothing. Danny was gone. Stolen. And they had no trail to follow.
Mind racing, Dora rocketed towards Fenton Works. If the ghost brought Danny there, they would never be able to reach him beyond the ghost shield. If not, then they could at least use the shield as protection for themselves as they planned their next move.
And Vlad—Dora's claw tightened around him—Vlad had a lot of explaining to do.
Red, red, red, the world bled red.
Danny gasped, shooting up from where he lay.
It hurt. His chest hurt with every breath. He dug his fingers into his skin, like he could reach inside and still his aching heart. It hurt.
"Welcome back."
He froze.
The voice chuckled. "No thanks? I did save your life."
Danny narrowed his eyes. "You mean you saved yourself," he hissed.
"Same difference."
Steeling his nerves, he risked a glance.
And looked into the eyes of his living nightmare.
"You can call me Dan." The ghost smiled and bowed.
Danny quickly averted his gaze, anywhere but…him.
"Recognize this place?" Dan asked, casually striding across the room into Danny's view.
He whipped his head to stare out the window, at the moonlight reflecting off a glistening surface. His breath caught in his throat. He stood on trembling legs, threw the window open, and felt the bitter cold of winter on his skin. "No…"
He whirled, saw the bed, the afghan, could almost smell her in the stale air, could almost see her there, lost in dreams.
"How…"
The cabin. Alaska. The cabin.
He slid down the wall, no strength in his limbs.
Dan chuckled again, watching him. "Surprised?" he asked.
Dazed, Danny lifted his head. "But Clockwork… You couldn't have… You couldn't have known."
"This is my past, boy," Dan snarled. He took a step forward, eyes burning. "Look at me. Even after all Clockwork's meddling, here I am. I will always be your future."
A whimper escaped Danny's lips, unbidden, and he curled into himself, whispered "No…" with a shake of his head.
Dan grabbed his chin. "Yes," he hissed, and forced Danny to stand. "Look at me."
Danny struck Dan's chest with a weak fist.
Dan grinned and tossed him onto the bed. "Pathetic. Always pathetic. Vlad managed to save your life and you had your little reunion, oh yes. But you couldn't control it. You can't even control it now."
At Danny's puzzled expression, Dan snatched his arm and dragged him into the bathroom.
"Look."
He didn't want to. But the sudden heat on the back of his neck made him jump and his eyes flew open. He saw himself in the mirror, white hair and green eyes one moment, black hair and blue eyes the next. Just like before.
"Ever changing," Dan said, "never knowing when the next change will come. Didn't bode well for your little pet." He sneered and shoved Danny back onto the bed. "You got Vlad to split you. And regretted it. What good is it if only one part of you can be with her? You weren't happy. She wasn't happy. You forgot how…fragile humans are."
Danny shuddered at the smirk on his face. It only grew wider.
"You killed him. Your own human self. And begged for Vlad's help." With each statement, Dan drew closer. Danny scrambled as far back on the bed as he could.
"He couldn't help, of course," Dan continued. "I'm sure you can guess the rest. You were always so…vicious when you were angry."
"You're lying," Danny rasped.
"Am I? You don't seem very convinced."
The wind howled.
Dan straightened and moved to close the window. When he turned, his smirk was back. "Make yourself comfortable. You'll be here for a while."
"Don't hurt her," Danny whispered. "Don't hurt anyone."
Dan barked a laugh, head thrown back, lips spread wide. "I make no promises."
Thwack!
Vlad stumbled, tripped over his foot, and collapsed. Dora loomed over him, nostrils flaring, looking more dragon than human. He swore he saw smoke.
"You tell me everything you know about that ghost. Or, so help me, I will drop you from the sky."
Vlad shivered and crawled back on his hands until he hit the wall. "Fine. Fine! But I want your guarantee that no harm will come to me."
Dora lifted the hand she'd slapped him with and blew on her nails.
Vlad waved his hand towards Tucker and Sam, who were watching him with murder in their eyes. "Especially from them," he added.
Tucker snorted. "I'd worry more about Danny's parents when I tell them."
Vlad's eyes bulged. "You wouldn't."
"I would," Sam sneered.
"I wonder how long a mayor can get for attempted murder," Tucker mused.
Sam quirked an eyebrow. "You think he'll be alive long enough to be tried?"
Vlad swept his arms out in front of him. "Enough! Guaranteed safety and no telling the Fentons! That's all I ask."
"Done," Dora said. She leaned back on the edge of the couch and crossed her arms. "Now talk."
"Danny!"
Maddie shot up, chest heaving. Jazz surged up beside her.
Jack lunged to his feet. "Where? Where's my boy?"
"Danny?" Jazz whipped her head back and forth.
All three scanned the room.
It looked…familiar.
Jazz gasped. "My room."
Maddie ran. Jack and Jazz followed close behind. They hit the staircase and saw the odd—inexpressive—group below in their old—curiously charred—living room. Vlad Masters. Dora. Wulf. Tucker. And—
"The girl," Maddie whispered, meeting Sam's gaze.
Jazz clutched her mother's hand. Together, cautious, they descended.
Dora watched them with arms crossed, lips pursed in an expression that made them wary. "You may want to sit down."
They did.
And the world around them ceased to make sense.
Jazz waited until her parents and Tucker were busy rummaging through old equipment to confront Samantha Manson.
"Call me Sam," was the first thing she said when Jazz entered what had once been her old room.
"Sam," Jazz said, sitting next to her on the bed. "We saw a picture of you two."
Sam breathed a laugh. "The wolf ghost took it. Just before Danny and I went to Alaska."
"Alaska?"
"We were hiding from Clockwork. At least, that's what Danny thought. I think Clockwork wanted us there."
"Because you got to know my brother more."
A corner of Sam's mouth lifted. "Yeah."
"He's not all bad," Jazz said, curling her legs to her chest.
"Not at all," Sam agreed, leaning her head back on the wall.
Jazz peered at her from the corner of her eye. "You like him."
Sam's mouth tightened to a straight line.
Jazz's hands flew up, eyes wide. "Sorry! I just thought—"
"He's my friend," Sam said. She picked idly at the sleeves of the shirt she'd borrowed after showering, Jazz's shirt.
"Just a friend?"
The question made Sam wince. "I don't think I could ever look at him without remembering…"
"Phantom," Jazz finished dryly.
"I do forgive him. I understand. But forgetting—"
"Is another matter entirely. Even though he did risk his life to save yours."
Sam gritted her teeth. "You don't know all he's done. He destroyed my apartment building. He nearly killed Tucker—"
Jazz stood abruptly. "Are you trying to convince me he's bad. Or yourself? Because I know everything Phantom has done. What I don't know is what Danny has done."
"They're the same—"
"They're not. Maybe at one time they were. But for the past few years, they haven't been. The fact that he almost died is proof. The Ghost Peeler is not a lethal weapon. It's only supposed to strip a ghost's disguise."
Sam dug her nails into her scalp, eyes screwed shut. "I can't—I don't want to deal with this right now. I shouldn't have any feelings for him. He—"
"Loves you."
Her eyes flew open.
Jazz's hand brought warmth to her shoulder.
Furiously, she shook her head and slapped Jazz's hand away. "No, he doesn't. He just—"
"Risked his life for you."
"He's a friend."
"Do friends kiss?"
"Wha—? How did you—?"
"Lucky guess."
Sam fisted her hands. "We kissed. Okay. Yes. But that was it. It was just that."
"So, what? You think he wants you for your body? He's a ghost, Sam. He couldn't have sex if he wanted to."
Sam flushed. "I don't want to have this conversation," she mumbled and scrambled off the bed, heading for the door.
Jazz barred her path. "Tell me the truth, Sam."
"Why?" Sam cried. "Why does it matter?"
"I want to be sure everyone here has Danny's best interests at heart. I don't trust Vlad for a second. Tucker, I need to chat with. And you—you're the wild card. I know nothing about you."
"I want to save him. You can trust me on that."
"But will you break his heart?"
"What?"
"If you don't care for him the way he obviously cares for you, I think it's best you leave."
Stunned, Sam gaped at Jazz, blinking rapidly. "Did you just—? Are you serious?" At Jazz's stoic expression, Sam growled, grabbed her shoulders and shoved her out of the way. "Sorry, but no." She spun in the doorway and jabbed a finger in Jazz's face. "You haven't been the one taking care of him since all this happened. I have. I'm the one who promised I wouldn't leave him again. And I'm going to keep that promise. So I'm coming along, whether you like it or not. Got it?"
Jazz's stunned expression melted into a grin. "Okay. Glad to know we're on the same page."
"Wha—?"
"Now, let's go rescue my brother." Without waiting for a response, Jazz bounded down the steps and headed for the basement.
Dumbfounded, Sam watched her go. Then she groaned and put a hand to her forehead. "Fentons."
"You need to listen to me, boy."
Danny cringed. His arms ached, bound above his head in cuffs meant for a ghost, which he sometimes was, sometimes wasn't. They were cool against his skin as a human, burned when he shifted to a ghost. That, along with Plasmius's voice in his ear and the presence of the…monster nearby, kept him constantly on edge, wishing he could scream his heart out of his chest and be done with it all.
"Daniel," Plasmius said for the hundredth time, hands near the bars of his cage before he froze and quickly sat on top of them. He'd made the mistake of touching the bars more times than Danny remembered. The smell of charred ectoplasm had choked him.
"Vlad—I mean, Plasmius," he finally said. "There's no way out. Your plans won't work."
Plasmius surged towards the bars just as Danny's wrists began to burn.
Danny winced. Plasmius flinched. Both let out a resigned groan.
"If you would help, maybe we could figure something out."
Danny looked down his nose at the man—ghost who had been his nemesis throughout most his teenage life. "One of your plans includes killing me, doesn't it?"
Plasmius sputtered incoherently.
"All of your plans include killing me, don't they?"
"I am not a murderer."
"An accident then. An unfortunate one that leaves me dead. You realize your death will have the same result, right? You could just as easily commit suicide and our problem is solved."
"I'm a ghost. I can't die."
"Unless you're turned to ice first."
Plasmius bit his lip.
"There's a reason ice is limited to the Far Frozen and…" Danny trailed off, averting his gaze to the window. With a pained grunt, he shifted on the bed, backing up to the headboard to alleviate the strain on his arms. "So," he continued abruptly, "what do you say? How about I made a popsicle out of your insides and crush them into oblivion?"
"You're demented," Plasmius whispered, scooting to one edge of the cage. The edge farthest from him, Danny noted with a wry smile.
"I guess I am," he murmured, then nodded. "Makes sense. How else could I become—" The burn faded and he hissed at the sudden cold.
Plasmius dug his fingers into his temples. "Now is the best chance we have. He's weak. Sustaining a clone for that long from that distance takes its toll."
"He still got you here just fine," Danny retorted. "And he was carrying you in that cage too. Doesn't that tell you something?"
"All that tells me is that he must be exhausted. I doubt he could manage another clone so soon. He probably can't even summon ecto-energy."
Snap.
Both heads whirled.
Dan leaned against the doorframe, arm extended, green flames flickering in his palm. He studied them wonderingly. "Oh my. Look at that. And you were saying?"
Plasmius shuddered.
Danny clenched his jaw and turned his head to the window.
Dan laughed. "Poor boy still can't stand to look at me. Shame, isn't it, Plasmius? Acceptance is the key to happiness, is it not?" He didn't wait for a response, crossing the room in a blink to loom over the cage.
Plasmius jerked backwards, hitting the suddenly crackling bars, and grunted. He fell onto his hands.
"Careful there," Dan said, smirking. "So, shall I tell you all the details of my vengeful plans like you were wont to do? That would be fun, for nostalgia sake." Dan hunkered down to meet Plasmius's eyes, amused and pleased to see the ghost trembling. "You're like a scared little kitten. You always were a coward behind the bravado, weren't you? That's why you chose to target a boy instead of the man who actually did you wrong." He lifted a finger. A single, tiny bolt flew out. Plasmius shrieked, darting to one side, hitting the bars again.
Dan cackled and rose to his feet. "I'm going to enjoy this. And you." He looked at Danny from over his shoulder. "Be a man. At least have the decency to look at me when I'm talking to you. I am you, after all."
Eyes closed, Danny inhaled a long, deep breath, and slowly shifted his eyes to the ghost before him. "You're nothing like me."
Dan's eyebrow rose, lips pursing. "Well. I can see why everyone called me a brat at this age." Smirking again, he nodded his head in a mocking farewell and left the room.
Danny sighed and glanced at the wide-eyed, still trembling Plasmius. "Still think you can escape?"
There was no response.
"Thought so," Danny muttered and gritted his teeth against the sudden burn.
