FENTON FAMILY FEUD
PART THREE
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom; Butch Hartman does. This story was written just for fun, so enjoy!
Tucker carefully steered the Specter Speeder through the portal opening into the lab, and set it down on the floor as quietly as possible. He and Sam scrambled out of the cockpit hoping to sneak out of the lab without running into either Danny's parents or his nosey sister.
"I still think we should've followed them," Sam said, keeping her voice low. "Danny could be in a lot of trouble!"
"How much trouble could he possibly be in?" Tucker asked confidently. "You heard what that ghost-girl said: she's taking Danny to meet a fan! How dangerous can that be?"
"I don't know, Tucker, I just have a really bad feeling about all this."
They were halfway up the stairs when Jack Fenton's massive frame filled the doorway in front of them.
"Kids! Great! You're just in time!" he exclaimed.
"Just in time for what?" Tucker asked, then immediately regretted it when he saw the man's eyes light up.
Danny's father rushed past them down to the lab; Sam and Tucker reluctantly followed him.
"You're just in time to watch me try out my new-and-improved Fenton Fisher! Now with more ghost bait!"
Jack slid to a halt in front of the swirling portal and cast a long ectoplasmic-coated fishing line into the portal. After a moment, he reeled it in, only to come up empty-handed. He frowned, examined the line closely, then cast it back in again. He paused, his foot tapping impatiently, then began reeling the line back in. This time he met some resistance. He grinned.
"I think I've got something!"
The ghost-girl named Danielle flew through the Ghost Zone at break-neck speed, going over in her mind one more time what had transpired in Vlad Plasmius' laboratory. She had done as Vlad asked of her and brought the ghost hybrid Danny Phantom to him. She felt a momentary twinge of guilt as she thought of the boy trapped in that cage, purposely built two sizes too small. She remembered the look in his eye when Plasmius introduced her as his aunt - the hurt, the betrayal, the anger. She shook her head to clear her jumbled thoughts. Now was not the time to go soft; there was more yet to do. She had to confront the hybrid's father, Jack Fenton, a relatively unknown ghost hunter. She hoped to goad him into following her back to Vlad's lab. After that, well, it was really all up to Fenton.
Slowing as she reached the swirling Fenton Portal, the ghost-girl contemplated how best to proceed. Should she try to slip in quietly, mess with Fenton's head a bit, or just burst right in and begin taunting him openly? Her decision was made for her, however, when a line coated with glowing green ectoplasm flew towards her, wrapped around her, and pulled her towards the portal opening. As hard as she fought, she couldn't escape the powerful binding that pinned her arms to her sides. From the other side of the opening, she heard a man shout, "I think I've got something," and found herself being dragged closer and closer towards the portal.
Jack yanked one last time on the Fenton Fisher, and young female ghost burst through the portal, the glowing green ghost fishing line wrapped tightly around her upper body. She writhed on the lab floor, snarling and struggling against the bonds.
"Tucker, look! That's the same ghost that took off with Danny!" Sam gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth when Jack dropped the Fenton Fisher, spun to face her and boomed, "What about Danny?"
He looked from Sam to Tucker and back to Sam again, but neither teen responded. They looked at each other, at the floor, all around the lab. They looked everywhere but in his eyes.
When Jack dropped the Fenton Fisher, the bound ghost was able to wriggle free from the slacked line. She burst forth with a triumphant cry and morphed into a giant, hideous caricature of herself.
"It's true, Jack Fenton! I took your son!" She snarled. "He's safe for now, but if you want him back, you'll have to catch me!"
The monstrous spirit turned and zipped back through the portal, leaving Jack, Tucker and Sam momentarily stunned.
"Danny?" Jack queried.
"We're so sorry, Mr. Fenton," Tucker said. "We were just hanging out, and that ghost came in and grabbed Danny! There was nothing we could do!"
"Uh, yeah," Sam concurred, following Tucker's lead. "W . . . we were just coming to get you when . . ."
Jack didn't wait to hear the rest of Sam's made-up-on-the-fly explanation, but leapt into action. He threw open the door to the cabinet, and grabbed an armful of his ghost fighting inventions, throwing them into the back of the Specter Speeder. He then hopped into the driver's seat, started the vehicle up, and raced through the portal.
"What do we do now?" Tucker asked as the smoke cleared and silence descended on the lab.
Sam shrugged and sighed. "We wait."