Salut, friends!

Sorry I haven't been able to keep the updates flowing in as fast as I'd like, but I've got even more brilliant ideas for my story!

Oh, and Firestar9mm, thanks for your critique! I love your work, and hope you'll update soon.

Alright then, let's take off!

Chapter Ten: Insult to Injury

"I'm telling you, it wasn't my fault!" yelled Bertrand once again as he nursed the burns he had sustained from the battle.

"Maybe so," said Erik dryly, "but you were the one who ruined my attempt. And now it's your fault that we have to fly, because I can't teleport accurately anymore!"

The two had not stopped arguing the entire time during their unseen flight to Casper High. Both had sustained grievous injuries in the battle yesterday, and were in a worse mood than any other time they had spent together.

They landed on the roof and phased into Spectra's office, where the doctor herself sat filing her nails. Their argument still persisted.

"Well maybe if you hadn't crushed me under that overweight carapace of yours–"

"QUIET!" Spectra yelled with sudden fury. The argument stopped there.

"Now..." her voice changed as though she had never yelled. "We can't let this get in the way of our long term goals. Is that plan of yours complete yet, Erik?"

Erik seemed incredibly annoyed. "How can I make a powerful enough compound to perform this task if you don't have any information on the topic?"

"Well, I don't know!" There was more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Anyway, there are more important matters at hand..."

Danny walked through the halls, wincing at the dull pain in his ribs. As with everyone else, he took care to avoid the auditorium, which had been torn apart in the recent battle at the PTA meeting. As a result, all gym classes were canceled until further notice, and were to be taken over the summer. This proved devastating for the social lives of the jocks, whose entire popularity centered around their prowess in this class.

Danny's surgery had gone off without a hitch; the sliver of his collarbone had replaced with a piece of titanium, and the disgusting pigmentation of his skin was nearly gone. However, his ribs were still encased in the restrictive bandages, and stabbed at his innards every time he took a step. The doctors had warned him to stay away from strenuous activity, and his sister seemed more than happy to help him with everyday tasks.

The good side was that ghost attacks, putting aside those of the Phantom and Bertrand, had ceased for a few days. This was most likely to the recent invasion of Pariah Dark, who had obliterated most of the realms in the Ghost Zone. The bad side was that he was within easy reach of Spectra now, and he could not fight without risking further injury. Also, he had not fully gained his powers back yet, only managing a fingertip ghost ray at best.

It was at this time when Dash Baxter bumped into Danny, making him wince with pain.

"Hey!" blurted out Dash. "Watch it, Fen-Toad!"

"Could you just get out of my way?" Danny asked bitingly.

Dash's eyes seemed to show a sense of caring right before they changed color entirely: now they were a fiery blood red.

"Make me!" the jock roared in a voice that was not his own. He then swung his fist into the smaller teen's rib-cage, producing a noise similar to breaking Styrofoam. Danny sunk to the floor in extreme pain, clutching his mid-section as if he had been stabbed, which it sure felt as though happened.

Dash was in the middle of a malevolent laugh when Mr. Lancer, Dr. Spectra, and a man in a gray suit jacket rounded the corner. Upon seeing the two teens, the vice principal launched into a shout:

"Principa Discordia! What is going on here?"

The jock's eyes reverted back to their standard color as he adopted an expression that was both confused and horrified.

"Wha–I–you–" he managed to stammer out.

"This is inexcusable!" Lancer continued to shout. "Suspension for you, Mr. Baxter!"

"Indeed," chimed the man in gray. "Adolescents today are so desensitized."

The man helped Danny to his feet. As he grasped his hand, Danny noticed this man was very cold to the touch, not to mention his voice was a little familiar. He put it off, having the pain in his ribs; the blue mist that came out of his mouth he could attribute to Spectra anyway.

"Oh my, I forgot to introduce myself, haven't I?" said the man. "I'm Mr. Claudine, the school's new music teacher."

"Back to the matter at hand," interrupted Spectra. "This young man's parents can't just be left unaware of this. I suggest that I go over and talk to them."

"Top drawer idea, madam!" exclaimed Claudine. "What do you say, Lancer?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." said the vice-principal.

"Hey!" shouted Danny painfully. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Now, Danny," Spectra sounded as though she were talking to an infant. "We can't let things like this go unnoticed. I'll be over at 8:00. Toodles!"

Spectra walked away with Dash as Lancer and Claudine helped Danny along to his English class, the teen wincing in pain all the way.

During his time at home, Danny was to stay in bed at all times unless it was absolutely necessary for him to get up. Otherwise, Jazz did nearly everything for him: brought him his meals, cleaned his room, helped him with his homework; she might have even breathed for him the way things were going. To Danny, this was incredibly suspicious, as his sister didn't help him at earlier times when he was sick.

Outside, he heard the roar of a car engine coming to a halt. When he looked out the window, he saw Penelope Spectra in a red Ferrari that perfectly matched her Chanelle suit. She stepped out of the sports car and disappeared from view as she went to the Fenton's door. Danny could hear the ring of the doorbell as one of his greatest enemies entered his house to discuss his "traumatic ordeal" with his parents.

An idea popped into his head; he phased through the floor, wincing at the pain of the effort he had to put into it, and became invisible when he reached the kitchen. His parents were sitting at the table while Spectra took a folder out of her briefcase.

For the rest of the evening, Penelope rambled on about mental scarring and depression as Jack and Maddie listened, apparently intent on every word. It was extremely boring to Danny, who was now in great pain from the effort he was making to stay invisible. Suddenly, he heard a tickering sound from the basement and phased down to investigate.

A blue mist escaped his lips as he saw Bertrand, in his standard blobish form, typing away on the keys of the mainframe computer and focusing intently on the screen. Danny stayed invisible, grinding his teeth in pain. He couldn't afford to fight right now.

Bertrand stopped tickering away long enough to withdraw a CD-ROM from the disc drive. A pocket opened up on his side, in which he placed said disc. Then, with nonchalance, he shut down the computer and flew through the ceiling and out of sight.

Danny flew back up to his room, remaining unseen the whole time. By the time he was back in his bed, he was cringing from the stabbing sensation in his ribs. He looked out the window for the next few minutes, hoping to see where the snippy little shapeshifter had gone.

After what seemed an eternity, Penelope Spectra walked out their door, bidding good health to Danny. As she got in her sleek German car, Bertrand appeared, this time in human form, in the passenger's seat.

"Did you get it?" Spectra's voice was barely audible as she started the car engine.

"Of course," replied Bertrand. "It wasn't exactly as easy as switching on the kitchen light, but I got the file."

"Great! You up for a cappuccino?"

"You bet!" And with that, the car tore down the road, disappearing from view.

Danny plopped down on his bed. He couldn't believe that it would be so easy for them. Two of his worst enemies had just made off with who-knows-what in a bright red Ferrari.

Whoa, he thought. There's something you don't hear every day.

And there you have it!

Keep the reviews coming in! I just adore you all!

Your sincerest regards,

Monsieur Caracal.