LadyMaundrell: No, see, Sam was "Evil Sam" at that moment; Vlad was corrupting her to be his minion. Danny was reminding her to try to save her from that fate.
sam manson rulez : Thank you, and here's an update. And yes, she does.
kitty00240 : Like Danny on the show, I do want a theme to be Sam's learning/struggling with her powers. As a matter of a fact, they're BOTH going to learn a new ability here.
ROSECAT: I'm flattered you're enjoy it so much! And please, post what you have!
X: Aw, c'mon. Let me see an example of your writing. And, I'm happy you're enjoying it.
Riverfox237: Thank you, and I will try to keep up the good work.
charizardag: Thanks, and I'll try to read yours as soon as I can.
Lady Serenity Moon Child: Gee, I didn't know it was this emotional. Thanks:-D
Anyway, our poor lil' heroes are going to be rather miserable in this one...
"Wow, we always get the winners, don't we?"
Sam hurled yet another plasma barrage at the ghostly... thing before them. It looked like a giant, transparent ball of viral material with a face.
"Tell me about it," Danny muttered as he also opened fire. The ghost they were fighting laughed at the figures attacking him.
"Foolish little halfas," he sneered. "You honestly think you can inoculate yourselves against me, Bubonic, master of illness and disease? After all, it is I who make all humans sick!"
"This guy has a disease all right... in the head," Sam whispered through her teeth to Danny. The boy nodded as their green and purple plasma-fireworks show continued. Bubonic scowled.
"I heard that, girl. And you waste your time with your attack. Everyone knows you fight me with your immune system, not your plasma fire! Feel my viral wrath!" The two were just starting to groan when Bubonic unleashed a massive blast of green goo, which caught the two in the chest. The force slammed Danny and Sam into a wall, covering them in the sticky substance.
"Ewww!" the teenagers shrieked. They twitched slightly as their eyes went red for a moment, then resumed their struggles. Bubonic hovered before them, grinning.
"Well, there's no point in me being here anymore; the damage has been done. I suggest rest and chicken soup. Until then, children." With that, the repulsive ghost vanished in a swirl of ghostly energy. The two finally pulled themselves free and drifted down to Tucker, who had his tongue out in disgust.
"Do you have any idea how disgusting that was."
"Oh, no, Tucker," Sam replied as she and Danny turned back into humans. "I think being completely covered in ghost snot is a wonderful experience. Look at the wonders it's doing to my skin!" she snapped, yanking at the caked gunk.
"Don't really want to, Sam. And don't fling it at me."
"Don't need the attitude, Tuck," Danny growled as he struggled to break the substance out of his hair.
"Hey, I ain't the one every ghost from New York to Selinsgrove wants to kill, now, am I?" he replied, crossing his arms.
"That's true," Sam replied, sniffling slightly.
"What can I say, we're popular," Danny added, rubbing his eyes. Tucker cocked his head, concerned.
"You two okay? You look terrible all of a sudden."
"I do feel a little cruddy," Danny confessed.
"Yeah, me too," Sam chimed in, starting to sound stuffed.
"I think I know what's going on," Tucker said with a note of concern. "That icky guy said 'the damage is done,' remember?"
"What kind of damage did h-- oh, darnit," Danny sniffed.
"I hate being sick!" Sam whined.
"You guys better get home, then," Tucker advised them. "You're lucky we have a three day weekend. I'll catch you later, when you're not a biohazard."
"Oh, thanks, Dr. Foley! Love the bedside manner!" Sam shot back as he walked off. "I am to please!" he called back as he rounded the corner.
"He's right though," Danny said, looking a bit pale. "See you tomorrow?"
"If we're still alive," Sam replied with a week smile.
"That's what I love I about you Sam, always the optimist. See ya," the boy replied. The two exchanged a kiss and walked for home, coughing slightly.
In the living room of the Fenton household, Jazz lounged lazily in an armchair, sipping a soda while reading a novel. She was just starting the next chapter when the door opened. She smiled and peered over the book.
"Hey, little brother, how are y--" Jazz dropped her jaw and book as Danny stumbled inside. Drenched in sweat and ironically ghostly pale, he looked at her with bloodshot eyes. He smiled weakly.
"Oh, hey Jazz," he rasped. "Just a little under the weather's a--" The boy was cut off by a terrible coughing fit. His older sister jumped out of her chair and ran towards the ailing child. She felt his forehead with her hand.
"Ohmigosh, Danny! You're burning up! You need to get into bed, right now!" Jazz said, scooping Danny up and carrying him upstairs.
"Jazz, I'm fine," he mumbled, coughing.
"Like heck," she replied, taking off his shoes. "Now, you just get yourself into bed right now, and I'll get you some chicken soup and ginger ale. I'll wheel a TV in here in a minute." With that, she raced out of the room. Too exhausted and out of it to care, Danny stumbled into bed with his T and jeans, groaning.
"Well, I guess having the flu has some perks... like making your sister lavish attention over you."
Danny took another sip of chicken soup as he watched Nickelodeon. He never thought he'd have such a need for Spongebob in his life. He chuckled slightly as the episode continued. After a moment, Jazz opened the door, knocking on it.
"Yeah?" the boy rasped.
"Just checkin' in on my little brother. Feeling any better yet?"
"A smidge," he replied, before lapsing into a coughing fit. Jazz frowned and checked his temperature.
"Still hot. You need your pillows fluffed or anything? More soup?"
"No, I'm fine. I could use a little more g--"
"Hey Danny," a voice snuffled from the door. The boy and Jazz craned their necks to see an equi-sick Sam leaning on the door frame. Jazz jumped to her feet.
"Sam! What are you doing here like that?" she cried.
"I was sick... of my room. So, I thought I'd come over and see Danny and... why is Jazz picking me up," Sam sputtered.
"You shouldn't be here at all, and you're certainly not going back like this!" she replied as she picked Sam up and removed her boots. "Danny, move over."
"Uh, Jazz, we're only four--"
"Look, you're both dressed, responsible, and dead sick. I think I can trust you," Jazz replied as she slipped Sam next to him. "Now stay right there, I'll get some pillows and another tray and more soup..."
"Your sister's nice," Sam sniffled as Jazz ran off.
"She can be, when she's not nosy and invading my life," Danny grinned weakly. "Feeling any better?"
"Not really... stupid ghost. I think I'm gonna die," she muttered. "But..." she continued as she rested her head against Danny's, "the company may change that." Danny blushed.
"It may help me too," he replied.
"That's the hope," Sam returned. After a moment, Jazz swooped back into the room, and within seconds had Sam pillows, a tray across her body, and a steaming bowl of soup in front of her. "Is it vegetarian?" she rasped.
"Yep. You practically live here, and you're rubbing off on Danny... he's starting to avoid meat too."
"What can I say, she's hard to resist," Danny smiled. Sam grinned slyly before launching into a coughing fit. Jazz sighed as she got up.
"Okay, I'm going to call Sam's parents and tell her she's over here... Funny, you have a huge medical staff, don't you?"
"They're union," the Goth groaned.
"Yes, because illness is union too," Jazz said with half-closed eyes. Muttering, she closed the door. With nothing better to do but nearly hack up their lungs, Danny and Sam settled in and against each other, sipping soup and ginger ale as they groggily watched the antics of a talking sponge.
"Hey, lovebirds... wake up."
The ailing teenagers groaned and turned slightly in bed, snuggling closer. Jazz continued to shake them.
"C'mon, wake up."
"...why," Sam whined.
"Because you guys look like you're alive again," Jazz replied. She showed the two a mirror as they staggered into a sitting position. Their reflections had returned to a normal peach, their eyes were no longer bloodshot or itchy, and they could breathe again. They heaved a sigh of relief.
"Wow, Jazz, your soup must have done the trick!" Danny replied, noting his throat was no longer sore.
"Or sleeping. You've been out for eighteen hours."
"Eighteen hours!" they cried.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Jazz teased as she ruffled their hair. "You needed it, obviously. Now, I'll leave you two be... are you still up for tonight?"
"Um, what's tonight?" Sam asked.
"You know, the big dinner out with your family? Planned for weeks? Don't you remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure, we're up for it," Sam replied.
"Yeah," Danny added.
"Oh, good. I'll tell Sam's mom to keep the reservation." With that, Jazz left.
"Well, that was fun," Sam muttered as she crawled out of bed.
"Tell me about it..." Danny grumbled as he did the same. "But, hey, the company was nice," he added as he gave Sam a peck on the cheek. Stiffening, she giggled... and unleashed a plasma ball into Danny's wall, charring a poster. "You know, Sam, you didn't really need to do that."
"But, I didn't mean it, Danny!"
"Okay, okay," the boy replied. He coughed. "Ugh, I think I still have some of the f-- what are you looking at."
"Your eyes," Sam replied as she guided him to a mirror. Danny blinked; it wasn't Danny Fenton's piercing blue eyes staring back, but Danny Phantom's glowing green eyes. He shook his head, and his eyes returned to normal. "This doesn't seem right," Sam continued, as her topknot flickered white.
"Our powers must be malfunctioning," Danny said as he watched one of his shoes become a white boot. "But, why? Mom and Dad aren't testing anything..."
"You think it could be that Bubonic guy?" Sam said. "He said he was the ghost that makes humans sick..."
"Yeah," Danny replied.
"Well, we're not human anymore, are we? I think his little attack had some kinda adverse effect on us..."
"That can't be right," Danny argued. "I've been sick while I've had my ghost powers. Nothing happened then."
"Yeah, but you caught it from ME, not Bubonic."
"...that's true," Danny added, a note of worry in his voice.
"Danny, we're in trouble," Sam continued as her own eyes flickered green.
"No, you think? I can just imagine how it'd look when we transform in a restaurant, in front of our parents!" Danny snapped. As he did, plasma balls came out of both hands, singing the floor.
"Well, we should call it off, then," Sam replied calmly.
"That won't be taken well by your parents. I'm sure they'd love it if I made them waste a reservation deposit," Danny huffed.
"Well, we have to do something, don't we?" Sam countered, slightly muffled by her malfunctioning shield.
"Okay, okay, this is no biggie. If we just concentrate, and will it not to happen, everything should be fine, right?"
"Right!"
With that, the two transformed.
"...we're doomed," they sighed in unison.
"Oh, Samantha, I wish you wore that lovely dress we got you!"
"I don't do yellow, Mom," Sam hissed. "Besides, you're not dressed up..."
"Oh, right," Steve Manson sighed. He looked with a raised eyebrow at the Fenton clan; the boy and the girl looked fine, but the parents? Jumpsuits with no sense of style? The man was wearing a tie over it, for goodness sakes!
"So, Jack," Steve said, "Samantha tells us you're a ghost buster?"
"No, not so much. I wanted to sue Bill Murray for his unfair portrayal, but it was tossed out of court."
"I, uh, see..." Steve answered.
"And Maddie, what do you do?" Michelle Manson added, daintily twirling her spaghetti.
"Basically, keep this lug in line," Maddie said teasingly as she poked Jack with her elbow. Jack smiled. Michelle opened her mouth to follow up when a loud thud and two grunts sounded. "Danny, Samantha," she asked, "how did you end up on the floor like that?"
"Um, we fell out," Sam blushed.
"Fell out?" Steve replied incredulously. "How could you possibly..."
"We just did, okay Mr. Manson?" Danny replied. This brought a curt glare from his mother. He blushed and mumbled an apology. After the incident, the Manson launched into a stimulating conversation about toothpick production. A desperately bored Danny and Sam were resting their chins on a hand when their arms phased; their heads thunked against the table.
"Oh, were we boring you kids? I'm so sorry," Michelle said sarcastically.
"Danny, behave yourself!" Maddie hissed.
"You too, Samantha," Steve added as he took a drink.
"We're sorry," the teenagers blushed in unison. Seeing their eyes starting to reflect in their glasses, they looked away. Jazz, meanwhile, had been watching the two with increasing concern. After all, she knew exactly why Danny and Sam were late to dinner, or banged up, or exhausted; she'd even seen them both in action last week. It was clear there was something very wrong with their powers.
"You know, Danny and Sam were pretty ill yesterday," Jazz suddenly said. "Perhaps we should take them home and..." She trailed off as the two suddenly started to transform into their ghost forms. "And, look at me! Look at me!" Jazz said, waving her arms. "I'm right here!"
"Jasmine, what has gotten into you!" Maddie said, aghast.
"Was it... a GHOST!" Jack snapped, aiming a spectral gun at her.
"Um, excuse us," a white haired Danny and Sam said before running for the bathroom. Green and purple bursts of light came from under the doors; Jazz clenched her eyes, hoping no one else was in there.
"Why are you closing your eyes like that?" Michelle asked.
"Oh, uh, got dirt in my eyes," she replied. As she opened them, the halfas returned, biting their lips.
"And where were you two?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, you know... sometimes the food doesn't agree with you!" Sam said, sweating. "So, maybe we should go and-- Oh darnit!" she snapped, looking down at her hands. "I, uh, forgot to wash my hands. Be right back!"
"Yeah, me too!" Danny replied. Again, the two ran for the bathroom, with bursts of green and purple energy. After a moment, they came out again. They were just wiping their hair when the rings appeared again, and there stood Danny Phantom and Sammy Spectre in all their glory. The flashes attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant, including the two they especially didn't want them to see.
"Oh, CRUD," Danny and Sam muttered.
"Inviso-Bill! And, uh, his new sidekick, Intagi-Betty!" Jack screamed. He and Maddie overturned the table, and whipped out massive, painful-looking weapons. They hummed as white lights charged up. The two halfas screamed and phased through the wall just as the weapons fired, leaving a huge hole in it.
"Huh," Maddie said, rubbing her chin. "I didn't think I made that powerful a yield... I should check that." Steve and Michelle blinked in shock; Jazz looked like she was about to tear her hair out.
"...check please," Steve said weakly.
"Well, that went well," Danny muttered as he and Sam flew to the park.
"Oh, you mean nearly being fried by your parents? Nah, that's fine for a first dinner impression," Sam snarked. "We should do it more often."
"I'll pencil it in for next Friday," the boy replied. He looked sadly at his flickering arms. "This can't possibly get any w—"
"Don't say it!" Sam hissed, covering his mouth.
"Why not?" he said under his hand.
"Because whenever anyone says that, it gets..." Sam trailed off as purple mist floated out of her mouth. She muttered a curse under her breath.
"Oh, would you relax, Sam? It's just our powers being nutty..." As in answer, a ghost appeared. The two moaned.
"Beware! I have come to spread my corrugated wrath upon the world!" the Box Ghost cried, waving his arms around.
"Don't you ever learn?" Sam sighed as she and Danny willed themselves to transform.
And willed.
And willed some more.
"Uh... Sam..." Danny said.
"Yeah, I know," Sam replied. "We're not changing."
"Aha!" the Box Ghost grinned. "You are frozen in fear of my powers! Now I shall enclose you in your darkest nightmare!" With that, he willed a box around the helpless halfas, sealing them inside. He laughed as the box shuddered and bounced.
"Danny, this is the most asinine thing!" Sam snarled as she threw her shoulder into the wall.
"No, really?" he replied, pushing at the top.
"We're getting our butts kicked by the BOX GHOST, Danny!" she hissed.
"It's not that bad," Danny said. Sam glared daggers into him.
"Now, I shall ship you into the Ghost Zone for all eternity!" the ghost sneered as a portal opened.
"...okay, now it's bad," Danny nodded. The two struggled even harder, but their prison refused to give. "Well, we're doomed," he concluded.
"And you thought -I- was the optimist," Sam mumbled.
The two strained on opposite sides of the box. As their grip suddenly failed, they crashed into each other. Just as they were colliding, their bodies phased together and lost cohesion, becoming a ghostly mist. Sam's anger combined with Danny's frustration, and the two felt their bodies melting together, then suddenly exploding outwards...
The Box Ghost was still laughing about his total victory over the feared and arrogant Danny Phantom and Sammy Spectre when the box trembled. Before he could react, it exploded, revealing a massive ghost dragon, much like the one created around an Amulet of Aragon victim. It roared, and charged towards him, plasma fire spewing from its agape mouth.
"Oh, spare me un-boxed one! I am but a master of cardboard!" he cried before diving into the portal. The dragon clawed angrily at the closing rift, snarling that its prey had escaped. Then it doubled over as if it were having a stomach ache, and disintegrated into cloud of ghostly smoke. When it cleared, two very confused teenagers were lying on their stomachs, rubbing their heads.
"What just happened?" Danny said as he sat up.
"We kinda melted together into some kinda... thing," Sam replied. She paused. "It was a dragon, wasn't it."
"I think it might have been," he gently said, resting a hand on her arm. Sam hung her head and pounded at the ground with a fist.
"I didn't want that! I don't want to be a monster! I've already tried to kill you twice, that's enough!" she cried.
"Three things, Sam," Danny answered softly as he took her hands. "One, I've tried killing you twice, too. And second, that dragon was just as much me as it was you. And third... the only thing we did was scare the BOX GHOST, Sam! I mean, come on, a cat could scare that doofus."
"I... guess you're right," Sam admitted.
"Of course I am. I'm not a straight C student for nothing!" Danny quipped as he poked the teenager's belly. Sam squirmed and giggled. "Seriously, are you gonna be okay? Nothing bad happened."
"I.. guess." She paused. "That wrong feeling I was having... it's gone."
"Yeah, same here... let's try changing." After a quick look around, the two willed their transformation; it came and went normally as always. When they assumed human form, that also remained stable.
"Wow, turning into a monster cured us. Imagine that," Danny said.
"I don't want to. Even if I wasn't scared of dragon ghosts, this is still creeping me out. Guess being a halfa isn't as easy as you made it look," Sam sighed. Danny held her close with an arm.
"Since when was I an expert? Come on, let's get some lemonade or something, my treat." Sam nodded with a smile, and they walked to the booth.
"One thing's bothering me though..." she said.
"What's that?" Danny replied as he took out his wallet.
"How'd things end up at the restaurant?"
"Great work, Maddie," Jack said as the Fentons examined their damage. "Those two won't show their faces around here again! I just wish Danny and Sam were here to see that... Didn't you, Jazz? Jazz?"
Jazz lay sprawled on the floor; she had fainted. The Mansons made sure she was breathing, then tip-toed away.