Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Is whining from inside a changing room* Do I really have to do this?

Dora: Well, Prince Aragon chose you to be his bride when he laid eyes on you, so unless you want to start a war between dragons, then yes, you have to. I told you not to go to the castle, and what do you do? You go to the castle. *sighs*

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': You also said there were ancient dragon artifacts that originally belonged to my family. I was honor bound to recover them. I was hoping he wouldn't notice me… *Let's out a small yelp* Hey! Don't tighten that so much! I swear, at this point I'm humoring the idea of starting a war just to get out of this torture device.

Dora: I could've given you the artifacts if you had given me some time, Princess Onyx. Now you're stuck here. Hold still, I'm trying to measure you for your wedding dress.

*There was scratching on the door.*

Dora: Oh what is it now? *She opens the door to see a little black fox*

DarkFoxKit: *Comes in and sits in front of Onyx who was in an elegant light pink wedding dress* So, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is I've managed to talk Prince Aragon out of marrying you, Onyx.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': *Raises an eyebrow* How?

DarkFoxKit: *Chuckles nervously* That's where the bad news comes in… I uh… may have convinced him by saying something along the lines of… "Do you really want to marry another dragon? That's just so… plain. Wouldn't you rather have something nobody else has?" Prince Aragon agreed and… decided to let you go… and in return… well… he wants to marry a human.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Wait… *Eyes go wide in realization* Isn't that… *Stops myself when I see Dora looking curiously.*

Dora: … So Princess Onyx is free to leave?

DarkFoxKit: Yeeeeah… but only when he gets his human bride.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Ugh! So I have to stay here in this wedding dress?

DarkFoxKit: Heh… pretty much. Princess Dora and I are charged with finding the human bride. So that's… going to be… fun?

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Fine… as long as I still get to take those artifacts.

DarkFoxKit: For now though, I guess we should let our… erm… guests get on to what they came here for.

Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Right right, enjoy everyone…

Chapter 53: Investigation Part 2

"Mom?" I said in surprise. "I was uh… um… oh hey, Mom, I have a friend over today and we're checking out the lab. I hope that's alright."

"Oh? You didn't tell me you were going to be inviting Tucker over," Mom said. "With how you left the house, I was sure you were going on a date."

"It's not Tucker," I quickly said. "It's actually Valerie. And it wasn't a date, we're just friends."

"Oh? I remember meeting her once but it was during some pretty tense times so we didn't really have time to converse," Mom said, sounding intrigued. "Tell me, do you really thinking showing someone the lab is a good first date idea? I know she's seen it before, but wouldn't you rather take her to a movie or something of that nature?"

"I said it's not a date," I grumbled. "We didn't plan to go to a movie or anything."

"Of course it isn't a date, sweetie," Mom said with a wink, or at least I assumed so since she currently had her goggles on. "My first date with your father wasn't a date either. We were just two friends hanging out at a restaurant."

"Moooom, please stop," I begged.

"Andy, why don't you tell your mom about what's going on? Maybe she can help you find a solution faster," Tucker suggested to me.

"Besides, Valerie and I aren't here for pleasantries," I continued after Tucker suggested the idea to me. "We think something's going on with the Nasty Burgers around Amity Park. Something… ghostly."

That got Mom's attention.

"What do you think is going on? I had the feeling there was something strange going on around town," Mom said.

I was relieved that she stopped insisting I was on a date with Valerie. "A lot of people are suddenly falling in love with each other, even complete strangers. It's not normal, so Valerie and I went to a Nasty Burger ourselves pretending to be on a date and took some of the food back here to get it analyzed. We think a ghost or ghosts might be involved."

"So it was a date of some kind. Jack and I actually went on a few investigative 'dates' ourselves," Mom responded with a smirk. "And it sounds like you did well, you received food from the restaurant in question and I assume you are running it through the spectral analyzer. We should go down there and see the results, and don't worry, I won't embarrass you in front of your date~."

"Mom! I told you it's not a date!" I snapped, feeling my face heat up. "Look, let's just hurry and go. I want to find a solution to this problem as quickly as possible."

Mom giggled before she said, "Alright Andy. By the way, where's your brother?"

"... Danny is… busy right now," I said with some hesitation. "Let's just say he has his own date."

"Be honest, Andy, what happened?" Mom asked. "I can tell when you're lying, it one of my motherly super powers."

"It's not a lie, Mom," I said. "Danny really is out on a date… with Sam."

"Then tell me the whole truth because we both know that Danny always chokes up when it comes to his relationship with Sam," Mom responded.

"He ate at the Nasty Burger with Sam," I answered.

"Ahh, so he succumbed to the effects of whatever it is that is happening at Nasty Burger?" Mom asked before I gave a nod. "Just another reason for us to find the cause so we can create a cure. Let's head down to the lab and see what the current results are. And don't worry, I won't take over your investigation unless I need to. I know how capable you are at ghost hunting."

I gave a small chuckle, "Well I may need your help for this. I'm no scientist after all."

"Don't be silly, you're a Fenton, you have an inner scientist. You just need to unlock it," Mom said as she turned and started heading towards the door to the lab. "Jazz already partially unlocked her inner scientist, and I'm sure Danny would be able to do the same if he invested some time in science."

"Oh I'm sure," I said as Mom and I headed into the lab.

"But I feel that you are the next in the family to unlock your inner scientist," Mom said with a smile. "You're already quite logical. And if you don't want to specialize in science then I'm sure you could excel at something else. The Fentons are a family of geniuses after all."

I wouldn't call myself a genius or a scientist, but I decided to let Mom have her moment before we reached the lab. Valerie was there waiting for me, and she was holding some papers before she looked up and was surprised to see my mom was here too.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Fenton, I'm sorry for intrud-" Valerie started to say before Mom cut her off.

"Andy already explained to me what you two were doing," Mom said with a smile. "And please, call me Maddie, I'm not an elderly lady after all."

"You told your mom what we were doing?" Valerie asked me in surprise.

"I can't lie to my mom, she can always tell if I lie," I said sheepishly, except for when it came to my half ghost identity.

"I'm more than happy to help young ghost hunters like you two," Mom said with a smile. "And I already promised to Andy that I won't take over the investigation, I'm here simply to help."

"What? I don't hunt ghosts!" Valerie quickly said.

"Technically you are a ghost hunter, you are helping Andy to investigate possibly ghost activity at Nasty Burger," Mom pointed out. "And by doing so, you are hunting ghosts, meaning you are a ghost hunter."

"Oh… y-yeah, right," Valerie said as she was calming down.

"Now, let's see those results you got," Mom said as she walked over to Valerie.

"Sure, here you go Mrs- I mean Maddie," Valerie said as she handed Mom the papers.

I looked at Mom as she looked over the papers, "... So do you know what the substance is, Mom?"

"Well at first glance all I can see is that Nasty Burger uses way too much salt in all their food," Mom said as she looked through the papers. "There are also a few chemicals in here that I don't recognize immediately but they could be chemicals used in the food industry. What I would do in your position would be to-"

"Maddie!" All of us jumped when we heard my dad's booming voice. "Maddie, where are you?!"

Before any of us could answer, Dad burst open the lab door and smiled when he saw Mom. I've never seen Dad look this happy to find someone unless it was a ghost or something.

"There you are, Maddie!" Dad said as he ran over and hugged Mom tightly, causing her to drop the pile of papers.

"Jack? What has gotten into you?" Mom asked, surprised at Dad's sudden attitude. "You don't think I'm a ghost again, do you?"

"Of course not, Maddie. I just felt that I haven't been giving you as much attention lately as I should be. We used to be the most romantic couple in all of Amity Park, but I feel that lately we've lost a bit of the spark! And I, as your husband, feel that it is only right that I work hard to rekindle the flame of love between us two!" Dad shouted with passion.

"Jack, tell me, did you just return from Nasty Burger?" Mom asked.

"Of course, my dear. I ran home as soon as I thought of you!" Dad responded cheerfully.

"Mom! We have to snap Dad out of it!" I yelled as I tried to pull my Dad's arm away from Mom, but he was too strong for me in my human form.

"Andy, listen to me, I'll deal with your father. You need to look at the chemical and try to match them up with chemicals used in foods, if there are any chemicals that don't match and are found in all the results then that is the culprit," Mom quickly said as Dad turned around before he started walking towards the stairs. "Once you find it, use the analyzer to start working on an antidote. Once you have the antidote find me and we'll cure Jack and go after whatever foul play there is at the Nasty Burger!"

After Mom was carried away by Dad, Valerie and I looked at each other before we started picking up the papers Mom dropped.

"I can pick up the papers, Andy, you get on the computer and get ready to research the chemicals," Valerie said. "I know how long it takes that computer to boot up. It's probably the least advanced piece of technology in the entire lab."

I looked at Valerie and frowned, before I nodded, "Alright. I just hope there's not a time limit to this substance that makes it permanent."

"Let's hope not, otherwise I'm moving," Valerie grumbled. "There is no way I'm living in Lovebird City, especially when the love is artificial."

"Then we better hurry just in case there is," I went over to the computer and boot it up.

I looked back at Valerie to see she was still busy picking up the papers before I started to whisper.

"Tucker, can you hear me?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, still here," Tucker responded. "That was definitely something. Hopefully your dad didn't bring any leftovers to give to your mom."

"I think my mom will be fine," I said quietly. "Right now I need your help. I don't know enough to understand the chemicals on the computer. I'll need your input on all this. Your camera can see the monitor, right? Will you be able to analyze the data like this?"

"Yeah I'll be able to analyze the data," Tucker said. "Though you could just look at the chemicals and I can tell you how to write it out in the search bar, that way it doesn't look suspicious that you're getting results without even typing anything."

"Yeah, whatever works," I said.

An hour passed by since we started to search through the different chemicals. We were getting practically nowhere as quite a lot of the chemicals turned out to be normal food related chemicals, some that was artificial and some that was actually naturally produced by the ingredients.

"Ugh! We've found nothing!" Valerie complained in frustration as she crumbled up and dropped the last piece of paper. "Every chemical is apparently supposed to be there… Maybe it isn't actually the food but something about the food being eaten at Nasty Burger. Like a combination of different effects… no… that wouldn't make sense… a few people I watched didn't eat in Nasty Burger, some fell in love at the park."

"Valerie, calm down," I said as she started pacing around. "There has to be something we're missing here…"

I heard a weird distorted sound through the mic in my ear. I've noticed I've been hearing that noise once in awhile, but I never asked Tucker about it.

"But what could we possibly be missing?" Valerie asked before she started going on her rant again. "We've analyzed just about everything, even picked apart every atom on that burger! And still we have nothing!"

While Valerie was on her rant, I decided to quietly speak to Tucker. "Tucker, what's that noise I keep hearing?"

"What? Oh that's just my PDA. It's been acting kind of wonky lately," Tucker answered.

"Your PDA has been acting wonky?" I frowned as I looked at the computer. "When did it start acting like that?"

"A couple days ago, some time in the afternoon I'd say," Tucker answered.

A couple of days ago at noon? That was when we were at Axion Labs… wait a minute…

"Tucker, I know this may sound silly, but can you try scanning the data with your PDA?" I asked, feeling like I may have found a new clue.

"Oh, uh alright, I'll transfer and run it quickly," Tucker responded as I heard his PDA start to make some beeps as Tucker pressed some buttons.

Come on, please work… please… I watched Valerie still pacing and ranting, trying in vain to figure out what the problem was. After what felt like an eternity, I heard Tucker make a gasping sound.

"Did you find out something?" I quickly asked.

"I see something alright. It looks like code for some kind of unknown substance. Hang on… it looks like this kind of substance affects the brain directly, and it's programmed to affect a person's hormones. But it's in code, how can that be?" Tucker asked.

I looked over at Valerie, "Valerie, I think I found it!"

"Wait, what? What did you find?" Valerie asked as she turned towards me and rushed over.

"The substance… we couldn't find it on the analyzer because it's written in code," I explained. "We've been looking for a solid matter, but we haven't been looking for a code, that's why we couldn't find it. There's a substance that directly affects the brain, programmed to affect the hormones. That's why everyone's been falling in love."

"In code? Like actual computer programming? How is it possible for there to be computer code in food?" Valerie asked.

"That is weird," I admitted. "Unless… the substance was made or influenced by a technological ghost. Hiding it in code was ingenious, no wonder nobody could find anything strange with the food."

"A technological ghost?" Valerie asked.

"Andy, where are you getting at?" Tucker asked.

It was all starting to come together. Tucker's PDA was acting weird since we were at Axion Labs, then Axion Labs had that sudden blackout that forced us out, people falling in love all of a sudden the day after that, why it's mostly fast food places like the Nasty Burger… it was all one big conspiracy to keep us busy. There's a computer in Axion Labs that links up to a satellite which houses the world's only current supercomputer. If someone got control of that supercomputer, they would be able to control all of the world's technology. Who else but that one ghost would be interested in using technology to take over the world?

"There's a technological ghost called Technus that tends to use technology to try and take over the world. I know this because he often screams it out to the heavens," I explained to Valerie.

"You think this Technus might be behind it all?" Valerie asked. "But why go through the trouble with the whole love potion thing?"

"It's to keep us distracted," I answered with a frown. "If we were too busy falling in love with each other, than nobody would suspect something was going on with the computer at Axion Labs."

"What? What makes you think something's going on in Axion Labs?" Valerie asked in surprise.

"Think about it Valerie, the sudden blackout during our field trip, people falling in love with each other the day after that. And Axion Labs have that computer that has direct control over the satellite. None of those were just accidents or coincidences," I quickly said. "Which means that… Technus must be in the computer trying to hack into it as we speak!"

"Then we should head to Axion Labs immediately," Valerie said with concern before she paled a little. "I just remembered that my dad is going to be working alone tonight… We should… no, I should hurry. I don't have my spare suit on me and it's going to be way too dangerous for you to go without some kind of protection."

"Are you sure you can handle Technus alone?" I asked in worry.

"If he's in a computer I only need to unplug the computer, right? And then he'll come out and I can blast him," Valerie said. "And if that doesn't work, I can simply blast the tech and hope my dad doesn't see me or if he does, I can just tell him that I was after Danny Phantom who turned invisible or something. I don't have any time to lose!"

"Be careful Valerie!" I shouted as she ran out of the lab.

"You're going after her as Andy Phantom, aren't you?" Tucker said.

"Heck yeah I am," I replied with a nod. "Do you really need to ask?"

Of course I couldn't let Valerie face Technus alone, not when I could do something to help her even if she didn't want it. I tapped into my ghost core and a ring of light appeared around my torso and split horizontally, transforming me into my ghost form. As soon as the transformation was complete, I flew out of the lab and saw Valerie already in her red huntress suit, riding on her hoverboard. I turned myself invisible and quickly flew after Valerie. I stayed a bit of distance away just in case her ghost fighting gear would alert her to my presence if I got too close.

"Come on, Dad, pick up," I heard Valerie plead, even though she had her helmet on.

I wonder if she's calling Damon to try and warn him, and if that's the case, will Technus block the call? I'm sure he's already blocked out all outside communication, if not then he's more of cocky than I thought.

As I thought, Valerie didn't get an answer. I heard her give a frustrated sigh as she sped up her hoverboard. I had to speed up too to keep up with her.

"Hey, Andy," Tucker suddenly said into the earpiece which surprised me, I was sure it would've disappeared along with my regular clothes when I transformed. "I've been thinking, Technus might not be working alone."

"I didn't think he was since I doubt he could've pulled off the love epidemic by himself," I said a little quietly so Valerie wouldn't hear me. "I think those people working at the Nasty Burger might be working for him…"

I remembered that vision I had with Danny a couple of days ago, just before we went on that field trip. It was starting to make sense now, that vat of liquid we saw… that must've been the substance causing the love epidemic. Those people working there, they might've been ghosts wearing human disguises. Could I have sensed them when I was in the Nasty Burger? I think I remember sensing something, but it was so small that I just ignored it. I should've paid more attention to my ghost sense.

"Technus might have just hid whatever was in the food with his code," Tucker stated. "So I think I'm gonna head to Nasty Burger and get a new sample and try to break the code while analyzing it so I can find out what exactly is making everyone fall in love. If I can do that, I can come up with a cure and snap Danny and Sam out of it before they do anything stupid. Just to let you know, when I do head to get the new sample, I won't be able to stay in contact with you since my PDA is still being affected by Technus."

"That's okay, I think Technus will block all form of communication once I get close to Axion Labs anyways," I said as I kept following Valerie.

"Just hope he hasn't been able to fuse with any of the inventions inside Axion Labs, for all we know, they could be working on a ghost shield of their own in there. And there's no telling what that robodog is capable of," Tucker warned. "Just be careful about everything, anything could be under Technus' control."

"I know…" I sighed, knowing this was going to be a tough fight. "When you're able to cure Danny, send him our way as fast as possible. We're going to need his help."

"I'll try my best," Tucker said with a determined tone. "Now, I'm gonna get going. Good luck out there, Andy... Tucker out."

After Tucker said that, I heard a small click in the earpiece which I assumed was Tucker hanging up.

At this speed, it didn't take us long to reach Axion Labs. Everything appeared to be normal and quiet, so that means Technus hasn't hacked into the supercomputer yet. Otherwise his face would probably be everywhere either maniacally laughing or gloating. Good, I'm glad to see we're not too late… even so, Technus by himself isn't so bad, but he's surrounded by highly advanced technology right now. I don't have Danny to help me, and Valerie may just try to shoot me down the second she sees me… I'm not liking our odds here...

I suddenly heard loud beeping which snapped me out of my train of thought. I gasped when I realized I had been flying too close to Valerie. She must've slowed down while I was deep in thought. Dangit, that's what I get for over analyzing the situation again!

"Who's there!?" Valerie yelled as she spun around, weapon in hand. "Come out of hiding, I can see you!"

I frowned. A part of me wanted to just fly away as fast as I could, but I didn't want to leave Valerie here on her own with Technus, and there was no time for her to go chasing me. I let go of my invisibility. Valerie studied me for a few seconds, probably trying to see if I was Danny Phantom or his 'clone'.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't blast you right now, ghost kid!" Valerie threatened as she aimed her blaster and started to charge it.

I raised my hands non-threateningly and said, "Hey now, I didn't come here to cause trouble. I just sensed a powerful ghost here and wanted to check it out. I didn't know you'd be here too."

"Mhmm, am I really supposed to believe that? You were behind me, meaning you clearly saw me first," Valerie said before she looked around. "So, where's the other ghost kid? He planning on sneaking up behind me or something?"

"No, he's not here," I answered calmly, though I wish he was here. "And okay, I was behind you. But only because I saw you trying to go in there by yourself. Don't you think that's a little too dangerous? You're going to be facing a ghost who can manipulate technology, he might even be able to manipulate your own weapons against you."

Valerie stared back before I heard a bit of beeping inside her suit. "Now he can't, I locked off my suit and armor so it can't be controlled by anyone but me."

"And you didn't think of doing that before?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, don't antagonize me, I'm the one holding the blaster here," Valerie threatened.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," I quickly said. "But listen, we don't have a lot of time to trade insults or threats with each other right now. You want to stop this ghost from taking over the world, right?"

"There's one other reason besides that, but yes," Valerie responded, still pointing her blaster at me.

"You know that even if the ghost can't manipulate your weapons, he can still use the technology in this lab, right? Are you sure you can face him alone?" I asked.

"I know I can handle him on my own," Valerie answered with a firm tone. "Now, do you want to get to the point or do you just want me to blast you and get back to my mission?"

"You sound confident in yourself," I said with a frown. "However I don't feel good with letting you take on a powerful ghost by yourself, no matter how good you may think you are."

"Just get to the point!" Valerie snapped as I saw her trigger finger inch closer to the trigger of the blaster.

"Fine. I've come to offer you my help," I quickly answered.

Valerie stared at me for a few moments before she started to laugh. "You honestly expect me to trust a GHOST to watch my back? Wow, you must've been dropped on your head as a ghost baby."

"Well I haven't attacked you or made a hostile move towards you yet, have I? And even though you talk tough, I'm sure you would appreciate some help," I said. "What do you think will happen if you fail? The entire world will suffer under this ghost's rule. Everyone will be tormented by him day and night, all because you didn't want to trust me."

Valerie stopped laughing and grumbled, "So I either take the chance of going on my own and have a high possibility to fail which would result in the world being controlled… or I trust a ghost to help me…"

"I guess to you this is basically a 'pick your poison' kind of thing," I said with a small amused smile.

Valerie let out a huge sigh before she said, " Fine, I'll take you up on your offer to help, but I swear, if you betray me, I will obliterate you atom by atom."

"Fair enough," I said before I held out my hand.

"What are you doing?" Valerie demanded.

"I was going to shake on it with you. Don't people usually do that when we have a deal?" I asked.

"Yeah, no, let's just go with a verbal agreement. And you're a ghost, not people," Valerie said coldly as she lowered her blaster.

"Then how about you take my hand and we simply fly through the wall instead of you having to go through the entrance or blasting a hole in a wall or ceiling?" I suggested as I continued to hold my hand out.

Valerie gave me a distrusting stare, at least I think she was since it was hard to see her expression behind that mask. She looked at my hand for a minute.

"Come on, hurry up. We don't have much time," I said. "What? Do you think I'll do something?"

"Fine, I'd rather not cause any more damage than I need to anyways," Valerie said with a sigh before she, reluctantly, took my hand.

"Okay," I said as I turned both of us intangible. I could feel Valerie's hand shaking a bit. This must be her first time going intangible, it does take awhile to get used to it. "Tell me which way to go."

"Head for the center of the building," Valerie said, trying not to show her nervousness. "That's where the main computer is."

"Alright," I said before pausing. "... Where's the center of the building?"

"You don't know?" Valerie frowned.

"Hey, I'm not that great with integral structures," I grumbled.

"Just go through this wall and head straight until you get into a big room," Valerie said as she pointed at the wall beside her.

"Okay, here we go," I said before I flew us through the wall.

"Can I ask a quick question? Have you ever gotten stuck?" Valerie asked as we flew through another wall.

I frowned as I thought about what would happen if Danny or I ever got stuck while we were going through solid matter. "... No, and I don't intend to find out what happens either."

"Knowing how much damage you ghosts can take without really getting hurt, I'm sure you'd be fine," Valerie remarked.

I'm not sure if our human forms would agree. There could've always been a chance we would've accidentally reverted to our human forms while going through a wall… that wouldn't have been pretty.

"Slow down, we're coming up on the room and we should probably come up with a plan before we rush in there unprepared. For all we know, we still have the element of surprise," Valerie said. "I know I usually run in blasters blazing, but I feel this would be one of those times where that would only result in me getting defeated."

I stopped flying as I looked at her. I guess it's a good thing Valerie's taking this seriously. Maybe she realizes that a fully armed Technus may be out of her league.

"What do you suggest we do then?" I asked.

"Well, perhaps we should enter in from different side," Valerie said. "You can fly in through any of the walls, so it's easy for you, but I would be using the doors. Give me a couple seconds head start, I need to make sure of something before you join in. So let me head in, then maybe go around to the other side of the room without actually entering and count to 5 before joining me."

She must mean she wants to see if her dad is okay. I hope he is too. "Alright then. But be careful, there's no telling what that ghost will do when he sees you."

"If you hear blasting, head in immediately," Valerie responded. "If you don't hear blasting, then just wait those 5 seconds."

I flew through another wall with her.

"Okay stop here, the room is just on the other side of that wall," Valerie said before I stopped.

I released the intangibility before I put Valerie down so she could walk to the door.

"Now, you go get into position, I'm gonna head in right now," Valerie said as she started to walk towards the door.

"Okay," I said as I gave her a concerned look. "Stay on your guard. That ghost can use any technology in there."

"You just worry about not messing up," Valerie hissed firmly. "I can handle myself."

Valerie put her hand on the door handle. Before she opened the door, she gave me a look which told me to get into position. I sighed and flew around the edge of the room, waiting at the wall opposite the doors. I guess I should start counting now…

1… 2… 3… 4… 5.

After those 5 seconds, I turned intangible again and went into the room.

"-erie? What are you doing here in your suit?" I heard Valerie's dad asking.

"Dad, you need to get out of here, there's a technological ghost in the mainframe trying to gain control of the supercomputer satellite so it can take over the world!" Valerie quickly said.

I stayed quiet as I slowly flew on in. I looked around while Valerie was talking to her dad. Everything… seems normal enough. … Could I have been wrong about Technus? I felt my ghost sense was telling me there was another ghost here despite the normality, but where is he?

"What are you talking about, Valerie?" Damon asked. "It's been quiet here since the field trip. Nothing's wrong here, now why don't you get out of that suit and go home before you get in trouble?"

"Dad, this is one of the times you really need to trust me," Valerie said with urgency. "I tried to call you multiple times and I assume you didn't get any calls, the only thing that could block your cell signal is that computer over there. If everything was normal, then why would it be blocking your cell signal?"

Damon frowned before he pulled out his phone and looked at it. "You're right… I'm getting no signal at all…"

I noticed something moving from the corner of my eyes. I turned to see what it was… it was a security camera? Why did it suddenly turn to look at Valerie and Damon? I looked over at the large machine in the center of the room. Could that be the computer linked to the supercomputer satellite? I quietly flew over to the machine.

"Please, Dad, get out of here before that ghost attacks!" Valerie pleaded. "Just please, if you love me, you'll trust me and get out!"

"You seem really anxious about this." Damon frowned.

"Of course I am, Dad! I wouldn't joke about this!" Valerie responded exasperatedly. "Now please, get out! I don't want to see you get hurt!"

I frowned before I put my head through the big machine to see if I was right. When I looked inside, I almost gasped. I saw computer codes all around the place, and a very loud ghost floating right in the middle. Said ghost's arms had turned into wires, and they were connected to the computer's walls.

"Hello, Ghost Child!" Technus yelled without even looking at me. "Enjoying the show as much as I am? Family bonds, they are so interesting."

A screen appeared in front of me and I saw Valerie and her dad talking, I assumed this was from the camera I had seen turn towards them.

"Emotions, they are so easily manipulated and toyed with," Technus said.

So I was right. Technus really was behind the whole thing.

"So you set everything up, didn't you? The love epidemic, the blackout, hiring ghosts to give out the substance to people in fast food restaurants, that was all to stall for time to hack into the supercomputer satellite, wasn't it?" I growled.

"Bingo! Give the Ghost Child a prize! I, the brilliant Technus, learned that it is best to have multiple plans in motion that way it is harder to find out my true plan!" Technus loudly responded. "In fact, I am surprised it took you this long in order to find me. It just goes to show how brilliant my plans were! It's just a shame you found out before I was finished, but at least your more experienced brother isn't here to mess up my plans this time!"

"I don't have to be my brother to know it's game over for you, Technus!" I snapped as I came fully inside the computer and began to power up my ghost ray in my hands.

"Oh?" Technus asked. "Do you truly think you have any power in my domain, Ghost Child?"

As he said that, what looked like an 8-bit fire extinguisher appeared in front of me and sprayed foam all over my hands, extinguishing the ghost ray I had been charging.

"I am king in virtual space, Ghost Child," Technus chuckled. "You do not have a chance of defeating me in here. You'd sooner beat an RPG video game without hurting any of the characters than have a chance against me. Now, begone, Ghost Child, I do not have the luxury of wasting time on a weakling like you. Oh and do not try to re-enter this domain."

Before I could do anything else, a green lightning bolt suddenly came at me. I felt the white hot sensation of the electricity hitting my chest and I was flung out of the computer.

"Alright, Valerie, I will trust you," I heard Damon said as I flew out of the computer. "Just try not to cause-"

I groaned as I hit something hard after I was out… I think it was the lab's wall.

"What was that?" Damon asked in alert as he stood up and started to look around before he spotted me.

I fell forward before hitting the ground below… ow… that really hurt…

"What the heck!?" I heard Damon yelled in shock. "What's that ghost kid doing here?"

"Relax, Dad, he's currently working for me, I used one of the suit's new features to temporarily control his mind," Valerie responded with a smooth lie. "I'm having him help me find the ghost that is planning on controlling the supercomputer. After his usefulness runs out, I will destroy him."

I don't think Damon ever saw me in my ghost form before, so he probably thinks I'm Danny Phantom right now.

"You can control the minds of ghosts now?" Damon asked, surprised.

"Only weak minded ghosts like that one," Valerie answered, still lying perfectly.

I looked up and gave an annoyed look. I should be more insulted, but there's no time for that.

I quickly stood up and said, "That ghost is in there and he's going to hack into the supercomputer satellite if we don't stop him now."

"Right, Dad, you get out of here, me and the ghost kid will take care of the other ghost trying to hack the satellite," Valerie said quickly. "And don't worry, I won't cause too much damage. I don't want you to possibly lose your job."

Suddenly the doors sealed shut. There was a loud, obnoxious laugh before a big monitor came down from the ceiling, showing Technus' ugly mug.

"Oh don't think you'll be leaving now! It was just getting good!" Technus said. "Oh, but you want to spoil my fun, is that it? Well I'll make sure you never will ever again!"

Valerie sighed before she looked at me, pulling out a weapon at the same time, "Ghost kid, I want you to take my dad outside and come back here immediately after he is safe, got it?"

I saw a variety of weapons glowing green and levitating around us. "But-"

"I can hold out on my own until you get back! We need to ensure Dad's safety first!" Valerie snapped, I could tell she didn't want her dad to get hurt at all.

"Valerie! I won't leave you to fight this ghost by yourself!" Damon said worriedly.

I grabbed Damon's arms and picked him up, "Your daughter can handle herself, and I'll come back to make sure she's safe. But I have to get you to safety first!"

"No! I don't want Valerie to-" Damon began to say before I turned both of us intangible and flew out of the wall quickly before Technus could think to put up the Ghost Shield if this room had any.

I could already hear Valerie's blasting shots as I flew away with Damon. I flew as fast as I could while holding onto a fully grown man. A flailing, panicked man who was also the father of the girl I just left behind to deal with Technus on her own.

"Hold still, I could go a lot faster if you stop struggling!" I yelled as I kept flying through the walls of the building.

"Valerie is going to get hurt if I don't help!" Damon shouted back at me.

"What do you think you can do to help?" I quickly responded back. "You don't have any armor, you don't have any ghost weapons, you don't have any ghost powers, you don't even have a gun."

"I don't care! My daughter needs me! I told her that fighting ghosts was too dangerous!" Damon yelled in panic.

I sighed before I decided that I'd have to be harsh for him to understand Valerie's concern. "You'd just end up getting in her way and getting hurt! You don't want to leave your daughter without a father, do you?! Do you really want her to have to deal with the burden of seeing her father get hurt or killed!?"

That got Damon to stop, he frowned as he relaxed his body as I carried him.

"N-no… I wouldn't want to leave her without a parent at all… especially not after what happened to her mother..." Damon said softly before he looked at me. "Just promise me you'll rush back to her and keep her safe, ghost kid."

"Of course, I promise I will, Mr. Gray," I said with as much conviction as I could before we finally reached the exterior of Axion Lab.

I released the intangibility and set Damon down. "You can wait here if you want, but don't go back inside. I promise I'll keep your daughter safe."

"I understand," Damon said before he quickly added, "Thank you, ghost kid!"

I gave him a smile before I turned intangible again and flew back into Axion Labs. Hold on Valerie, I'm coming!

Jewel moonstone: DarkFoxKit: Thanks. We feel this story is a bit underappreciated compared to our Pokemon story, but it's always good to see fans are enjoying it.

OMNISENSE95: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yeah, at some point Andy will have no choice but to tell the truth.

DarkFoxKit: At least to Valerie, and maybe some of the other people he grew or will grow close to. We rather not pull a Phantom Planet ending.

Raidentensho: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': There might just be. The Ghost Zone has undefined borders, meaning that if a world or realm every needed to be added, it could be. Not sure if we'll do all 9 realms, perhaps at some point. The idea of Andy using special materials would be interesting, I'll have to remember that later if we ever need a fairly powerful weapon. Though we would have to balance it so it isn't outright OP.

Luna Lillyth: DarkFoxKit: You reacting to the end of the last chapter where Maddie caught Andy?

FireSoulKid: DarkFoxKit: As you can see from this chapter, Katrina has nothing to do with it. But she does have her own mystery that will be delved into later on. Don't worry about Andy, he's in good paws~

Mana: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Yup, they got infected, it was only a matter of time with how often they went to Nasty Burger. The Ghost Portal would practically drain money for every second it was active if it was hooked to the power grid, so it only makes sense that they would want their own power source. If they did have to pay for electricity, it would be most likely be more than a few million dollars a year. Ha, yeah, inconvenient interruptions can be annoying to the characters.

DarkFoxKit: Hehe, it's not the first time that happened. Remember back in My Brother's a Ghost? Danny had tried to tell Andy about his ghost half, but got interrupted multiple times. It was fun, teasing Andy and the readers like that. X3

Giratinafan129: DarkFoxKit: Seriously? You reviewed on a completely different story and fandom just to tell us to update Child of Mew? We are people too, you know, our interest doesn't just solely stay on Child of Mew. We're feeling burnt out from it, that's why we had to stop for a while. We would appreciate it if you didn't review on a completely different story just to tell us to update it.