*Pokes head out of bunker*

Um…. Hi… welcome back, phans…

So, it's been a while… and these past few months have… saying they've "sucked" would be an understatement. Long story short, COVID-19 sucks, online classes were a nightmare, and I've been busy with a lot of personal stuff as well. Luckily, I'm now back, and hopefully can get back into the swing of things… given that I revised this episode FIVE TIMES in the past month… So, to make up for the long wait, this episode a long one.

Also, interesting theory, Critica7… but no. That does give me an idea for the future…

I want to note that this episode was planned out months ago, long before this COVID fiasco, so I don't wanna hear how I'm being "insensitive" or "heartless" or whatever. It's just a story. GET OVER IT.

Ver. 1.0.1 (7/29/22)

Ver. 1.0.0 (9/15/20): Initial release

Update 1.0.1: Revised story points to coincide with edits to Episode 63. Grammatical corrections.

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. Apparently, Nickelodeon doesn't like it when you jump over the barbed wire fence at night… nor do their guard dogs… owie... I also don't own "Down with the Sickness". Okay, let's begin the episode.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Vlad Masters was sitting at his desk in his Wisconsin mansion office, conversing with members of City Hall from Amity Park via webcam.

"Well, gentlemen," Vlad concluded, "if that is all, I have other matters to attend to."

"Mayor Masters?" one of the councilmen asked, "Do you know when you will return?"

"I should be returning by tomorrow morning, councilman," Vlad replied, "We can go over your proposed bill first thing the day after."

"Thank you, Mayor Masters," said the councilman before Vlad pressed a button on the keyboard, ending the virtual meeting.

"Now with that out of the way," he smiled as he rose up and black ring appeared around his waist, "I should see how the necromancer's research is coming."

The rings went up and down Vlad's body as he transformed into Vlad Plasmius and stepped out of the small office set he had created in a newly constructed room under City Hall. In the lab, Magnus was going through his spell book, concocting various potions and charms.

"I hope you have some good news for me?" Plasmius asked as he floated over to Magnus.

"Define 'good'," Magnus asked without taking his eye off the beaker he was pouring ectoplasm and a strange dark blue substance with.

"Something that would help us defeat Daniel, his little friends, and Reaper," Plasmius listed out with the smirk.

"Well, you came to the wrong place," Magnus chuckled, earning him an unamused look, "I've gotten a couple of potions that might work, but… well, they were difficult to make and the ingredients are not easy to collect."

"In our line of work, when is it ever easy?" Vlad asked before he noticed a large glass container filled with ectoplasm, "What is this?"

"Oh, this?" Magnus asked, "Ah, just a new minion I'm creating."

"Really?" Vlad asked, "What sort of minion?"

"Not quite sure myself," Magnus admitted as he leaned towards the ectoplasm, "It's nearly complete; I just need the right catalyst and it should be ready."

"Is that so…" Vlad smirked as he glanced over to a shelf filled with various chemicals and ghostly fluids, "I might have something that could work."

"Well, if you have something that can act as a vessel for a soul as well as not destroy the ectoplasm, I would be very grateful," said Magnus as he flipped through the pages of his spell book.

"It just so happens I do," Vlad replied over his shoulder as he grabbed a closed beaker filled with a strange, dark grey liquid and a small vial of what appeared to be ectoplasm with a faded label, "This should do just nicely."

"Pardon?" Magnus asked, glancing over to Vlad.

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all," Plasmius replied, hiding the small vial behind his back as he came back, "If I may…?"

"By all means," Magnus replied, "The honor is yours."

Vlad stood over the container of ectoplasm and quickly dumped the two ingredients inside. The mixture began to slightly glow brighter and bubbled.

"I must say, Plasmius," Magnus began as he watched the experiment closely, "I am grateful that you allowed me to stay here to conduct experiments of my own."

"Well, your methods have piqued my interest," Vlad smiled, "Why else would I have helped free you from your prison?"

"That's what troubles me…" Magnus explained, "I know you very well in Reaper's timeline, Plasmius. And at all times, you are always up to something."

The mixture began to bubble more and vibrate.

"And lately, I've noticed you've taken a bigger interest in Specter as well," Magnus continued, "I can't help but wonder… are you planning something more… devious than usual?"

The container began to violently rattle, getting the two's attention.

"Oh, poop," they muttered.

*Ka-POOOOM*

A huge green dust filled the entire lab, blinding the ghost and half-ghost. Vlad coughed as he felt his way through the dense smoke until his hand grabbed a lever on the wall and pulled it down, activating the ventilation system and clearing the air.

"Magnus!" he shouted, "Was that supposed to happen!?"

"I don't know," Magnus replied calmly, "However…"

"However, what?" Vlad asked as he turned around and saw a third individual now standing in the lab.

"It would seem that the experiment was a success," Magnus finished.

*Cue Intro*

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Danny Phantom in: The Green Death (Episode 66)

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie were walking through the halls of Casper High School, heading for their respected next periods. Many of the students they walked by were sneezing, coughing, blowing their noses, or a combination.

"This cold season sure hit hard this year," said Sam, "It seems as though a quarter of the students are home sick while everyone else is spreading it."

"Ah-CHOO!"

The gang stopped and stepped aside to let a student leave the building and head home.

"And not just the students; the teachers as well," Sam pointed out, "Mr. Falluca* wasn't here either."

"Yeah," said Valerie, "And I haven't seen Kwon or Paulina around either."

"Heh, wouldn't that be something?" Danny chuckled, "All the A-listers being sick- OOF!"

Not paying attention to where he was going, Danny bumped into someone and fell to the ground. When he looked up, he realized he had jinxed himself.

"Hey, watch where you're going, Fen-turd!" Dash exclaimed over his shoulder.

"Jeez, sorry, Dash," Danny muttered as he got back to his feet.

"Not as sorry as you will be after school," said Dash, "The coach is still sick, making this the third practice in a row that has been canceled."

"I don't see how that's my problem," Danny said, raising an eyebrow.

"It means I'm angry, Fentina," Dash smirked as he grabbed Danny by the collar, "Let this be a sneak peek of what I'm gonna do to you after school."

Before anyone could react, Dash shoved Danny into his locker, hitting the top of his head against it, and slammed the door shut.

"See you later, losers!" Dash laughed as he, Paulina, Dale, and a couple other A-listers walked away.

Tucker tried to open the locker but found it to be locked.

"Stand aside," Sam told him before she swiftly slammed her elbow into the door, denting it and allowing Danny to slump out, "You okay, Danny?"

"Yeah," he groaned as he rubbed the back of his head, "Wish the locker was two inches taller."

"But what about after school?" Valerie asked.

"You're asking me that?" Danny smirked, "I have ways of getting out undetected."

Down the hall, Dash entered the restroom to take care of business. After flushing the urinal and zipping his pants, he walked over to the sink and began rinsing his hands under the water. Suddenly, the soap dispenser briefly gave off a green glow before it faded away. Dash didn't notice that or the strangely green soap he just cleaned his hands with. As soon as he was done trying his hands, his nose became runny and he began to cough. Behind him, a strange dark green cloud vanished through the wall. Paulina left the girl's restroom as well, experiencing the same symptoms.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

In a science classroom, Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie were busy taking notes on the molecular structure of silicon when the final bell rang.

"Alright, we will stop here for today," Mr. Lancer said as everyone packed their notebooks, "Just remember to finish the homework by tomorrow, with illustration of molecular crystalline structures."

The class groaned in dismay at Lancer's request as they got up and began to leave the classroom.

"Hey," said Tucker, "Have you guys seen Dash?"

"No, he never showed up, even though we saw him minutes before class started," said Danny.

"Yeah, and Paulina didn't show up either," Sam added.

"If you must know," Mr. Lancer said, stopping the group at the door and getting their attention, "Mr. Baxter and Ms. Sanchez** were not feeling well and left home early."

"Oh, really?" Danny asked, trying to hide the relief in his voice.

"Indeed," Mr. Lancer replied, "Stay safe out there, you four."

"We will," said Valerie as they left.

"Oh, and Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer called out, "A quick word?"

"Uh, sure," said Danny as he remained behind in the classroom, "Is something wrong?"

"I hope not," Mr. Lancer said, "I just wanted to let you know that I hope you do better this year. I don't think we need a repeat performance of breaking beakers during your freshman year, do we?"

"No, sir," Danny replied, slightly embarrassed by his early days of not having full control of his ghost powers.

"Very well," Mr. Lancer concluded, "You may leave, Mr. Fenton."

"Yes, sir," said Danny, "And I will do better."

Lancer watched Danny leave the room and close the door behind him.

"I hope so," Mr. Lancer sighed.

"What did he want?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Danny shrugged, "Just didn't want a 'repeat performance', that's all."

"Oh, you mean all those beakers you dropped?" Tucker snorted.

"Oh, like you wouldn't have had a hard time controlling ghost powers?" Danny asked.

"I remember doing just fine when Desiree granted me that wish," Tucker smirked.

"Shut up, Tucker," Danny glared.

*Bzzz-bzzz*

"Hm?" Danny muttered as he pulled out his phone, "Looks like Trevor wants to see us."

"Ugh," Sam groaned, "I hope my parents won't make a scene again like last time."

"Well, it could be worse," Danny smirked, "We could all be sick and leave the town defenseless."

"Something tells me you'd still go out on patrol, regardless if you were sick or not," Valerie retorted.

"Touché," Danny replied, "At least none of us, or Danielle, or Trevor are sick."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"AH-CHOO! *Sniff* I'm sorry, what was that about everyone not being sick!?" Trevor exclaimed before blowing his nose into a tissue.

Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie stood a distance away from Trevor, who was sitting in bed with a laptop and clearly sick.

"Yeah, I'll take the blame on that one," Danny smiled nervously.

"Well, it's just a cold… or the flu," Trevor muttered before coughing, "I can still go on patrol, though the coughing fits kinda make stealthy approaches problematic, if you can believe it…. Ah… Ah… Ah-CHOO!"

"Bless you," said Sam.

"Thanks."

"Then what's the alternative to you being stealthy?" Tucker asked.

Trevor held his right hand out before a blue aura appeared around it. A couple seconds later, the Deadshot telekinetically floated from under the bed and Trevor grabbed it by the barrel.

"Long range is always an option for me," he replied.

"You know, that reminds me…" said Danny, "Why did you bring the Deadshot?"

"Uh… what?" Trevor replied, "I was powerless when I first arrived here; I needed something."

"No, I mean why specifically the Deadshot?" Danny clarified, "And ecto-ranium bullets?"

"Pretty sure the answer is self-evident," Trevor replied.

"Soup's ready!" a voice called out from the hall before someone entered the room, "I may have taken too long eating my bowl, but I was just so hungry."

She stopped when she realized there were others in the room with Trevor.

"Oh, uh, hi," said Danielle.

"What are you doing here, Danielle?" Danny asked.

"I asked her to come here," Trevor replied as he set the rifle down and telekinetically grabbed the bowl of soup from Danielle, "I had a mission for her."

"What mission?" Sam asked.

"The 'search around the Ghost Zone' kind," Trevor replied as he took a spoonful of soup into his mouth, "French onion soup again?"

"Wait, you were gonna go into the Ghost Zone with Danielle?" Tucker smirked.

"At first, yes, but after listening to her and Dust constantly telling me to stay in bed, I decided I wouldn't go."

"You were just gonna let her go in alone!?" Danny exclaimed.

"No!" Trevor and Danielle exclaimed at the same time.

"I was gonna have Dust join her," Trevor explained, "But-"

"But," Danielle interrupted, "he was sick and only Sam's grandmother was here to help get him better. So, I decided to stay and help."

"Oh, is that so?" Sam smirked as she glanced over to Trevor.

"Can we not talk about my current health issue and focus more on the impending threat?" Trevor asked, "In case you have forgotten, the Forgemaster told me that the Orbs of Power were, and probably still are, being used as locks to keep something extremely dangerous from returning."

"Do you have any idea what could be locked away? Or where?" Valerie asked.

"None," Trevor replied, "I was planning on visiting the Forgemaster and ask him more questions, but then… well, you know."

"So instead, you planned to let Dust and Danielle go instead?" Sam asked.

"Pretty much," said Trevor as he finished the rest of his soup, "But since they never left and you guys are here, I guess we can change it up a little."

Valerie glanced over at the laptop.

"What's all this?" she asked.

"Nothing useful," Trevor sighed, "I've been trying to figure out the locations of the remaining Orbs, but I haven't found jack."

He glanced around the room, looking at each member of Team Phantom for a moment.

"Any volunteers to go see Forgemaster and ask him questions?" Trevor asked.

"I can do it," Danielle replied.

"Well, if she's going, then so am I," said Danny.

"I think it would be best if only one of you went," Trevor suggested, "We can't leave Amity Park defenseless."

"Hey!" Tucker, Sam, and Valerie exclaimed.

"You know what I mean," Trevor muttered, rolling his eyes, "What I mean is, we need someone with ghost powers to be around to protect the town. I can't do it efficiently in my current state, so we need one of you to stay. Either of you is fine."

"Fine, then I'll go, and Danielle will stay," said Danny.

"What!?" Danielle exclaimed, "And miss out on exploring the Ghost Zone!?"

"It's not a field trip," Danny told her, "The Ghost Zone is dangerous, and I won't let you go in there with just a magical bird to protect you."

"My ears are burning," Dust said from within Trevor's medallion, causing Danny to slightly jump.

"She won't be defenseless," said Valerie as she approached Danny and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll go with her."

"Are you sure, Valerie?" Danny asked, "I don't like the idea of any of you guys going in there without me."

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus as well, Phantom," Trevor smirked, "Nice to know that you don't have faith in me."

"Come on, Danny, pleeeease~?" Danielle begged, clasping her hands together.

"Oh, alright," Danny sighed, "But if anything happens, anything… I want you to contact us on the Fenton Phones immediately."

"Then it's decided," said Trevor, "Valerie, Danielle, and Dust will meet with the Forgemaster and see if he can provide us with any useful information. The rest of us will go on patrol tonight and… ah… ah… AH… AH-CHOOO!"

"Bless you," everyone told him.

"Thank you."

"You sure you're up for patrol tonight, Trevor?" Tucker asked, "We can handle it."

"I don't doubt that," Trevor replied before blowing his nose into another tissue, "but I'm not gonna sit around doing nothing if a threat is out there."

He turned his attention back to the laptop and began typing on it for a moment before glancing around at everyone.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Unless you guys want to get sick, get out of my guest room," Trevor said flatly, "Believe it or not, being around people who have viruses, like colds and flus, tend to become carriers of said virus, spreading it more and more."

No one moved for a couple moments.

"GET OUT!" Trevor shouted as he put some headphones on and pressed the play button on the laptop.

Get up, come on, get down with the sickness

Get up, come on, get down with the sickness

Get up, come on, get down with the sickness

Trevor deadpanned as his hand slowly hovered over the pause button and pushed it.

"No, the irony is not lost on me," he said calmly to everyone as he plugged the headphones in, and the others smirked before leaving the guest room.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Down in the Fenton Works' Lab, Jack and Maddie were both hunched over a table, working on their latest invention. Maddie was wearing a welding mask as she welded some parts together with a welding torch. Jack, who was wearing welding goggles and holding the two pieces together, wasn't paying much attention as he was deep in thought. The moment Maddie turned the torch off and took off the welding helmet, she noticed the that two parts were not aligned when she welded them.

"Jack?" she asked, "These are not perfectly aligned. I thought you said they were in and was paying attention."

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Maddie," Jack sighed, "I was just thinking of our days in college."

"College?" Maddie asked, "Oh, has thinking about Jazz at college led to that?"

"Yup," Jack replied as he glanced over at an old photo of himself, Maddie, and Vlad Masters when they were building the first Ghost Portal prototype at the University of Wisconsin, "Back then, Vladdie was always by our side, until the accident of course. And now that he's back in lives, relatively speaking, we rarely ever get the chance to have see each other, let alone talk."

"Jack," his wife consoled, "you know that as our mayor, Vlad is a very busy man."

"I know, Maddie," Jack sighed, "I just wish we could spend some time together once in a while. To make up for the time lost from that blasted accident!"

Suddenly, the phone upstairs began to ring, getting the attention of the two Fentons.

"I'll get it," Maddie told her husband, preventing him from going upstairs, "The last time you answered the phone, you scared that telemarketer out of his wits."

"He had it coming!" Jack exclaimed as Maddie walked up the stairs, "I'm telling you, Maddie, those so called 'toaster ovens' all have a strange component that emits a signal that attracts ghosts! I'm sure of it!"

"Yes, yes, of course it does," Maddie replied, brushing his worries away as she answered the phone in the kitchen, "Hello? Fenton Works, Madeline Fenton speaking."

"Ah, Maddie," said a familiar voice on the other end of the line, "A pleasure to hear your lovely voice again!"

"Mayor Masters!?" Maddie exclaimed.

Jack poked his head around the corner when he heard Vlad's name.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Maddie asked.

"Oh, Maddie, please, no need to be formal to an old friend," Vlad chuckled, "I was just enjoying my flight back to Amity Park when memories of our college days with Jack floated through my head."

"Is it him, Maddie?" Jack asked, leaning over her shoulder, "Is it Vladdie?"

"Ah, is that Jack?" Vlad asked, "Wonderful, this will work out perfectly!"

"What will work out?" Maddie asked as she pulled her suit mask off, "Is something wrong, Vlad?"

"Nothing at all, Maddie," Vlad replied, "I was supposed to meet with some businessmen tonight over dinner at the new restaurant downtown, but they have just cancelled. There is a fine for cancelling reservations, as I had them made a month ago, but since I only made reservations for three, I was hoping you and Jack would like to spend some time catching up? For old times' sake?"

"Really!?" Maddie exclaimed.

"What!? What is it, Maddie!?" Jack exclaimed, "Is Vladdie in trouble!?"

"No, he's perfectly fine, Jack," she smiled as she put her hand over the speaker, "Vlad is inviting us to dinner tonight. Something about making up for lost time?"

"Dinner? With Vlad?" Jack asked, "My prayers have been answered!"

"Would you like us to meet you there?" Maddie asked Vlad.

"Oh, no, I insist that I pick you up in my limousine and we'll go together," said Vlad, "And your husband, of course. How does six o'clock sound?"

"Six is perfect, Vlad," said Maddie just before Jack snatched the phone from her, "What the-!? Jack!"

"Vladdie~!" Jack greeted his old friend, "It's been ages since we last talked!"

"Yes," Vlad moaned, "it has been quite some time…"

"I can't wait to see you again, old buddy! There's so much to talk about-"

Vlad hung up on him, leaving Jack to talk to a dead tone.

"Hello? Vladdie?" Jack asked before shrugging, "Huh… guess we got disconnected."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"Phew…" Vlad sighed as he put his cellphone away, "That buffoon is such a fool."

He turned around to face Magnus and an unknown individual floating beside him. The ghost appeared to be enveloped in a dark green gas cloud, blocking out all his features aside from his glowing round eyes.

"Now then, are we clear on tonight's plan?" Vlad asked them.

"Indeed," the stranger answered with an Italian accent, "You distract the adults while I deal with the children."

"Do not underestimate them," Vlad warned him, "They are formidable foes and I have made such mistake in the past."

"Fear not, Plasmius," the ghost chuckled, "When all's said and done, everyone in Amity Park will fall to Plague."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"So…" Danny smirked as he and Danielle were walking home, "You were helping Sam's grandmother with nursing Trevor, huh?"

"Well, yeah," Danielle replied, "It wouldn't be cool to have the old woman do it all by herself."

"Really?" Danny asked, "That's the only reason why you were helping?"

"Yeah…" Danielle replied, raising an eyebrow, "Why are you asking?"

"Oh, nothing," Danny shrugged as they arrived at the Fenton Works.

"I think you're lying," Danielle said as she followed him inside.

"What would make you say that?" Danny smirked.

"Danny!? Danielle!?" Maddie called out from the lab downstairs, "Is that you!?"

"Yeah, we just got home!" Danny replied as he and Danielle went down to the lab, "Is something up?"

"Indeed, something is up!" Jack exclaimed with a huge grin on his face, "Vladdie was kind enough to invite your mother and I to a lovely dinner at the new restaurant in town."

Danny's eyes widened as Danielle glanced up and scratched her head.

"Vladdie?" she asked.

"That's what Jack calls Mayor Masters," Maddie explained.

"Mayor Masters?" Danielle asked nervously, "As in… Vlad Masters!?"

"Yup, that's the one!" Jack proclaimed.

"Sounds like you two will be nice evening," said Danny, "Wait…"

He glanced over and saw Danielle's reaction.

"Oh, shoot!" Danny hissed quietly to himself, "I never told Danielle!"

"B-but Vlad Masters is- MMMMFFFF!?" Danielle exclaimed before Danny put a hand over her mouth.

"Is a great friend of our dad, Danielle," Danny chuckled nervously, "They've been best buds since college."

"That's right, Danny," said Jack, "And now your mother and I can catch up over a lovely dinner."

"MMFFF!?" Danielle exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah, well, I have homework to do and I have to, uh, train Danielle in a little bit as well," Danny said nervously as he dragged Danielle upstairs, "Trevor's sick, so I'm the only one who can train her."

Jack and Maddie watched with confusion as Danny and Danielle disappeared upstairs.

"I wonder what that was all about…" Maddie said as she tapped her chin.

"Ah, it's probably Danny being a good older brother," Jack smiled.

Back in Danny's room, the older halfa pushed Danielle inside and closed the door behind them.

"What's the big idea, Danny!?" Danielle exclaimed in anger, "Why aren't you stopping your parents!?"

"Look, I know it seems dangerous," Danny explained, "but Vlad wouldn't hurt our parents. Especially mom."

"Why?"

"He… has a thing for our mom."

"A thing?" Danielle asked, "Like… he likes her?"

"Yeah…"

"Ewwww," Danielle grimaced, "Gross."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Danny chuckled.

"So… they don't know that Masters and Plasmius are the same person?" Danielle asked.

"Uh…. Well… *Sigh* No," Danny admitted.

"What!? Why haven't you told them!?"

"Because if they knew, they'd be in danger!" Danny exclaimed before calming down, "As long as they don't know he's Plasmius, then Vlad will have no reason to go after them."

"He already has a reason!" Danielle protested, "They're… our parents!"

"Well, besides that," said Danny, "Look, trust me, okay? The less people that know Vlad's secret, the better."

"If you say so…" Danielle conceited, still not completely convinced.

*GGGUUUUURRRRRRrrrrrr*

"Uh…. Heh-heh," Danielle chuckled, "Guess I was so focused on nursing Trevor all day, I haven't eaten anything myself."

"Come on," Danny told her, leading her out of the room, "I'll make you a sandwich or something."

The two headed downstairs and found Jack and Maddie in the living room, watching a troubling news report.

"This year's flu season has been the worst in twenty years," the news anchor reported, "At least 1000 people are exhibiting flu or cold-like symptoms."

"What's going on?" Danny asked as he and Danielle walked over to the older Fentons.

"One sec…" the anchor said as he was handed an updated report, "The, uh… *Ahem* The number of cases in Amity Park have risen to now over 2000."

"Over two thousand!?" Maddie exclaimed, "In just a few hours!?"

"That's not good," Danny muttered, "Last year wasn't even that bad."

"Well, viruses are notorious for mutating very quickly, especially the cold and flu virus," Maddie explained, "But that doesn't explain the rapid spread of it…"

"Hm… I wonder what the cause is…" Danielle wondered out loud.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Back in Vlad's lab, Magnus was filling some of his flasks with his latest potions and hanging them from his belt.

"I must say…" the recent visitor said, "It's impressive how far medical advancement has come in the last few hundred years."

"Compared to the spices and herbs used back in the day, it truly is," Magnus agreed as he read through his spell book, "Now… where is that blasted spell?"

"But no matter what," the ghost chuckled, "Not even modern technology was able to stop me from spreading the flu faster through town."

"Enlighten me," said Magnus, "Exactly how did you achieve this?"

"Simply infected parts of the water way," the ghost replied, "As well as made the virus impervious to the chemicals they use to disinfect it."

"I hope you didn't make it immune to everything!" Vlad exclaimed as he stepped out of the elevator, "While people getting sick wasn't part of the plan, it certainly makes things easier."

"You actually care about these parasites?" the ghost asked.

"I prefer to avoid having bodies drop in mass at once," Vlad growled.

"Regardless," Magnus sighed, "you said you still needed to get into the Ghost Zone, correct?"

"Indeed," Vlad replied, "Before, Reaper was foolish enough to show me the map, revealing the locations of the Orbs of Power."

"Yes, yes, you need me to distract those… Fentons… for you so you can sneak into their laboratory and use their man-made Ghost Portal to enter the Ghost Zone, whatever that is," the ghost explained.

"I find it fascinating that you've never been to the Ghost Zone," Vlad noted, "I always figured all those who passed on and became ghosts would appear there."

"If that were the case, there wouldn't be necromancers," Magnus lightly joked, "You said something about the location of the remaining Orbs of Power?"

"Yes," Vlad replied, "If memory serves me right, which is always has, the remaining Orbs are hidden somewhere in the Ghost Zone."

"I see…" said Magnus, "Well, it is certainly a shame that your Ghost Portal got destroyed again, last time by the Guys in White." ***

"Yes," Vlad deadpanned, "Thank you for reminding me of Daniel's little 'prank'."

"So… exactly how are you going to enter the Ghost Zone?" the ghost asked, "You can't be in two places at once."

"Watch and learn," Vlad smirked as a black ring appeared around his waist and he turned into Vlad Plasmius.

Magnus glanced over in time to see Vlad's duplicate appear beside the original. Plasmius then reverted back to human form, leaving Plasmius floating beside Masters.

"While Mayor Masters is having dinner," Masters smirked.

"Vlad Plasmius will be in the Ghost Zone," Plasmius finished.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

The sun was slowing setting in the distance as Valerie and Dust arrived at the Fenton Works. Valerie knocked on the door and was surprised to see Jack answering the door in a tuxedo.

"Oh, Mr. Fenton," she exclaimed, "Having a nice dinner tonight?"

"Yup!" Jack exclaimed as he allowed Valerie and Dust entry, "Mayor Masters was kind enough to invite Maddie and I to dinner."

"Yeah, that's, uh, great…" Valerie replied with feigned joy, "So… where's-"

"They're downstairs," Jack smiled, knowing who she was referring to."

"Thanks," Valerie replied as she and Dust headed to the lab, where they found both Phantoms in their ghost form, "Hey, you two."

"Hey, Valerie," Danny waved, "You, uh… you didn't tell my dad, did you?"

"Nah, I got your message," Valerie replied, "Didn't tell them about Masters and Plasmius."

"*Phew* Thanks, Valerie," Danny sighed.

"Oh, wonderful…" Dust muttered, puffing her feathers out in frustration.

"Something wrong?" Dani asked.

"Trevor fell asleep," she grumbled, "So he won't be… never mind."

"Did he just yell at you telepathically?" Danny smirked.

"Yeah, apparently us communicating makes his headache worse," Dust sighed, "Personally, I think he's being an idiot not resting."

"Join the club," the other three said at the same time.

"You guys ready?" Danny asked.

"Yup," Dani and Valerie replied.

Danny turned around and pressed his thumb against the Ghost Portal scanner, opening the Ghost Portal.

"Alright, let's go," Dani smirked, but Danny reached over and grabbed her shoulder.

"Hold on!" he told her as he turned her around to face him, "I want you to stay safe, understand?"

"Uh, yeah?" Dani replied, raising an eyebrow, "Danny, we can take care of ourselves."

"I know," he told her, "Just… just don't do anything reckless, okay? And if you guys are in a pinch, call us on the Fenton phones."

"Yeah, sure, dad," Dani said sarcastically as Danny took his hands off her shoulders.

Purple energy swirled around Valerie as she mentally summoned her suit.

"Don't worry, Danny," she told him, "I'll make sure she comes back without a scratch."

"Good luck in there," Danny told them.

Valerie and Dani nodded to each other as Valerie summoned her hoverboard and the two entered the Portal. Dust spread her wings and flew after them. For some reason, Danny had a weird feeling that he couldn't explain. He floated upstairs and found his parents waiting by the front door, Jack in the black tuxedo and his mother in a lovely blue dress.

"Are you sure you can handle the extra load tonight, Danny?" Maddie asked, "If you ever need help, your father and I are just a phone call away."

"No, that won't be necessary," said Danny as he reverted back to human form, "You two just enjoy your dinner with… Vlad."

*Honk honk*

"That must be our ride!" Jack exclaimed as he opened the door and saw Vlad smiling to them through the rolled down window of the black limousine, "Vladdie!"

"Ah, Jack, Maddie," Vlad smiled as they approached him, "Please, step inside."

The door opened and Jack and Maddie entered. Vlad then turned to Danny and gave him an evil smile.

"See you soon, little badger," he told Danny as the window was rolled back up.

Danny watched as the limo drove away.

"Wonder what he meant by that," he muttered, "Oh, well."

Danny glanced around to make sure no one was around before a white ring appeared around his waist and he went ghost. He then took off into the sky as it started to turn red, unaware that Vlad Plasmius phased into the Fenton Works and made his way into the lab.

"Well, looks like Daniel is like his old man," Plasmius smirked, "He left the Ghost Portal open. Well, when life gives you what you want on a silver platter, you take it and the platter."

He then darted into the Ghost Zone just before Danny returned.

"Wow, almost forgot!" he exclaimed as he made his way over to the control panel.

He lifted his hand as it reverted back to human and pressed his thumb against the scanner, closing the Portal.

"Good thing I remembered before someone was able to sneak in and enter the Ghost Zone," Danny sighed as his hand went ghost again, "Alright, time to start patrolling."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Night soon fell upon Amity Park. Tucker's drone was flying through the streets, scanning for any ghosts, while Tucker and Sam were sitting on a nearby rooftop, bored out of their minds.

"This is ridiculous," Sam grumbled, "It's been nearly two hours and we haven't even seen one ghost."

"I'm with you, Sam," said Tucker, "Usually we get at least two or three false alarms an hour, but tonight? We haven't gotten anything."

"Yeah, and you know what else is weird?" Danny asked through the Fenton Phones, "I'm seeing a lot less people walking around than usual at this hour."

"Must be the flu," Specter said, "I heard that this year's flu season is the worst in a while. *COUGH COUGH-COUGH* ACK! *COUGH COUGH*"

"You okay, Specter?" Tucker asked, "You sound like you're getting worse."

"Probably am," Specter sighed, "Sorry for not muting the mic. I'll- ughh… Whhhoooaahhh…"

"Specter?" Tucker asked, "You sure you're okay?"

"My vision just went blurry for a second there," Specter admitted.

"Why don't you head back home and rest?" Sam suggested as she got up and glanced around the streets below, "The three of us can handle this. It's nothing new to us."

"Nah, I'll be fine," Specter sighed before blowing his nose, "Just need a minute to get my strength back… Hey, Phantom? You're just north of me, right?"

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"Yeah, why?" Danny asked as he stopped flying and glanced around the area, "Is there something near me?"

"I'm not completely sure, could have been just your aura," Specter explained, "But I could have sworn I saw something darting around the buildings near you."

Suddenly, Phantom gasped and his ghost sense went off.

"No need to wonder if you're right or not," he said into the Fenton Phone.

"Ghost sense?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah," Danny replied just as he glanced over his shoulder and saw a ghost dart around the corner of the building, "I see him!"

He flew after the ghost; the two snaking their way through the buildings. Nearby, Tucker and Sam ran over to the fire escape and hurried their way to the ground.

"Specter, did you get that?" Sam asked, "Danny's onto a ghost."

There was no reply.

"Specter!?" Sam exclaimed.

"I know he's sick and all," said Tucker, "but if he fell asleep on the job, I'm definitely gonna make fun of him for it."

"Tucker…" Sam sighed, "It's Specter."

"I know," Tucker smirked, "And I'm betting that it'll be worth it."

Phantom was slowly catching up with the ghost, but it was also getting more and more difficult to keep track of where it was going. Grunting in frustration, he turned intangible and phased through a building, easily closing the gap between him and the ghost.

"Okay," he said out loud as he turned tangible again once he was out of the building, "No more running."

On cue, the ghost went around the building and froze in place when it realized it was eye to eye with Phantom.

"So," Danny smirked, "where are you off to in such a hurry?"

*CLANG*

The ghost moved so fast that Danny didn't even see what it hit him with. He was pushed back a couple feet, stunned from the hit.

"Ow," he groaned.

He glanced up and saw the ghost fly down to the streets, where a few people were traversing. His legs morphed into a ghost tail and he went after the ghost as it flew by a couple of people.

"GHOST!" they shrieked, causing other people to scream and run.

"And there's the mass panic," Danny deadpanned, "*Sigh* This would be so much easier if everyone just remained calm."

Suddenly, the people the ghost flew by began to shiver, cough, and sneeze.

"Huh?"

Danny glanced over his shoulder and saw that the civilians became sick, even though they were perfectly fine just seconds ago.

"They're sick," he said, "Is he the cause of the rapid spread of the flu?"

"Phantom!" Specter exclaimed, "The ghost is chasing after more people just behind the building west of you!"

Nearby, people were running and screaming as they were chased by the unknown ghost.

"Yes, run, you fools," he chuckled, "You'll only hasten the spread of disease once I infect you."

"Well, allow me to provide a cure then!"

*WHAM*

Phantom rushed behind the ghost and punched him in the face as soon as he turned around.

"Hmm…" the ghost muttered as he wiped his face, "Careful, Phantom. Once you are touched by Plague, you might fall to the miasma of disease."

"So that's your name, huh? Plague?" Danny asked.

"Judging from your tone, I'm guessing that you think it's a ridiculous name," Plague deduced.

"You'd be surprised," Danny replied, "I don't know what you're doing here, but I'm sending you back to the Ghost Zone."

"Is that right?" Plague asked.

A green glow appeared from within the green gas cloud as it began to dissipate, revealing what appeared to be an old plague doctor from the 17th century; a black hooded overcoat, boots, gloves, trousers, and a wide-brimmed hat. His face appeared to be covered with a dark grey beaked mask with red lenses, an old lantern in one hand that was giving off green light, and a cane in the other hand.

"You know, Halloween isn't for another couple of weeks, so what's with the getup?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow?

"You'll find out…" Plague replied cryptically as he held out his lantern, "Soon enough…"

A blinding light erupted from the lantern, causing Danny to cover his eyes with his arms. Plague lunged forward and smacked Phantom away with his cane.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Across town, Jack, Maddie, and Vlad were sitting at one of the tables in a fine restaurant. There were many other customers there, silently eating and conversing as soft jazz music permeated the area.

"I must say, Vladdie, this is like a dream come true," Jack said as the waiter took their menus, "I've wanted to catch up with you ever since you've moved here and became mayor."

"What a coincidence!" Vlad exclaimed with false excitement, "I've been thinking the same thing! But my schedule has prevented me from doing so. *Sigh* It can be quite exhausting, I must admit, being mayor."

"Oh, Vlad, but you've done so much for the community," said Maddie before she sipped some champaign, "And your approval ratings have been going up every week."

"So, you've been keeping up with my latest polls?" Vlad asked, slightly energized by Maddie's comment.

"Of course," said Maddie, "We couldn't possibly our friend's political career."

"You two have always been so thoughtful," Vlad told them, "But let's not talk about me, let's talk about what you two have been up to. Come up with any new inventions and paranormal gadgets as of late?"

"Still got an interest in ghosts, eh, Vladdie?" Jack asked.

"Well, it's still more of a hobby, before I became mayor, but that doesn't mean I don't worry about the safety of our citizens," Vlad explained, "I'm very interested in seeing what you have in that lab of yours, Jack. If you be so kind as to allow me to, that is."

"Vlad, you certainly know how to make a grown man cry," Jack told him as he wiped a tear from his eye, "What do you say, Maddie?"

"Well, I don't see the harm," Maddie shrugged, "It would be nice to hear Vlad's thoughts on our latest weapons and anti-ghost technology."

"Well," Vlad smiled as he lifted his glass close to his face, "I might have to make room in my schedule some time to make that happen."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Back on the battlefield, Phantom and Plague were firing ghost rays at each other as one tried to overpower the other. Danny morphed his torso into the shape of an 'O' to avoid a ghost ray from Plague as he returned fire a powerful attack from both his hands. Just as Plague fired another ghost ray from the tip of his cane, Danny attack hit him square in the chest and his own attack hit Phantom in the face, sending him flying into the wall of a nearby building.

"Aauuugghhh…" Phantom groaned as he pulled himself out of the wall.

He was still dazed once he was free and Plague rocketed towards him.

"Haven't had enough, have we?" Plague chuckled as he raised his lantern over his head, "Let me put some light on your situation."

Suddenly, a blue ghost ray blasted Plague away from Danny, launching him into the ground. Phantom glanced over in time to see Specter blink over with the Deadshot in hand.

"Sorry I'm late," he told Danny as he sniffed a few times and hung the Deadshot over his shoulder, "Not exactly at my best tonight."

A dark chuckle from below caught the two half-ghosts' attention.

"So, both 'half-ghosts' are here now," Plague chuckled as he emerged from the dust cloud, "Now I don't have to hold back."

"Uh, Logan?" Phantom asked, "Any tips against this guy?"

Plague swung his cane and unleashed a wave of energy towards the two. Danny and Logan quickly turned intangible and the attack phased right through them.

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I've never even heard of this guy before," Specter told Phantom.

"What!?" Phantom exclaimed, "I thought you know every ghost I have and will fight!?"

"I do," said Specter, "And this isn't one of them."

"Oh?" Plague asked, "Then you two are in for a surprise."

The ghost held out his lantern and it began to glow a yellowish-green color. A moment after, a strange aura sphere of the same color appeared around Danny and Specter.

"Get down!" Specter exclaimed, grabbing Phantom by the arm and pulling him down below the strange energy.

Just as they escaped, a thick sickly green fog appeared from the aura, radiating what appeared to be small ghostly green skull and crossbones. Nearby, Tucker, Sam, and the drone appear on scene, watching from an alleyway.

"What the heck is that!?" Tucker exclaimed.

"I don't know," said Sam, "but just looking at it is making me feel queasy."

"Given that we can hear you," Specter said through the Fenton Phones, "I'm going to assume you also heard me comment that I have no clue who this guy is."

"Yup," Tucker replied.

Phantom and Specter flew up and attempt to fire more ghost rays at Plague.

"Not so fast," the ghost smirked and held out his lantern again.

"WHOA!" Danny exclaimed as he made a sharp 90 degree turn and Logan blinked away just as another nasty fog was unleashed in their path.

As soon as Specter distanced himself away, he started having another coughing fit.

"No- *Cough-Cough* Not no-*Cough*-w," he wheezed.

Plague heard the coughs and turned his attention to the sick hero.

"You could use a doctor," he said and raised his cane to fire a ghost ray at Specter.

Suddenly, a pair of green ghost rays from below blasted Plague, temporarily stunning him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Tucker's drone floating beside its creator and Sam, who was still aiming her Wrist Ray at him.

"Impudent worms!" Plague hissed and swiped his cane in their direction.

"You better focus on me!"

"Huh!?" Plague exclaimed as he turned around and saw Specter flying towards him with green flames burning in his hands.

*BAM*

A flaming fist flew across Plague's face, sending the ghost flying into a nearby billboard. Down below, a pair of hands phased out of the ground and grabbed Tucker and Sam by the arms.

"AAAAHHH!" they shrieked as they turned intangible and pulled into the ground.

Further in the alley, Phantom phased out of the ground with Tucker and Sam in tow.

"Jeez, a little warning next time, dude!" Tucker exclaimed.

"You're welcome," Danny smirked.

"Not funny, Danny," Sam scowled.

"Okay, okay, sorry," he replied, "Since Specter doesn't even know who this ghost is, we'll have to play it safe this time. I think it would be best if you two held back and try helping from a distance."

"What!?" Tucker and Sam exclaimed.

"Look, this guy has some sort of strange gas attack that seems to last for quite some time," Phantom explained, "We're not even sure what it can do, and I'm sure not gonna have something happen to you guys."

Both Tucker and Sam opened their mouth to say something.

"No 'buts'!" Danny said sternly, "Just stay in this alley and don't do anything unless we need your help."

"Fine," Sam sighed, "What's the plan then?"

While Phantom explained a plan to them, Specter was batted away from Plague with the cane. The ghost glanced over and saw the group from the alleyway.

"Hmm…" he smiled and held out his lantern towards the entrance, "Let's see if you'll like this surprise."

Specter phased out of a nearby building and fired an electrified blue ghost ray at the ghost, both blasting and shocking him away. The young hero then glanced over and saw the strange aura around the entrance of the alleyway.

"You alright?"

Specter looked up and saw Phantom approaching him.

"Where's Tucker and Sam?" he asked.

"They're in that alley, watching us from a distance unless we need help," Danny explained.

"Wait, what!?" Logan exclaimed.

Plague, who was floating nearby, chuckled as he watched Tucker and Sam slowly approached the trap he had set. The two teens were more focused on the events above them that they didn't notice the strange light until they were inside it.

"What is this?" Tucker asked.

"Your surprise," Plague said to himself as he held his lantern and activated the trap.

"Uh, Tucker?" Sam asked, "Is it just me… or is it getting brighter?"

Suddenly, Specter blinked in front of them.

"Get back!" he shouted as he shoved them back towards the alley.

Just as Tucker and Sam landed on the ground, a thick, dark green cloud enveloped Specter, complete obscuring him from everyone.

"Specter!" Danny shouted.

He glared at Plague, held out his hands, and blasted him with a powerful ghost ray. Plague barely had time to even see the attack coming before he was blasted over a couple buildings and disappeared. Phantom flew down to his friends and helped them to their feet before they all looked back towards the sickly colored fog as it began to clear up. Slowly, Specter reappeared, clearly weakened and shaking on his legs.

"Specter?" Sam asked as they slowly approached him, "Are you…?"

He held up his hand, stopping them in their tracks.

"Don't… don't come any closer…" he groaned.

Specter's vision began to blur and get darker as he fell to his hands and knees. A light blue ring appeared around his waist as the Deadshot slipped from his back and fell beside him. He tried to resist losing consciousness and reverting back to human, but the ring split into two and went up and down his body. Weak coughs escaped from Trevor's mouth as he lifted his head and revealed familiar red bumps all over his face.

"Catch… Plague…" Trevor moaned before he collapsed and lost consciousness.

"Danny…" Tucker said nervously, "Isn't that…?"

"Ecto-acne?" Sam finished.

"I think so," Phantom replied.

"Darn."

The three looked up and saw Plague floating above them.

"I was hoping to get all four of you at once," he sighed, "Guess I'll have-"

*WUMP*

"Ugh… uuurrgghh…"

Plague could barely move or say anything due to Phantom's well-placed punch to the gut.

"You're gonna pay for that," Danny growled before he spun around kicked Plague away, into another billboard.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Deep in the Ghost Zone, the Forgemaster was hammering a claymore in his forge, sparks flying and the coals burning a ghostly green. He stopped slamming his hammer and sighed over the anvil as his golden eyes glanced over to the exit.

"Intruders," he muttered as the large door opened.

"Uh, hello?" Dani called out as she poked her head out, "We're looking for the, uh… Forgemaster?"

"Why are you here?" Forgemaster asked, startling the half-ghost girl.

Valerie and Dust entered behind Dani and they turned towards the ghost.

"We came here looking for the Forgemaster," Valerie explained, "We need some answers."

"Who told you to come here?" the Forgemaster asked as he rose into the air and picked up the scorching sword.

"Specter," Dust answered.

The Forgemaster stopped and stared at the trio for a moment.

"Specter? Is that so?" he asked, "Hmph. A foolish child he is."

"Let's just cut to the chase," said Valerie.

"Well, Trevor says you told him that the Orbs are some sort of locks," said Dani.

"Conduits, but yes," the ancient ghost replied, "What of it?"

"Well… exactly what is locked away?" Valerie asked.

"An evil so vile that it cannot be released," the Forgemaster replied.

"Cryptic and unhelpful," Dust scoffed, "Specter and I didn't follow Reaper through time just to have our time wasted. We need to know what we are dealing with."

The Forgemaster gave a long, hefty sigh.

"It's been so long, even I do not remember," he admitted, "But just thinking about it gives me chills."

"But you're a ghost," Dani said, raising an eyebrow, "How do you get chills?"

"Dani," Valerie told her, "we have more important matters."

"Oh, right, sorry."

"Let's pretend that I believe you," said Dust, "where is this evil locked away?"

"It doesn't matter," the Forgemaster answered as he sat back down in his seat, "The Lost Vaults have a strange phenomenon of preventing anyone from remembering the exact location."

"The Lost Vaults?" Valerie asked, "What are those?"

"An ancient labyrinth filled with catacombs, where evildoers are locked away for all eternity," the Forgemaster explained, "They are doomed to spend the rest of their existence there until they cease to be."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Dani, "If they are locked away one by one, then… don't you need the Orbs of Power to unlock it?"

"The one sealed away by the Orbs of Power is a… unique case," the Forgemaster explained as he continued hammering the claymore, "It is… an evil so terrible and horrible that it despises other evils. It exists only to destroy."

"So, we have nothing helpful," said Dust, "All we can do is continue searching for the remaining Orbs and prevent any more locks from losing power."

"There must be someone who can give us answers," Dani sighed.

"I'm curious," Forgemaster said as he stroked his chin, "why have you come to me instead of Clockwork?"

"Clockwork?" Dust asked, "What does he have to do with all this? I know he knows everything, as he reminds everyone periodically, but I'm certain he would have told us something this important months ago."

"Hm… interesting…" the Forgemaster muttered to himself.

*Beep-beep*

Dani answered her Fenton Phone.

"What's up?" she answered.

"Dani?" Tucker asked, "It's Tucker. We need you guys back in Amity Park, now!"

"What's going on?" Valerie asked into her Fenton Phone.

"It's Trevor!" Tucker exclaimed, "There's this new ghost and… he infected Trevor with ecto-acne!"

The three looked at one another for a moment before they turned around and darted out the door, leaving the Forgemaster to wonder what was happening. Behind him, an intangible Plasmius smiled before pulling his upper body out of the wall of the Forge and followed the girls.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Jack and Vlad were laughing as they and Maddie were talking and eating.

"Oh, Vladdie, you've still got that sense of humor of yours," Jack sighed.

"It's true!" Vlad laughed, "The man was losing his mind all because I replaced his fountain pen with the same looking pen filled with invisible ink! He had to rewrite his name twenty times! The moment the ink reappeared, he had completely destroyed the contract!"

Maddie chuckled a little as her cellphone began to ring.

"Excuse me, boys," she told them and answered, "Hello?"

"Mrs. Fenton!?" Sam exclaimed, "We need your help, now!"

"Slow down, Sam," Maddie told her, "What's wrong?"

"It's Trevor!" she exclaimed, "He's got ecto-acne!"

"What!?" Maddie exclaimed, getting Jack's and Vlad's attention.

"Is something wrong, Maddie?" Jack asked.

"It's Trevor," she whispered to him, "He's been infected with ecto-acne."

Vlad's eyes widened and he briefly choked on his champagne as he overheard the private conversation.

"Vlad, I'm sorry, but Jack and I must go," Maddie explained as she and Jack got up from their seats, "There's been an emergency and we are needed immediately."

"Oh, no, it's no trouble at all," Vlad replied, "In fact…"

The Fentons turned back as the mayor rose from his seat.

"I couldn't help but overhear that someone has been infected with ecto-acne, correct?" he asked, "Forgive me for intruding on the privacy of the issue, but if you would allow it, I could lend my time to help treat the poor individual…"

Jack and Maddie nodded to each other.

"Vlad, that would be tremendous help," said Maddie, "In fact, we need your help, because we don't have any means of transportation."

"Vladdie, could you take us back to the Fenton Works?" Jack asked.

"Of course," Vlad smiled before turning to the waiter, "Put the bill on my tab; I'll pay it as soon as I can."

"Yes, of course, Mayor Masters."

"Jack," Maddie whispered, "We can't let him know that Danny and Trevor are half-ghosts."

"Don't worry," Jack whispered back, "We'll make sure their secrets are safe."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Tucker and Sam winced from behind a dumpster as Danny took multiple blows from Plague, but he was able to retaliate with blows of his own. The two were floating in the air, a few feet from each other, both reaching their limits.

"I must admit," Plague noted, "you're much more powerful than I was led to believe."

"And who told you about me?" Phantom asked.

"And ruin the mystery?" Plague taunted before swinging his cane and unleashing a wave of energy into Phantom's chest.

"Guys…. Where are you?" Sam asked into the Fenton Phone.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"We're almost out of the Ghost Zone," Valerie replied as she, Dani, and Dust closed in on the Fenton Ghost Portal, "We're going as fast as we can."

Behind them, Plasmius was keeping his distance, but not straying too far from them. The three entered the Fenton Works' Lab and Dani closed the portal behind them. The doors closed as Plasmius was about the leave, causing him to gasp when he realized he couldn't slow down.

*CLANG*

He pulled his face off the sealed door and frowned as he floated back a few feet.

"Wasn't expecting this…" he muttered, "No matter, I'll just wait until the other 'me' opens the door for me."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"Ugggghhh…" Phantom moaned as he leaned against his knees.

"Valerie, hurry up," Tucker whined into the Fenton Phone, "Danny's out of steam and he's about to get gassed."

Plague slowly descend, laughing lightly at Phantom's exhaustion.

"I think this has gone on long enough, ghost boy," he hissed, "Time to put you down as well."

Suddenly, a purple ghost ray shot through the air and blasted Plague in the back, sending him flying away from Danny.

"Who dares!?" he exclaimed as he turned around and saw the Red Huntress, Dani Phantom, and a ghost raven flying towards him, "Oh."

"Get away from him, you weirdo!" Dani exclaimed as she threw a barrage of ecto-disks at the ghost.

Plague held his arms up and blocked the projectiles that would have hit him in the face.

"Too much heat here," he growled, "Better make my escape before things get out of hand."

As the Huntress and Dani closed in on the ghost, Plague unleashed a thick grey fog from his lantern, hiding himself inside. The two halted midair as the fog consumed them as well. Dust altered her course and flew over to Trevor's body.

"Ack, where'd he go!?" Dani exclaimed.

"Dani! Valerie!" Danny exclaimed and flew up towards the dirty cloud as he turned intangible.

Tucker and Sam came out of hiding from behind the dumpster and watched as Danny came out with Dani and the Huntress, holding them by their wrists.

"You guys alright?" Sam asked as they landed on the ground and Danny made them tangible again.

"Yeah, we're fine," Valerie replied, "Where's…?"

Tucker and Sam glanced over their shoulders toward Trevor, who was still lying unconscious on the ground. Valerie and Dani began to approach him, but Danny held his arms out, blocking the way.

"Don't get near him!" he exclaimed, "Ecto-acne is highly contagious, and it can be fatal."

Dani's face fell when she saw the poor state Trevor was in. Suddenly, the roar of an engine and screeching of tires caught everyone's attention. Tucker peeked around the corner and saw the Fenton RV fast approaching. He squinted his eyes and saw Vlad Masters with Jack and Maddie.

"It's your parents!" he exclaimed to Danny, "And Vlad's with them!"

"What!?" everyone exclaimed.

"We can't let him see us all together," said Danny, "Dani, Valerie; we need to get out of here before Vlad sees us."

The two nodded and quickly took to the skies. Danny quickly grabbed the Deadshot from Trevor before followed suit, leaving Tucker and Sam alone with Trevor and Dust. The ghost raven dissipated into ecto-energy and returned to the time medallion just as the Fenton RV pulled up and screeched to a halt. The two teens hurried to the RV as Jack and Maddie pulled out a containment stretcher from the back and followed them back into the alley. Vlad watched through the window as Trevor was wheeled back to the van.

"Hmm…" he smiled, "Looks like I'll get some answers sooner than I thought."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Magnus was humming to himself as he flipped through his spell book, reading recipes for more potions as his latest brew was finishing up, when Plague phased through the ceiling and turned tangible.

"Had fun, did we?" Magnus asked without looking up.

"Definitely got more than I had expected," Plague admitted, "Almost had three of them, but only got one of the half-ghosts, the younger one."

"He's already sick," Magnus noted, "It's not like you did anything special."

"Oh?" Plague asked, "So infecting him with ecto-acne isn't special?"

*K-Sssshhhh*

Magnus dropped an empty flask, causing it to fall and shatter on the ground.

"You did what!?" he exclaimed.

"Oh, relax," Plague chuckled, "I could have done worse."

"Plague, ecto-acne was not part of the plan," Magnus said sternly, "How did you even infect him with it?"

Plague began giving off a dark laugh that made the necromancer slightly unsettled.

"I'm the ghost of disease," he laughed, "I can infect anyone with any disease."

"We told you to limit it only to the common cold and the flu," said Magnus.

"If what you have told me about these children are true, then it'll take more than those to stop them," Plague scoffed.

"We are to slow them down, not kill them," said Magnus, "If you can't do that, then I will…"

He stopped and stared at Plague.

"You'll do what?" Plague taunted, "Destroy me? Ha! You'll never get the chance."

"Stop talking," Magnus ordered as he quickly mixed together another potion.

"I'm sorry, since when did Plasmius say you could order me around?" Plague asked.

"Take a look at yourself," said Magnus.

Plague cocked his head slightly before glancing down and saw his body beginning to slowly swell and disintegrate.

"What's happening!?" he exclaimed.

Magnus quickly added a purple liquid to the mixture, turning it dark blue, corked the flask and shook it a few times.

"I would seem the experiment was not done correctly," he explained, "While you may retain a structured form, your unique ecto-energy is not stable."

"Meaning!?" Plague demanded to know as he watched more and more of himself slowly growing and vanishing.

"Your body is unstable, and you will cease to exist unless I do something about it," Plague answered before throwing the container at Plague's feet.

The flask shattered and Plague was engulfed in blue smoke for a moment. The effects were instant; the swelling and disintegration reversed, and Plague's body returned to normal.

"This is only a temporary solution," Plague noted, "I'll look into a more permanent solution."

"That would be nice," Plague grumbled.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Trevor slowly opened his eyes.

"Uggghhhh…" he groaned, "Where… am I?"

It took a moment for his vision to become clear and realize that he was back at the Fenton Works' Lab, inside a containment stretcher. He glanced over to the side and saw Vlad Masters, now in a lab coat, talking to Jack and Maddie, who were now back in their usual attire.

"Crud, it's Masters," Trevor muttered, "What the hell is he doing here? Better think of some dumb excuse to cover for the Fentons."

He began to moan loud enough so everyone could hear him.

"Uggghhhh, where am I?"

"Ah, you're awake," said Vlad as he approached the young halfa.

"Mayor Masters?" Trevor asked with feigned confusion as he glanced around and pretended to notice Jack and Maddie, "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton? What's going on?"

"Trevor!"

"Huh?"

Everyone turned to the stairway to see Danny, Tucker, Sam, Valerie, and Danielle rushing inside.

"Are you okay!?" Danielle exclaimed.

"Don't get near him," Danny hissed, grabbing her by the arm.

"Why, Daniel," Vlad greeted, "It's been a while. And you as well, Ms. Gray."

"Mayor Masters," Valerie replied, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"What happened?" Danny asked his parents.

"We're not sure," Maddie replied, "Sam called us and told us that Trevor had been infected with what she believed to be ecto-acne."

"It's a good thing she did," Jack added, "Her suspicions were correct."

"Sam, could you tell us what exactly happened?" Maddie asked.

"Well, we were all hanging out at the arcade," Sam explained, "We were all heading home; me, Tucker, and Trevor went our way and we came across a ghost."

"*Cough-cough* I distracted the ghost, but got caught in some weird smoke," Trevor continued, "Next thing I knew, I felt really weird and sick and… I guess I lost consciousness."

Vlad's eyes turned and focused onto Danielle, who nervously backed into Danny.

"Ah, and who's this?" Vlad asked.

"I'm, uh… I'm Danny's cousin," Danielle gulped, "Well, er, sister…"

"Sister?" Vlad asked as he glanced up at Danny, "I wasn't aware you had a younger sister, Daniel."

"We're in the process of adopting her soon," Maddie explained, "My, uh… sister, Alicia; she's been having a hard time back in Arkansas, financially. She's refused to accept any money from our family, so she's asked me to take in Danielle."

"Is that so?" Vlad asked, causing Danny and Danielle to glare at him, "What a loving sister you are, Maddie."

"Well, do your best to make him better, Vlad," Danny warned, briefly flashing his neon green eyes, "I don't know what we'd do if something happened to him."

"I'll do my best, little badger," Vlad smirked, "But unlike before, finding a cure may prove to be a challenge."

"How so?" Tucker asked.

"This ecto-acne appears to be a different strain from the one we were infected with," Vlad explained, "It'll take more than diet soda to save this young man's life."

"Well, you better find it fast!" Danielle snapped, "Pretty sure you'd be scared of what's to come."

With that, she pushed passed Danny and the others and made her way upstairs.

"Hmph," Vlad smirked.

"Kids, why don't you head upstairs and leave us to handle this?" Jack suggested.

"Don't worry," Trevor groaned, getting the team's attention, "I'll be fine. You go and do your thing."

The team was still worried, but Trevor gave them a rare soft smile, boosting their confidence. Danny turned and nodded to the others before leading them back upstairs. Vlad smiled to himself as he turned and walked over to Trevor. The halfa's eyes followed Vlad's until the mayor was standing over him; the two trying to intimidate the other.

"Vlad, could you draw some blood from him?" Maddie asked over her shoulder as she looked through a microscope, "One vial should suffice."

"Of course," the villain said as he pulled out two vacutainers and a needle from his coat pocket, "Now then…"

Vlad carefully inserted the needle into Trevor's arm through a small porthole of the stretcher.

"Let's see what answers you can give me," he smirked as red liquid filled the first vial, "I'm sure a time traveler like you can answer all my questions."

"Like I'd tell you a damn thing, old man," Trevor scoffed.

"Me? An old man?" Vlad asked, pretending to be insulted, "I'm hardly in my mid-forties."

"Oh, so you're actually a dinosaur?" Trevor dryly joked as the second vacutainer was finished being filled.

"And what are you?" Vlad asked, "You clearly care about your brother and sister. What were their names again? Alexis and Cole?"

Trevor's eyes slightly widened.

"And no, young one, I haven't a clue where your brother is, nor when I used Reaper for my own plans did he ever even mention him," Vlad told him as he labeled the vacutainers, "Not that I wouldn't use him for my own gain either."

Vlad chuckled as he turned away and walked over to Maddie, making the mistake of taking his eyes of a half-ghost with telekinetic powers; concentrating, Trevor telekinetically held one of Vlad's shoes down to the ground, causing the mayor to trip and fall flat on the floor, breaking one of the vacutainers.

"OOOFF!" he exclaimed.

"Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed as he and Maddie rushed over to him.

"Oh, snickerdoodles," Vlad hissed when he saw the puddle of blood in front of him.

Jack and Maddie each grabbed one of his arms and helped him to his feet.

"Are you okay, Vladdie?" Jack asked, "Sounded like you hit that floor pretty hard."

"I thank you for your concern, Jack, but I'm fine," Vlad told him as he brushed himself off.

He glanced back at Trevor, who was silently chuckling to himself. The youngster turned to Vlad and briefly revealed his glowing blue eyes.

"Sorry for the mess," Vlad said as he turned back to Maddie, "Here's the sample."

"We only needed one to begin with," she told him as she took the vacutainer, "Why did you take a second."

"My bad," Vlad admitted, "I was so preoccupied taking the samples that I accidentally took two instead of one."

Jack and Maddie made their way over to some lab equipment and began analyzing Trevor's blood. Vlad glanced back at Trevor and saw that he had drifted to sleep. A mischievous smile crossed his face and he slowly approached the control panel for the Fenton Ghost Portal. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a black glove, and put it over his right hand. He glanced at the bottom of his thumb, where a small holographic thumbprint resembling Jack's appeared. He slowly lowered it towards the scanner and was inches away before his entire body was surrounded by a blue aura.

"What the!?" he quietly hissed.

He turned back and saw Trevor glaring at him as he was levitated off the ground, moved across the room, and placed directly behind Jack and Maddie. Vlad blinked a few times as Jack and Maddie looked behind and saw him.

"Is something wrong?" Jack asked.

"Oh, uh…" Vlad replied, quickly hiding his gloved hand in his pocked, "Nothing, nothing at all!"

"Great!" Jack exclaimed, "While Maddie is looking at the sample, why don't we look at the weapons in the vault!"

Before Vlad could object, Jack grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to the armory. Meanwhile, in Danny's room, the gang was spread out through the room; Tucker was on his knees while checking his drone, Danny and Danielle were sitting on the bed, and Sam and Valerie were just sitting on the ground nearby.

"What the heck is Vlad doing here!?" Danielle exclaimed.

"I dunno," Danny sighed, "but it can't be good, knowing him."

"But can we trust him to help find a cure for Trevor?" Valerie asked before turning to Tucker, "You and Sam got this thing before, right?"

"Yeeeeaaaahhh…" Tucker replied, "It wasn't fun."

"You think Trevor will survive long enough for Danny's parents to find a cure?" Valerie asked.

"Trevor's tough," said Sam, "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"I still don't like it," said Danielle as she crossed her arms and turned to Danny, "Last time I saw Vlad, he turned me into a puddle of goo. **** Why should we trust this guy to not do the same thing to Trevor!?"

"Well, it's like you said," Danny told her, "even Vlad should be afraid of Reaper and what could happen if he wins."

"Pretty sure Vlad thinks he smart enough to take on Reaper and get the Orbs of Power for himself," Danielle noted, "Who, or what, is going to stop him?"

"Us, of course," Danny laughed, "We've beaten Vlad over and over. What's there to worry?"

"But it's Trevor," Danielle insisted.

Danny raised an eyebrow and glanced over to the others, who just gave him the same knowing smirk as he was giving them.

"Oh, so that's what this is about, huh?" Danny asked in a teasing manner.

"What?" Danielle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You like Trevor, don't you?" Danny teased, causing Danielle to faintly blush.

"WHAT!?" she exclaimed, "N… No! Ew, no!"

"Oh, really?" Sam jumped in, "Then why are you so worried about him?"

"It's… it's because… it's because Vlad's here and-and he's treating him…" Danielle stuttered.

"Really? That's all?" Tucker chimed in, "You know, you did spend a lot of time nursing him earlier…"

"And you definitely seem to care about him more than a friend," Valerie smirked.

"Shut up…" Danielle groaned, hiding her red face behind her hands.

"Anyways…" said Danny, "We should be worried about Plague. If he's able to infect Trevor with ecto-acne, then he can definitely infect everyone with it."

"So… we didn't try catching him… because why?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think Trevor's infection got us distracted," said Sam, "And knowing most of the ghosts we come across, if they get away, they tend to go into hiding for a while before returning."

"I don't know about you guys," Tucker yawned as he stretched his arms out, "I'm beat. And I still have to finish Lancer's chemistry homework."

"Oh, great," Danny moaned, "I still need to do that."

"Sucks for you, boys," Sam smirked as she got up and headed for the door, "I already finished everything. So, while I get some sleep, you two can stay up late. Again."

She poked her head back into view and smirked.

"Later."

"Gee, thanks for rubbing it in, Sam!" Danny exclaimed as Sam left to go home.

"I'm gonna head home as well," said Valerie, "I'm in the same boat as you; I still need to finish Lancer's homework."

"That's what you get for teasing me," Danielle yawned.

"And you should head to bed as well, young lady," Danny smirked.

"No, I can still go on patrol," she moaned as her eyes began to droop.

"Uh huh, sure," Danny smirked as he helped her to her feet and led her to her room.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

The next day, Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie were entering the high school and noticed even less people were there than the day before.

"I hope Plague hasn't been working while we slept," Danny yawned.

"Long night?" Sam teased.

"Ha, Sam," Danny said, rolling his eyes.

As soon as they entered their classroom, the four teens were quick to notice that someone was sitting at Lancer's desk.

"Huh… guess Lancer got sick as well?" Tucker asked.

"If we're lucky," Danny half-joked as they took their seats.

The bell rang and the remaining students either left to their respected classes or took their seats.

"Good morning, class. I'm Mr. Calico, your substitute teacher," the visitor explained to them, "Your principal is out sick today and Mr. Lancer must take over her administrative duties until she returns."

"Oh, jeez, that's even worse," Tucker quietly joked to Danny, "Lancer as principal? We're doomed."

"Is there something you wish to tell the class, Mr…?" Mr. Calico asked as he flipped through the attendance, "Foley, is it?"

"Uh, yes- I mean no, sir!" Tucker exclaimed.

"I thought so," Mr. Calico lightly laughed, "Now, before I take attendance, Mr. Lancer left instructions saying that he was expecting you all the turn in your assignment, so come up and turn it in."

Danny unzipped his backpack and was about to reach in, but he gasped, and his ghost sense went off.

"Huh?" he exclaimed, glancing around the room, "Ghost sense? But where?"

"Mr. Fenton!" Mr. Calico said loudly, "Do you have your assignment or not?"

"Uh, yes, sorry!" Danny exclaimed as he pulled it out.

Unknown to Danny, directly under the school was the sewer system; a network of underground tunnels for waste disposal. Inside, Plague was floating around, dragging his cane through the toxic waste and infecting it with disease.

"I should have done this sooner," he chuckled, "Instead of doing all the work, I'll let the little critters do the work the same way they did during the Pestilence…"

He glanced over his shoulder as hundreds of pairs of tiny red eyes appeared from the dark tunnel.

"Hm… perhaps a test should be done…"

The sound of a motorcycle overhead got the ghost's attention.

"Perfect."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Trevor telekinetically held one of Vlad's shoes down to the ground, causing the mayor to trip and fall flat on the floor, breaking one of the vacutainers.

"OOOFF!" he exclaimed.

"Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed as he and Maddie rushed over to him.

"Oh, snickerdoodles," Vlad hissed when he saw the puddle of blood in front of him.

However, Vlad has an extra vial on him that was filled with blood-like substance, which he broke when he fell instead of the one of two blood samples he took from the halfa. He quickly hid the second vial before Jack and Maddie each grabbed one of his arms and helped him to his feet.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Vlad was back in his secret lab, staring at his computer screen as the computer was analyzing Trevor's blood sample.

"What do you expect to find?" Magnus asked as he teleported behind him.

"I'm not quite sure myself," Vlad admitted, "but I bet it will be quite a surprise."

Suddenly, Vlad's cellphone began to vibrate.

"Hello?" Vlad answered, "Mayor Masters here."

"Vladdie? It's Jack," said the caller, "Maddie and I need you back here immediately."

"Is something wrong?" Vlad asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Trevor's condition has gotten worse," Jack explained, "His fever has reached 104 and he's getting weaker."

"Is that right?" Vlad smirked while feigning concern, "I'll be over as soon as I'm available."

Before Jack could reply, Vlad hung up and turned his attention to a large vat. He walked over and looked into the porthole.

"Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing you won't be heading back to the Fenton Works any time soon?" Magnus asked.

"Of course not," Vlad replied over his shoulder, "I have nearly everything I need right here."

"Everything except knowledge your duplicate has," Magnus chuckled as he teleported back over to his workstation, "I thought the purpose of you going to the Fenton Works in the first place was to get your clone back."

Vlad glared over his shoulder.

"Let me guess… Trevor was making things difficult for you?" Magnus chuckled, "He's a very stubborn young man."

"Indeed, he is," Vlad growled under his breath as he glanced away.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Back in the Fenton Works' Lab, Jack and Maddie were working nonstop, trying to find a cure for Trevor's ecto-acne. The two looked up from their microscopes and glanced over at Trevor, who was sweating and breathing heavily from inside the containment stretcher. Danielle was sitting nearby, rubbing her hands against her knees nervously.

"So…" said Trevor, "Never heard the full story, but what was the answer to finding Mayor Masters' ecto-acne, which he… *Ahem* Accidentally gave to Sam and Tucker?"

"Diet soda, if you can believe that," Maddie replied as she and Jack looked up at the large monitor showing cells infected with the strange ectoplasmic disease.

"Honestly, I'm can," Trevor deadpanned before he coughed, "Believe it or not, this is not the worst feeling I've experienced. Physically speaking."

"How long until you guys find a cure?" Danielle asked, "I mean… don't you guys research into these kinds of things?"

"Ecto-acne is the only known ghost disease we know of, and the only one that affects humans," Jack answered, "So far, no one else has ever gotten sick from any other ghost disease."

Danielle seemed more worried and began to rub her knees a little harder.

"You keep doing that and you might end up rubbing the skin off," Trevor lightly joked, getting her attention, "Relax, okay? Everything will be fine. You think a little ecto-acne will be my end?"

"But-"

"Just relax. Trust me," Trevor told her before having another coughing fit, "Don't think we need the others hearing about this, do we? And, yes, I could hear you guys from down hear."

Danielle looked away to hide her slightly red face. Suddenly, she gasped as her ghost sense went off.

"Aw, crud," Trevor muttered as he glanced over at the Fenton Ghost Portal.

He beckoned Danielle to hurry over to his side without the Fentons noticing.

"Last night, Vlad was trying to get the portal open," Trevor whispered to her, "I don't know for sure, but I'm suspecting that he was trying to get something to leave the Ghost Zone."

Suddenly, the Portal slowly opened and Plasmius started coming through. Danielle quickly went ghost and threw an ecto-disk at him, nailing him in the face. When he opened his eyes, Plasmius saw a baseball bat swing through the air, hitting him in the face and sending him back into the Ghost Zone. Dani quickly closed the Portal and flew back over to Trevor as she turned back to human form.

"You know…" said Trevor as he telekinetically held the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick between him and Danielle, "I always wanted to do that to him."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Back at Casper High, Danny and the rest of this classmates were practically dying from how dull Mr. Calypso was explaining their latest reading.

"The raven symbolizes mournful and never-ending remembrance," he explained, "The narrator of the poem is in constant state of remembering his late wife."

Danny rested his cheek against his fist and glanced out the window.

"I hope Trevor's doing alright," he sighed.

Suddenly, a black rat darted along the sidewalk, almost averting the half-ghost's sight. Danny lifted his head and raised an eyebrow.

"Was that a black rat?" he wondered to himself, "I've seen brown ones, but never a black one."

Suddenly, the school alarm went off, causing everyone to jump in their seats.

"Attention, all students," Mr. Lancer announced over the school speakers, "We are commencing a school lockdown due to an unknown disease ravaging through Amity Park. No one is to leave the building. Contact your parents as soon as possible to have them pick you up from school. Walking home is strictly prohibited. Remain calm, stay in the classrooms as much as possible, and stay safe until the situation has been dealt with."

"Lockdown? Unknown disease?" Danny asked, "Uh oh…"

Suddenly, he gasped as a blue mist escaped passed his lips. When Danny looked outside, he saw dozens upon dozens of rats running down the street, leaving behind the same nasty aura that Plague left when he attacked them the night before.

"Well, this is unexpected," Mr. Calypso noted, "Regardless, we shall continue class."

Danny leaned over and elbowed Tucker to get his attention. He silently motioned over to the window and Tucker nodded, knowing what to do. Tucker then wrote two notes and passed them over to Sam and Valerie, who were sitting in front of him. They each read the note and nodded.

"Um, excuse me?" Valerie asked, raising her hand, "Could I use the restroom?"

"Ms. Gray, can this wait?" Mr. Calypso asked, "You heard the announcement."

"I know," said Valerie, "but it'll be really quick."

"Very well," Mr. Calypso sighed.

Valerie got up and nodded to Tucker and Sam as she made her way towards the door. When she had enough room on the floor, she faked tripping over herself and fell to the floor.

"Ms. Gray, are you alright!?" Mr. Calypso exclaimed.

With everyone looking at Valerie, Tucker and Sam quickly got up and stood in front of Danny's desk. A white light briefly flashed behind them, followed by Danny Phantom flying off, phasing through the wall.

"Yeah," Valerie smirked when she saw Danny disappear, "I'm fine."

Once outside, Danny flew after the rats. The miasma of disease they left behind gave Danny chills.

"This isn't good," he muttered.

Phantom glanced down the road and saw not only the rats, but also a familiar biker and his girlfriend riding straight towards them.

"Johnny!" Danny exclaimed and rushed towards him.

"Isn't this great, babe?" Johnny asked Kitty, "A nice comfortable morning ride."

"Yeah," Kitty sighed, "And with the ghost boy in school and his little sister no longer an issue, we can final- LOOK OUT!"

"HUH!?"

Johnny applied the brakes, but it was too late; he, Kitty, and his motorcycle were swarmed by the sea of rodents. Phantom stopped midair and gasped. For a brief moment, he thought Johnny and Kitty were history. Suddenly, Johnny's Shadow erupted from within the pile and sent the rats flying. As the rodents landed, the strange possession over them vanished and they all became normal brown rats again. Scared by the sight of the ghosts and half-ghost, the rats ran away, hiding in nearby brush.

"Johnny! Kitty!" Danny exclaimed as he flew towards them, "Are you guys alright?"

"Y-yeah," Johnny replied, "But…"

When the two ghosts tried to look up at Phantom, but they didn't have the strength to do so; Johnny leaned against the handlebars and Kitty was leaning against him.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked.

"I don't know… I feel so… weak," Johnny replied.

"Me too," Kitty added.

Shadow made a strange noise, getting everyone's attention. Even it wasn't looking so great either.

"Those rats must have infected you with something," Phantom told them as he took a step away from them, "I don't know what, but it could be contagious."

"Us? Sick?" Kitty lightly laughed, "Don't make me laugh; ghosts can't get sick."

"You sure about that?" Phantom asked, "If so, then why you guys look like you caught the flu?"

Johnny and Kitty glanced at each other and noticed that they both look paler than usual, for a ghost, and that they had dark circles under their eyes.

"I know this sounds crazy, but there's a ghost out there named Plague," Phantom explained, "He already infected Specter with ecto-acne and he could be getting everyone sick right now with those rats."

"Never heard of him," said Kitty.

"Been getting that a lot lately," Phantom groaned, "Look, just… just stay away from everyone and don't return to the Ghost Zone. We can't risk this thing going around and infecting everyone."

"Great," Johnny sighed, "Not the greatest way to start the day. First that weird ghost, now this?"

"Ghost?" Phantom asked, "Wait, did he have a weird looking mask? Did it have a beak?"

"Yeah…" Johnny replied, raising an eyebrow, "Why?"

"You three stay here," Phantom ordered, "I'll go deal with Plague and hopefully find a way to fix this."

Before anyone could object, the young hero flew off towards the city.

"I'm gonna need all the help I can get if things get as bad as I fear," Phantom muttered as he pulled out his Fenton Phone.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"Jack, grab everything and put it in the car!" Maddie exclaimed as she and Jack were scrambling for supplies.

Trevor, who was not fully conscious, was looking around, wondering what was going on.

"What's happening?" he asked Dani, who was floating next to him with the Fenton Phone on.

"Danny called," she explained, "Plague is using rats to spread disease and it even got Johnny 13, Kitty, and Johnny's Shadow sick."

Trevor blinked a few times, trying to process the news.

"What?" he asked, "That's impossible."

"Yeah, Danny saw it happen himself," Dani explained, "I'm gonna meet up with him so we can find Plague and capture him quickly."

"No, you need to stay here and protect Trevor," Jack told the young girl, "We can't risk leaving him alone."

"But-" Dani began to argue.

"It's fine, Mr. Fenton," Trevor coughed, "I can take care of myself. You three are needed out there."

"Wait, what!?" Dani exclaimed, "We can't leave you alone!"

"I thought you had someplace to go," Trevor side-eyed, "I'll be fine. Really."

Dani glanced over her shoulder, watching Jack and Maddie rush up and downstairs with various equipment in their hands.

"Fine," she sighed, "Just stay in touch if you need help."

She flew upstairs after Jack and Maddie, leaving Trevor alone in the lab.

"You can come out now," Trevor moaned.

Dust, in her normal form, phased out of the floor and stood beside Trevor.

"Given that you're in your real form, things are pretty serious, huh?" Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Johnny and Kitty aren't the only ghosts that have fallen ill," Dust revealed.

Trevor took a deep breath and sighed.

"What did the Observants say?" he asked.

"Do whatever it takes to protect the Earth and the Ghost Zone," Dust replied, "But only for this situation."

"Pfft," Trevor scoffed, "You can't be serious."

"Trevor," Dust said sternly as she floated over to the control panel.

"*Sigh* Ok, fine," he groaned as the locks around his containment stretcher unlocked.

He pushed the lid open and sat up. Dust watched as Trevor got to his feet with some difficulty.

"Did you bring it?" he asked.

Dust jerked her head over to the nearby table. Trevor practically stumbled his way over before reaching behind it to grab something.

"Maybe you should tell the others," Dust suggested, "You're clearly not in any condition to be fighting."

"As if I've got a choice," Trevor snapped back as a blue ring appeared around his waist and he tried to go ghost.

"You can't even go into your ghost form!" Dust exclaimed, "Just tell the others."

"No," Trevor said gravely as the rings split but barely moved more than a foot each, "We both know what must be done."

"And you think your way is the only way?" Dust asked, crossing her arms.

Behind her, the Fenton Ghost Portal doors were slowly forced open from the other side. A pair of black, gloved fingers slipped through the opening, allowing the intruder to get a better hold of the doors. As the doors slowly opened more and more, Plasmius also slowly made his way through.

*BLAM*

A powerful blue ghost ray shot Plasmius in the chest, forcing him back into the Ghost Zone and the Fenton Ghost Portal to reclose. Dust blinked a few times as she stared at the Portal doors before turning back to Specter.

"It's the only way," he told her as he slung the Deadshot over his shoulder, "If there were any other way, I'd be calling them. Now stay here and make sure he doesn't get out."

"You do know he'll just find another way out," Dust pointed out as Specter went intangible.

"I'm surprised he hasn't done so already," he told her as she dissipated into energy and returned to the time medallion.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Back in his secret lab, Vlad was still waiting for the results on Trevor's blood sample as he casually checked the chemicals and substances he had stored on the shelves. He was also in the middle of a phone call with Maddie.

"How many people!?" he exclaimed, "Ugh, this is a disaster! You and Jack have my authorization to use the old North Mercy Hospital^* to quarantine those already infected."

Suddenly, Magnus arrived through a magical portal that disappeared behind him.

"Masters, we have a situation," he announced.

"Where have you been!?" Vlad asked as he hung up, "You said you'd only be gone for an hour at most!"

"It's Plague," Magnus explained, "He's infecting everyone he encounters. And he's using rats to spread it faster."

"Yes, I'm aware," Vlad sighed, "The Fentons have informed me that he's infected a couple hundred-"

"Thousand."

Vlad paused and blinked a few times.

"Come again?" he asked.

"Couple thousand," Magnus repeated, "That's the situation."

Vlad's eyes burned in anger.

"That insolent swine!" he shouted, slamming his hands on the nearby desk, "All he had to do was simple distract and slow down Daniel and his friends, not cause a pandemic in my city!"

"It's worse than that," Magnus sighed.

"What could possibly be worse?" Vlad asked over his shoulder.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

In the middle of Amity Park, Plague flew after a group of panicking civilians as he and his army of rats spread ecto-acne throughout the populace. Those who were infected and showing green pimples freaked out and ran off, unintentionally spreading it to others.

"Ah, the madness… the chaos!" Plague exclaimed as he closed in on his targets, "I've never felt more… alive."

The ghost of disease held out his lantern as it began to glow, aiming it towards the running civilians before firing a gas of ecto-acne towards them. Just as they were about to be engulfed, a black and white streak flew between them and the noxious cloud before it and they vanished inside.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, Plague," a familiar voice said from within the cloud, "but you'd have to be alive to feel alive!"

Plague was shocked when the air began to clear, revealing Danny Phantom surround himself and the bystanders with a ghost shield. It became brighter and brighter for a moment before Phantom unleashed a repulsion shield, blowing away the vile disease.

"I was wondering when you would show up," Plague smiled, "Guess my little experiment was not as effective as I hoped. No matter… This makes it easier to know when I infect you!"

Suddenly, a pink ghost ray blasted Plague in the back, stunning him for a moment. Danny looked over and saw the Red Huntress flying in.

"I was wondering where you were, Valerie," he smirked, "Took ya long enough."

"Well, I had to be sure Tucker and Sam could keep Mr. Calypso busy enough to not wonder where we went," Valerie replied.

"Good point," said Phantom.

Behind him, Plague aimed his cane at Phantom and fired a dark green ghost ray at him.

"Danny, look out!" the Red Huntress exclaimed.

Phantom turned around but had no time to react. It wasn't until a black and white streak pushed him aside that the attack was avoided.

"What the!?" Phantom exclaimed before he looked down and saw Dani holding on to him, "Dani!?"

"You idiot!" she shouted, "You have intangibility!"

"Oh, right," Danny chuckled nervously, "Sorry."

"From one to three now, is it?" Plague asked before smirking, "Now I can infect three heroes with one disease."

"Wow, that was awful," the Red Huntress pointed out before blasting Plague away with her wrist cannon.

"Danny, can you hear me?"

"Mom?" Phantom answered on his Fenton Phone, "What's wrong?"

"We've set up a quarantine area at North Mercy Hospital," Maddie explained, "but more and more people are coming in. Even with help from other doctors and nurses, I'm not sure how long we can keep up."

"What about the cure?" Dani asked.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"We're trying our best," Jack explained over the Fenton Phone, "It should be done soon, but we can't quite figure out why the ecto-acne instantly becomes resistant the moment the cure begins to work."

"It's almost as though it instantly mutates," said Maddie, "But that should be impossible, it doesn't have genetics like organic creatures do."

"Perhaps I could be of service?" a voice said behind the two Fentons.

"Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"I figured you could use another set of hands," Vlad explained, "And as mayor, I must look after the people's well-being."

"You truly care about the people, Vlad," said Maddie.

"Of course," Vlad said quietly, "I also have my own reasons."

"What was that?" Maddie asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all," said Vlad, "Just reminding myself of something."

He villain's eyes glanced over and saw vials of chemicals lined up along the wall where the Fentons had them stockpiled.

"Perfect," he whispered to himself as he walked over and ran his finger over the labels, "Just what I was looking fo-"

"Hey, Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed, "Could I borrow you for a moment? I think I've found the solution to making the cure!"

"Butter biscuits!" Vlad hissed, "Of course, Jack."

"Great!" Jack exclaimed, "Just grab that vial of ecto-quartz."

Vlad groaned as he walked away from the shelf and grabbed the vial on the table near Jack.

"Thanks, Vladdie," said Jack as he was slowly adding drops of ectoplasm to the possibly cure, "Just add a few drops of the stuff in here."

"Alright," Vlad said with uncertainty.

He removed the rubber stopper and added a couple of drops of the liquified ghost rock. The mixture immediately began to bubble.

"That's not good," Jack muttered.

*SPLORT*

Jack winced as he saw the green substance splatter all over Vlad.

"Whoops," he said, "Guess that one didn't work… sorry, Vladdie."

The mayor glared at Jack as the ectoplasm dripped down his face.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"OOOOFFF!" Phantom exclaimed as his back slammed into the ground.

The Red Huntress and Dani crashed beside him a couple seconds later.

"Is it just me?" Dani asked as she got back to her feet, "Or is this guy getting stronger the longer we fight him?"

"No," Phantom replied as he helped Valerie back up to her feet, "I think we just need a better plan than just blinding throwing fists and ecto-disks."

The two teens have Dani a hard side-eye on the last comment.

"What!?" she exclaimed, "He got Trevor sick!"

"Are you seriously going to let that get under your skin?" the Huntress asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What's wrong!?" Plague exclaimed above, getting their attention, "Giving up so soon!?"

"As if," Danny smirked as he led the trio up towards Plague.

The ghost turned intangible as a barrage of ghost rays were fired at him. The two Phantoms stopped firing and went invisible, with Dani grabbing Valerie's arm.

"Oh, don't think vanishing will help you," Plague warned as he went tangible again and held his lantern above him, "I'll cover this entire area with ecto-acne!"

"Now, Valerie!" Dani shouted.

"Huh!?" Plague exclaimed as he spun around just as the Red Huntress fired her wrist cannon.

The energy blast knocked the lantern out of the ghost's hand, sending it flying far into the distance.

"No!" Plague shouted.

He glared at the three heroes before swinging his cane out and unleashing a powerful energy wave at them. They gasped as the attack closed in and slammed into them, sending them back towards the ground, but they all managed to recompose themselves before crashing.

"He's getting away!" Dani exclaimed, pointing at Plague as he flew off after his lantern.

"At least he'll be out of the city," said Valerie, "Unless…. Wait… isn't that the direction where North Mercy Hospital is?"

The three blinked a few times before they bolted after Plague. None of them noticed a ghost portal suddenly appearing on the ground where they had stood, and Vlad Plasmius entered the real world. An evil grin appeared on his face as he followed them from a distance.

"Of all the places I had to send that thing flying," the Red Huntress grumbled to herself.

"Forget about that," said Danny, "We need to capture Plague before he gets that lantern back!"

He then turned his attention to the Fenton Phone.

"Dad, Plague is heading towards you right now!" he exclaimed.

"No need to worry, Danny," said Jack.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"Your mother and I came prepared," he explained, "Maddie! Activate the ghost shield!"

Maddie nodded before she pulled out a small remote and pushed the large green button on it. A giant green ghost shield appeared around the entirety of the hospital; patients, doctors, and nurses gasping and staring in awe as the protective barrier appeared.

"There," Maddie smiled, crossing her arms, "Now that ghost can't get inside."

Not far, Danny, Valerie, and Dani were slowly catching up to Plague as the hospital slowly came into view. Plague glared over his shoulder for a moment before he turned invisible.

"Where'd he go!?" Dani exclaimed.

"We'll worry about that later," said Danny, "We need to grab that lantern before he does!"

"I see it!" the Huntress exclaimed, pointing just below the ghost shield.

The two Phantoms followed her finger and saw the lantern laying on the ground. The group flew down and landed around it. Danny reached down to pick it up.

"Too late, fools!" Plague exclaimed as he intangibly erupted from the ground under the lantern.

He grabbed his weapon and unleashed a powerful repulsion blast around him, sending Danny, Valerie, and Dani flying a few feet away from him.

"Darn," Danny muttered.

"Aw, what's wrong, ghost boy?" Plague chuckled, "Disappointed that you lost?"

"If you think you've defeated me, think again, pal!" Danny taunted as he got back up and floated off the ground.

Suddenly, Plague's body began to slowly warp.

"What!? Now!?" he exclaimed, "Well… I guess this isn't too bad."

"Not looking so good, Plague," Danny smirked as he held out his hands and prepared to fire a ghost ray at him, "What's wrong? Caught the bug going around?"

"You sure seem confident for someone who is about to lose everything," Plague chuckled as his body slowly grew like a balloon, with some parts slowly disintegrating.

"What… what are you doing!?" Dani exclaimed as she looked up from the ground.

"Well, if you should know, my creators didn't exactly perfect the experiment," Plague explained, "My body becomes unstable over time, and if something isn't done to reverse it, well… Heh heh heh… I might go out with a bang! And not even this shield will save you from the miasma of disease I will unleash once I do so!"

"I don't think so!" Danny shouted as he reached behind his back, "Wait… where's…?"

"Looking for something?" Plague asked.

The three heroes looked at the growing ghost as he chuckled and gestured down to his feet, where they saw three Fenton Thermoses.

*Crunch*

"Oops," said Plague as he lifted his foot, revealing the crushed canisters, "I think I broke them."

"Not good," Danny gulped.

"And don't think about touching me," Plague noted, "I'm fragile."

"Danny, what do we do?" the Huntress asked.

"I… I don't know!" he admitted.

The occupants of the hospital all gasped and braced themselves for the inevitable explosion. Jack and Maddie hugged each other while Vlad glared at Plague through the window. The ghost of disease's laughter echoed through the air as he prepared to use his final attack.

*BANG*

"URK!"

Plague slowly looked down and saw ectoplasm oozing out of his chest. His eyes widened and his body began to shake.

"What… what's happening?" he asked in disbelief, "I feel… different…"

Green veins appeared around the wound and webbed out across his entire body. Once he was covered, the veins began to glow brighter and brighter as Plague's body suddenly froze in place.

"No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Like glass, his body shattered into thousands of pieces before they reduced to dust. All that was left was Plague's cane and lantern on the ground, but those too soon followed suit and turned to dust. Valerie and Dani slowly got to their feet; they and Danny were shaking.

"What just happened?" Dani asked nervously.

*Caw caw*

The three looked up and saw a familiar ghost raven flying in circles above them.

"Isn't that Dust?" the Huntress asked, "What's she doing here?"

Dust flew off towards a nearby hill and landed on an individual's shoulder. He held a sniper rifle over his shoulder and his eyes were staring at the group.

"Specter?" Danny asked in shock.

The young halfa blinked himself and Dust away, leaving Danny, Valerie, and Dani at a loss for words. It wasn't until everyone from the hospital began cheering for the so-called victory. Danny glanced down and picked up the damaged Fenton Thermoses.

"I'll… take them back home," Dani offered, taking them and storing them away, "You two should get back to school."

Danny and Valerie nodded and flew off back towards Casper High while Dani flew back to the Fenton Works. No one noticed Plasmius peaking from behind a tree nearby.

"Interesting," he noted.

A few floors up, Vlad saw his duplicate and smiled.

"Oh, Jack?" he called out, "If you would, could you lower the ghost shield now that the threat has been dealt with?"

"Sure thing, Vladdie!" Jack exclaimed as he grabbed the remote from the table and pushed the button.

As soon as the shield was gone, Plasmius turned intangible and flew into the hospital. With Jack's and Maddie's backs facing Vlad, they didn't see his duplicate return into his body, along with the memories he carried. ^**

"Very, very interesting indeed," he smirked to himself.

"We've got it!" Maddie exclaimed holding up a vial of orange substance, "We've got the cure!"

"Wonderful!" Vlad exclaimed, "Quickly! We must produce more if we want to cure all these patients. And that young boy at your home."

"That's right!" Maddie gasped, "We must get this to Trevor!"

"Don't you worry, Maddie," said Vlad, "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to personally deliver the cure to him."

"You… would?" Maddie asked, raising an eyebrow as she took off her mask.

"Well, I also believe I misplaced one of my belongings in your lab when I tripped yesterday," Vlad lied, "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to get it myself. It's rather… personal."

"Of course," said Maddie as she handed Vlad a vial, "I'm certain Trevor will be very thankful."

"Oh, I'm sure he will be," Vlad smiled as he turned and left, unaware that Specter's intangible head was poking through the ceiling before he blinked away.

A moment later, Dani intangibly entered the lab behind Maddie. The Fenton turned around and nodded when she saw her soon-to-be adopted daughter. She handed a vial full of the cure to Dani and the young half-ghost hurried back home.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Danny and Valerie reached a janitor's closet with intangibility, where they reverted back to normal. They slowly opened the door and poked their heads out.

"Come on," said Danny as Valerie followed him down the hall, "If we hurry, we can get back to class and no one will notice."

But just as they turned the corner, they stopped and looked up.

"Mr. Fenton. Ms. Grey," Mr. Lancer said calmly, arms crossed, "Mind explaining why you two have been gone for over an hour?"

Mr. Calypso then walked up from behind Lancer, causing the two teens to gulp.

"My office, now."

"Yes, Mr. Lancer," Danny and Valerie groaned.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Dani turned intangible before she entered the Fenton Works.

"Uh… Trevor?" she called out when she poked her head through the ceiling of the lab, "You here?"

"Down here."

Dani looked directly down and saw Specter sitting the ground, leaning against the table. The Deadshot was laying in his lap.

"Got the cure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied as she landed beside him and turned tangible, "Here."

Logan's eyes targeted the cure then back up to Dani's.

"Hold on to it," he sighed, "Plasmius will be here soon with the cure."

"What?" Dani asked, "How do you know?"

"I blinked towards the hospital before I came back here," he explained, "Not only that… but looks like Vlad's duplicate managed to escape the Ghost Zone. Saw the damn bastard absorb it."

"What should we do?" Dani asked nervously.

"First, stop shaking," Logan chuckled, "I'm not gonna shoot you or the others… maybe."

"Trevor, not funny!" Dani hissed, "You killed-"

"You mean 'destroyed'," Trevor corrected as he slowly rose to his feet and coughed, "And I'd rather have this talk some other time."

"Like when the others are here?" Dani glared.

"I'd prefer never!" Trevor snapped back, "… Sorry, not feeling well, ya know?"

"Yeah, so… why don't you want the cure?"

"There are other ghosts that need that cure," Trevor told her, "You'll have to find them. They're around in Amity Park and Dust knows exactly where they are."

At the mention of her name, Dust materialized in her raven form on Trevor's shoulder.

"Find the ghosts that have gotten ill and share the cure amongst them," Trevor ordered.

"How do you know it will work on them?" Dani asked.

"I don't," Trevor replied just as the doorbell rang, "It's him."

A white ring appeared around Dani's waist as she reverted to human form, but as she began walking towards the stairs, Trevor grabbed her arm.

"Don't," he told her, "I'll deal with him. You need to get the cure to the others."

"But-"

"No 'buts'," said Trevor, "Just go. Before they accidentally spread it to other places."

Danielle opened her mouth to protest but stopped when the doorbell rang again.

"We can't let him know that other ghosts were infected," Trevor told her, "Now go. I'll deal with Vlad."

Danielle sighed as the white ring reappeared around her waist.

"Just don't do anything extreme," she told him as she turned intangible and flew off.

"Can't promise that," Trevor muttered as Dust morphed into her normal form, "Take the Deadshot and return to Manson's place."

Dust nodded as she took the rifle. The doorbell rang again as she turned intangible and flew away.

"Por laŭte plori…" Trevor muttered, "Hold on I'm- *Cough-cough* I'm coming up!"

(For crying out loud…)

The young boy slowly climbed the stairs as the doorbell continued to ring.

"One second!" Trevor shouted, his voice slowly becoming hoarse.

He stopped at the front door and wiped the sweat from his ecto-acne riddled face before he opened the door, where Vlad Masters stood.

"Hello, Specter," Vlad sneered, "Feeling a bit under the weather?"

"What the hell do you think, Plasmius," Trevor shot back, "Next time you help bring a patient inside a building when they are in a containment stretcher, try not to unlock the case and let the patient get out."

"Charming as ever," Vlad chuckled as he entered the Fenton Works, "You certainly are a clever one, aren't you?"

"Cut the crap, Vlad," Trevor growled as he closed the front door, "Why are you here!?"

"Now, now, Specter-"

"Trevor," the halfa corrected.

"Trevor… I have no ill-intentions coming here," Vlad explained, "I simply came here to administer the cure to you."

"Oh, so the Fentons found a cure, eh?" Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed," Vlad smiled as he showed the vial to Trevor, "And it's all yours."

The young hero eyed the vial and Vlad suspiciously.

"What's the catch?" he asked.

"No catch at all," Vlad shrugged, "I simply don't see any reason for you to be out of the picture."

"You mean yet?" Trevor asked before smirking, "Or are you afraid of Reaper?"

"That fiend is insignificant!" Vlad exclaimed, "*Ahem* No, I simply find you… unique."

"Oh, how thoughtful of you," Trevor muttered half-heartedly before swiping the cure from Vlad, "Just so you know, I am well aware that your duplicate finally managed to escape and get absorbed back into you."

"My, my, you truly are the perceptive one," Vlad noted as Trevor popped the cork off the vial and downed the contents in one gulp.

"Oh, jeez, this stuff tastes like crap," Trevor muttered to himself before turning his attention back to Vlad, "Given that you came here on your own, I assume there's more to this visit than just curing my ecto-acne?"

"You could say that," Vlad chortled as the green zits began to vanish from Trevor's face, "More like… a heads up."

Trevor crossed his arms and waited to hear what Vlad had to say.

"As a being from the future, you have information that I would find extremely vital," Vlad explained, "Now, I don't care one way or another of how I get this information, but I do know I can't just torture it out of you."

"Aside from the fact that I would actually, and without hesitation, kill you if you even attempted that, it's not gonna happen, Vlad," Trevor told him, "I can already tell where this is going, and I can tell you this, no matter what you plan, you will fail. You won't conquer the world or defeat Phantom. And I know you can't do anything to me, because without me… Heh… who'd deal with Reaper?"

"You think Reaper is a threat to me?" Vlad laughed, "I can handle him without breaking a sweat!"

"If that's what you think, then by all means, deal with him yourself," Trevor laughed, "But know this, Vlad… I do not take kindly to people using my friends and allies against me. So, unless you have a death wish, you will not harm any of them."

"Ooh, look at the child being so stern and menacing," said Vlad, "But then again, that's all you truly are: a child."

"Vlad… You saw what I did to Plague," Trevor said calmly, "What makes you think I wouldn't do that same to you?"

"Simple," said Vlad, "You'd change the timeline for good. And you would be-"

"Sent back to my timeline by Clockwork, yeah, yeah, I know," Trevor scoffed, "Look, I'm tired and I've got shit to do. How about you leave now before I beat you to a pulp?"

"Very well," Vlad conceited and turned to leave, "Just know that I will get answers from you, one way or another."

"We'll see about that," Trevor growled as he slammed the door behind Vlad.

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Later that day, Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Valerie were heading to the Fenton Works to confront Trevor.

"You two were lucky that Lancer was willing to only give you extra homework as punishment," said Sam.

"Uggghhh…" Danny and Valerie groaned.

"Yeah, and that it's due tomorrow on top of it," Tucker added.

"UGGGGHHHH…." the two groaned again.

"Ah, the life of a hero," Sam smirked.

"Oh, gee, I wonder why you like me," Danny playfully teased, causing her to blush.

"I still can't believe that Trevor did that to Plague," said Tucker, "Are you guys sure that Plague is gone forever?"

"It sure looks like it," Danny sighed, "But what are we going to do about it? Send him back to his timeline? We still need him to help up capture Reaper."

Suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw Dani flying overhead.

"Hey! Dani!" he called out getting her attention.

"Danny!" she exclaimed and flew down towards them, "Uh, could you guys…?"

"Sure thing," said Valerie.

The four teens stood around the young half-ghost, protecting her from any seeing eyes as a white flash appeared behind their backs.

"So, what brings you here?" Danny asked as he and his friends gave Danielle some space.

"Trevor wanted me to give the cure to the ghosts that had gotten sick," she explained.

"You mean Johnny 13 and Kitty?" Tucker asked, "Yeah, Danny told us about that."

"And Box Ghost," said Danielle, "Oh, and Spectra and Ember."

"Wait, what?" Danny asked, "There were others!?"

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

"Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton," said Trevor as he got up from his seat down in the Fenton Works Lab.

"We're just glad you are okay, Trevor," said Maddie, "I certain you are grateful to Mayor Masters for taking time to administer the cure to you."

"Uh. Yeah…" Trevor muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, "Anyways, I better get going. I need to see-"

"Mom!? Dad!?" Danny shouted from upstairs, "Have you seen Trevor!?"

"Aw, shit," Trevor hissed under his breathe.

"Yeah, we're down here!" Jack shouted.

Danny's head poked out from the corner of the stairs.

"Uh, Trevor?" he asked, "Could we have a word with you?"

"You get five minutes, tops," Trevor sighed as he followed Danny upstairs.

Tucker, Sam, Valerie, and Danielle were in Danny's room, waiting for the two to join them. Trevor followed Danny into his room and the older half-ghost closed the door behind them.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Danny asked.

"You'll have to be more specific if you want me to answer," said Trevor.

"The other ghosts? That were sick?" Danny specified.

"Oh, that?" Trevor asked, "Yeah, see… here's the thing-"

"And did you actually destroy Plague?" Danny asked.

Trevor gave him a hard side-eye.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"We don't kill our enemies!" Danny exclaimed.

"You mean destroy. And, yeah, you guys don't," said Trevor, "In my timeline, things are done a bit differently."

"What, you mean we actually take out our enemies for good?" Tucker asked.

"No, just… uuuggghhh," Trevor groaned, "Look, I'm still sick with the flu and I haven't had much sleep these past couple days. Can we not piss me off?"

"Then why did you destroy Plague!?" Sam exclaimed, "Couldn't you have just, I dunno, captured him in a Fenton Thermos and let Clockwork handle him?"

Trevor looked at her, Danny, and Tucker suspiciously.

"First of all, Clockwork has nothing to do with this, so why the hell would he play babysitter?" Trevor asked, "Second of all, you guys really think that I would have destroyed Plague if there was any other way to handle it?"

"I dunno," said Danielle as she crossed her arms, "You tell us. Isn't that what the Lost Vaults are for, anyways?"

Trevor's eyes widened as he spun around and stared at Danielle.

"Wait…" he said, "Who told you about that!?"

"The Forgemaster… don't change the subject!" Valerie exclaimed.

"This is important, Valerie," Trevor said sternly, "Trust me, if the Lost-"

"How can we after what happened today!?" Danny exclaimed.

Trevor took a deep breath and gave long heave sigh.

"Dust," he said, "Tell them."

A green glow appeared from under his shirt as Dust materialized in raven form on his shoulder.

"He was just following orders," she explained.

"Whose?" Valerie asked.

"The Observants'," Dust answered.

"Huh?" everyone exclaimed.

"Danny, ghosts don't get sick," Trevor explained, "I don't take pleasure in destroying ghosts, but there are times where there is no other choice."

"There's always a choice!" Danny exclaimed.

"Phantom, I'm really not in the mood for a fight," Trevor warned as his eyes briefly flashed blue, "So I'm just gonna cut to the chase; Plague was capable of getting ghosts sick, possibly even to the point where they would cease to exist. Even if I were to capture him and seal him away, I couldn't take the risk of there even being the slightest chance that he could escape. Because if he were to run free, there's no telling how much damage he could have caused. Or the number of ghosts and humans he could have infected with some crazy new disease."

Everyone's glare on the boy softened.

"Look, I'm not saying you guys are wrong," Trevor explained, "nor am I saying you should be okay with the decisions I make. But this is nothing new to me. To answer your question from before, this is why I brought the ecto-ranium bullets. In case Reaper leaves me with no choice. It has nothing to do with revenge or hatred. If that were the case, I would have taken Reaper out years ago."

"I… understand," Danny sighed.

Everyone began to feel uncomfortable listening to Trevor.

"Like I said before, I'm not here to make friends," he continued, "Once Reaper is dealt with, either captured or destroyed, I'm gone."

"Just like that, huh?" Danny asked.

"Just like that," said Trevor, "Now… if we are done talking about the extreme measures I must take to keep my timeline, and yours, safe… I need to pay Clockwork a visit. *Sigh* And tell the Observants that Plague has been dealt with."

With that, Trevor turned around and walked out of the room with Dust on his shoulder.

"Hmm…" Valerie muttered as she lightly pinched her chin, "I don't know about you guys, but I get the feeling that he's not telling us the whole story."

"That's how he's been ever since we met," Tucker explained, "You saw the… uh… what was it called again? The file he gave us on Reaper?"

"Isn't it just called a file?" Danielle asked, "And what file?"

"The word you're looking for is dossier!" Trevor shouted from downstairs.

The gang glanced at one another, nervously.

"He also does that too," Sam nervously chuckled, "He tends to keep his sense of hearing enhanced."

"But back to my point," said Tucker, "The dossier has a lot of stuff redacted. I'm Trevor has legitimate reasons for some of it, but…"

"But what?" Danielle asked, "And what's this file?"

"Danny, I thought you told her about it," said Tucker.

"I guess I forgot?" Danny nervously shrugged and smiled.

"Just get on with it, Tucker," said Valerie.

"What I'm trying to say is, and Danny and Sam agree with me," he explained, "is that Trevor is hiding a lot of encounters he had with Reaper and we think there's something personal about it."

"Let me guess," said Valerie, as she crossed her arms, "he refuses to talk about it?"

"Yep," Sam replied, "And what's this meeting with Clockwork about? Usually he has Dust handle the meetings."

"Maybe he went to ask about the Lost Vaults?" Danielle shrugged, "At least, that's what the Forgemaster told us."

"Yeah, Trevor seemed worried when you mentioned that place," said Danny as he glanced over his shoulder, "I wonder why."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

Vlad was sitting at his computer, waiting for the analysis on Trevor's blood to be completed, while Magnus was skimming through his spell book.

"So, there was no way we could have found a cure for Plague after all?" Vlad asked.

"Apparently not," Magnus sighed, "Plague's body was just too unstable for any conventional, or unconventional, methods to save him."

"Well, he did his job," said Vlad, "He was of no further use to me."

"Should I expect the same thing if I become 'useless'?" Magnus asked as he glanced over to the villain.

"I find that possibility very hard to believe, Magnus," Vlad replied, "With your talents and common plans, I think we'll be working together for a long time."

"We shall see, Plasmius," Magnus muttered.

*Beep-beep*

Vlad looked back at the monitor and began skimming through the results.

"Well, well, well…" he smirked, "It would appear that Trevor Logan Spectre is much more interesting than I had thought."

"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"

A little later, Danny Phantom flew towards Clockwork's lair with Dani and the Red Huntress close behind him.

"Ok, let's stay quiet so we can hear what they are talking about," Danny whispered as the three landed.

A white ring appeared around his waist and he reverted to human form.

"What are you doing?" Dani asked, confused.

"Well, he can't see us if we aren't in our ghost forms," Danny explained, "At least, I hope not."

"Well, worth a shot," Dani shrugged as a white ring appeared around her waist.

The three quietly made their way inside. It wasn't long before they heard voices in the distance. They peaked around a corner and saw Specter talking with an elderly Clockwork and two Observants.

"You did well, Specter," the first Observant stated, "An experiment like Plague would have wreaked havoc in the Ghost Zone."

"Experiment?" Specter asked, "Let me guess… Plasmius?"

"And the Magician of Black Magic," the second Observant added.

"Magnus?" Specter asked, surprised, "Are you sure?"

"It's true, Logan," Clockwork confirmed as his body morphed into an infant, "Plasmius meddled with Magnus' experiment, which resulted in a… miasma of issues."

"Har har," Specter replied, "Any sign of Reaper?"

Clockwork shook his head.

"Fan-frickin'-tastic," the halfa muttered before turning to the Observants, "Anything else you wanna talk to me about?"

"At the moment, no," the second answered, "We will summon you if any issues arise."

"Fine, whatever," Specter shrugged.

The Observants nodded to Clockwork before turning around and flew off.

"Now that those useless dolts are gone," Specter sighed before turning to Clockwork, "Mind telling me why you kept is from me?"

The ghost of time remained silent as he morphed into his adult form.

"Clockwork…" Specter warned.

"It is information that should not, and will not, be provided to you," Clockwork replied.

"Bullshit!" Specter shouted, "The next time I need answers, I'd prefer to get them from you! Not from a secondary source!"

"What does it matter?" Clockwork asked as Specter turned his back on him and took a few steps away, "You know the location of the Lost Vaults is forgotten within seconds of anyone learning it."

"Oh, and yet the Observants have sent dozens of ghosts there since the beginning of time," Specter spat over his shoulder, "Speaking of time, you're wasting mine."

"Do you know who I am?" Clockwork smirked as he turned into his elderly form once more.

"Not in the mood, Clockwork," Specter growled, "Besides, you could always just take me there."

"Out of the question," Clockwork said, a little louder than usual.

"Fine," Specter sighed, "Let's assume, for this timeline's sake, that Reaper somehow has the means to not only discover… the location of the Lost Vaults, but also the ability to retain that information indefinitely."

"Specter, if that were the case-"

"One sec, Clockwork," Specter told him before his eyes turned blue and locked on where the others were hiding, "I know you're both there, Phantoms! If anyone else is there with you, come on out!"

Danny and Danielle came out in disbelief, with Valerie behind them.

"How did you know!?" they exclaimed as they went ghost.

"Do you really think being in human form will allow you to get passed my vision?" Specter asked, raising and eyebrow, "Also, I could hear you guys earlier."

He turned his attention back to Clockwork.

"You were saying?"

"If Reaper discovered the location of the Lost Vaults and retained that information, yes, I would take you there," Clockwork answered, "But I've always kept a close eye on the Vaults. It's been nearly a month since your last encounter with Reaper, and no one has even visited the Lost Vaults in centuries."

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"There's no reason to worry about Reaper even coming within sight of the place."

A cloaked ghost floated before a large, ancient structure that took a similar appearance to the Roman Parliament with castle stone walls and gothic décor.

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"With Reaper, I'm not taking any chances," said Specter.

"What about your brother?" Dani asked.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's dead," said Specter, "If we find him alive, we'll save him. But Reaper is my main concern."

"But he's your brother," said Danny, "Don't you want to find him?"

"Phantom, what do you think?" Specter asked, "Of course I want to find him. But Reaper still being out there is more dangerous than saving Cole. We need to capture Reaper, then save Cole… assuming he's even still alive."

"I'm sorry," said Clockwork as he morphed into a baby, "I cannot take you to the Lost Vaults or give you its location."

"Fine," Specter sighed, "But make sure there's always an eye on the Lost Vaults. Even without the Orbs of Power, Reaper could still think of some other use for it."

Clockwork nodded and turned to the others.

"I trust you and the rest of your allies can continue helping Specter with his mission?" he asked.

"Well…" Valerie began.

"Worry not about his actions earlier today," Clockwork told them, "It was not something any of us are fond of, but it was, unfortunately, necessary."

"Are you sure?" Danny asked, "You two want us to help, and we do, but we are left in the dark on a lot of details."

"Those 'details' are of no importance, Danny," Specter sighed, "Look, I'm-"

"Not looking for friends and just want to go back home," Dani interrupted, "Yeah, yeah, you've said that only a million times already."

"Technically, only 16 times," Specter pointed out before turning back to Clockwork, "If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving."

"As you wish, Specter," Clockwork replied as he morphed into his adult form, "I'll open a portal for you back to the real world."

"Thanks," said Specter as two large clock hands spun in front of him and a portal appeared before him.

The two Phantoms followed Specter through the portal, but Valerie stayed behind.

"Is something on your mind?" Clockwork smiled.

"Sam told me that Forgemaster-"

Clockwork held his hand up, stopping Valerie from finishing what she had to say.

"All will be revealed in due time, my dear," he smiled, "Don't lose faith in Specter."

Valerie smiled and nodded before hopping through the portal. The portal shrunk and vanished, revealing a cross-armed Magnus floating before Clockwork and Dust sitting upon his shoulder.

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{Notes}

* Mr. Falluca is a mathematics teacher at Casper High, seen in the episodes "Doctor's Disorders" and "Flirting with Disaster".

** Paulina's last name is Sanchez, as revealed by Butch Hartman.

*** Reference to the episode "Eye for an Eye".

**** Reference to the episode "De-Stabilized".

^ The Pestilence was what the Black Death was originally called.

^* North Mercy Hospital is from the episode "Doctor's Disorders".

^** When the user of duplication absorbs the duplicate, they can also absorb their experiences and memories, according the DP Wiki.

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What do you guys think? I still got it, right? Right!?

I dunno, I'm just trying to write this story. Sorry it took so long. Like I said, my life's been kinda hectic lately. I'll try not to be too long with the next episode either. That being said, I'm not sure what I'm gonna work on next; either another episode for this or another chapter of my Sonic fanfic. Not sure yet, but I'll be back as soon as I can.

Like, follow, and review! Until next time!

~ThePhantomHedgehog