Hi!

This is a bit early, but I'm WAY ahead, and I wanted to get ahead of the weekend rush. Thanks to all reviewers once again, I love you. In a healthy way, of course. Newcomer's welcome to Lizeth, and props for reading EVERYTHING in one day. Cheers!

Also, I'm not sure if you guys are having this problem, but my e-mail isn't giving me my reviews or my other messages. So if you've tried to send me a private message, I didn't get it. In case this is a common problem, I've responded to EVERYONE, I think. I swear. Is anyone else having this problem:(

LOONG Chapters ahead. Setup stuff for lots of players. Right now, it looks like this will finish off with 16 chapters, just like Complications. Of course, these chapters have been longer, so...meh.

Hope you like it!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 12 – Drills

Jack Maddie and Damon stepped down into the lab and froze, gasping. It looked like a major ghost attack had come through. Scorch marks covered the steel walls, and the firm metal even seemed to have melted slightly in some places. Twisted, warped sheets of metal were strewn throughout the basement, riddled with punch and kick marks. The only things that seemed unharmed were the essential security equipment, the weapons vault, and the portal. Checking cautiously for the ghost responsible, the trio gave a brief start and almost opened fire when Phantom came floating down through the ceiling, looking tired but refreshed. Following their gaze around the lab, he seemed to turn red, and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Err, sorry about the mess. I didn't blow up anything important, right?" He asked anxiously. The three gawked at the floating ghost, realization dawning.

"You did all this?" Damon gestured around the lab, taking in the remains of the equipment and shelving. The ghost boy nodded mutely.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry again, I just needed to find out what I could do if I really worked at it. I remember what the other one could do before, and I'm trying to figure out how much help I'll need." Damon just stared at a particularly thick sheet of steel shelving, with a hole punched right through it. Danny blushed again. "Okay, that one hurt. And I don't think I could do it again." He just kept staring. The ghost boy sighed, settling onto the floor. "You, uh, wanted something?" Gray finally snapped out of it, and turned to Phantom, calm and businesslike.

"Yes. First off, this isn't really the best impression. The Fentons are helping you, and you return the favor by trashing their stuff." Phantom chuckled sheepishly at that.

"I had permission." The guard froze for a moment, and turned to Jack for confirmation. He just nodded, still looking around.

"Oh." He said simply. "Fine. Second, what's going on? I'm inclined to trust you, but until I know the whole story, including why you robbed me after all that help you gave me, I can't in good conscience give you weapons." Danny nodded at that.

"That makes perfect sense. The reason I was at Axion that day was because a ghost named Technus had invaded your mainframe and was trying to use it to take over the internet and rule the world. By the time I got there, he'd broken your security code and had beamed himself to that satellite thing you had. I needed to borrow that suit to get up there and stop him." Damon nodded.

"That makes sense, but why would Dalv send down warnings that you intended to steal our stuff? You actually stealing our stuff after that doesn't exactly speak highly of you." The ghost boy's eyes flared briefly at that.

"I have a bad history with the guy in charge of Dalv. He works with a lot of evil ghosts, and uses the front company to make new weapons to help them defeat me and further his own schemes. He probably said that so I couldn't get close enough to warn you if I chose to. The way things were he didn't have to bother. It would have been too risky to tell you. He'd just have you killed, or worse. He's the guy who gave Valerie her ghost-hunting suit, and I had no way of knowing if he'd planted anything on her so he could take her hostage or kill her remotely." Damon paled at that. "Don't worry; he's out of the picture for a while, so you and Valerie are safe. I just couldn't do anything then. I'm sorry you were in so much danger because of me." He mumbled, quietly. "As for what's going on now, a very powerful, evil ghost is coming here. I don't know when, but it'll probably be soon. He sees me and Valerie as threats, so he'll make this town a priority." Damon looked at him for a moment, then nodded curtly.

"Fine, I'm satisfied and I'll help you. But leave Valerie out of this. I'm not putting her in danger like that." Phantom seemed amused by that for some reason.

"You think I want her in danger? It's more like neither of us could stop her if we tried. The second word reaches her about this; she'll come flying in, guns blazing. Between you and me, I'd rather she came in knowing who's on what side and what she's fighting. Otherwise, she might put everyone in danger, including herself." Damon scowled a bit at that, but finally agreed.

"I'll call her after school." Danny shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. Some…allies of mine have probably already talked to her at school. She'll come straight here after it lets out. Was there anything else?" Damon shook his head, and went over to the security mainframe. He chuckled.

"It's funny, you know. I had a relative or two who were big into the paranormal too, a century or so ago, back when that wasn't so unusual. You should hear some stories about my great-great-grandfather Dorian." Damon winced. "The family gave that stuff up a long time ago, though. I'd be surprised if Valerie knows, I only heard occasional stories from my grandfather, and he passed years ago. Yet here I am, the first in a long line of 'normal' Grays, back in the ghost business. My ancestors would be thrilled." Damon silently went back to work, rerouting the information networks into the city grid, preparing various hubs to transmit ghost-shield energy or detector information. "You'd think after all the attacks, the city would have done something like this before. You know, a city-wide shield dome. I suppose it's the funding. The design will be pretty easy to figure out." Jack and Maddie walked over to his work and watched.

"So we're going to beef up the Fenton Works ghost shield with boosters throughout the city?" Damon shook his head.

"No, I have another idea. That would create a stronger barrier, but it would open the city to direct attacks from the portal. I was thinking that we should leave the Fenton Shield independent, to protect the city outside of it from the portal. We'll have to give it a redundant generator and power source outside the dome in case there's a breach. That way, the shields can protect us from outside and inside attacks. The city dome should be powered by another set of generators. Maybe a ring along the perimeter of the city, placed where the redundant power lines link up for extra safety." Damon pulled up a city schematic and pointed out a set of points at regular intervals around the outside of the city, where outbound power lines met a ring, which provided several possible independent power sources. "Making a single large shield would probably be faster, but it would also be more vulnerable. Even before the merger with Axion, Dalv gave us a research contract to develop a set of shield generators that work for ghosts or humans. We can 'borrow' some and rig them to work in conjunction. The dome they make will be much stronger and more durable. If we survive this, I'm going to petition the mayor's office to make these permanent installations. Until then, we're on our own and we'll just have to get by with a blowtorch and duct tape." Grinning down at the design, Jack nodded eagerly.

"That would be awesome! Independent anti-ghost weapons towers around the city with shield generators! I like the way you think Gray! Let's head back to Axion and start setting up the smaller generators. Maddie, you get the big spare one and install it outside Fenton Works to back up our own shield. To the Assault Vehicle!" Gripping Damon's hand, Jack dragged the poor man back towards his office to 'acquire' more technology. Maddie turned towards Danny as he sagged down on the floor.

"You really worked hard today, huh?" Danny nodded, gasping. "Well, did you learn anything new?" He looked up, looking a bit nervous but pleased.

"I think merging with Vlad in the other reality did more to hurt me in the long run. This power boost didn't happen to the other me, I'm sure of it. It might even be why I got the Ghostly Wail so soon, I don't know. But…" Danny started ticking things off. "I know I can split myself into three separate bodies with effort, but two pretty easily. I can disguise how I look if I really focus." Danny closed his eyes and his form seemed to waver, then took on Tucker's appearance. "I can't do voices yet and I usually lose control after ten or fifteen minutes," he said as he let the disguise drop, "but I can do the eye color, which I know I couldn't pull off before, even when I overshadowed people. I can teleport about the entire length of this town in one jump if I try, but I can't go as far when I carry stuff. There's probably a relationship there, but I'm not really that good at math. You two could probably figure it out later." Maddie nodded. "I can use the Ghostly Wail without losing all of my other powers, but it still tires me out a lot, and," Danny glared at a still-solid beaker and a green ray shot from his eyes, melting it. "I can do that. It hurts my eyes, but I think it's hotter than my ecto-blasts, if not as powerful." Maddie sat down and looked at her son.

"Anything else?" Danny shook his head.

"Nothing I can control. I think I accidentally did something a few times this week when I was upset, but I can't do it when I try. I made a table float once, and a few other things. I've seen other ghosts do stuff like that, but I can't figure it out. If we survive this, I'll probably be great at parties." Maddie chuckled despite the serious situation.

"How's Dani doing?" Danny frowned.

"I don't know. We argued at breakfast today, and she turned into a green mist. I thought she'd finally fallen apart, but it was just a power slip. Evil me could turn into ectoplasmic mist and back again at will, and I guess she's developing that right now. Just one more thing she can do that I can't." He shrugged. "Still, this is too dangerous for her. I won't let her get killed trying to fight him, it would take too much of her power." Maddie nodded. "She's hanging out in my lair with Ember for now. They'll probably hide out in there for the whole fight, or at least until I go get them." Maddie quirked an eyebrow.

"Ember's back?" Danny nodded, upset.

"Not a single ghost. She looked everywhere, but the ghosts seem to be hiding. Whether somewhere in the ghost zone or on the human world, I don't know. But their lairs are empty. She even tried to get Skulker to help out, but his island…" Danny gulped. "It was completely trashed. Craters and scorch marks everywhere. If he's still there, he's scared, and he's hiding. After she saw that, she gave up and hurried back before he found her again. Ember's the only ghost we have, but her musical powers have been damaged. She's probably more at risk than Dani is." Danny looked down and shook his head. Maddie frowned, then got back to business.

"Alright Danny, you know what your father wants. Would you please grab the secondary generator and carry it outside?" Danny nodded, and tucked the bulky metal construct under his arm, leaning slightly with the weight, and started towards the stairs. After the first step, the wooden stair collapsed under the strain. Danny stared down bemusedly. Maddie chuckled, looking at the lift she had meant he use when she asked him to grab it.

"It weighs at least half a ton, sweetie, it's too heavy for the stairs." Blushing slightly, Danny turned intangible and flew it out, dropping it off outside the marked shield perimeter. Maddie stepped outside about a minute later, giving her son an odd look. Danny scratched his head nervously.

"What? I punch through a three inch steel plate and you're surprised I can lift a half-ton generator?" Maddie just shook her head.

"It's just unusual Danny. That's all. How'd you manage to punch that plate anyway? That seemed a bit much, even for a ghost with your energy level." Danny shrugged, looking equally confused as Maddie started fiddling with the wires. Their back yard filled with a light whirring noise as she calibrated the generator to back up the one inside the house.

"I don't really know. By the time I got to that one, I was pretty tired. I tried to think of some motivation, and I remembered this talk I had with Sam's parents the other day." Danny's look darkened, and a nearby street-lamp cracked. "Her parents are jerks. I know you should respect your elders, but they are. When I thought about the things they said, I just got so mad, I-" Energy pulsed out, and the grass within a three-foot radius of the ghost boy burned black. "Did that." He finished sheepishly. Maddie smiled slightly.

"Normally I'd give you some lecture about respect like you said, but I think you're old enough now to make up your own mind about people, and I trust your judgment." She said, as she tinkered with the generator some more. "Besides, I think they're jerks too."

Danny stared at his mother for a moment, then fell back laughing, phased halfway into the ground. Maddie looked over at him and quirked an eyebrow, smiling. Powering up the generator, she watched with satisfaction as it perfectly mimicked where the other shield would be. Shutting it back off, she went over to her son and pulled him up out of the ground. Danny quickly changed back and the two started back inside, hand in hand. Settling down in the kitchen, the two leaned back to take a much-needed break. Maddie picked up a note left on the table.

Mom,

Gone 'recruiting' downtown, back by 3:45. Remember, the local news is STILL coming by for that interview at about 4. They want to talk to the whole family about Phantom. I thought about cancelling, but figured we could use this to warn the public in a responsible manner. Make sure Danny gets some rest, I think he had about 4 hours last night, and that was just because he didn't want to wake you up while he was working out downstairs, or whatever he was doing. If you want to cancel, phone me so I can stay out longer.

XOXO

Jazz

"Oh no. I completely forgot!" Danny looked up at her, confused. "The press is coming here at four to interview the family about Phantom." Danny's eyes widened.

"Cancel!" Maddie shook her head, frowning.

"Love to, but we shouldn't." Danny quirked an eyebrow. "The public needs to be warned about the ghost situation in a calm, reasonable manner. The mayor won't say anything in case we're wrong, so this might be our only chance. I know it'll be dangerous and awkward, but it's worth it if it might save countless lives." Danny nodded mutely. Maddie looked over at him. "You go to bed and get some sleep. You might be a superhero, but you need your sleep. And no phasing out to work some more, I'm going to check. You need your rest, and this might be your last chance." Sighing, Danny nodded again and trudged upstairs to collapse into bed.

Dan flew through the ghost zone, crippling or destroying any ghost foolish enough to come out of hiding. He'd thoroughly enjoyed hunting Skulker. To be honest, he wasn't sure if the creature existed anymore, not that he really cared. That one had been a major thorn in his side in his timeline, and it was better to nip such things in the bud as soon as possible. Speaking of that, he had been 'questioning' old friends for hours now and there was still no sign of Vlad. At least in his reality he'd left Johnny the use of his arms. But he was losing patience, and that tended to make him a touch more violent. Grumbling to himself, the powerful ghost turned and decided to act on his last option; he was going to the Plasmius portal and Vlad's Wisconsin estate. He knew Vlad had ecto-shielding in place to prevent government detection, but a ghost as powerful as he was would probably leak through and alert the Guys in White. Not that they were a real threat, but he didn't want them to have any advance warning. Ghosts might not be able to reach Amity Park, but humans talked, and he did NOT want Danny to know he had escaped.

Floating along, Dan spotted the all-too-familiar floating football. Smirking, the dark spirit pushed it roughly aside to reveal…

Nothing. The portal was gone! Had Vlad been taken into GW custody? Unlikely, those dolts were annoying at best, especially at this time period. They hadn't gotten any real technology in his universe until they bought out Dalv, and that wasn't supposed to happen for a good while yet. No, something had happened to Vlad, and whatever it was, the old ghost was out of the picture. There was no other explanation he could think of. Grumbling, Dan took off back into the Ghost Zone. He had a few more 'friends' to catch up with, a few more afterlives to destroy. And he might still hear something. His current explanation was sadly lacking. He might not be out to get something, but he was no idiot. If he wanted to destroy the world unopposed, he needed all threats removed, and an unknown is never a good thing. Besides, no matter how many ghosts he attacked, Danny wouldn't hear a thing.

Sam Tucker and Valerie all left school together. Walking towards Fenton Works, Valerie shot the two a look. "What were you guys doing the last hour anyway?"

"Blowing up a building." Tucker mumbled, still a little upset at himself for actually doing it, even if no one was hurt. Sam elbowed him in the ribs.

"We were taking care of something for Phantom. And thanks again for coming to help." Valerie frowned slightly.

"I don't really trust him yet, Sam. And I'm not sure I'm ready to see him. But you said my dad is in on this, and Danny is too. Right?" She shot Sam a piercing look.

"Right, right! Da-Phantom wanted your dad to work on citywide ghost security, and Danny is helping him…with stuff. Important stuff." Valerie looked down as the three walked.

"But why would he want me to help? I've been doin' nothing but hold him back for almost a year." Tucker grabbed her hand and squeezed comfortingly. Sam smiled, and took a deep breath. Who knew she'd ever be trying to point out Valerie's good qualities?

"Yeah, but you're a great ghost hunter. You've got a lot of talent. Phantom says this ghost is really tough, so he'll need all the help he can get. Besides, after all you've been through, you belong on the front line protecting the town, just like you always wanted." Val looked over and smiled.

"Thanks for that, Sam. I know I've done more harm than good, but I really want to help. I just hope you two and Danny don't feel too left out when the fighting starts." Tucker smirked slightly.

"Don't worry, Val. I'm sure it won't be a problem. We'll just help any way we can." The couple walked up to the house, hand in hand, Sam trailing slightly behind. Once inside, the trio went into the living room, where Maddie was already waiting. The older woman smiled.

"Thanks for coming. Sam, Tucker, did you finish your own project?" Tucker nodded, looking slightly sick. Maddie paled. "You didn't have to-" Sam nodded too, and Tucker fell back into a lounge chair. "I'm so sorry. But remember, no-one was there, so it's fine." Tucker just lay there, massaging his head. Maddie frowned at the poor boy and stood up. "Valerie, why don't you sit down with Tucker? Sam, we should probably go get some sodas." Valerie sat beside her boyfriend and draped a comforting hand over his shoulder. She might not know what was going on, but she knew he needed her. Tucker just shook slightly, and held her hand. Sam and Maddie both frowned as they walked into the kitchen.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Maddie looked over at the pale girl and nodded.

"Yes, he'll be fine. It was a dangerous, terrible thing you two had to do, but Tucker was the only one of us who could have hacked into that house. You know that." Sam nodded silently.

"I just don't know why Danny wanted me to help." Maddie reached into the fridge and pulled out sodas.

"Probably so Tucker wouldn't have to do it alone." The older woman sighed. "Are you okay?" Sam shrugged.

"I didn't have to push the button. And no one got hurt. I'll be fine. What about you?" Sam asked, turning towards Maddie. "Worried?" Maddie chuckled hollowly.

"My son can carry a half-ton weight under one arm and melts things with his eyes. What exactly am I supposed to worry about?" Jazz burst the door open, panting, and ran into the kitchen.

"The press is here!"