Author's Note: I own nothing.

23 A Plan of Attack

Dani woke up slowly. She wasn't sure she was going to wake up at all. The last thing she remembered was the ghost king himself appearing. Then pain, then nothing. She hesitated but blinked staring up at plastic stars on a familiar ceiling. That was her ceiling, in her room. She sat up rubbing her head. How had she gotten here? She didn't remember. She glanced around and found that she wasn't alone. Vincent sat crumpled against the wall, the ring was missing from his finger. Dani swore lightly hopping out of the bed, ignoring her aches and pains. Vincent looked to be out cold. Dani glanced around and picked him up transferring him to her bed. The sounds of footsteps caught her attention. She turned and found Tanya and Sam in her doorway. Tanya hissed in sympathy.

"What happened to him?" She asked and Dani shook her head.

"The Fright Knight, the Ghost King, all my bad guys, my responsibility. I thought I could handle them. And he payed the price for it." Dani shook her head, checking that Vince was truly out before transforming. She took hold of Sam and Tanya and phased all three of them through the floor and down to the lab. It looked like everyone was fighting over who would be the one to take the finally finished Ecto-Skeleton. By the time they made it to the floor the adults, and Jazz, had already knocked each other out.

"Well that makes that easier. I thought I was gonna have to come in here blasting but this, this is much simpler." Dani said shaking her head and stepping over her sister. Sam frowned.

"Dani you can't!" He insisted.

"I'm the only one who has a real chance here. Since we all know Plasmius is never gonna own up to the problems he's caused." She insisted.

"You may want to tell him that." Tanya said pointing over to the suit. Vince must have woken up right as they left the room because he was back on his feet, in his full Red Hunter gear. He was still holding his ribs with one hand though as he reached for the Ecto-Skeleton.

"I'm gonna need you to step away from that suit." Dani said floating over to him. She wasn't really afraid of him right now. He looked like a small breeze would knock him off his feet.

"Back off spook! This is my fight!" He insisted. Dani shook her head.

"No it's not, it never has been. This is a fight between the dead, you're not there yet."

"You are so not the boss of me!" Vincent said reaching for a gun and wincing. He didn't notice his father enter the room as Sam and Tanya crept up the stairs. Dani did though.

"I'm not." With inhuman speed she reached out and tore off Vince's mask. "He is." She stated as Vince gasped and Damon let out a shocked cry.

"Vincent! You're the Red Hunter!" He called to his son. Vincent turned to his father stammering explanations. With him successfully distracted Dani took hold of the suit and phased it up through the building to the roof. She took a deep breath turning back into herself before climbing up into the suit. She powered it on and winced slightly. The main interface was a bar that sat from the collar of her shirt all the way down her spine and across her shoulders all the way down to her elbows. It stung slightly as the interface completed and the suit powered on. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Sam and Tanya coming out onto the roof. Both looked concerned.

"You didn't think this was always gonna be as easy as tossing the Box Ghost back through the portal. I started all of this. It's my job to put a stop to it." Dani said and Tanya rolled her eyes.

"Just because you turned the damn portal on doesn't mean you have to die for this stupid town!" He said, eyes not meeting hers.

"Your mom did use the world fatal Dani. There has to be another way." Tanya insisted.

"I'm not strong enough to beat him on my own. I can do this." She made no mention of the fact that she wasn't sure that even with the suit she was strong enough to win. But really she didn't have to win, she just had to get the King back in his sarcophagus. She hadn't shared that bit with Sam and Tanya. She already didn't want to leave them but they wouldn't be safe.

"Dani I…" Sam began but the face of the Ghost King resolved in the green expanse beyond the ghost shield.

"Humans! Hear my decree!"

"That's my cue." Dani said and took a deep breath, transforming. The suit crackled and changed with her, the flaming green F that served as the Fenton's logo turned to a much larger version of Dani's logo. White turned to black and Dani let out a breath feeling power surge through her, more than she'd ever felt before. She didn't notice frost form under her feet as she turned.

"I need you to turn off the shield so I can get out." She said and Tanya nodded heading up into the Ops center where the controls were held. Sam turned to follow Tanya, thought better of it and turned back to Dani.

"Come back, ok?" He asked. Dani just smiled at him as she took off into the sky heading for the edge of the dome.

By the time Dev and Kyle reached Fenton Works something was taking off from the roof. As it passed over the town a cheer went up from many of the people below. Dev spotted Paulina cheering loudest.

"Go get him Ghost Girl!" She called out.

"It's Phantom! Dani Phantom!" The voice echoed across the town as she reached the ghost shield which opened for her and closed behind her as she sped off into the green. Dev and Kyle watched this all happen and were surprised when Angelica stepped up to them.

"Where have you two been! I can't find Dani, Tanya or their friend Sam anywhere!" She said. Dev pulled her inside Fenton Works where they could have some privacy.

"That's because that was Dani, flying away." Kyle said shaking his head. Angelica rolled her eyes but Dev spoke before she could.

"We saw her change Angelica. I don't know how it's possible but Kyle was right. Phantom is Fenton, and now she's going out there to fight the Ghost King and I don't know if she'll be coming back." Dev said sitting down heavily at the table. Angelic stumbled into a chair of her own, Kyle sinking down into one next to Dev.

"But she's just a kid." Angelica insisted. Dev nodded. He had no idea how to comfort her, how to tell Dani's parents that they not only had a dead kid for a daughter but that they were likely to never see her again. None of the adults noticed Sam and Tanya slip down the stairs and down to the sub-lab where the Specter Speeder was kept.