Animated Cinematic Universe (ACU)

by secretagentman1

A group of heroes from different walks of life comes together to defend a world that was never meant to exist. Facing foes that could easily destroy their way of life, and having to get along with each other. They may not be perfect, but someone has to do the job. MCU-esque set up. Super long chapters. Phase-like structure

2. Chapter 2

Animated Cinematic Universe (ACU)

AN: Update 2 of 3 coming at you! The next one should be out early Monday!

I truly am glad that, of the few people, that have seen this story, they enjoy it. I of course got the inevitable review that said the chapter was too long (thanks for pushing through anyway) and I agree to an extent.

I knew when I was beginning this story that the chapters would be long, but I never imagined that the first chapter would reach 98 pages on Word. When I started, I thought it'd reach 50, but as I wrote I added small character moments between Star and Naruto to endear them to each other and because I didn't want it to be just constant action the whole time. Also, to channel something Kohei Horikoshi said as he wrote the Sports Festival for My Hero Academia when you plan something (i.e., the chapter) expect it to be longer than you plan.

Though I would not mind if the other chapters don't reach that length, and most likely won't…*sigh*

Also…you guys make me seem so unimaginative with your suggestions for the Team, I already have the members thought out for this story…but they pale in comparison to the suggestions. I hope you aren't turned off the story if I don't use them, it's just for this massive undertaking I have a lot thought out already, including the members of the Team. Not to discourage imagining who it will be…but I think some of them will be a bit left-field…and could be off-putting when revealed. Just bear with me and hopefully, I can surprise you.

Phase 1: It all starts with a seed

Danny Phantom

"We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of one of the Lord's children," a priest spoke heedless of the pouring rain wetting his robes, showing his commitment to his faith and the importance of the act he was doing.

In the Amity Park cemetery, a lone burial was happening. The deceased, Maddie Fenton, wife of Jack Fenton, a self-proclaimed ghost expert, and mother of two.

Her daughter, Jazz Fenton, a 16-year-old that acted far above her age had a somber expression on her face dressed in a black dress and shawl with tears track on her face seeing as she had exhausted the amount she could cry during the service.

Her son, Danny Fenton, age 15 held an umbrella for him and his sister with his hair covering his eyes, staring intently at the coffin that contained his mother's body…he was the last one to see her alive.

Standing a little ahead of the two was the doofus husband with a heart of gold, Jack Fenton. A self-made ghost hunter that had dedicated his life to the paranormal to such a degree that he lived and breathed occult research, while not too bright he was a good man that had won over the beautiful Maddie in college. Though mostly viewed as a public nuisance, Jack has been capable of providing for his family by selling more minor inventions he had made for simple day-to-day activities. Even with the occasion, he was still clad in his orange and black jumpsuit only a black tie hung from his neck.

Behind the grieving family were Danny's closest friends, Sam Manson, and Tucker Foley. Deciding to give them space, the two stood away for support in case their friend needed them after the service was finished.

"It is always too soon in the eyes of the living when the lost are called into God's domain, but His is a power that works mysteriously. Maddie Fenton was a heroic young woman and is succeeded by her two children Jazz and Daniel, so she still lives on through the two of them. Though her physical form has left us, her soul can still be felt through her children and the memories that their family share," the priest then had the coffin lowered into the ground and finished the burial, "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust," he went to the family and gave each of them a reassuring grip on their shoulders and left them to mourn by themselves lest he oversteps his bounds.

As the priest stepped out of view, Jack caught a glimpse of a figure standing a ways off that made him widen his eyes in shock. The figure apparently didn't want anything to do with them as it turned away when it met Jack's eyes, making its way to the exit of the cemetery. Jack didn't hesitate to follow the figure intent on making sure his eyes hadn't played a trick on him.

"Dad?" Jazz reached to stop him, but the large man was too quick and was soon gaining on the mysterious person that had attended the funeral.

Danny raised his head, looking through his bangs at his father's retreat, and rose an eyebrow. Whatever he was up to had to be important otherwise the man wouldn't just up and leave the funeral of the love of his life and normally the boy would be more curious, but he couldn't bring himself to care…not today.

He may come to regret that decision.

The person that Jack had rushed to see was a man in his forties, like him, that wore a black suit with a white undershirt and a red handkerchief in the breast pocket. His face was set in a stern frown with eyebrows slightly knit and dark lines underneath his midnight-blue eyes with white hair in a ponytail and a matching goatee despite not being middle-aged.

Once the emotionally distraught man had caught up with the now revealed figure, the two of them stopped just outside of the gate, a limousine purring at the curb as it waited for the suited man supposedly.

"Vlad, I didn't expect you here…after everything that happened," Jack sounded unsure of himself, talking to the man across him that seemed to frown further.

"Why wouldn't I come, Jack? Just another thing I've lost because of your negligence," the man, now Vlad, answered the man his face made of stone as he insulted the man.

"I wasn't-"

"Yes, I know you weren't there. I can't help but feel that you should've been, then perhaps Maddie would still be standing here, and you would be in the box," he raised his voice slightly. "Tell me, Jack. Did you have the chance to go with them, and were too preoccupied in your 'ghost-hunting' to go, or did you even know that young Daniel and Maddie had ventured from your home?" Vlad asked the man, and from the look he received, he'd gotten his answer. The man then retreated to his limo, unable to stand being in the presence of the man that had stolen the woman he loved from him and had now lost her permanently.

Jack rushed to the side of the limo, a desperate look in his eyes, Vlad humored him by rolling down the window.

"Vladdie, I know that you never forgave me for the ecto-acne. I'm sorry for that, but you can't blame me for everything that's gone wrong with you since then! I loved Maddie just as much as you…" bringing her up in this way clearly stung both men, "…but she chose me, and you have to live with that. I have had my failings as a husband, but this is not one of them," Jack was adamant about this.

Vlad regarded the man with a side glance, keeping the anger he had under the surface. This oaf didn't deserve Maddie, never had, yet she chose the crackpot over him after his accident. If Jack hadn't failed so spectacularly, he might have had a chance to make Maddie his.

"And, pray tell, Jack. How is this not another failing?" Vlad asked, exasperated, and rubbing his temple.

"The silver lining in all this is confirmation of the Ghost Zone!" Jack exclaimed in all seriousness.

"Again, with this? I'd thought you'd finally given up after the proto-portal incident. Remember?" the millionaire rolled his eyes.

"Yes, the incident a few weeks ago proved it! Back in college, I thought it would take an extreme amount of energy to rip open a hole through the dimensions, not unlike what we have now, here in Nexus! But on those news stories with that lizard-man he opened portals on his own, even if he was only moving around Nexus itself, he would have to open a back door. That energy was near untraceable, Vladdie but my equipment was able to get a read on it…if I could add my calculations to that energy, I could finally make a sustainable Ghost Portal."

"Oh, come now, Jack! This is preposterous! You've been working on that failed experiment for years, decades even, and you think because some freaks of nature came and destroyed the city with their petty squabble, you'll be able to complete it!" Vlad pounded his fist against the limo's armrest, "And if you did make a new portal, so what?"

"I could find Maddie there, Vlad," Jack got to the point quickly and it shut the white-haired man up when he heard that. "Think about it, Vladdie, there might be a chance to find her. She died saving Danny and all those people; she might have unfinished business here and if she does…" Jack left the sentence unfinished for the man, knowing he was smart enough to reach the same conclusion.

"You'd have to finish it first, Jack, and frankly…I don't think that you can do it. You couldn't do it in college, and with Maddie gone…I don't think it could ever be done. And before you ask, no, I don't want to help you I don't want anything more to do with you," Vlad rolled up the window and had the limo drive away, leaving the distraught man to himself.

Jack sighed; he couldn't pretend that Vlad didn't have a point. Maddie was much better at the math and calculating aspect of their research and he was good at the inventing and practical. That's what made them a great team…but now he's on his own and it would take much longer to create it from nothing but a foreign energy reading. Jack looked up to the sky just as the rain stopped and a lone beam of sunlight shone down on him.

The man took this as a sign from his wife that he should go through with this endeavor and resolved to get the work done. Anything that would allow him the chance to see his wife again would be worth it.

Unknown to Jack, Vlad was sitting in his limousine with his fingers steepled in front of his face. A dark look was on the man's face as he thought of his lost love and the imbecile that should have been taken her place still being among the living. Every breath, every step, every day he was alive, and Maddie wasn't, was an insult to her, one that could not stand.

It took Vlad everything he had not to give in to his anger and wipe the 'ghost hunter' off the face of the collided worlds they found themselves in, but his hand stayed at Jack's idea. While he wouldn't lift a finger to help Jack ever again, he'd be keeping a close eye on the goings-on in Amity Park in the coming months in case the buffoon managed a breakthrough. When that day came, he'd have Jack removed and rescue Maddie from the Ghost Zone himself, killing two birds with one stone.

"For what it's worth, Jack. I hope you succeed, so you can die knowing success at the very least," Vlad's eyes glowed a sinister red.

(Danny Phantom Theme)

(A few months later)

"Hey guys, I want to go down to Nexus City!" Danny ran down the stairs to his basement or the 'lab' as his parents were seen tinkering with different equipment.

Looking up from her work, Maddie Fenton walked out of the odd tunnel that she and her husband were working on. Once outside she pulled her jumpsuit's mask off her flawless face and shook her head to fan her hair out.

"Whew! What was that, Danny?" Maddie asked her son with a smile and a hand on her hip, joined by her husband.

"Make it snappy, Danny! We're almost done with the Fenton Portal! With this baby, we'll finally make it into the Ghost Zone and prove those spectral baddies exist!" Jack grabbed his son by the shoulder and waved an arm in front of them, looking to the future.

"We'll need to finish the calculations first, Jack," Maddie pointed out with a smile, before whispering in his ear when he let go of Danny. "We don't want a repeat of last time."

Jack gave a slight nod, grimly remembering that accident.

He quickly regained his smile when Danny had turned back to them after examining the tunnel. The young boy jabbed a thumb at the portal with a raised brow.

"Uh, guys, if this is supposed to be a portal to some other dimension, should the 'ON' button be on the inside?" Danny asked unsurely, the design made no logical sense.

"I thought I told you to remove that, Jack," Maddie facepalmed.

"Sorry, honey! Must have forgotten to change the plans!" Jack sweat, hiding the plans which showed many arrows pointing to the 'ON/OFF' switch with no instruction, meaning Jack simply put them there without specifying why the arrows were drawn onto the plans. "I'll remove it right away, Maddie!" he shouted, jumping into action.

"Sorry about that, dear. Now, what did you come down here for?" Maddie turned back to her son and ignored the various clanks coming from the portal.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to go to Nexus City. Tuck just told me about some great deal on this PC game we play, but he said they're going fast," Danny told his mom.

"Well…what do you think, Jack?" Maddie looked at her husband.

"Games are the perfect source for improving hand-eye coordination!" Jack yelled over the tools.

"Just have Jazz take you there, Danny, and make sure you come home immediately after," Maddie gave permission and turned to assist her husband, that is until Danny's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Jazz is off with her friends right now. I can just head down there on my own, mom. I don't need a babysitter," Danny let his mom know the situation.

"No, you haven't heard the news…something odd happened in the city…if no one goes with you then I don't want you going."

"But mom, Tuck's already got his copy and if I don't, I won't be able to play with him or anyone else! It's the newest one, and the way these games work you have to have the latest copy to play online," Danny begged his mom.

"You'll just have to live with that for a while, Danny. Your father and I are too busy with the portal right now," Maddie frowned, hating to dash her son's want like that but remained firm.

"Come now, Maddie, let Danny get his game," Jack walked out and clapped a hand on his wife's hip, pulling her to him. "I'll remove the switch from the portal interior, and you two can go pick up Danny's game!" Jack offered the ultimatum, allowing Danny to get what he wanted and still getting work on the portal done.

"Well, if you're sure Jack. Alright, Danny, get ready we'll be leaving in a bit," Maddie smiled and got a hug from her son for her choice.

"Yes, you rock, mom!"

Maddie made her way up the stairs after the overexcited boy, turned to her husband with a smile, and gave a wink, "Don't burn the place down before I get back."

"Wouldn't dream of it, baby! It's always more fun to put them out together," Jack smirked, loving to hear her laugh at his antics and watched her disappear up the stairs.

It all happened so fast after that.

The city, while slightly damaged from lasers from what the citizens seemed to recount, was mostly fine. The store that Danny wanted to go to was still standing and remained open even with the events that had occurred.

And that was where their excursion ended.

Before the two could enter the store, Maddie and Danny were grabbed by a three-eyed monster and taken to the meeting place that the well-dressed lizard had set up for some unknown people. To Danny's dismay, the scaly villain had taken his mom as a hostage to use as insurance against any opposition. Soon, the supposed individuals had appeared in front of the lizard-man and the blonde girl began to fight him off.

The blond man, on the other hand, had cloned himself and incapacitated the monsters, but Danny stayed to make sure he'd save his mom. When the blond had accomplished that, he rushed back into the fray to assist the blond girl, leaving clones to watch the mother and son.

Unfortunately, Maddie saw the two having a bit of a hard time with the lizard and it appeared that the foe was on the cusp of getting what he wanted. The Fenton matriarch couldn't allow that to happen, so she made a decision that would affect more than she could ever know, sacrificing her life to help the two heroes.

And leaving her son with only a few parting words and a smile.

The enclosing explosion engulfed the screaming young man, leaving nothing but darkness. Danny floated in the void, trying, and failing to find a way out unable to see anything or hear anything in the choking nothing.

It felt like an eternity spent as the young Fenton tried in vain to escape from this existential nightmare with no end in sight until he finally managed to collide with something.

Whatever he'd hit was soft, feeling his way across the odd object, Danny found that the material was familiar under his fingers. The void brightened just enough to horrify Danny as it revealed his mother.

"M-mom!?" Danny backed away at the mere sight of her, tears beginning to flow from his eyes. looking at her closed eyes and still body, he could hardly contain his sadness as he made his way back to her side. "Mom, wake up! Please, it wasn't real…it couldn't be…it can't!" Danny pleaded, shaking the woman, desperately trying to rouse her.

His shakes grew weaker as time went on, sobbing uncontrollably by the time he'd stopped. He stayed at her side, not knowing what to do, even as a light out of the void appeared for him. Danny couldn't bring himself to leave her side, standing by and watching his way out of the darkness fade away.

"I'm sorry, mom…it's all my fault," Danny lowered his head, thinking that if he had simply listened to his mom, they wouldn't have gone into the city, wouldn't have gotten kidnapped…and she wouldn't have died.

Danny was then grabbed by the neck, shocking the teen as he gasped for air and his eyes widened. In front of him, his mother had risen, eyes shadowed by her hair and an arm gripping her son's neck.

He gasped for air, struggling to get his mom's hand off his throat but froze when Maddie raised her head to face him. Her eyes were dead, staring through Danny rather than at him, no emotion on her face as she continued to steal his breath.

"M-mom," Danny managed out, losing consciousness.

"D-ny, you-" Maddie whispered, eyes beginning to glow green, and her body became see-through. She would have continued, but she was cut off due to a blinding light shrouding Danny and taking him out of Maddie's grasp.

The boy took a sharp intake of breath, and despite the fact his mother had tried to choke him seconds prior he couldn't bear to leave her. The boy reached out to her in a vain hope that she would take it, thrusting it out from the light toward Maddie.

"Mom! Take my hand, please!" Danny fought to stay in this void, trying to save his mother from the crushing loneliness she found herself.

The woman, when met with the appendage, stared at it with her glowing eyes and made no move to take it. Heedless of her son's pleas, Maddie stayed in her spot, fading from view with a blank stare on her face.

(Fenton Works)

Danny shot up from his bed in a cold sweat, frantically looking left and right to figure where he was after his vivid dream. Once he realized that he was inside his room the teen calmed himself, slicking back his hair with a sigh of relief and putting his arms across his knees.

As he calmed, Danny realized that his alarm clock had been blaring throughout his rough awakening, the culprit for stirring him from the dream that had been plaguing him for the past months since the incident. Turning off the annoying device, Danny fell back into his soaked sheets and covered his eyes with his forearm.

These past months had been challenging for the boy.

In the small town of Amity Park, it had become well-known what had befallen one of the most eccentric families found in there. Everyone had come out to offer condolences to the crestfallen family, giving small tokens to help through the grieving process, allowing Jazz and Danny to take off from school to get their minds right, and some complimentary therapy sessions for each family member separate from each other and some group sessions.

The therapy was the most helpful…mostly for Jazz given she seemed to be the one that had reacclimated to ordinary life the quickest. Jack had decided to forgo the sessions after the funeral, saying that he had important work that couldn't wait, and thanked the therapist for their time. And Danny, he wasn't very receptive in the sessions with the main point that came up was his viewing of the incident, putting the blame for it entirely on his shoulders, being the one that had urged them to go into the city that day.

From there, he had slowly come around to a semblance of normalcy in society but couldn't bring himself to think he hadn't been the cause. Danny buried these feelings behind a happy face, not wanting to worry his family or friends with his problems…and it worked, mostly.

"Danny! You're gonna be late for school if you stay in there!" Jazz called from outside of his door. The sound of her purse jingling off her arm could be heard through the closed entrance.

"Yeah, Jazz! I'm up!" Danny sprung out of bed, wanting to give himself a quick wash to get the sweat off him. Heading outside the door, head down to avoid eye contact with his sister, Danny attempted to head to the bathroom. Too bad for him, Jazz was a pesky older sister that took her new position as 'woman of the house' seriously, especially since Jack had dived headfirst into work.

The young woman placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, a concerned look on her face. Danny stood in place, bringing his head around to face his older sister, and yet never meeting her eyes.

"Uh, Jazz, I kinda have to hurry if we aren't gonna be late," Danny rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"*sigh* Danny…are you sure you're ready to go back to school?" Jazz asked the all-important question.

"I wouldn't be going back if I wasn't," Danny rolled his eyes, a defensive tone in his voice.

"I don't want you to feel pressured to go to school if you aren't ready, Danny," Jazz turned him to face her fully, concern clear in her eyes. "Everyone grieves differently, and it can take longer for others."

Danny shrugged himself out of his sister's grip, brows furrowed. He hated when she got like this, always trying to get into his business. It was like he was some kind of psych project for her, even before this had all happened, she smothered him.

"I've told you that I'm fine!" Danny raised his voice involuntarily at the end…he was just tired of reassuring everyone that he was ready to move on, only for them to see through his façade but decide not to pry.

"Danny…"

"I just want to go back to school and hang out with my friends, ok? I'm sick of all the looks in town, all the pity, all the 'help'," Danny looked to the floor. "I just…I want everything to go back to normal," Danny seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than anything with those unsure words.

"…Forcing things to be normal, won't make it that way Danny."

"Shouldn't you be lecturing dad, then? All he's been doing is working in the lab!" Danny retorted to the girl. "You wanna be mom so bad? Then go talk to dad about this!" Danny went to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

Jazz was hurt by the biting words from her brother but knew that he didn't truly mean them. She couldn't fault him for them either, seeing as she also felt her father's absence had an adverse effect on their collective healing.

Jack was rarely seen outside of the lab now, constantly working, and reworking calculations that he promised the kids would change their world for the better. And given the lack of any tangible evidence, the two kids were less than enthused about his chances of achieving whatever project he'd started.

Deciding to let Danny go, Jazz let him know that they'd be leaving shortly as she would be giving him a lift to school.

Sighing to himself inside the bathroom, Danny raked his hand through his bedhead as he felt bad for having snapped at his sister when she was trying to make sure that he was truly ready for any sense of normalcy.

The truth of the matter was, that he had to be.

Getting back into a routine, going to school, hanging out with his friends, just busying himself, in general, would hopefully get his mind off the void that was left in the family.

Danny looked into the mirror and saw the tired look in his eyes before he furrowed his brows in contempt of the look and splashed his face with water from the sink. Now truly awake, the young man was ready to begin readying himself for his return to Casper High with as convincing a smile as he could muster.

Downstairs, Jazz was banging on the door to the basement, trying to rouse her father if he managed to fall asleep last night or at the very least get him to come out and see his son off for his day back.

"Dad!" she shouted for him.

The door to the depths of the home opened to reveal a disheveled Jack Fenton. The father was bedraggled, an unkempt beard sprouted from his chin, stains littered his jumpsuit as even a few papers stuck to it. He rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the natural light filtering into the home, squinting them as he looked down to his fuming daughter.

"Jazzy…ahhh," Jack rubbed his face to make himself more alert, "What is it? What's happening?" he blinked. Looking out the window, he saw the sunlight trickling through it and his orbs widened, "What time is it?"

"It's morning, dad…and it's clear that you didn't go to sleep last night…" she rolled her eyes unsurprised with a frown and gave her father a look from beneath her eyelids, "…again."

The large man rubbed the back of his head sadly, knowing that his daughter was sick and tired of him fiddling in the lab at all hours of the day and night. He could understand her frustration, but once he was finished with the Portal she'd understand.

"Jazzy, I know you think that I'm ignoring you and Danny, but what I'm doing is important. It can fix everything when it's done, and I just had a breakthrough!" Jack justified though it sounded desperate.

"You've been having 'breakthroughs' for the past few months, dad, and yet…" she gestured to the house, "…we're still living in the same house and the world still spins…even without mom. Danny's at least trying to move on…you should too."

"I can't, Jazz!" he raised his voice before composing himself, "I-I can't let this go…not when I can fix it, and that's exactly what I plan to do…you'll see."

Jazz frowned at the plea her father made. He wanted to desperately bring them together again with whatever project he had up his sleeve, but Jazz just didn't believe in it. She hadn't seen proof of ghosts at all even with her parents' profession and unlike Danny hadn't humored them for their beliefs…she was the rational one after all. Though her father, mired in grief, was clinging to something familiar to cope, believing it had the answers to the family's current dilemma…she supposed that it wouldn't hurt to let him exhaust himself and then come back to reality.

"Ugh, fine, but you need to start going to sleep," she relented and was scooped up into a big bear hug by her father.

"I love ya, Jazzy!" he shouted exuberantly as he crushed the air from his daughter's lungs. "Now, what'd you call me up here for?" he rose a brow.

"*gasp* Danny's going back to school today…*gasp*" Jazz wheezed out.

"Is he?" Jack asked and looked to his stairs as the subject of their conversation.

Danny came down the stairs with his regular attire on, a simple t-shirt with a red collar, cuffs, and red oval in the middle a pair of jeans and red sneakers along with his bookbag slung over his shoulder.

"Uh, what's going on?" Danny raised his eyebrow when he came downstairs to see his rapidly turning blue sister and his smiling father turning to him as he arrived.

"Dan the Man, ready to go back to school again!?" Jack waved with one arm, ignoring Jazz tapping his shoulder to release her.

"Uh, not so much the going to school part, but being able to see and hang out with my friends again? I'd say yes," Danny smirked as he walked up to his dad who had finally dropped his poor sister to intake oxygen.

"That's the spirit, Danny!" Jack ruffled his son's hair. "If there's one thing that melting pot of hormones and acne has, it's social interactions! They're the most important thing for you teens…more than those 'grades' or 'tests' could ever be, the best kind of learning is through experience!"

"Yeah, dad, whatever you say," Danny chuckled.

"I thought it would be appropriate for you to at least see Danny off for his first day back before you retreat back into the basement," Jazz smoothed her clothes out once she'd gotten off the floor.

Jack clapped his hand on his children's shoulders with a hearty laugh, "And I'm glad you did Jazzy! This is going to be a great day! Danny's back to school and my project should be all done by tonight!" Jack shouted with pride.

Danny looked to his sister with his eyebrow up and jabbed a thumb in his father's direction with his other hand cupping his mouth as he whispered to her, "Is he for real this time?"

Jazz just shrugged in response and then wriggled her way from her father's grasp to leave, picking up the keys to the…Fenton RV (shudder) and hung them on her finger by the key ring.

"Come on Danny before we're late," Jazz hurried her brother out the door with a few nudges.

"Later, Dad!" Danny called as he was ushered out of the house.

"Have fun at school, kids!" Jack called to them as they left, once they'd pulled out of the driveway he returned to the basement.

Grabbing a pair of goggles from his worktable, snapping them on, and gripping a soldering iron Jack turned to the fruits of his labor, the Fenton Ghost Portal. A large tunnel, the last thing that he and his wife were able to work on together with no idea whether they'd be able to actually get it to work…now he had to do it alone and it had to work.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Maddie…" Jack whispered to himself and continued his job.

He'd bring his wife back.

(Casper High)

The two siblings arrived at the high school in the ostentatious RV and the young man hopped out to take a deep breath through his nose as he watched the students mill about. His sister had come from the driver's side of the vehicle and made her way over to his side to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'll head in on my own. I think your support group is already here," Jazz inclined her head to the two teenagers that were standing at the curb waving at the duo though it was more directed at Danny. "Later, Danny…and remember…"

The young man stopped his approach to his friends when Jazz gave a last squeeze and looked at him seriously but with soft eyes.

"I'm here if you want to talk."

With that, and not waiting for a reply, Jazz made her way to the entrance, greeting Danny's friends as she passed and began to chat with some of the students.

"Yo, Danny, great to see you again, dude!" a black teen walked and gave Danny a high-five, a wide grin on his and Danny's faces as they did so.

The teen wore a long-sleeved yellow shirt, green cargo pants held up by a black belt, and brown boots. He had thick black glasses on his face and a red beret on his head while in his free hand was a PDA. In general, he gave off a techie vibe to anyone who met him for the first time.

And his name is Tucker Foley, Danny's oldest friend since childhood and his usual partner-in-crime for any antic they would get into. He'd been worried for his friend after the Fenton boy had been absent from school for the past few months, and once an official announcement had been made (for those wanting to offer their condolences for the loss of the Fenton matriarch), Tucker had been waiting with bated breath for his best friend to come back so he could do his best to get his mind off his troubles.

"Hey, Tuck, it's great to see you and…Sam?" Danny smiled at his oldest friend before he rose a brow at their third friend who had a frown on her face and a questioning eyebrow.

This girl screamed goth with her clothing consisting of a black tank top with a purple oval in the center, a black skirt with a green crosshatching design, black combat boots, and even two black bracelets on each wrist along with a black choker around her neck. She had purple lipstick on, black hair that reached her neck with a small ponytail on top held up by a green hair tie.

This is Sam Manson the only other friend of Danny's that, while not as old as Tuck, was still an invaluable member of their friend group. She, like Tucker, had been worried about Danny's absence, having seen on the News, and heard from eyewitnesses just what had transpired in the heart of Nexus City, and as is normal for her, was very outspoken about her belief on what had happened. Normally she is against 'the man' so to speak, but with what she'd seen she has been on a warpath, wanting to find out more about the beings that had caused so much destruction and caused, even if incidentally, the death of her friend's mother.

"What was that about?" Sam asked the Fenton boy, wondering what his older sister had whispered to him before he'd finally made it over to them.

Thinking for a quick second, Danny realized what she meant before letting out a slight chuckle, "Oh, heh that. That was Jazz being her normal psychologist self. You should have seen her this morning, all that came out of her mouth is 'Danny, are you sure you want to go back to school?', 'Danny, do you want to talk?'" he laughed, though his friend shared an unsure glance between each other.

"Well…are you?" Sam pressed.

"*sigh* Not you too," Danny's shoulders slumped in exasperation. Guess he better get used to this question.

"What you went through was pretty serious, Danny. No one would blame you if you didn't come back to school for the rest of the year," Sam looked at him softly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He rolled his eyes at the gesture that he was becoming too accustomed to. "If I didn't think I was ready to come back to school, Sam, I wouldn't be here," he countered with a logical argument that would hopefully make her drop the subject.

"If you're sure, dude, we're right there with you," Tucker shrugged content to let Danny open up at his own pace and let him readjust.

Seems like the perfect time for the Foley charm.

"Personally, I'd probably take all the time I needed…maybe come back to Casper High in a few years…as long as it took to get back to 100%," Tucker joked, putting the attention on him.

"Come on, Tuck, this is serious," Sam chided him.

"Yeah, man…guys like you can skip because you have the brains to back up missing class. A C-average student like me needs all the class time I can get," Danny appreciated his friend's levity, it helped.

"Emotional trauma can't be healed instantly, I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't ever go back to school…buildings, in general, would scare me," he laughed with his black-haired friend as they began to walk into school with Tuck giving an overdramatic shiver as if he were frightened.

Sam on the other hand wasn't amused, thinking that this was much too serious to simply write off, pushing her way between the two to look Danny in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, are we just going to drop this subject? Danny went through something terrible, Tuck, we can't just joke about that."

"Sam, I'm telling you-"

"It isn't alright Danny! Can you really say you're fine after that, knowing that those two are still out there?! Who knows what they're doing!" Sam stomped her foot, being totally serious.

"What?" Danny was confused.

"Yeah, get used to this. Every day she's been talking about how dangerous that blond magical girl and dude are. I frankly just started to tune it out," Tucker looked out from behind Sam to roll his eyes, only for the goth girl to turn to him.

"They are! They destroyed a portion of the city, no one knows who they are, where they came from, whose side they're on, and they got people taken hostage by that lizard, resulting in…you know…" she chose to word that carefully.

"Well, the city was fixed by the next day, Sam, and they did save people…" Tucker didn't want her getting as heated as she normally did but by his standards, it could've been a lot worse.

"Exactly, that's suspicious. The least they could do is make some statement or turn themselves in to show that they aren't a threat."

"Whoa, Sam advocating for authority? I have been gone a long time…" Danny rubbed his forehead.

"When it's something this big, Danny, it's necessary…if no one is watching them things will only get worse…and no one seems to get that. They're calling them heroes," Sam's eyebrows knit together in frustration.

"I mean…they are," Danny spoke up in defense of the two blonds that had saved the city. His words surprised both Sam and Tucker who expected him to blame the two unknown vigilantes for Maddie's demise.

"You can't be serious, Danny," Sam frowned.

"*sigh* If they hadn't shown up when they did…everyone would have died, including me. That lizard, he was on a mission…if you could have seen his eyes, you'd be able to tell that he wouldn't have stopped until he got what he wanted. In my book, those two are heroes…braver than me," Danny whispered the last bit to himself.

"See, Sam, even Danny thinks so, and he was there. Face it, things worked out for the best because they were there," Tucker had this argument with the girl so many times that Danny's approval served as vindication for his and a lot of Nexus's views.

"It starts out that way…but what happens when something comes along that they can't handle?" Sam looked Tuck in the eye.

"Something they can't handle? Did you see them in action? I'd like to see anyone try," Tucker said confidently.

"Ok, that's enough of that," Danny spoke up, opening his locker, and trying to move onto something unrelated to what had transpired. "I want to forget all about what happened. I'm back at school, no more talk about any of that stuff, I want everything to go back to normal and move on with my life," Danny huffed and lowered his hand in a calming motion to bring the rush of emotions that the three had about their differing views down, even if Sam didn't look satisfied.

"Our bad, dude," Tuck rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry for bringing it up," Sam crossed her arms.

"Good, now let's get ready for a normal, boring day at school," Danny smiled and turned around only to bump into a large blond teen with blue eyes in a red letterman jacket and black shirt.

"Glad you're back, Fen-turd!" the hulking football player picked the smaller teen up by his shirt. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to welcome you back," he smiled evilly.

"Uh, hi, Dash…what uh…are you gonna do?" Danny gulped in fear.

"Well, you can't beat the classics," Dash stuffed the Fenton boy into his locker and then slammed the door shut before walking away, laughing loudly as he did so.

Both Sam and Tuck leaned into the locker with their arms crossed and smug smiles on their faces, looking up to the slits of the locker where Danny's blue eyes could be seen peeking out.

"So, is this normal enough for you?" Sam asked good-naturedly but clearly taking amusement from the scene that had been absent from their lives for the past few months.

"*sigh* Ok, I could have done without that…help me out?" Danny asked pathetically from within the confined space.

The bell for the beginning of school then rang.

"We would, but we don't want to be late to class," Tuck jabbed a thumb down the hall.

"Yeah, word is that Mr. Lancer has a pop quiz planned, and we can't miss that~" Sam teased.

"Haha, very funny guys, now let me out…"

Danny heard nothing on the outside of his locker.

"Guys?" he asked only to be met with the sounds of an empty hallway, "Oh…" he groaned, fumbling was heard inside the locker as the Fenton boy grabbed an old friend that he'd started keeping in his locker for the more than likely occasion that Dash would stuff him inside, a wire hanger. He carefully stuck it through the slits and began to work it through the combination, hoping to finish fast enough to make it to class.

(After School)

The school day couldn't have moved fast enough for Danny. It was a nice injection of normalcy that he'd sorely missed over the months he'd spent at home with nothing to take his mind off what had transpired, but he couldn't shake all the side glances he'd gotten from his classmates throughout the day.

The pity, the sympathy, the random condolences from people that had barely acknowledged his existence before he'd been through the incident. He couldn't stand it, he just wanted to be left alone and move on, but it was nearly impossible when everyone in the entire school would walk up and say, 'sorry for your loss', 'what was it like to see it', 'was it scary', on and on. He thought he was going to have a break in the middle of everyone if Mr. Lancer of all people hadn't shooed everyone away from him.

He supposed the teacher wasn't all bad…just mostly, but at least he'd come through for him this time around when he'd seen how uncomfortable the teen was getting from all the questions.

Despite that, everything was perfectly average, and he was able to get all the work that he'd need to catch up on from Mr. Lancer with a strict deadline that he'd expected from the balding educator.

He had the bursting backpack to prove it…this wasn't going to be a fun week for him.

Walking out of the building with Tuck and Sam following, he was ready to head home and get started on his work, so he wouldn't have to worry about it later and decompress from his first day back.

"Hey, you guys, I'm looking to hit the bodega before heading on home, you want in?" Tuck asked with a smile as he craved the otherworldly snacks from the small shop…and maybe catch one of the robot fights.

"Come on, Tuck, the last time you went there you said those lightning nachos made your mouth numb for a week," Sam jabbed the black teen who was not deterred.

"They did, doesn't mean that they weren't good," Tuck licked his lips at the memory and then turned to his best friend, "How about you, Danny, you wanna get in on this?" Tuck offered.

"Oh, uh, sorry, Tuck, Lancer gave me a mountain of catch-up work to do along with the regular lessons to go with it. I'll be sorting through study guides and textbooks for the rest of the week," Danny nervously declined his friend's offer due to equal parts of the homework…and his unwillingness to go outside of Amity Park at the moment.

"It isn't going anywhere, dude, take a load off. We should celebrate you being back," Tuck tried to ease the Fenton boy into coming with him to chill out.

"Nah, I'd like to, but I can't, plus Jazz isn't going to be home since she has her 'Future Leader' Club meeting going on, so I have to hoof it home," Danny used air quotes when he mentioned his overachieving sister's club with an eye roll.

"You won't be so smug when she's the mayor of Amity Park one day," Sam smirked, liking the idea of a level-headed woman leader.

"You're right, that'll be when I move," Danny joked, making the group laugh given Jazz's control-freak tendencies would make her simultaneously a good and bad leader.

"Well, if no one is coming with me, that just means more lightning nachos for me," Tuck pointed both of his thumbs at himself with a smirk before waving goodbye to his friends, "I'll catch you guys tomorrow, and Danny, good luck with all your homework, hope you're done by the time the sun rolls back around," Tuck laughed as he ran off, missing Danny grumble at his comment.

"And with that, I'll be taking my leave as well. If we both leave now, he won't be able to blame us for not stopping him when he shows up with a dead mouth…again," Sam rolled her eyes at the thought. "See you tomorrow Danny…and think about what Jazz said…I can tell you're having a little trouble…taking a little more time won't hurt," she offered before she left the Fenton boy.

"Right…" Danny frowned, adjusting his heavy backpack as he took off toward his home…he had work he needed to get done.

(Fenton Works)

"Hey, dad, I'm home!" Danny called when walked in only to be met with silence and the darkness of his home.

Walking into the darkened foyer, Danny flicked the light switch to illuminate his way. With a glance at the living room and kitchen, the young man could tell that another day had gone by that his father spent within his lab working on his project without leaving to even feed himself or take a break.

"…And you're still in the basement…somehow I'm not surprised?" Danny sighed with his hair shadowing his eyes.

While he was at least trying to keep himself together and attempt to move forward from the family's tragedy, his father continued to keep himself mired in it dedicating all this time and effort to whatever this new invention was…that was supposed to fix everything.

Danny wasn't holding his breath, especially because of how frantic and unhinged Jack slowly became with each passing day as he seemingly approached the debut of this invention.

Shrugging to himself, Danny decided to ignore it. He had work to do after all.

(That night)

Beneath the Fenton household, the preparations had been completed.

Large wires ran from the walls to the floor and lead to a large octagon-shaped door surrounded by a metal frame, the door itself had yellow and black caution stripes painted onto it, and the frame was topped with a red emergency light.

Jack stood in front of his finished invention with a device in his hand that had one large switch on it, a thumb hovers beneath the switch, intending to flick it upward and into the 'on' position. Jack trembled in anticipation and sweat gathered on his brow as he stared at his finished labor of the last few months with a trepidatious glee.

He worked himself to exhaustion for so many days and nights, performing experiment after experiment trying to recreate that powerful energy that had been used on that day. He knew that if he could harness that energy, then his and his wife's old pipe dream could come true.

He could punch into the Ghost Zone.

Something that he and Maddie had only been able to theorize about both in its existence and the means to get there. They just could never find a viable energy source that had the power to punch through the dimensional barrier to reach it, even with the collision of dimensions that so many in Nexus were forced into through the unknown catastrophe that forced them together, no one had come close to discovering a way to get to other dimensions or a means to separate the ones that now made up the home so many.

Until now, that is.

And Jack was going to use it outside of the original purpose that he and his wife had conceived. They wanted to be able to explore the Ghost Zone together and expand human knowledge on what came after death, how a ghost could come into being, and ways to help them pass on or stop the more mischievous. Now though, he was going to use this device. Not to help the scientific community, the world, or to satisfy his burning curiosity.

He was doing it to fix his family.

"There's no turning back, Maddie…but it'll be worth it," Jack looked down to his shaking thumb, convincing himself that the pros of doing this far outweighed the cons, ignoring the irreparable consequences that he'd no doubt unleash.

And the ones that he had no idea of knowing that would occur.

His mind made up, Jack Fenton flipped the switch and watched as the power began to channel from all the wires into the deactivated portal, being converted internally to the energy he'd replicated. As the process continued, the lights in the basement began to flicker, and, on the outside, all across Amity Park, the power began to fluctuate though most wouldn't know as they peacefully slept through the event. Soon shaking started as the energy in the portal began to build to its maximum level, at this point the lights in the Fenton household and even their whole neighborhood had all fizzled out from the lack of electricity.

Yet the portal remained closed.

"Come on, come on!" Jack grit his teeth as he stood in front of the portal, waiting for it to open.

(Upstairs)

The shaking began to grow in intensity, to the point that it could be considered an earthquake as the rumbling and loud car alarms filtering from the outside roused Danny from his sleep.

The teen rose his head from the desk he'd sat at to do his work, with a paper stuck to his face thanks to the trail of drool coming from his mouth. Still drowsy from the rude awakening, he was about to nod off once again when a particularly violent shake caused a model rocket to fall from his dresser, the loud noise making him alert.

"What, huh?" he turned his head to and fro seeing his room shaking, loose objects falling over and clattering onto the floor. Rushing to his window, Danny could see nothing as the streetlights had all gone out, the only shapes he could make out were the cars parked on the street as their alarms went off causing the headlights to strobe.

"What's going on?" Danny said aloud before another violent boom managed to make him trip over his feet and onto the floor. That made him realize…that this quake…this whatever it was…was originating from his home, in his basement, where his dad was!

Shakily standing, the Fenton boy hugged the wall to keep steady and moved to his door and into the darkened hallway outside his room. Seeing as Jazz hadn't been heard scampering to check on him, it made Danny realize that she must still be out with her club friends and had not yet returned home. It was small comfort to know that she wasn't wrapped up in this mess like he was, but it also meant that he'd have to be the one to get to the bottom of it. He carefully made his way down the stairs and ignored the rattling of his home instead, focusing on walking to the basement door.

Upon opening the entryway to the depths of his home, Danny was met with an ethereal neon green glow and heavy shadows stretching up the stairs, the chief one being the large one cast by his father. Making his way down and feeling the rumbling growing more intense the closer he got to the epicenter of the disaster and once he'd gotten to the bottom floor, Danny's eyes widened in disbelief and fear.

Green lightning was sparking all over the place as it was fed into an odd object that Danny could only assume was the project that his father had been working on. From what he could tell the odd lightning was being used to power the invention and it didn't seem to be doing the best job if it was having an effect outside of the thing it was to be powering.

It was at this point that Danny made his presence known to his father, "Dad! What's going on? The whole house is shaking!"

"Danny?! You shouldn't be down here!" Jack turned his head slightly to regard his son, but not enough to lose focus on the portal.

"How could I not be, whatever you're doing is causing an earthquake and taking power from the whole neighborhood!" Danny walked forward slightly, covering his eyes from the intense flashing happening in front of him.

"It's fine! I knew that would happen, I had to draw the power from somewhere!" Jack waved off his son's concern and continued to watch his experiment unfold.

"You knew this would happen!?"

"Amity Park'll be fine, Danny! Everything is going to be fine once the portal's all powered up!" Jack smiled, seeing the gateway finally beginning to open slowly.

"What are you talking about! What portal!?" he shouted back, watching a violent streak of lightning hit the wall next to him.

"I've done it, Danny! I created a portal into the Ghost Zone! It's everything your mother and I dreamed of achieving!" Jack grinned in what an outside observer would consider insanity, the green glow of the portal shining on his face as it opened further.

The loud noises in the basement only grew when the red emergency light above the portal suddenly turned on along with a siren and an emergency warning.

*Warning! Warning! Power reaching critical mass! Immense Surge Imminent!*

That caught the two Fenton's attention only for different reactions to run across their faces. Danny was frightened, not knowing what something like that could do to him and his father, not to mention anyone else in the vicinity. And Jack began to panic as the surge could cause all the circuitry to fry, meaning that all this progress would be lost.

"Dad! We've got to shut this down!" Danny screamed in fear.

"I can't! not when I'm so close!" Jack trembled, tears touching the corners of his eyes.

"We have to! You can just make another one!" Danny pleaded.

"No! I can't it took too long to make this one…and I won't have your mother to help me…this is our one chance!" Jack shook his head in denial.

"For what!? What's worth all this!?" Danny was seconds away from becoming legitimately angry with his father, believing he'd risk both their lives for an experiment.

"To get your mother back, Danny!" Jack finally turned around to look his son in the eyes, desperate.

Jack's answer made Danny clam up in shock.

"I told you and Jazz that this…" he gestured to the portal, "…would fix everything! Make everything go back to how it was. If I can get into the Ghost Zone, I can find her…no doubt your mother is a ghost, Danny! She has unfinished business…us. We keep her tethered to the living world…she's worried for us, and we can use that to pull her back…but I need the portal to do it!" Jack turned back to the portal and continued to allow it to draw power, forgetting the risks.

"I can't shut it down, Danny…I won't."

At that, Danny couldn't find words to say…he…he wanted this to succeed so badly. He wanted his mom to come back just as badly as Jack and even Jazz…but what about what this portal could do, would do to everyone else?

Danny made to reach out to his father in an attempt to come up with any words that could make him stop, but everything that came to mind made him seem hypocritical because he so badly wanted her back as well. Ultimately, Danny slowly let his hand fall back to his side, unable to find words to dissuade his father.

And the moment of hesitation would cost them both.

For now, the portal had fully opened, a neon green pool of writhing spirit lay before the two men, many doors floated within the odd space, and large purple masses of rocky terrain floated by.

This was the Ghost Zone.

The sight awed the Fentons, simultaneously haunting and beautiful. As far as they knew they were the first people to witness a universe outside their own that had not been used to form Nexus.

"Amazing, Maddie…" Jack cried.

Danny gulped as his blue eyes took in the sight in awe. He couldn't speak, or move, he was rooted in his spot.

Then the portal exploded.

In an instant a large green beam of energy shot from the Ghost Portal, engulfing Jack instantly. The man screamed in pain as the beam disintegrated him near instantly, his bones being shown before they too turned to dust.

"Dad!" Danny screamed in anguish as he watched his father die in front of him only to realize too late that the same thing was likely to happen to him as the beam barreled at him next.

Danny screamed as the energy washed over him only, unlike his father, he wasn't killed. Blasting backward from the force of the energy, Danny was imbued with the ecto-energy emitted by the Ghost Zone, it changed his DNA as it affected him on a molecular level, leaving him not entirely human.

The shockwave of the blast carried the teen upward through the stairway that was collapsing from the intense explosion of energy, rubble fell from the ceiling and began to block the stairs to the basement. The unconscious Danny managed to come out of the stairwell unscathed as his body suddenly started to phase through the debris. Once at the top of the stairwell, the rubble covered the entrance to the basement, barring anyone from entering. The last thing the barely conscious teen was able to make out in his blurry vision was the orange hair of his sister as she kneeled next to him calling his name.

Soon, emergency vehicles were outside of the Fenton household, having been called by the hysteric teenager and to investigate the anomaly that had finally been registered thanks to the power fluctuations. Immediately, Danny was taken into a nearby ambulance by EMTs with Jazz following behind to stay with him. Once situated in the vehicle, it quickly rushed off to take the Fentons to the Amity Park hospital.

Jazz sat next to Danny, holding his hand tightly, tears running down her face as she looked at his calm, unmoving face…his hand was shockingly cold to the touch and only added to her fear. One EMT made his way to the back of the ambulance to evaluate the unconscious victim's condition, sitting next to Jazz he took Danny's arm from her gently to check for a pulse, finding none, the man ran to a defibrillator.

Jazz's eyes widened when she saw the man grab the paddles and began to charge them, meaning that her brother's heart must have stopped leaving him technically dead. She feared the worst as she watched the man rub the paddles together and begin to lower them toward her brother's chest.

"Clear!" he yelled and moved to bring the electrified apparatus down onto the teen, only to stop when the EKG began to beep once more, signaling that the boy's heart had started back up.

Blinking in confusion, the man turned the power off and put the paddles to the defibrillator back. He'd never seen something like that before…but as long as the kid was still alive that was all that mattered.

"If there's any change, ma'am, let us know immediately," he told Jazz then returned to the front of the vehicle to tell the driver to hurry before Danny's heart could give out again.

No one could realize just what those odd occurrences would mean.

(Elsewhere)

In a mansion far from Amity Park, a phone began to ring.

Within the mansion, Vlad Masters sat, looking out through a large window at the bustling Nexus City before him…a place that he planned to rule. His brows furrowed in anger at the thought of the main reason why he couldn't use his…abilities to do just that right now.

Two certain blonds that had made their presence known.

Vlad was not a fool, he would stand no chance if he were to outright fight them, but he was cunning. He had the advantage of knowing about them now while they had no idea that he existed. If the fools had been thinking, they would have kept their faces hidden…now they were the talk of every edge of Nexus. With proper planning, Vlad knew that he could defeat them.

All he needed was help from his old friend, Jack Fenton.

Picking up the phone, Vlad answered.

"What?"

"Sir, it appears that Jack Fenton has done it. Amity Park has just experienced an electrical disturbance that originated in his home, he was drawing enough energy to blackout a whole neighborhood."

Vlad's smiled evilly at this information, his eyes glowing a menacing red and shadows appearing under them.

"Excellent. Your services will be rewarded handsomely," Vlad said and hung up the phone. "Oh, Jack, you don't know how happy you've made me…for once," Vlad chuckled evilly, he had to get ready.

Soon Nexus would belong to him.

(Amity Park-one week later)

Danny found himself in the same void that he always did when he slept now, wrapped in darkness, and floating aimlessly. As always it was difficult for him to breathe in the choking blackness unable to steer himself or tell how long he'd been there. And on cue, his way out appeared, a bright light leading him out of the dark and back to the waking world…but again he couldn't just leave for she stood before him once more.

Maddie Fenton floated in front of her son with the same appearance as always, dead glowing eyes that didn't regard him with any emotion. This time she didn't make any hostile action toward him as she kept her distance.

Danny couldn't find anything to say this time, wanting to bring her back with him, wanting her to come back, but knew that like every other time he couldn't. He looked down and let his hair cover his face, ready to cry being in the presence of the woman…when another figure had come from behind him and went to join her. Looking up, Danny saw his father with the same look as his mother, floating toward her with dead eyes.

Jack stretched his hand out to his wife slowly and without words, and hers rose to meet it. Their fingers intertwined and soon they used them to pull each other into a tight embrace. Jack ran the back of his fingers down Maddie's cheek with a melancholic expression on his face, though a small smile did appear that his wife mirrored.

"Dad!?" Danny floated forward, confused. His father had never been in this part of the dream before…

The specters turned to their son, their hands still grasping the others.

"Wh-what are you doing here?! What's going on!?" Danny was crying at this point…he didn't want to believe it!

His parents made to open their mouths and speak, but that was when the light finally, forcibly encompassed Danny.

"No! Not yet!"

"Danny…" the teen managed to catch that whisper before it all went white.

"Danny! Danny!"

He heard his sister calling him, opening his eyes, he quickly shut them when a blinding light hit them. Giving himself time to adjust, Danny tried again and saw an unfamiliar ceiling followed by an unfamiliar room, surrounded by familiar faces, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker. Blinking, Danny made to sit up and figure out what was happening only for his sibling to gently lie him back down.

"Easy, Danny, just relax," Jazz calmed.

"Ja-Jazz…guys? What…where…?" Danny shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"We're in the hospital, dude…you had an accident…" Tucker spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Accident? What accident?"

"What's the last thing you remember, Danny?" Jazz asked him.

"Uh, I…was doing homework…fell asleep…and there was an earthquake…coming from the basement…and…Dad," Danny pieced together his memory and upon recalling his patriarch he grew worried. "Dad!? Where is he?! Is he here!?"

"Whoa, Danny. You have to be careful…" Sam tried to keep him calm.

"Why are you saying that…if I'm here then Dad has to be too, right?" Danny looked at the assorted people's eyes only to see uncomfortable stares.

"Danny…Dad didn't make it," Jazz frowned and looked at the floor.

"What do you mean," he asked uneasily.

"Danny, whatever happened in your basement was serious," Tuck said, pushing his glasses up, "Whatever he was doing down there managed to knock the power out in your neighborhood, made the lights flicker in all Amity Park…and it looks like it may have even reached the city. Your dad was drawing major amounts of energy…" Tuck explained what was shared with them by the authorities.

"The theory is that whatever he was powering…backfired," Sam finished while rubbing her arm.

"Do you know what it was?" Jazz asked.

"It-it was the Ghost Portal, he said that it would fix everything…that he was gonna use it to get mom back…" Danny gripped his sheets. Gulping, the teen asked a question that was burning in his mind, "If…dad didn't make it…where's his…"

Jazz frowned, knowing how he'd probably take the answer, but decided to give it to him nonetheless, "It's hard to tell since the basement was caved in, but the firefighters told us that that was the most likely place he was…" Jazz told him somberly.

"Why didn't they get him…he could still be down there, alive!" Danny grit his teeth angrily.

"They didn't hear anything every day they checked, Danny…nothing," jazz had tears at the edges of her eyes.

"What do you mean 'every day'?" Danny asked, scared.

"You've been out for a week, Danny. The doctors weren't sure you'd even wake up," Sam leaned him back.

"A-a week!?" Danny was shocked.

"Yeah, dude, you were in bad shape when you got here. Your heart stopped at least twice a day and would just start again on and off, and your core temperature was down to hypothermic levels. They weren't sure you were going to wake up at first but every day you'd get a little better, your heart started beating normally again and your temperature raised," Tuck explained.

"My heart…stopped?" Danny worried, placing a hand over his chest.

"And if that happened to you while being monitored by professionals…there isn't a very high chance that dad could survive without any," Jazz mumbled loudly enough for everyone to just barely hear her.

With that information, none of the people in the room had any real idea how to continue with any conversation. The hospitalized teen had awoken to a world where he and his sister were orphans, both parents killed in horrible accidents. He was powerless to stop either of them…it was his fault…again!

Before Danny could ruminate on this and bring his mood down any further, a knock on the door to his room called his and his guest's attention. Two men entered that looked identical to each other, wearing shades, black suits, and had spiky blue hair.

"Excuse me, this happen to be Daniel Fenton's room?" the one that knocked asked seriously.

"Uh, yes?" Danny answered uneasily.

"*Belch* So-rry to barge in during such a trying time, but we're here just to ask you a few questions about the, uh, incident that took place a week ago," the man informed.

"My brother just woke up. Can't this wait?" Jazz got up but the man's identical partner eased her back into her seat.

"Settle down, *belch* we're here just to make sure that this little accident is going to stay just that. No unforeseen complications or damage that will pop up later," the man tried to ease them.

"Or try and figure out how to use it for yourselves," Sam frowned. These guys reeked of establishment and government.

"Oooh, look at Lydia Deetz over here, sorry, kid, I know that us being all dressed up like this makes ya *belch* th-think that we're part of some shady government shadow sect or something, but we're the good guys, ok," the partner spoke up and rolled his eyes behind his shades.

"That's what they all say…" Sam growled.

"Now then, Mr. Fenton, we'd just like to know what your dad was messing with down in your basement," the leader asked, looking Danny in his eyes from behind his shades.

"I never really paid any attention to that stuff…all he said was that it was a portal to a dimension that ghosts come from," Danny answered unsurely.

The two men shared a look and held an unspoken conversation that was lost on the observers. After a few seconds, the lead man turned back to Danny with a serious expression.

"And did this…'portal' work?"

"I don't think I would be in the hospital if it did…I don't even think it could work. All these years and my parents hadn't ever found concrete proof that ghosts exist," Danny looked down at his hands.

"Hm, I see…well that concludes the visit. If you have anything else that comes up, like side effects or any new information that you have for us, then go ahead and give us a call," the man handed Danny a card and made to leave.

"Just who are you guys anyway, I think we have the right to know when two identical dudes just walk up and started asking questions," Tuck spoke up.

"We're the R.I.B, kid," the partner answered as if it should have been obvious.

"And what does that stand for?"

"Really Isn't Your Business," he answered.

"Isn't that R.I.Y.B?" Tuck pointed out.

"Ever hear of the silent 'Y'!" the partner tried to save face.

"Damn, how long were you sitting on that one?" the lead man gave a wince.

"It wasn't hard, and it was a good line!"

"To who? Even the token black kid could tell it was dead on arrival."

"He wouldn't know funny if it bit him on the ass!" the partner stormed out.

"Thank you for your time," the leader said before closing the door.

"You should be more careful, Danny, those guys could've been after your dad's ideas, or plans, or anything," Sam watched the door close and whispered to her bedridden friend when she was sure the 'suits' left.

"All they got from me was an equivalent to 'I don't know', Sam…and I don't…I have no idea what happened," Danny frowned as he stared at the card in his hand.

Outside, the two men walked through the hallway of the hospital, having their own discussion in a hushed tone as not to let the bystanders in on the secrecy.

"Was it everything you wanted and more?" the partner of the two 'twins' asked in a sarcastic tone with a shrug added in to show his nonchalance.

"Look, we both don't wanna be here, but it was either us or the boss showing up to ask that kid those questions and he's still public enemy #1 right now, so we had to," the leader pinched his brow in exasperation.

"And we still got nothing. He was being paranoid for nothing but that isn't new…" the partner trailed off when he saw the serious look of the leader.

"How could he not, when those energy readings we detected were replicas of scale-face's. We don't need people out there punching through to other dimensions when we've got our hands full with the ones we're already stuck with," the leader whispered.

"Good point, but we didn't get anything from the kid…" the partner rubbed his chin in thought, "So, what's gonna be our next move? Head back to headquarters?"

"Nah, *belch* boss'd just be more paranoid that we don't have anything to show. I'm thinking we stick around for a few more days *belch* juuust to make sure that this 'nothing' stays 'nothing'," the leader said resolutely.

Just as the partner was going to give a snarky comment, the two froze as Vlad Master made his way past the two of them with his hands clasped behind his back and a small smirk on his face. The partner lowered his shades a tad to the bridge of his nose and let his mouth hang free as his and the leader's eyes focused on one specific aspect…

"Did you catch that? Silver fox, walking straight down the middle of the hospital!" the partner laughed.

"Seriously, and a ponytail…what a douche!"

"Lex Luthor vibes much?!"

"I think Metropolis is on the other side of the universe there Lex!"

"Toss some more money around that suit doesn't give you away enough!"

"Ha, nice."

"Classic."

The two fist-bumped and carried on with their business, never realizing that the event to come could have been stopped right then and there.

Within Danny's room, after the odd and unique intermission, the occupants once more fell into a tense silence as the Fenton siblings tried to come to terms with the extreme amount of tragedy that had recently befallen them. Sam and Tucker decided to remove themselves soon after since they'd confirmed Danny's wellbeing and left the two Fentons to collect themselves, telling Danny that they would see him in school when he returned.

"So…with dad…what's gonna happen to us? To the house?" Danny asked Jazz, his eyes downcast when he asked the hard question.

"We should be fine for a while with the savings dad had with his inventions, but when that runs out…I don't know. Not to mention, we're underage so we can't live by ourselves without someone watching over us…there's no telling how long it will be before we're forced to move or have a social worker constantly checking to make sure we're living correctly," Jazz sighed sadly at the idea.

Before the miserable conversation could continue, yet another visitor made their presence known within Danny's hospital room. The man peeked inside with a smile on his face that unnerved the bedridden teen slightly despite only just meeting the man.

"Pardon the intrusion, children, this wouldn't happen to be young Daniel Fenton's room, would it?" the silver-haired newcomer asked politely.

"Uh, yeah…" Danny answered unsurely, wondering why he'd had so many unknown visitors right after he'd awoken from a week-long coma.

"I'm sorry, sir, but my brother is very tired and is still readjusting. Perhaps you could visit another time when he's more aware," Jazz politely tried to urge the man out of the room and let Danny rest more.

"Oh, where are my manners. I am Vlad Masters, an old college friend of your father's," the now-named Vlad introduced himself with a hand to his chest.

"A friend of dad's…he's never mentioned you before…" Danny rose his brow, trying to place where he'd seen the man before.

"Yes, well, over the years we'd grown apart and our recent upheaval into this new universe certainly didn't help matters, but I simply came running when I'd heard the unfortunate news. Hearing that Amity Park had fallen victim to Jack's ghost obsessions and leaving his children without a guardian had broken my heart. Alas, back in the day, I'd tried to dissuade him from his ghost hunting, but we all know how stubborn Jack can be," Vlad eloquently and rather dramatically explained his presence here.

"Now I remember you, you stopped by mom's funeral," Danny snapped his fingers in realization.

"Ah, yes, dear Maddie…another shame. I had stopped by on that day, but I didn't want to encroach on a moment between you all. So much loss in such a short amount of time," Vlad became genuinely sad when he remembered the Fenton matriarch. "I see her in the two of you, and I simply couldn't allow her children to become wards of the state. So, before coming here, knowing of the predicament the two of you would most likely find yourselves in, I decided to legally become your guardian and buy your home."

"What!?" the two siblings were shell-shocked at the information.

"Yes, yes, quite the surprise, I know, but you've no reason to worry. This is just a legal workaround to keep you kids in a familiar setting without forcibly removing you from school and to my mansion. I've even taken the liberty of having your home renovated back to its original state without compromising its foundation."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Masters we don't know what to say," Jazz thanked the wealthy man for his charity. This would allow her and Danny to stay together and save them from certain financial troubles down the line.

"Think nothing of it, Jasmine. It's what your parents would want, and please call me 'Vlad'," Vlad modestly waved off the thanks.

"Yeah, thanks, I guess," Danny felt a tad unsure about all this, but it isn't like he had much sway to deny the helping hand especially after everything that happened, rubbing the back of his head slightly only indicated this feeling all the more.

"Now then, with all of that business out of the way, I can let you both know that Daniel has been given a clean bill of health from the doctors," Vlad steepled his hands as he delivered the good news with a smile.

"Really?" Danny sat up when he heard that.

"Are they sure? I would think that they would want Danny to stay where they can keep an eye on him after all that happened," Jazz had a finger to her chin in thought.

"Any tests they could run, they have while Daniel was unconscious. Said they couldn't find anything wrong with him physically, and therefore cannot keep him here, but they would like you to take it easy and come straight back if any abnormality arises," Vlad explained.

Danny was practically out of bed as soon as he'd heard he could leave already moving to get his clothes from beside his sister.

"Does that mean that I can go back to school?" Danny asked as he moved to the bathroom to change.

"If you're feeling up to it, I see no reason to stop you. Just remember to take it easy and leave if anything comes up," Vlad answered.

"I still don't like this, Danny…maybe you should just take a break and collect yourself a bit before you go back…again," Jazz pointed out seemingly needing to remind him of the series of traumatic events that have befallen their family in such a short amount of time.

"Waiting isn't going to do me any good either, so I might as well just go back," Danny argued though it sounded a bit desperate to her ears as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Jazz sighed to herself, her brother still being standoffish when she offered a helping hand to talk about what he was feeling or thinking, but then again with how pushy and nosy she could be at times she couldn't blame him. Inclining her head to look at the floor, Jazz frowned and wondered what she could do to get him to begin to move on or at least begin to but could not think of any idea that he wouldn't immediately become upset at her for attempting. A hand was placed on her shoulder, leading her to look up to see an understanding smile on Vlad's face.

"He'll come around, my dear. It takes everyone different amounts of time to heal and grow from their experiences. I've no doubt that Daniel will find the answers he seeks from an unexpected source," Vlad said sagely.

"Thanks…I hope you're right," Jazz whispered.

Not too soon after, once Danny had changed, the three exited the hospital and were escorted to Vlad's limousine. The two upper-middle-class teens were still amazed by the affluent mode of transportation, of course, what teens wouldn't be excited about being driven around in a limo.

As they drove through Amity Park, Danny looked through the windows and saw that a lot of electronics were still being looked at after the huge power surge that had happened a week ago. He felt a twinge of regret for not being able to stop his father from unleashing this damage in his vain attempt of reclaiming his mom, but he wasn't much better in that regard.

"Welcome home, children," Vlad's voice took the black-haired teen out of his introspection as he and Jazz were ushered out of the posh vehicle to stand in front of their home. True to the millionaire's word, the Fenton home was restored with nothing out of place on the outside.

The inside was similar, the rubble had been cleared from the foyer, the cracks in the walls had been sealed, and fallen objects had been returned to their rightful places.

The only thing that remained…

"The basement is still blocked off," Danny pointed out as that was the first thing he wanted to check.

"Yes, no doubt you've been told of the cave-in due to the surge. According to the professionals I hired, moving the rubble from the passageway would only compromise the home's integrity. So, unfortunately, the rubble must remain for the indefinite future," Vlad placed his hand on Danny's shoulder.

"That's probably for the best, Danny. I don't think you want to go back down there," Jazz said from his side, seeing him have a distant look as he stared down the basement stairs hallway clearly wanting to go down but at the same time seemed afraid to.

"Yeah…" he said without facing her.

Vlad looked sympathetic to the young man and decided to let the children be on their own, "I do believe that we've all had a long day. What with Daniel coming home and needing time to process everything, perhaps you two should head to bed. You'll need your rest if you're to return to school in the morning, Daniel, and Jasmine, you most likely haven't had a decent night's sleep all week.

"Vlad's right. Come on, Danny," Jazz was already moving up to her room with her depressed brother following with a small nod.

Upon hearing the door of the teen's rooms shut, Vlad let a sinister smirk appear on his face as his eye glowed red. Casting his gaze into the debris-laden passageway into the basement, Vlad made his way down the steps. Once he was about to walk into the rubble, Vlad turned transparent and passed through the physical matter with ease.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Vlad was met with the destroyed lab. The walls and floor still carried the damage that had occurred that night, and objects were strewn about the floor. Something that caught his eye was the pile of ash that sat in the middle of the floor, and it didn't take the man much thought to deduce just who had made that pile. With a look of pure contempt, Vlad took a heavy step and ground his foot into the remains of Jack Fenton with no hint of remorse as he did so. With his vindictive action complete, the man came face-to-face with his prize, The Ghost Portal.

The device was currently shut, but the light above it was blinking steadily to show that it was indeed receiving power and functional. Approaching the machine, Vlad ran a hand over the door with a smile, happy that his plans were coming together so nicely.

"Oh, Jack, you were never worth anything while you were alive, so it should be fitting that you succeed when you die," Vlad chuckled, "This machine will be perfect to build an army to defeat those two 'heroes' and have this amalgam of universes rest in the palm of my hand," Vlad's eyes narrowed in a perverse glee at the mere idea of taking over Nexus but he reined himself in. Placing his arms behind his back, Vlad walked back to the stamped pile of ash and looked down at it with a neutral expression, "But I mustn't get too far ahead of myself, Jack. Before I can take this place, I must ruin that name of yours. Ghosts will run amuck here in Amity Park and the blame will fall solely on you," he placed a hand on his chin in mock contemplation, "I wonder how you'll feel knowing that your only working invention will be used to drag the Fenton name through the mud and have those precious children of yours hate you for bringing such misfortune onto the whole town and them by association with you? And, of course, thanks to you I have an additional goal within the Ghost Zone…" Vlad had a dark smile on his face at the thought of his final goal.

"Finding Maddie."

With his piece said, Vlad made his way back up the stairs to get some much-needed rest before he began to implement his plans tomorrow once the teens went off to school and he had the house to himself.

"Rest well, Jack, because I'm sure that you'll feel restless in the coming days."

Above Vlad, Danny was tossing and turning in his bed, shivering as if he were cold despite being covered yet he was sweating in panic. Unknown to the sleeping teen, his breath was visible as filtered from his mouth and caused the cold sensation.

(The next day)

In the morning of the following day, the two Fenton children were sat at the table eating their breakfast before heading off to school. While Jazz looked well-rested, Danny on the other hand had bags beneath his half-lidded eyes and a hand propping up his bobbing head. The teen boy lazily held a spoon that contained his cereal in his other hand but had yet to bring it to his mouth as he stared into space.

"Danny?" Jazz looked to him in concern.

"Huh? Oh, uh, what is it, Jazz?" Danny blinked as if he'd just been woken up a second time.

"Are you feeling okay…do you need to stay home?"

"No, no, I just had a hard time falling asleep last night. Felt a little cold is all," Danny hesitantly said with a rub of his neck.

"Cold? The temperature has been steady. Do you need to go back to the hospital, Daniel?" Vlad asked from his position at the opposite end of the table, reading a newspaper.

"It's nothing, I'm feeling better," Danny placated with a hand, not noticing his spoon somehow slip from his other closed hand and splash into his bowl. "Aw, man," he groaned at getting soaked with milk.

"At least splash some water on your face before we go," Jazz wiped up the contents of the bowl with a paper towel.

"Fine, fine," Danny got up a slogged his way to the bathroom.

"*sigh* He really should take it easy."

"You know us men, Jasmine, can't show the outside world our hardships lest they take pity on us, and what have you," Vlad rolled his hand in the air. "He just needs time to sort himself."

"All ready, let's get going," Danny came back with his backpack slung over his back and a thumb pointed over his shoulder.

"Call if you have any problems throughout the day," Vlad waved to the children as they exited the home and got into the Fenton RV, and drove with a rumble. When he was sure that they were gone, Vlad allowed a frown to mar his face, "What a ghastly vehicle," he sneered, entering the house, and throwing the paper away into a waste bin.

Now that the two teens were gone, it was time for the millionaire to begin his plans. Returning to the basement, the man approached the Ghost Portal with a steady stride and a satisfied grin.

"Now, let's see just who or what will have the honor of being the first in my employ," Vlad said to himself, reaching a panel in the wall next to the Portal with a button on it that would open the entrance into the Ghost Zone.

Once pressed the door of the Portal opened slowly, filtering an eerie green glow into the basement. Vlad stood ready in front of the portal, his shadow stretching across the floor as the light hit him strongly as he awaited the inevitable invaders from the other dimension. Not too soon after opening the device did two figures with identical appearances shoot out from it and began to float in the basement to get their bearings.

The two ghosts, for that, is the only thing they could be, were shaped like octopuses. They had red eyes, oddly large eyebrows, sharp teeth, and each had four tentacles with a flamelike quality as they rippled as well as green skin.

The two octopus-like ghosts grinned to themselves immediately wanting to start trouble in the realm that they found themselves in. Cackling, the two made to phase through the ceiling and exit the Fenton home but were halted by a powerful presence that suddenly permeated the basement. Shakily, turning around the ghosts saw Vlad standing below their floating forms, his hands behind his back and a serious look on his face as he stared the two ghosts down.

"I hope the two of you aren't about to leave without so much as a 'thank you'," Vlad's voice was even but it was a clear order to the ghosts' ears.

Not even a second later they were on the floor in front of the millionaire, shaking in fear that they'd already run afoul of the man.

"Now, now, there's no need to be so tense. I have no want to stop you from indulging in your instincts. In fact, I welcome your destructive urges…but only if you do them correctly," Vlad narrowed his eyes and took a step toward the bowing ghosts.

They trembled even more.

"I want the two of you to wreak havoc," Vlad waved his hand with a twiddle of his fingers, showing his nonchalance at the idea of mayhem simply to fulfill his goals, "But keep it localized to Amity Park only. There are certain individuals that I want to stay out of my hair until I am ready to face them. Other than that, you have free rein to destroy to your heart's content…keep it far from this house and make sure that you are seen, understand?" Vlad looked at the terrified ghosts and snapped his fingers as a signal for them to go.

Without a second's hesitation, the two octopi flew from the basement and phased out of the home.

"It begins," Vlad chuckled.

Outside of the Fenton house, the two mysterious, identical men were stationed in a car, staking out the area of interest in case anything was out of place.

"You pull up anything on Lex Luthor yet?" the leader asked his partner, his eyes still on the house.

"Ah, nothing to write home about. Our Luthor guess wasn't too far off though. He owns a bunch of companies, that's where his money comes from, and he used to go to college with the kid's dad and mom before some lab accident hospitalized him and he dropped out," the partner read from a wristwatch projected screen.

"Dropped out? And he still managed to own companies?"

"*Belch* Y-yeah…well more like he was handed them…says that the owners just signed it all away to him…no prior relationship with the guy either. You thinking, what I'm thinking?" the partner looked to the lead agent.

"Yeah, suspicious as fuck," the leader rubbed his chin.

"Bet you're happy, looks like staking out was the way to go."

"Doesn't hurt to stick around, especially after *belch* what we just found out about Lex…"

Above the two agents, the ghosts stayed invisible after exiting the house before moving to accomplish their mission lest they anger their new master. To them, to follow his command, they figured that they needed to endanger a lot of people all at once. Doing that would gain a lot of attention and ensure that they were seen by people like Vlad wanted and would hopefully please him. With that in mind, the two ghosts flew around for a short while when their eyes landed on a large group of people entering a building…looked like the perfect place to start.

With Danny and Jazz, the two were just now entering Casper High. Jazz once again decided to let Danny be with his friends while she went on with hers while giving another warning to her brother that he should leave school if anything were to happen. Danny gave her more reassurance that he was fine as he walked off with Tucker and Sam.

"Hard to believe you were in the hospital only a day ago," Tuck said with a scratch of his head, finding it hard to talk about anything else.

"I'm still reeling from being out for a whole week after just getting back into the outside again. Is it possible to suffer from culture shock too much?" Danny used levity to try and lighten the mood.

"With the way you've been living lately I wouldn't doubt it," Sam shook her head. "Anything suspicious or out of the ordinary you've noticed?" Sam asked with a whisper.

"Well, I've been feeling cold randomly…and I keep dropping stuff even though I'm sure I'm gripping it," Danny rose his eyebrow at the question.

"No! I mean…that you've seen, like, around your house maybe? People following you?"

"Huh?" Danny was more confused.

"Sam's been paranoid since yesterday after those twins visited your hospital room, swears that they're gunning for you because they think you're a threat or hiding something from them," Tuck sighed.

"Seriously? What would they even get from me? I've never been too interested in the Ghost Hunting stuff mom and dad got up to other than what I've overheard," Danny looked at his female friend.

"They don't care, Danny. The fact that you're around that stuff is all they need. They'll follow you around and find any excuse to do experiments or barge in your house and take your parents' stuff to use for themselves. You've got to keep your eyes open for them," Sam warned.

"Uh, and just who is 'them' exactly?" Danny used air quotes with a small smile on his face since he knew he'd gotten Sam. The teens had no knowledge of just who those guys were, true, but they also had nothing and knew nothing that would benefit them either.

"Yeah, Sam, it's normal to be against 'the man' for us, but those guys don't seem like they're high up on the food chain if they're investigating ghosts of all things," Tuck laughed at the idea.

"You're both laughing now but I still don't like it…why else would they show up if there wasn't some credibility?"

"I dunno, to get them out of their agency for a bit…they smelled like alcohol, and I know that it wasn't just hospital smell," Danny waved it off.

"I'm done, you'll come around," Sam conceded, believing that her two friends would be more cognizant of the supposed looming threat once it reared its ugly head. "So, you're feeling better now?"

"Well, like I said before you went off on me. I've just been having cold spells every once in a while, mainly, but other than that nothing," Danny explained.

Above the trio, the two octopus ghosts moved through the school invisibly, preparing to attack.

"*Sigh* Oof, did you guys feel that?" Danny shivered and brought his arms around himself, his breath being visible for a brief second.

"Feel what?" Tuck asked.

"I don't know, like a chill?"

"Having another cold spell?" Sam asked in concern.

"Yeah, guess so," Danny shivered, turning his head upward to meet the gaze of the ghosts without realizing what he was looking at before they phased into the ceiling.

The bell rang right after that, leaving the teens little time to dwell on the occurrence. Above them, the two ghosts tailed the teens from within the ceiling or more specifically the black-haired, blue-eyed teen that seemed to sense their presence.

When class started, things didn't get any better for Danny. His cold spell hadn't gone away like normal, and he was still shivering as he sat at his desk. His breath was visible as a light blue whisp of all things in his face that he was the only one to notice. Mr. Lancer continued his lesson, but Danny was hardly listening as he tried to keep himself from coming apart at the seams.

Breathing heavily, his breath constantly in his face, and arms wrapped around himself rubbing his forearms. Unknown to him his eyes were switching between their normal blue coloring and a neon green coloring. Gripping his head, Danny rested his chin against his desk to calm himself.

'What's going on…can't focus…' Danny groaned, feeling a splitting headache wrack his brain, and sweat went down his brow. Everything around the room seemed to be dialed up to eleven, the breathing of his classmates, the tapping of the pencils, it was all too much for his senses. Managing to bring his eyes up to look to the front of the class, Danny's now green eyes locked onto two figures emerging from the wall above Mr. Lancer…shaped like octopuses.

"Huh?!" Danny exclaimed in shock, sitting up and placing his palms on his desk to get a better look when he somehow fell from his chair onto his face in the middle of class.

"Mr. Fenton, do you have something to share?" Lancer raised his eyebrow, students looking at the teen oddly, mainly his friends, while others stifled laughter.

"Wh-wh-what?" Danny stood back up using his shaky arms that had felt weightless a moment ago, pointing to the front of the room with his widened eyes. "Yo-you…*gulp* you're telling me you didn't…didn't see that…" at his words the class moved their eyes to the spot and saw nothing. "They were there…" Danny didn't sound convinced himself.

"Mr. Fenton, if you are still feeling under the weather, then perhaps you should go home," Mr. Lancer offered. Behind him, invisible to the naked eye, were the ghosts, intent on wrapping their legs around the teacher.

"THAT…won't be necessary, Mr. Lancer," Danny raised his voice and nervously made his way to the door, "I just need to…splash some water on my face? Yeah, I'm a little tired and I think that'd help…just gonna visit the restroom," Danny smiled awkwardly.

"*sigh* Very well, Mr. Fenton, but if you feel you can't come back to class, I'll excuse you," Mr. Lancer rolled his eyes but relented.

"Thanks, Mr. Lancer," Danny quickly waved and left once he saw the ghosts making their way to him.

Starting casually, Danny quickly grew more panicked as his chills returned at full strength. His breath became visible again, and the entire atmosphere of the simple hallway grew more sinister. It seemed to stretch before the teen, warping and twisting, and the lighting turned an ominous green that somehow left the walls, floors, and lockers a spooky shade of purple. To add to this, a loud bang resounded throughout the hall. The noise cause Danny to look behind him to see that a locker had been randomly swung open.

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

Soon the entire hallway was filled with the noise of multiple lockers slamming open and closed, all following Danny. The terrifying event made Danny start running through the hallway, covering his ears to keep the loud noise out and to try and ground himself in what he thought was real as he entered the boys' restroom.

Heading straight to a sink, Danny panted in fear and panic with his eyes wide and darting left to right in case something would jump out at him. Turning on the faucet, he then began splashing water on his face to calm himself.

"Be cool, Danny…you're just seeing things…there's no such thing as ghosts," he tried to reassure himself and steady his breathing. Keeping his head down, and his hands on the sides of the sink's basin, Danny got himself under control.

"Ok, deep breaths, everything is fine. Just gotta get back to class and salvage what little dignity…I…have?" Danny's voice came out as a whisper when he reached a hand to where he knew the faucet handle to be, only to feel nothing on his palm. Repeatedly trying to shut the water off, the Fenton boy realized that he felt the familiar weightless feeling his arms had when he fell out of his desk.

Bringing his hands up to his face, Danny's eyes widened to extreme levels at what he saw, or rather what he didn't. What should have been his open hands in front of his face, there was nothing. He could see the sink in front of him still running water, clear as day, but it should have been obscured by human flesh.

"Ahhh!" Danny recoiled in shock, flailing to try and bring his arms back or feel them once more, and in response to his panic, they returned. Slowly, his appendages reappeared in their proper positions with the frightened teen flipping them over to ensure they were truly back. "No, no, no, no!" he tried to reason with himself, but it was becoming harder.

"I-I can't be a-a…" he quickly put a hand over his heart to feel that it was beating in his chest. "Alive…I'm still Danny Fenton…right?"

During his crisis, without him realizing it, the restroom had filled with steam and all the other sinks had been turned on with boiling water flowing from them. Despite this foreboding situation, Danny was far too focused on himself to worry. Looking to the fogged-up mirror, he outstretched his hand to wipe the condensation away and get a look at himself.

What was reflected were a pair of glowing green eyes.

"No…it can't be…" Danny shook his head in denial, "I'm Danny Fenton!" he went back to the mirror, wiping it more vigorously and wanted, needed to see his regular blue eyes again.

As his hand swiped across the reflective surface, the two ghosts stared back at him from within the mirror, grinning evilly at the teen. Danny barely had a second to register the beings staring at him before they burst from the mirror and grabbed him by his arms, lifting him from the ground.

"Ah, put me down," Danny vainly fought the creatures who reeled their tentacles back to toss him through the wall behind him. "Wait, that isn't what I meant!"

Danny shouted when the ghost octopuses threw him with all their might and waited to see the human crumble in a heap against the wall. He brought his hands up to his face and closed his eyes to brace himself for the pain, when Danny's body took on a light blue coloring, leaving a tingle across his body, and passed through the restroom wall without injury. His two attackers looked at each other confused, scratching their heads with their tentacles before following their target.

Emerging from the other side of the restroom wall, Danny opened his eyes when no impact was felt and caught a glimpse of his glowing body as it dissipated, and he hit the lockers lining the hallways instead though not as hard as he would when first thrown. Sliding down to the ground, Danny sat against the lockers and looked at his hands then to the wall.

"I passed through it…I am a ghost…" he finally reasoned but had no time to ruminate on his recent discovery as his pursuers reappeared from the wall he'd flown from. "Oh no," Danny groaned and lifted his sore body to sprint down the hall to escape the ghosts.

Of course, the two creatures weren't far behind as they could easily outpace the human-ghost boy. Seemingly taking joy in the teen's panicked expression when they pulled up next to him and once again wrapped their tentacles around Danny's arms and began to pull back.

"Let go of me!" Danny struggled against them, planting his feet, and gritting his teeth as he mustered all his strength to resist. His transformed eyes glowed brightly as he looked over his shoulder at the cackling octopuses and with power coming from within him, Danny pulled his arms down with force, "I said, let go!"

The teen somehow yanked the two ghosts forward with his movement and flung them down the hallway and into a trophy case. His newly discovered powers were still amazing him as the Fenton boy stared at the woozy ghosts in shock.

"Whoa," he stared at his hands.

"Was that our trophy case?!" a voice called from nowhere.

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Sure, when I'm thrown around it's fine, but as soon as the stupid football trophies are smudged, they come running. *Sigh* speaking of which, I better get outta here…" Danny made to run but he found no matter how hard he moved his legs he was in the same spot. "What now!?"

Looking down, he saw that he was levitating off the ground by a few inches, bobbing up and down slightly from moving. So much was his surprise at the revelation, he fell forward and began to flip through the air, flailing his arms to regain balance.

"Come on, you stupid powers! Can't you do anything to help me!?" he asked the ether and as if it heard him, he took on the blue hue that denoted he'd become intangible, making him raise his brow. "Gee, thanks, and this helps me how?"

His response came in the form of the ghosts grabbing hold of him and flying through the ceiling just as someone had come to investigate the destruction only to see nothing in the hallway.

Above Casper High, the three intangible entities regained solidity with Danny screaming when he realized how high they were. The two creatures stopped and let go of the boy, expecting him to fall and finally be out of their way…but he floated back up to their level, though uneasily as he wobbled.

The ghosts tilted their heads.

"Trust me, this is new to me too," Danny said with a slight tremor in his voice, twirling in the air with no control.

Growling, the ghosts balled up their tentacles to resemble a fist and used it to bash the teen away from them. Flying through the air, Danny was heading toward a billboard.

"Ok, now's a good time for phasing, right?!" Danny closed his eyes, hoping his powers activate again but was mistaken as he tore through it and landed behind it in a heap.

His impact alerted the civilians below to the battle and had them see the ghosts floating above as well. Soon the octopuses were terrorizing the streets, destroying windows, frightening pedestrians, tearing through cars, and causing general mayhem and panic.

All this while Danny was lying on the building's roof in pain trying to get himself up. On his stomach, Danny drew his outstretched arm back to him and over his ribs, getting into a kneeling position with his forehead still on the roof.

'I have no idea what's happening with these…ghosts…or what they want from me…but I do know that I'm getting sick of being thrown around!' Danny stood up wobbling. "That means, I've gotta fight 'em…how do I do that?"

He couldn't answer that question since the ghosts had ended their little rampage when they'd seen the boy get back up. Flying back to confront the kid, the three of them had basically become invisible to the naked eye as no one could see them from below and the billboard was trifold in the shape of a triangle, so only someone from directly above would be able to see the fight.

"Alright, you two, I'll give you one chance to leave before I get rough with you," the teenager said unconvincingly, making his opponents laugh.

The ghosts rushed the boy with manic grins, ready to end the fun they were having with the kid. Danny stood like a deer in headlights before making a quick decision and dodged to the side with a flip that he normally wouldn't have been able to do, letting the ghosts miss and fly into the pillar in the center of the roof.

Danny smirked with confidence at the two, enraging them as one flew above him and the other sank into the ground. Keeping his eye on the one he could see; Danny raised an arm as a tentacle wrapped around it and used his superior strength to pull the octopus toward him. Unsure but resolved, Danny looked to his hand and readied a punch…the first he'd throw in an actual fight and brought it into the face of the octopus, sending it flying back.

"Awesome! *Gasp*" Danny saw his breath again and a feeling told him to look down. This allowed him to see that his second ghost foe had moved beneath him and planned to pull him down into the building. Jumping to avoid the grab, the tentacles moved to retreat into the roof, acting quickly Danny grabbed one and pulled hard to get the ghost out and swung.

His motion caused the ghost to slam into its recovered companion as it had returned to the fight and attempted to surprise attack Danny. They fell to the ground in a tangled heap of tentacles with Danny standing in front of them.

"Had enough?" Danny hoped they did he could hear a helicopter making its way over, most likely the news coming to report on the scuffle, and he couldn't be seen in the middle of it.

Angered at the boy's bravado the ghosts detangled themselves and grew many more tentacles and proceeded to wrap Danny completely. This made him unable to move with his legs and arms locked down and even his torso squeezed. With a sadistic pleasure in their eyes, the octopuses began to slowly pull Danny's appendages in opposite directions, planning to quarter him.

"Ah!" he screamed in pain, feeling his joints begin to pop and strain as they were pulled out of place, and the news chopper drawing ever closer to add more pressure. "Get away!" Danny screamed angrily, green energy arced off him and traveled down the tentacles holding him and shocked the ghosts.

The influx of energy blasted the two off the teen and into the pillar once more with the green electricity traveling up the structure and spreading to the A/C unit, causing it to malfunction and spew smoke across the roof. The chopper hovered above the action, unable to see anything through the smog and so chose to stay in front of the hole that Danny had made.

The ghosts rose back up from the smoke, shaking their heads to clear them and get their bearings. A loud stomp caught their attention which had come from Danny standing there, fists at his sides and glowing with green energy, his eyes glaring at them while glowing their new green coloration.

"I'll say it again…had enough?"

Without a second thought, the ghost octopuses turned invisible and fled from the roof unseen by the populace of Amity Park to parts unknown. Sighing to himself, Danny let his shoulders slump finally being able to relax after his ordeal, and gave another appraising look at himself. He definitely wasn't human anymore…but he wasn't entirely a ghost either…he had no idea what he was.

"We are here live at the sight of destruction where eyewitness accounts have said that ghosts of all things have caused it all! Having just arrived, we can see that the most recent sight has been the billboard in front of us that is now covered in smoke completely obscuring our vision!"

Danny took a sharp intake of breath when he heard the news chopper, shocking him back to reality and the current situation he found himself in.

"Oh no…ok…uh, ghost powers…you wouldn't happen to, you know…want to make me invisible, would you?" he asked desperately to no one and as he figured, nothing happened. "Then can you make me shapeshift or something…make me look like a ghost or whatever." at that, two white rings formed in the middle of his torso parallel with the ground and spread over his body.

"We are waiting with bated breath to see the supposed specters behind this incident, the roof has gone silent," the reporter said, leaning out of the chopper to get a good view. "This situation is being equated to the appearance of the mysterious blonds a few months ago back in Nexus City proper and whether that was a precursor to…wait, a figure is coming from the smoke!"

The figure burst from the smoke and floated just below the news chopper, looking down to the street and the onlookers gazing at him. The newcomer then seemed to notice that the chopper was directly above him and stared into the camera with wide eyes and a nervous chuckle.

The figure wore a black jumpsuit with a white collar, belt, gloves, and boots. He had eyes that were glowing green and slightly tanned skin with a faint white glow around surrounding his body. The most standout feature on him was his flowing white hair that resembled flames as whisps of it would come off as embers and fizzle out in the air.

"Uh…bye," Danny said quickly and concentrated to turn himself invisible and escape.

"Tell me you got that!" the reporter asked her cameraman who could only nod in disbelief. "You've seen it here folks, ghosts are real. Amity Park is confirmed to have their very own phantoms running around…question is where did they come from and what do they want?"

Below the two agents that had questioned Danny had arrived on the scene and stepped out of their car. They'd caught the tail end of the commotion, having driven as fast as possible once the news had reached them to see just what was happening.

They weren't disappointed.

"Looks like Jack Fenton made a breakthrough after all," the senior agent grunted.

"We seizing the portal?" the partner asked ready for some action.

"Not without evidence first…get a few Ricks down here. Make sure they're ready to do some busting, too. We're going hunting tonight," the leader said simply.

"The boss'll see the news," the partner pointed out as they got back into the vehicle, "What'll we tell him."

"Tell him we'll call him if it gets out of hand. Ghosts are something that all Ricks have dealt with at least once, so we're in a wheelhouse now. Amity Park'll be taken care of, and we'll have the portal in hand soon," the leader put the car in drive and headed back to the Fenton house.

Back with Danny, he flew back to school, staying invisible as best he could, and closed his eyes to concentrate on intangibility, phasing into the roof. He navigated his way back to the boys' restroom unnoticed and once inside released his transformation. Landing on the ground and back in human form, Danny looked himself over in the mirror to confirm that he truly was back to normal.

His eyes wide, he recounted all that had just transpired to him and walked out of the restroom. Closing the door behind him, he finally voiced his thoughts on his situation.

"I can't believe I did that," disbelief.

"I can't believe I did that!" impressed.

"I can't believe I did that…" fear.

Danny leaned against the wall and let himself slide down it with his head in his hands, thinking about all the problems that could come his way if anyone found out about this. He'd be labeled a freak, have experiments done on him, maybe even have the two blond heroes come after him as a just-in-case measure.

His life was over.

"What is it with boys being impressed with what they do in the bathroom?" a sassy voice asked from beside Danny.

"Huh?" he looked up to see a black girl leaning on the wall next to him with a smile, looking at him with half-lidded eyes and a smirk.

She wore a yellow camisole, orange skirt, white tennis shoes, and had an orange headband in her long curly hair that reached her midback. For jewelry, she had orange triangle earrings in her ears, an orange necklace, and two bracelets on each wrist.

This was Valerie Gray, one of Casper High's 'popular kids', and while she didn't actively pick on anyone, she didn't lift a finger to help either.

"What are you-oh, oh, uh, yeah that, uh, isn't what I was talking about…" Danny blushed at the thought that this girl was implying.

"I know, it'd be kinda weird talking to yourself about it," she joked.

"Wait," Danny grew skeptical and rose an eyebrow at her, "Why are you talking to me?"

"After you didn't come back, Lancer wanted someone to check on you and see if you were going home for the day. Your friends jumped at the chance, but he wanted a neutral party, so here I am, Fenton," Valerie explained with a sarcastic spread of her arms for a 'ta-da' moment.

"Makes sense…well you checked on me, so we're good," Danny went back to thinking only to be stopped by her next words that he'd heard far too many times lately.

"You okay?"

"*Sigh* I'm fine…"

"And that's how I know you're lying, Fenton," Valerie smirked knowingly.

"What?" he was surprised to be called out by someone outside of his circle.

"That's what you say when you want everyone to leave you alone, I know," Valerie slumped down to sit next to him.

"No, you don't," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I think, I do, Fenton," she let her smile fall when she looked at him, then stared forward at the opposite wall. "You lost both your parents…no one is expecting you to be alright after that especially so soon after it."

"What if I am?"

"Like we already said, you aren't. Lemme guess you blame yourself for it happening, right?" Valerie hit the nail on the head.

"I…yeah, and it was…all I could do was stand there while it happened. If I did something."

"Nothing would have changed, because it isn't your fault."

"Uh…"

"I got a question for ya. Hypothetically speaking, since I don't know how it happened, did you make your parents do something they didn't decide to do themselves?"

"Um, no?"

"Did you push them to do it when they didn't want to?"

"No."

"Hm, did you say push them down the stairs or an equivalent?" Valerie smirked.

"No!" he seemed offended at the notion.

"Then how is it your fault?"

"It just is…"

"That's what I thought…when my mom died," Valerie revealed.

"I'm sorry…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't be, to be honest, her dying is closer to being my fault than what probably happened with yours."

"Uh…" he wanted to ask.

"I'll tell you, don't worry. It doesn't hurt anymore at least not as much as it used to," she took a deep breath. "Before coming here, not just high school but here, I was like Dash and the others," Valerie began, "I didn't care about class or my future, all that mattered was being up to date with trends, having the best clothes, and dating the best-looking guy."

"That's different from now?" Danny rose a brow.

"I don't pick on you guys, they do." Valerie defended herself.

"That doesn't help you," Danny smiled.

"You wanna hear this story or not, Fenton."

At his silence, she continued.

"Like I was saying, I was the model popular girl and my grades certainly helped sell the image. My mom didn't like that, she knew that I was smart and always urged me to apply myself, told me that I could be smart and popular," Valerie chuckled and looked to Danny, "You and I both know how that would have gone over in school."

Danny reluctantly nodded, knowing how teens could be.

"That conversation led to more than a few arguments between her and me. My dad tried a few times, but he was less pushy about it than mom…seemed like anytime we'd talk she would find an excuse to bring up school," her eyes grew wet, "Then one day after she came and got me from school, it was one of the worst arguments we'd ever had. We were raising our voices, yelling in each other's faces...and because of that my mom didn't see the other car."

Danny swallowed, not knowing what to say to such a personal reveal, and ultimately remained silent.

"I made it out, woke up in the hospital…my mom didn't. I spent the next few months blaming myself for it and everything got worse. My grades were hitting lower, and even the popularity that I cared so much about was deteriorating. I just wanted her back and everything to be normal again, so I forced myself to move forward…like you are…told everyone that I was fine when I wasn't and got all defensive if anyone pushed. It got so tiring hearing the whole song and dance from people, 'I'm here if you want to talk', 'It will get easier', blah, blah, blah, I didn't want their pity, but I didn't want to feel like that anymore either."

"What'd you do?" Danny asked.

"I visited mom's grave," Valerie said simply and beneath her chin to hold her head up, "It was something I thought I'd never do. I didn't want to be reminded that she was gone, and it was my fault…but standing in front of the stone, in front of her, all I could think about was how she'd kick my ass if she saw me sulking and digging myself deeper into a hole because I'm blaming myself. Thinking about it like that…I realized that if she were still here, she'd never blame me…during that crash, even though we were arguing as soon as she noticed that car, she shielded me from the brunt of the crash. She sacrificed herself so I could live the rest of my life…and I was letting it waste away because I was focused on popularity and blaming myself," she wiped her eyes and smiled.

"And then?" Danny was invested, hearing this story was helping.

"Then I changed, I chose to do better and live a life that she would be proud of me for having, so her sacrifice wouldn't be wasted. I started to study and get good grades, and I still make time for all the things I enjoy…like being popular," she chuckled at his annoyed frown.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Danny asked the million-dollar question.

"Cuz I just see a guy moping the same way I was, and it just irks me," Valerie said simply.

"How nice of you," Danny sarcastically said.

"I'm serious, Fenton," she put a hand on his shoulder, "I was in the same place as you, I just thought that hearing a story similar to yours that wasn't coming from a place of pity or a phrase you heard a million times would help. I'm not trying to talk down to you…Your parents, hell all parents, job is to give their kids a fair shot at life, teach them how to live it with as few mistakes as you can, that way when they're gone you can make it without them and take responsibility for your life and they can rest easy. You think your parents would be happy with how you're acting."

Danny looked to the side sadly, "No, but *sigh* it's all really complicated," at his side his hand turned invisible, making him hide it behind his back.

"Change doesn't have to happen in a day, Fenton. Just think about it," Valerie stood back up, "So, coming back to class?" she asked with a hand on her hip and a hand to help him up.

"Uh, no, just tell Mr. Lancer that I wasn't feeling well, after all," Danny waved her off with his visible hand.

"Alright then, see you around, Fenton," she walked away.

"Uh, class is the other way," Danny pointed out.

"Oh, I know, I'm gonna just cut," she smirked.

"But what about-"

"I'm an A student, Fenton. I hit the books now, but that doesn't mean that I don't indulge in some bad girl antics. I'm no nerd," she chuckled.

"Heh heh, got it…and you can just call me Danny," he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ok…Danny, you can call me Valerie," she returned, "And don't tell anyone that I talked to you, I've got pride," she joked.

"Don't worry, I've got pride too."

Once the girl walked around the corner, Danny felt a lot better than he had in a long time, talking to the girl on equal terms did wonders, but reality hit him pretty quickly when his hand returned to being visible. Looking at his hand, the teenager had a serious moment of contemplation.

"Responsibility…" he stared blankly at his hand and thought about Valerie's words, the ghosts that attacked him and what it would mean…and what his parents would do. He clenched his fist and got up, walking out of Casper High, and heading home to confirm his suspicions and take his next steps.

(Fenton Works)

Vlad Masters was sat in front of the television with his hand trembling and clutching the remote in a vice grip. The news was currently on and was in the middle of concluding the coverage of what had transpired with the shot of the peculiar ghost boy remaining in the corner.

"As you can see, everyone is still in shock at this incredible revelation! Ghosts are real and they and it seems that they are calling Amity Park their home. And a violent introduction it was. Havoc was caused by a trio of them in broad daylight with plenty of eyewitnesses pointing their fingers at 'ghost hunting' extraordinaire and recently passed, Jack Fenton, blaming his meddling into the supernatural for this destruction. Luckily, no one has been hurt and a select few are attributing the flame-haired ghost that was seen fleeing the scene, believing he kept the damage to a minimum," the reporter approached a civilian. "Tell me, sir, what do you think about this commotion?"

"I saw it all! There were these two spider-ghosts or something! They were going around and wrecking the place…but then that ghost kid swooped in and took it to them!" the teen punk was hopping around excitedly as he recounted what he'd seen.

"Yeah! He was incredible-" the punk's assumed girlfriend started to talk but was cut off by the door opening.

"Hey, Mr. Masters, I wasn't feeling well after all, so left school early!" Danny rushed in.

"Ah, no worries, Daniel," Vlad switched gears as soon as the boy ran into the house, hiding his restrained anger in the blink of an eye, "I figured you'd be back. You teens today love to bottle everything up and, how do you say, 'keep the man out of your business'?" Vlad said in an attempt to relate with the cringing teen. "Take all the time you need, Daniel, you'll be better in no time."

With a lull in the conversation, the two were able to hear the tail end of what was being said on the news.

"-he just appeared out of nowhere, like he was invisible!" the girlfriend blushed slightly just thinking about the ghost boy.

"Yeah, man, Invis-o-Bill!" the punk named the ghost boy.

"And there you have it, ghosts running amuck in Amity Park, and perhaps a hero in our midst…or a menace?"

"Invis-o-Bill?" Danny frowned at the lame name, but to Vlad, it was more of a question on what he was watching.

"Oh, most likely a publicity stunt, Daniel," Vlad turned the tv off, "Ghosts, ha, the very thought sounds ridiculous."

Danny began to sweat, his nervousness causing his pants to turn intangible and almost fall through the floor. It was lucky that the boy was ready for his abilities to cause problems for him at this point and grabbed them before they could fall too far.

"Yeah, totally ridiculous…I'm gonna head to bed," he moved upstairs.

"Rest well, Daniel! By the way, I have some business I must attend to, so I'll be leaving for a short while!" Vlad called to the retreating teen, shadows beneath his eyes as they glowed red.

With his guardian out of the house, the young Fenton boy went into his room and locked his door. Cautiously looking to the left and right, even though he was the only one in the house, he couldn't help but feel paranoid about his newfound abilities. Once sure that no one could see what was to occur, Danny closed his eyes and focused intently to force his body into its intangible state and after a few seconds of total concentration, it worked.

Sinking into the floor, Danny slowly made his way into the basement. Dropping from the ceiling, a quick thought had his body solid again before landing with a thud on the floor. He saw the wrecked basement for the first time since the incident and he couldn't help the wave of guilt that washed over him, scanning the wreckage and blast marks. And, of course, the scattered ashes on the floor made him clench his fists once his eyes had caught them.

Danny bit his lip and carefully walked past the ashes, keeping his eyes underneath his hair unable to bring himself to look a second time. His goal was to inspect the last work of his father, the Ghost Portal, and once he'd come face-to-face with the device his fear was confirmed as soon as the red light above said device hit his skin.

The Portal was active.

Which meant that those things he'd fought today were ghosts…and that he really did have ghost powers.

"I have to shut this down," Danny concluded without a second thought. 'If this stays on, people will get hurt…and it won't take long for them to start blaming dad for everything even when he isn't here. I can't let that happen,' Danny thought to himself as he approached the portal's side panel that had an obvious big red button that would deactivate it.

Jack Fenton engineering.

Danny's hand reached out to push his palm onto the large button, slowly, and dramatically. His palm getting sweaty, his heart beating quicker, and his mouth becoming dry the closer he got to pushing it. Suddenly, an errant thought ran through the distraught teen's head.

'I created a portal into the Ghost Zone! It's everything your mother and I dreamed of achieving!' it was his dad's voice that stayed his hand just when his fingertips were about to brush against the button. 'I told you and Jazz that this would fix everything!' Danny's hand started to withdraw from the button. 'If I can get into the Ghost Zone, I can find her.'

That last one made the boy take his hand fully away from the button, clutching it in his free hand while taking a step back from the portal. Looking at the button with hesitant and sad eyes…Danny made a choice.

"I…shouldn't shut it off just yet," Danny stared at the steadily blinking red light, seeming unsure with his choice. "Those ghosts are still on the loose, if I shut the portal down, then where are they supposed to go?" Danny bargained with himself.

"I'll turn it off after I catch those two. Dad's name will be cleared, Amity Park will be safe, and I can finally go back to being a normal kid," Danny crossed his arms in thought, "But how am I supposed to catch them?"

An answer quickly popped into his head, and he flew up through the house once more and made his way into the Emergency Ops Center that sat on the roof. This was essentially where his parents would monitor Amity Park for any ghost activity they could pick up so they could be deployed. Of course, it went unused for a majority of its existence what with ghosts being, well…absent. One thing it was useful for, as Jack would constantly gloat about, is that it became home to the ghost hunting inventions that passed the testing phase.

"There should be something here that can help me out," Danny looked around the Ops Center with a critical eye practically turning it upside down to find an invention that would help him. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything of the sort in any of the drawers or file cabinets.

"Where else would dad keep a ghost hunting invention?" Danny scratched his head when his eyes caught a certain thing in the corner of the room. Danny became skeptical but the more he gave it thought the more likely it was, "It can't be…"

Danny walked over to the fridge in the corner and opened it, crouching down Danny looked into it and saw the contents.

"Let's see here…Emergency Ham *sniff* ugh, spoiled Emergency Ham," he turned to the fridge's wall and saw a button, "Ops Center detachment, don't want to press that," Danny went down a shelf and found, "A thermos."

Indeed, Danny picked up an odd-looking thermos that had a mechanical look to it with green accents and a button on it. Next to it was a manual that seemed to describe the device.

"Leave it to dad," Danny smiled at his father's odd placement of important items since Jack had a penchant for going to the fridge first thing when entering the Ops Center, so he'd see these objects immediately.

Placing the thermos on one of the consoles in the room, Danny opened the manual and learned about the odd device. "The Fenton Thermos…oh dad…" Danny rubbed his forehead, "*sigh* The Fenton Thermos is a device designed to entrap ghosts!?" Danny beamed at the information. "Using this, any ghost regardless of size and power will be sucked into the thermos and can be experimented on at a later date and hopefully placed back into the Ghost Zone upon completion of the Ghost Portal!" Danny grew even more ecstatic.

"This is exactly what I need. Great job, dad!" Danny was very happy with this discovery, catching those ghosts had just become much easier…at first, "Tested only once…and has been deemed unreliable…reason: faulty power source," picking up the thermos, Danny turned it on its side and saw a bar that represented its charge, and it was dangerously low. With a frown, the boy placed the thermos onto a charging station that he'd seen pictured in the manual, hearing a beep from the device to indicate it was beginning to charge.

"If it worked once, it should work again…how bad can it be?" Danny crossed his fingers mentally.

*Beep*

It was charging very slowly…

"I've got time on my hands until I can hunt them down…I should probably get a handle on these powers so they don't toss me around again," Danny reasoned to himself just as his power of intangibility acted up again, causing him to fall through the floor up to his neck. "Let's start with intangibility first then," Danny sighed…

How was he going to move?

(With Vlad)

While Danny was busy coming to grips with his powers and prepping for his first ever ghost hunt, the villainous millionaire was currently making his way toward his 'employees' to scold them. Walking through an alley, a whisp of red came from his nostrils to let him know that he was close to their position.

The man walked through the door and found himself in a boathouse an ironic place for ghosts of sea life to find themselves in. Vlad wasn't in the mood to observe such a serendipitous occurrence what with his eyes glowing their violent red as they roved across his surroundings, narrowed dangerously.

"Get down here, you cretinous invertebrates!" Vlad growled loudly, having lost his patience with his indentured servants.

Not wanting the man to get even angrier with them, the two ghosts revealed themselves. Floating to Vlad's position, the two prostrated before him with their heads hung low, far too afraid to meet his eyes. Even though they were dead…they feared what would happen to them if they ran afoul of their forced master and had no wish to see what could lie beyond death.

Vlad brought a hand to his forehead and massaged it, trying to keep his anger in check while breathing through his nose, "You had one job to do…ONE!" Vlad shouted at the end, getting them to flinch and bow lower. "This is what I get for allowing you brainless polyps to show your worth rather than retrieve more reliable and powerful ghosts, but even I couldn't expect you to have failed me so spectacularly!"

The ghosts raised their heads with a begging look in their eyes, the presence Vlad exuded was growing and if it reached critical mass…they hesitated to imagine what he'd do.

"Not only have you caused minimal damage…you managed to make the existence of ghosts an afterthought because you were chased away by some prepubescent ghost!" Vlad could hardly believe the weakness on display. Sure, they weren't the most powerful ghosts…as a matter of fact, they were easily on the lower rung of the ghost ladder, but having a numbers advantage had to mean something…he felt a migraine coming on.

The octopus ghosts floated up to look Vlad in the eye and frantically tried to relay just what had transpired. Wanting him to know that they'd started to cause havoc, but had no way of knowing that teen was a ghost and would be in Casper High when they targeted the school. His presence, a lot like Vlad's, was unique and had drawn them to him through the animal instincts they still possessed yet had deemed him not a threat and wanted to play with the boy before killing him.

Of course, being unable to talk, this was all gibberish to the incensed millionaire.

"I don't want to hear any of your inane excuses, you twin warts!" Vlad reached a hand out and grabbed the ghosts by their tentacles and yanked them down to look directly into their eyes. "The way I see it, you need me more than I need you! So, let me explain what is going to happen…either you do the job I have recruited you for and wreak havoc on Amity Park to draw attention and discredit that deceased oaf, or you fail me and I will see to it that you two won't even make it back to the Ghost Zone, perhaps that ghost boy will make my life easier and rid me of you when you do fail…you're replaceable and there's no shortage of ghosts itching to emerge into the material plane," Vlad let the threat hang in the air for a moment and released the two.

"I recommend you rest…you'll be accomplishing your mission tomorrow or I'll be in the market for new workers. Understood?" his eyes glowed brighter and he received frantic nods from them. "Good."

With that, this secret meeting between Vlad and his 'workers' had ended. The two octopuses would be going full throttle and throwing themselves into their destruction to ensure their continued existence, and the ghost boy would be eliminated for causing them so much trouble.

(Fenton Works)

Danny was now floating with greater control over himself, easily lowering and raising himself at will and being able to direct himself in the directions he desired. With a simple thought, he turned himself invisible and was able to confirm that the command was a success in the large windows in the Ops Center. Flying at the fridge, Danny passed through with his most troublesome power, intangibility, and while passing through had grabbed a few empty cans of soda he'd had while practicing. Tossing them into the air, Danny channeled his ecto-energy into his hands and fired a neon green beam that zapped the cans before they could hit the ground.

"Alright!" Danny smiled, landing and picking up the fallen cans to throw them away. "Amazing what a few hours of practice can do. I'm starting to get the hang of this stuff," Danny grinned, looking down at the palms of his hands with confidence in himself.

"Those two octopuses won't know what hit 'em," Danny was as ready as he could be but felt that he had a high chance of beating the ghosts much more easily than this morning.

That is if his trump card would work.

He walked over to the Fenton Thermos and saw that it was fully charged. Taking it from the charging base, Danny gave it a once-over and found nothing visibly wrong with it. The only way he'd be able to tell its effectiveness is with a field test, and hopefully, it would work for the young half-ghost boy.

"Ok, let's go hunt some ghost octopuses…uh, geez that's a mouthful," Danny paused to think, "Ectopuses? That makes sense…let's hunt some Ectopuses!"

Danny thrust his hands into the air and moved his legs a shoulder-length apart to transform into his ghostly form, at least, that was what he was expecting to happen. Cracking an eye open, Danny saw that he was still in his human form, slumped his shoulders, and let his arms fall to his sides in exasperation.

"Come on…activate?" he tried.

"Ghost on?"

"Become dead…"

…

"Seriously? Mmmm…!" Danny concentrated hard, and his transformation finally took place, the blue rings forming around his body and spreading over him.

Standing in the Ops Center was the now ghost form of Daniel Fenton complete with his flaming white hair, glowing green eyes, and black-and-white jumpsuit.

"We're going have to work on that, but for now… it's time to go fishing," Danny went intangible and flew through the floor into his home and paused at his room door.

"Now what to do for privacy…Mr. Masters would probably leave me alone…Jazz on the other hand…" Danny knew his sister had no problem barging in his room to try and psychoanalyze him not to mention nosily prying into what happened to him today at school that made him leave.

Picking up a loose piece of paper, Danny wrote a simple yet effective message.

" 'Keep out'…that won't be enough…" Danny added to it, " 'That means you, Jazz'…maybe one step further," Danny added a finishing touch and laughed to himself, "Perfect, now that that's taken care of."

Danny flew from his house and out into the night to find his prey, just in time too as Jazz had chosen that time to come to his room and try to talk with him. Her hand had just reached the doorknob when she saw the piece of paper taped to the door and proceeded to read it.

"'Keep out'?" Jazz rose a brow with a frown, "Not happening, Danny…" she moved to open the door but saw more on the paper, "'That means you, Jazz'…real mature, Danny," she rolled her eyes and began to turn the knob only to see the final piece that stopped her…

A chibi drawing of Danny's head with his hands next to it with his tongue sticking out for a raspberry.

"Ugh, fine, Danny, be that way, but this isn't over!" Jazz grumbled and stomped downstairs grumpily at her meddling being foiled.

The ghost boy, unaware of his frustrated sister's failed attempt to shake him down for information and an impromptu emotion grilling, continued to fly through Amity Park silently and invisibly at certain points when he would come across late-night pedestrians. The wind flowed through his flaming man, leaving wisps trailing behind him as he flew meticulously around. He searched every nook and cranny he could, phasing through abandoned buildings, and waiting for any sign from his now-named 'Ghost Sense' to point him in the right direction.

But after an hour and a half, the teen made no progress, and he was running out of options.

"This is getting ridiculous. Imagine, having trouble tracking ghosts that didn't want to leave me alone just this morning," Danny rolled his eyes at the role reversal. He cupped his chin in thought and allowed himself to go on autopilot to focus his brainpower on a solution, "Let's see…if I was a dead octopus…or whatever they started out as, where would I go to rest, uh, assuming ghosts need rest…or sleep…do ghosts sleep?" Danny wondered to himself, beginning to wish that he'd listened to his parents' ramblings on the subject.

After a few seconds of thought, the boy decided that the most obvious answer would probably be the correct one, "If they're sea life, then maybe I'd find them near the water," Danny deduced.

His mind set on this thread, Danny made his way to the only body of water that he could think of, Amity Park's Lake, which one could take a boat onto the water and fish if desired. It also had a boathouse, of course, to return said modes of transportation when not in use.

"It can't be this easy, can it?" Danny furrowed his brows while floating outside of the boathouse, feeling skeptical. Turning intangible, Danny poked his head through the roof and scanned the interior, "Kind of morbid for them, huh?" Danny gave a nervous chuckle when he saw that the boathouse was littered with decorative hooks, harpoons, and a myriad of dried sea life used for décor or tchotchkes.

*Gasp*

A quick exhale let Danny know that his search was over. His ghost sense's breath wisp had emerged from his mouth without him realizing it and it even seemed to point him in the direction of his targets, the Ectopuses. The two ghosts were at the far end of the boathouse, hanging from the ceiling oddly enough, above the water where the boats were stored.

He could see from his position that their eyelids were closed, so it stood to reason that they're sleeping which also confirmed that ghosts were capable of the act. The Ectopuses didn't stir from Danny's entrance into their temporary abode and continued to rest peacefully.

"Have to do this carefully," Danny whispered to himself, sweat starting to form on his brow when the situation set in. He was staring down these two ghosts and his only chance at stopping them was a device that he didn't have the chance to test before coming here. Danny reached back through the ceiling to grab the device from his hip, keeping his eyes on the two ghosts the whole time, watching for any suspicious movement that indicated they woke up.

'Slowly…' Danny gulped. The Fenton Thermos's distinct shape being felt by his hand as he brought it next to his upside-down head. Steadily, Danny floated downward staying upside-down as he tried to limit his movements, his heartbeat rung loudly in his ears. Unfortunately, something that Danny had come to learn about his abilities over his hours of training is that remaining calm kept them in check and heightened emotions would lead to mishaps, and that is exactly what just happened.

The Fenton's nervousness and fear caused his immature powers to go on the fritz for a split second which was more than enough time. His most useful yet simultaneously hated ability had reared its ugly head at the most inopportune of times, intangibility. It had activated on his upper body, causing the Fenton Thermos to slip out of his hand and begin hurtling toward the ground.

"No…" Danny quietly screamed, and with reckless abandon flew downward after the invention intending to catch it before it could hit the floor and awaken the Ectopuses. At the last possible second, Danny managed to narrowly grab the thermos just above the ground.

"*Phew* Close one," Danny breathed a sigh of relief and returned his gaze to the ghosts.

They stared at him.

Danny stared back.

Frozen in his catching position, his body subtly hovering over the wooden floorboards of the boathouse as he simply held his breath and looked into the eyes of his enemies, watching realization slowly dawn on them before their eyes squinted in anger at his unwanted presence.

"Um…hi?" Danny offered a lame wave with an unsure grin.

The ghosts weren't amused.

With the anger evident on their faces, Danny straightened himself and attempted to look as serious and intimidating as he could, "*cough* Al-alright, you two, I'll give you one chance to leave peacefully…or…or I'll get rough with you?" Danny said unconvincingly complete with a voice crack and a dramatic point that lost firmness as his sentence went on. By this point, the ghosts had removed themselves from the ceiling and were floating menacingly toward Danny who tried one last desperate plea before the fighting could start.

"Uh…please?"

The ghosts roared in the startled teen's face, making him fumble with the thermos. Getting a grip on the device, Danny's brows knit together in determination, and gave a confident smirk while placing his hand on the Fenton Thermos's lid.

"Don't say I didn't try and give you a chance!" he swiftly lifted the lid off the thermos and pointed the device towards the confused Ectopuses in a dramatic fashion. "Eat hot thermos!" Danny's thumb hit the button on the side and awaited the activation.

*Click*

Danny smiled awkwardly with wide eyes at the noise.

*Click, click, click*

He pushed the button over and over and only received a fizzle from the ghost hunting weapon.

"One sec," Danny held up a finger to stay the two ghosts so he could inspect the defective weapon. "Huh?" his eyes zeroed in on the thermos's power level and saw that it had depleted completely despite being fully charged only about an hour ago.

"Are you kidding me?!" he knew that the power source was supposed to be unreliable but not to this level. This is what he gets for not bothering to test the weapon that he'd never used before.

The ghosts approached Danny from behind with sinister smirks that promised payback for the trouncing he'd given them, their tentacles balling together to form a fist.

"Um, how about a time out?" Danny flinched when the fist barreled into him and sent him flying out of the boathouse. As he hurtled, Danny had the sense to make himself intangible so he could protect himself and objects that he would have hit.

After his quick flight, Danny righted himself in midair, stopping above the Amity Park streets. With his bearings regained, the ghost boy turned back to the area he'd flown from and saw the Ectopuses green glow as they trailed after him.

"Ok, I've got get out of town, take them somewhere without any people, and figure this thing out…how do heroes juggle so much?" Danny rolled his eyes at the number of tasks he had…and he didn't even consider himself a hero, just a kid with a job…that required superpowers that no one had and dealing with situations only he understood…totally not a hero.

"Hey, look it's Invis-o-Bill!" a bystander looked up, having heard the mutterings of the white-and-black colored ghost boy, and drew attention to him.

"That's not my name!" Danny screamed back and got tackled by the Ectopuses through a few buildings.

"Get 'em, Invis-o-Bill!" the same guy said with a cheer,

"*sigh* That isn't going away anytime soon," Danny grumbled, ignoring the fact he was being pushed through buildings.

Getting over his annoyance, Danny brought his attention back to the fight. He got one of his arms free from the tentacles holding him and grabbed a few of them. Looking down, Danny caught an abandoned packing depot if the lights being turned off were any indication and decided that taking the battle there would help minimize damage. His decision made, Danny wrapped the tentacles in his hand around his arm for more of a grip and wrested himself free of the others before he began to spin.

With their appendages grabbed by the ghost boy, the Ectopuses were forced to spin along with him, slowly gaining momentum as Danny spun faster and faster. Danny then released the ghosts and sent them falling into the packing depot and thanks to their dizzied state they did not turn intangible which made them crash physically through the depot's skylight. Danny flew in after them and hovered in front of them as they extricated themselves from the boxes they'd landed in.

"Sorry about getting rough, guys, but you wanted it this way," Danny smirked, watching the ghosts float back up. "Trust me, this isn't going to be like this morning. I practiced," Danny lifted a hand and attempted to fire his ghost ray but other than a faint glow, nothing happened.

"For the most part…" Danny groaned at his powers. They always seemed to fizzle when he needed them desperately and ruined otherwise perfect moments. The Ectopuses took this as their chance to rush the teen who raised his fists to fight back.

Meanwhile, not too far away, a certain group of identical men was searching for the group of specters. The two that had originally questioned Danny were now accompanied by another group of men that had the same appearance as them only this group had different attire and equipment.

The newcomers wore identical jumpsuits that had nametags sewn into them that were mostly redundant seeing as they all read 'Sanchez'. The most eye-catching of their accessories were the large backpack-like devices that were making hissing noises to cool themselves along with all the other bells and whistles present on it. The leader of this group of men stood in front of the others, holding a device that had little 'wings' on both sides of it with blinking lights on them.

Said device's wings suddenly shot up, the light started to blink more rapidly and beeps started to come from it to indicate something. The backpacking identicals all seemed to get excited about whatever this indicator meant while the suited twins rolled their eyes behind their shades.

"Oh shiiiiit, we got a hit on the P.K.E, motherfuckaaa!" the leader gave high fives to his teammates. "Rickbusters are on the case!" he cheered.

"Enough with the circle *belch* jerk, you wannabes. If you got a hit, let's get a fucking move on!" the rookie suit interrupted the celebration.

"I think someone's just mad that their sci-fi can't keep up with the paranormal," one of the 'Rickbusters' sniggered and was joined with his teammates.

The rookie didn't take kindly to the jab, "Fuck you! We've all dealt with ghosts, you assholes!" he raged and jabbed a thumb at himself and his partner, "Excuse us for not getting wrapped up in it and deciding that science was the actual important facet of our lives! Get off your fucking high horse!"

"We're on a high horse?" the lead Rickbuster defended his branch. "Who're the ones that had to call us in cuz they couldn't track ectoplasmic signatures with their stupid chrome guns!" he countered with his team jeering in support.

"I didn't wanna call you in the first place! This shit is completely new to Nexus and I guess we just had to justify you being part of the R.I.B in the first place!"

"Don't lump us in with you! We're the Rickbusters!"

"Shut the fuck up and think of something original, you hacks! Make your own paranormal weaponry instead of copying from a movie that everyone forgot existed from the 80s!"

"Oh, we need to be *belch* original! What about you and all the Men in Black shit huh? At least the Ghostbusters are iconic, what the fuck do the Men in Black have? The Noisy Cricket?"

"Everyone loves the Noisy Cricket, you piece of shit, and you know it!"

"And everyone loves the Proton Packs, P.K.E, and Ghost Traps! Ever hear the line, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'? The same rule applies! At least we don't pretend to be secret and go around shooting chrome guns all around town!"

"At least our franchise didn't get a forced gender inclusion installment!"

The Rickbusters gasped.

"You take that back, no one liked the 2016 movie! They even pretend it didn't happen in-universe!"

"Who would like it? A bunch of unfunny semi-improvised dialogue, replacing the original cast and having them show up in random cameos…"

"Not to mention the cast of 'perfect' women that can do no wrong and have no personality to speak of, yet somehow you become a sexist for just having said that when everyone was thinking it and just don't want to admit it was bad…"

"…And the worst part…

"Not knowing when to end the joke that goes on for way too long!" the two of them finished their little tirade in unison.

A silence pervaded the group as they let that last comment sink in for no one in particular.

"So, *belch* let's get going and catch these dumbass ghosts," the lead R.I.B agent said calmly as if the whole conversation never happened.

"Yeah…yeah," the lead Rickbuster nodded just as calmly, rubbing an index finger beneath his nose, "*belch* I-it's this way, come on," he leads with the P.K.E., continuing with the group in silence.

Thus, the team of ghost hunters and two agents were closing in on a certain scuffle that was coming to a head.

Back with the teen half-ghost, he currently was thrown into a wall by one of the Ectopuses. The two ghosts gave Danny little time to recover from the impact and rushed forward to press their attack.

"Ouch…" Danny rubbed his head, wincing in pain only to quickly widen his eyes once he saw his enemies rushing him. Pushing his pain aside, Danny took to the air and avoided their tackle.

Rather than give them a chance to come at him again, the ghost boy coalesced his ecto-energy into his palms and fired ghost rays from his hands, "That was a cheap shot, guys!" he called as he attacked.

The Ectopuses rose from the floor and were met with the ghost ray, knocking them back down. Growling, they stretched their tentacles at Danny intent on catching him and slamming him about the warehouse. Reacting quickly, Danny bobbed and weaved around the appendages, phasing his body through them when necessary, ending with him grabbing a tentacle in each hand. With a grin, Danny whipped both tentacles which made a wave go down them that upon reaching the Ectopuses forced them to slam into the floor.

Then without letting go of them Danny landed on the ground and hurled the two ghosts behind him, through stacks of boxes and splattering them against the wall. Sliding down, the Ectopuses looked exhausted from the bout and having been rudely awakened during the night without much time to recover from the morning.

"Ha, that all you got, ya bottomfeeders!" Danny taunted.

That comment woke the Ectopuses up as their eyes went completely red and they roared at the ghost boy with their tentacles flailing about all over the place. The tentacles became sharper somehow with their rage, easily slicing through the many parcels found within the depot and the contents inside.

"Whoa, guess they don't like to be called that," Danny dodged a tentacle with a single brow raised in questioning surprise at why that insult got to them.

Maybe it was a sea creature thing.

"I'd better end this," Danny grabbed the Fenton Thermos once more, hoping the defective machine would work this time. "Goodnight everybody!" Danny yelled over the ghosts' roaring and pushed the button.

*Fizzle*

"Oh, come on!" Danny groaned in frustration, then he was quickly grabbed by the tentacles and slammed into the opposite wall. "Uh-oh, this isn't good," Danny struggled and saw that the chomping maws of the Ectopuses were closing in on him. The ghost teen darted his eye to the left and saw the Fenton Thermos had been slammed next to him and began to reach for it as his only hope for rescue.

Danny's finger clicked the button again and still got nothing from it except a static noise. He grit his teeth at the third failure of the device, sweat beginning to coat his head due to the dwindling space between him and the ghosts' mouths. Desperate, Danny started to draw on his ecto-energy for a ghost ray, feeling it begin to spark through his body, but paused. Noticing his sparking energy, it gave the teen an idea, one that he hoped would work out in his favor.

Danny channeled his energy throughout his body and the effect was essentially a taser as the green sparks traveled down the Ectopus tentacles and shocked them. The pain caused the two enraged and feral ghosts to release Danny, letting him grab ahold of the Fenton Thermos. Clutching the cylinder in his hands, he once more channeled his energy into his hands but rather than coalescing it into a ray he spread it into the circuitry of the device and watched as the power indicator filled.

Meanwhile, the Ectopuses had just shaken off the stunning effect of the ghost boy's attack and were upon him again in seconds. Roaring at him with drool dripping from their gaping jaws, the two evil entities could not hear the beep of a fully charged ghost-hunting weapon.

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed excitedly. With a dramatic turn towards the Ectopuses, the teen popped the cap off the thermos and thrust the opening at them, a faint light blue glow coming from within. "Eat hot Fenton Thermos, bottomfeeders!"

Instantly, a blue beam of energy fired from the Fenton Thermos and hit the Ectopuses. The ghosts shrieked as they were engulfed in the blue glow of the beam and were slowly drawn into the device, their malleable bodies stretching and warping as they swirled toward the thermos. Then, just as quickly, after a *foomp* noise, the light died down and the Ectopuses were nowhere to be seen, smoke rose from the thermos.

"Whoa…" Danny put the cap back onto the thermos, his eyes wide as he panted while calming down from his adrenaline lowering. He backed up and leaned against the wall behind him allowing the events to sink in.

"I did it…I really did it!" Danny smiled. He looked down at the thermos hardly believing that the troublesome ghosts were trapped within it.

It was over, his dad's name would be cleared, and he could pretend that none of this had ever happened. Danny breathed a sigh of relief, letting his body relax and leaning his head up against the wall with his eyes closed for a quick breather before he flew back home.

Of course, the world wasn't so kind as to give him time for that.

A loud bang resounded on the opposite end of the depot accompanied by hurried footsteps. The noise caused Danny to shoot up into the air to get a better look and was met with the gaze of an assorted group of identical people, two of which he recognized.

"Freeze, Invis-o-Bill! Dumb name…" one of the men shouted at the ghost boy, pointing some odd device at him. The man's colleagues were just as ready, pointing their backpack weapons at Danny while the two agents he'd met at the hospital had chrome weapons trained on him.

"It's you…I mean…what are you doing here…?" Danny lamely attempted to protect his identity.

"Ha, ha, like you didn't already know. An ecto-signature like yours can't stay hidden for long," the lead backpacker retorted.

"What kind of power you packing, huh? I'm thinking Category 3, maybe Category 4?" one of the others frowned revving his device for use as an orange glow appeared at the tip of his weapon.

"Uh…look, if you were looking for those ghosts, I already caught them. See?" Danny calmly showed the thermos, trying to keep the encounter peaceful, "They're trapped in here, hard as it is to believe."

"Least you know that we don't believe you," eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hey, we're on the same side here. I just wanted to stop the ghosts from causing trouble. I'm a her…I'm trying to keep people from getting hurt and put these things back where they belong," Danny looked to the side.

The lead agent noticed this and lowered his weapon, deciding to take the peaceful approach as well since the kid hadn't shown them any hostility, treating him like a monster wouldn't get them anywhere, so pragmatism it is.

"Alright, kid…*belch* hear you out, but you've gotta understand that just cuz you 'say' you're here to help, doesn't mean we can trust you right off the bat," he pushed his way to the front of the group while placing his weapon inside his suit pocket. "You can start by coming with us and answering our questions…fair?" the senior agent offered. "We can start with where you came from…" he prodded.

"I came from…uh…" Danny didn't want to implicate his family or himself in any of this…it would end poorly.

"Does it have something to do with the Fenton Ghost Portal?" his eyes narrowed behind his shades when he saw the boy's eyes shift instantly. That meant that the kid either emerged from the portal with the other two ghosts…or he had some kind of personal relationship with the Fentons…interesting…

"Well…"

"I-I don't know anything about that," Danny winced.

"Fine…we still need you to come with us, and hand over the…thermos," he held his hand out for the device.

Reflexively Danny clutched the Fenton Thermos to him, knowing that if he were to give it to them, they'd trace it back to Fenton Works. He knew that it was a selfish choice, but he had to keep himself and his family safe.

"I can't do that…" Danny edged backward.

"If we're on the same side you need to."

With a split-second decision, Danny turned himself invisible, "Sorry!"

"Invisible! Switch on thermal goggles!" the lead Rickbuster slapped on his pair and his teammates followed suit their eyes darting around the room when one of them found a particularly cold spot.

"Over here!" he shouted and fired his weapon, a proton stream, that ripped through the boxes in the depot leaving a charred trail behind it as it went toward Danny.

The ghost teen was forced to become visible again when the stream hit him and seemed to freeze him in place in midair. He struggled against the energy but was unable to free himself from the stream's hold and could see himself being drawn closer to the group of men. He couldn't let that happen…Danny reluctantly drew on his energy and fired a ghost ray at the group to force them into dodging.

"Dammit, move!" they all dodged, causing the proton stream to release Danny from its hold. After the movement, they all drew their weapons once more and fired again.

Danny, now knowing that his powers of invisibility and most likely intangibility wouldn't work against these weapons, started to weave through the multiple streams and the few lasers that came from the agents' weapons. Thanks to his superior maneuverability the ghost boy had a relatively easy time avoiding the shots.

'I've gotta get outta here before one of them gets lucky,' Danny sweat, darting his eyes to the packing depot's skylight as he figured it was his best method of escape. With that plan formed, Danny started to move toward his salvation but unfortunately, his split second of thought allowed two streams to pincer him. Without much choice, Danny flew downward to avoid the two lasers, causing the beams to almost collide.

"Whoa!" one of the Rickbusters called out in shock and deactivated his proton stream along with the one he was about to cross streams with.

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Danny flew as fast as he could out of the building with the thermos and along with it the captured Ectopuses. The assorted men stopped firing their weapons with their target having fled, looking through the skylight escape route with frowns on their faces.

The newbie agent then shoved the Rickbuster that had shouted, "What the hell? You let him get away, *belch* asshole!"

"Eat my ass, you know the rules! We can't cross the streams!" the Rickbuster pushed back.

"Are you shitting me! You kept that stupid defect in?" the agent looked in disbelief. "Why would you keep that Deus ex Machina, Chekov's Gun bullshit built in? It didn't even do what Egon said it would in the movie!"

"It's called being faithful! You should know, all your weapons work the same! The Noisy Cricket is just as powerful as the movie's!"

"Yeah, but our weapons actually work and don't have stupid rules that get broken for a climax!"

"Why're so hung up on this!?"

The argument continued until the lead agent silenced them again.

"Enough, you whiny bitches…" he rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb, "Ugh, get over yourselves. We're gonna be working together on this case, we can't be fighting over franchise properties over and over."

"Working together? We're still on this case?" the lead Rickbuster rose his eyebrow, having believed they'd been called in for confirmation of the apparitions more so than continued support.

"Makes sense, our weaponry doesn't affect ghosts, so we need people that are specialized in our enemies, don't suck yourselves off too hard. It's a necessity."

"Can do," the lead Rickbuster gave a sarcastic salute with an eye roll, "So, then, what's the next move, H-Ric, gonna get the boss in on this?" he got serious and asked the important question.

"Mmm, not yet, this is only affecting Amity Park right now. No reason to get public enemy no.1 down here for something we can handle ourselves…but it might just shoot up to a Nexus-level threat if we don't act fast," the moonlight reflected off of his shades as he thought. "We're gonna keep our eye on the Fenton house and add in Casper High too."

"Casper High? Why the hell are we gonna stake that out?" a Rickbuster asked, lost.

"Didn't you catch how he reacted when I brought up the Fenton's portal?" he asked, turning to them, "Add that to his build, voice, and even with that flame-hair…I've got an idea who that ghost kid is, and I'm sure that my partner figured it out too since we met him."

The aforementioned partner, with a similar IQ, needed only a second to put two and two together, "No fucking way."

"*belch* Way. And if this hypothesis is true, then there'll be more ghosts appearing around town with those areas being the catalysts. Without concrete proof though, we can't just barge in and start searching, gotta bide our time and get to the bottom of this, starting with catching these ghosts."

"Got it," they all gave the affirmative even if the Rickbusters didn't have the complete picture due to arriving on the case recently, they had a job to do.

Crazy days were ahead.

(Outside)

The ghostly teen was racing through Amity Park invisibly, heading straight home before the men he'd had the pleasure of doing battle against decided to give chase or follow him to his residence. Needless to say, Danny was holding his breath for a good five minutes, fearing that any minute action would make him trackable. When he was sure that he wasn't being followed, he released his invisibility along with a sigh.

"*Whew* That could've gone better," Danny cast a glance to the thermos in hand and reaffirmed to himself that he made the right choice. "At least I got the Ectopuses…and bruises that aren't going away any time soon," he groaned and rolled his shoulder. "Now I can put them back into the Ghost Zone…and shut down the Ghost Portal…" Danny went silent at the thought of turning the portal off.

He knew it was something he had to do…but…his dad had said…Danny looked back at the thermos with reluctance. Wanting a distraction, Danny tore his eyes away from the device and brought his thoughts to his personal life.

"I need to get this taken care of and get to bed…school's in…5 hours!" Danny was shocked, "*groan* And I still haven't finished this makeup work from Lancer…I don't have time," whether he was aware of it or not this major point made the teen make a quick and irrational decision based on his personal feelings. "They aren't going anywhere anytime soon…I guess the portal can wait a day…" Danny reasoned unsurely, frowning as he subconsciously accepted the real reason he'd put off returning the ghosts and closing the portal but didn't truly want to think about it.

He needed rest after such a long night and be ready for another day of school that he'd hopefully spend a full day attending this time.

(The Next Morning)

Danny's eyes had heavy bags under them, after his nightly excursion he'd barely gotten any sleep what with his body being bruised and sore from getting thrown around…it took a while to ignore the pain and sleep. Despite sleeping for five hours, to him, it felt more like two, a quick blink of the eyes, and the next thing he knew Jazz was knocking on his door to wake him up for school.

He was a zombie as he got ready for school, trudged downstairs, and sluggishly prepared a bowl of cereal. Jazz, of course, wanted to pry and ask him what was wrong but chose to remain silent this time, taking the sign on his room last night as a warning that she was being too hands-on.

She'd let him come to her when he was ready…but it better be soon, she couldn't stand seeing him like this.

Vlad on the other hand had his attention on the television screen tuned to the news. He watched as the story today was detailing another ghost sighting that had apparently happened last night. The silver-haired millionaire's eyes narrowed hearing this or rather because that was all he'd heard.

"Amity Park's resident ghost hero, Invis-o-Bill was sighted last night by late-night passerby battling two other ghosts!" the reporter went on to say that the depot where they did the trio of ghosts had fought was being repaired after the damages had been assessed.

"Mmm…stupid name," Danny groaned hearing the story.

"Something the matter, Daniel? You aren't looking particularly energetic this morning," Vlad turned his attention to the teen, secretly reining in his anger.

"Oh, it's nothing, just stayed up late last night finishing up my make-up work for school," Danny hid his slip.

"Ugh, ghosts, we just can't get away from them. Now the whole town's getting swept up in it," Jazz chose to change the topic lest she begins to nag, turning her attention to the wrecked depot and the destroyed packages that her brother had been intimately familiar with last night not that she knew about that.

"We are living in the age of the extraordinary, Jasmine. It wasn't too long ago we could confidently say that lizard monsters didn't exist or magic for that matter," Vlad smiled knowingly.

"That may be true, but I'd rather ghosts stayed buried, Mr. Masters…they've caused enough trouble real or not," Jazz hugged herself.

"Ah, yes, you aren't wrong," Vlad's eyes glowed quickly before returning to normal.

Danny looked to the floor sadly at his sister's words, agreeing with the sentiment but knew that his powers had stopped the ghosts though with slight damage.

"I'm going to grab my backpack," Danny excused himself abruptly.

"Smooth, Jazz, real smooth," the girl smacked her forehead, thinking she'd hurt Danny by bringing up ghosts.

"You should prepare for school as well, Jasmine, you can apologize later," Vlad ushered the girl out of the kitchen, leaving him alone with his thoughts as he turned back to the television and narrowed his eye before turning the device off.

'Those weak fools managed to be defeated by this ghost boy. I shouldn't have expected much from such disgusting creatures,' Vlad rubbed his chin in thought. 'This boy is proving to be more of a nuisance than I gave him credit for…he's making my plans veer off course, and I won't allow that.'

"We're heading out, Mr. Masters!" Jazz shouted from the front door, leaving the millionaire alone in the house which allowed him to move back down into the basement and toward the ghost portal.

"I'd have wanted to avoid bringing in powerful ghosts if I could help it…they can be much too unruly, but this boy has proven that fodder is useless against him," pushing the button next to the portal, Vlad awaited a certain ghost he'd contacted last night after meeting with the Ectopuses, a precaution that he wasn't regretting given the failure the two ghosts had.

He'd taken it upon himself to get this notorious ghost under his 'employ'. Unlike the Ectopuses, this ghost was intelligent and capable of speech, so their talk went much more smoothly than those animals, though this ghost was much too proud to say he worked for anyone.

Vlad had gotten him to agree when he was told that he'd be able to get a worthy opponent by working with the millionaire. With that promise, this ghost became like putty whether or not he cared for Vlad's plan was irrelevant if it meant he got fresh and powerful prey.

"Those festering pustules have failed me, so our deal has been finalized," a large thud came from in front of Vlad from a figure landing. "I want you to bring him to me alive if you can."

"Heh, of course I can, when do you want him?" the voice was deep.

"At your earliest convenience. Until he is taken care of my plans move behind my projections."

"Then I'd like to have more fodder let loose. I like to study my prey, learn their weaknesses before I pounce and move in for the kill," the ghost clenched its fist audibly.

Vlad rolled his eyes, "Very well, but be quick about it. I've little patience for games…Skulker."

"When you enlist the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, you'd better believe that he'll enjoy the thrill," the now-named Skulker smiled, moving back to the portal, "Worry not, Masters, this ghost boy will be on his knees, beaten before you know it," he said reentering the Ghost Zone to prepare the bait that would be used to help him study his target.

(Casper High)

"I'm beginning to worry about you, Danny," Sam put her hand on the exhausted teen's shoulder in concern.

"Yeah, man, every time you walk through those doors, you look worse than the last time we saw you," Tuck agreed with their female friend.

"It isn't that bad, is it?" Danny raised his heavy head slightly to look them in the eyes.

"You look like Mr. Lancer whenever Dash has to stay after class," Tucker joked.

"That is bad," Danny sighed, rubbing his eyes, walking through the busy halls for another day in school. "I just had a rough time last night doing all that homework…probably went a little overboard," Danny lied…though getting that work done was a good idea, he should start tonight.

"We could help, Danny. We could hang out after," Sam smiled.

"And drag you into an all-nighter with me?" Danny smiled slightly, "Don't worry, I'll be able to handle it all now…the hard part's over and it will have my undivided attention," the double-meaning was lost his friends, but it made him feel better knowing that this ghost business was behind him, and he's preserved his family name. While walking through the halls he saw Valerie chatting with the popular kids, locking eyes with her for a quick second he quickly averted his gaze before anyone could notice and because of that, he didn't see Valerie frown at his disheveled state.

"What'd I miss yesterday?" Danny continued with his friends.

After a long tiresome day, filled with the teen half-ghost falling asleep constantly, and of course, apologizing to Mr. Lancer on his sudden absence, Danny was on his way home. Sam and Tuck wanted to come with him as always, but he'd again denied them, wanting to get some much-needed sleep before he started the homework that he had yet to touch despite lying so many times that he had started.

But things rarely went his way, for as Danny was beginning to see Fenton Works on the horizon, he'd heard a scream. The sound startled him and made him search for its origin point when a sensation he thought he would never feel again ran up his body.

"No…no no no," Danny saw the wisp leave his mouth and confirm his fears. He looked up and saw a civilian being carried off by a ghost.

Another ghost…how?!

"There're more!?" Danny dashed into an alleyway and focused on transforming, shooting out with great speed to sock the ghost, which resembled a dog, in the face and forcing it to let go of the poor bystander. Catching the unfortunate pedestrian, Danny landed on the ground and ushered them away, ignoring the encouragement using the name he hated.

"Where'd you come from?! The portal is closed!" Danny frowned tiredly and got a growl in response before the ghost lunged at him.

Not too far away, on a rooftop, a pair of eyes watched the battle with interest through a pair of binoculars.

"Show me what you can do, boy."

The dog surprisingly wasn't that difficult to take care of compared to the Ectopuses as it seemed even more animalistic than the invertebrates. It didn't even use abilities that Danny assumed all ghosts had like intangibility or invisibility to its advantage, it mainly attempted to bite into the teen with relentless attacks that the sleepy ghost boy could just barely avoid. With a few well-placed strikes and a ghost ray the canine was done, soon impacting a wall it chose to flee rather than continue the fight it couldn't win.

"No," Danny floated in place with his fists clenched, "More ghosts…how can there be more…" his teeth grit and brows furrowed Danny flew back into the alleyway to retrieve his things and get ready for another late night this time with the Fenton Thermos.

"Hmm, quite a peculiar one, this boy. I'd never expected Masters' nuisance to be a halfa, but that matters little to me. He is proving to be a creature worthy of being my prey," Skulker smiled. "His movements were sluggish not to mention unrefined, but that is to be expected when he has only fought simple beasts. I shall wear this whelp down and break his spirit before bringing him to Masters." Skulker smiled evilly.

The hunt was on.

Over the next five days, Danny was busy going out late at night and catching every ghost he set his sights on. Fighting and being thrown around by the many different apparitions was taking its toll on the teen mentally. He'd barely have any time to rest before he'd go back to school looking worse and worse each day, wave off any concerns from his friends, teacher, and even peers that never noticed him before.

He was at the end of his rope.

No matter how many he fought, it seemed there was always another. The portal let out more ghosts than he'd thought…if he'd put the Ectopuses back and shut down the portal when he had the chance maybe this wouldn't have happened, he'd be able to sleep and go to school. Taking responsibility for this was more trouble than it was worth…and there was no end in sight.

He thought that this was supposed to make him feel better…then again, his and Valerie's circumstances were different.

"Danny…Danny!" Tuck shook the teen from his existential daze making his best friend turn to him with half-lidded eyes.

"Yeah…Yeah! What is it, Tuck?" Danny seemed to realize where he was once he looked into the concerned eyes of his friends.

"I know you said that you're fine, but I can't let this go anymore!" Tuck, easygoing Tuck, was at his wit's end, having seen Danny deteriorate before his eyes was something that he could no longer ignore. He wanted to give his friend his space…but the limit had been reached long ago.

"Seriously, Danny, talk to us. This is more than just the homework…what's going on," Sam was with the techie all the way as they both decided to have this impromptu intervention before the school day could start and get the ball rolling for the Fenton boy.

Danny couldn't bear to look his friends in the eyes, letting his hair cover his tired eyes. He thought to tell them what had been happening and what he was doing…but did not. It wasn't their problem, and he didn't want to make it anyone else's either…

"It's no big deal, guys, it's just the homework," Danny put on a smile. "It-it was more than I could handle…these past few nights I've been chipping away at it bit by bit…" Danny explained, interlacing his frustrations into it, "…and whenever I thought I was done, there was more in the pile," Danny lifted his head and watched the students walk about, talking, smiling, without care.

"It just makes me wonder…if it's all worth it…all the trouble it's causing me. I'm exhausted, and barely able to keep up with the workload added to the work I've gotten since coming back," Danny frowned, moving his eyes to his friends.

"I was thinking I should give up…"

"Danny, you shouldn't talk like that!" Sam raised a hand to him.

"Yeah, man, I hate homework as much as the next guy, but giving up isn't going to solve anything," Tucker added.

"If you're feeling like this, you should let us help you! We can come over, just like we've been saying. You don't have to do it alone," Sam placed a hand on his shoulder along with Tuck.

Danny wished he could say yes so badly.

"Sorry, Sam, but I do," with that answer Danny trudged through the hallway swaying slightly.

His answer did little to assuage their concern for their friend, but the bell rang right when they were going to approach Danny again, stopping them from prying any further. Despite this interruption, Sam and Tucker now knew how serious and powerful the vortex of grief swirling around Danny had become, and they would be trying harder to get him to talk.

At the end of the day, Danny utilized the wave of students to slip out of school without confronting his friends. He knew they were worried, Jazz was too…and Vlad…he'd seen less and less of the millionaire these last four days, so he didn't know what the man thought, but this was something that he couldn't drag them into.

He'd put these ghosts away…and then he could focus on school and normalcy once more, his responsibility done.

With a gasp, his Ghost Sense went off, letting him know that another had appeared. The teen had become accustomed to the random encounters over his tiring four days and had taken to bringing the Fenton Thermos with him at all times. A quick transformation later and the teen searched his immediate area for any suspicious activity. His Ghost Sense pointed him down an alley, and as he moved into it Danny saw nothing.

"Normally I'd be happy…but my Ghost Sense has never gone on the fritz before…" he moved his eyes around the alley and could see nothing amiss, "Something's not right," Danny narrowed his eyes and frowned.

Just then, from behind a trash can at the back of the alley, a device shot up and fired a multitude of shuriken toward the surprised Danny. With an instinctive thought, the ghost teen made himself intangible, expecting the projectiles to pass through his incorporeal body.

*Rip*

One of the green shuriken whizzed by Danny's arm and somehow managed to cut him despite his intangibility.

"Ah! It cut me!?" Danny's eyes widened as he realized the trouble he was in.

Without a second thought, he crouched low and jumped up to avoid the sharp weapons, and started to fly. This action triggered the next trap which was a pair of missile launchers that took aim and fired at the flying Fenton.

"Whoa!" knowing he couldn't assume these missiles wouldn't hurt him if he tried to phase through them, Danny was forced to dodge them. He deftly maneuvered around them as best he could, weaving around and planting his feet onto a wall and stared down at the ground from it. he was then forced to move when one of the missiles swerved in the air, most likely a tracking missile, and headed toward him.

Danny jumped from the wall and fired a ghost ray from his hand, causing the explosive to detonate prematurely and not do harm to the surrounding buildings. The boy landed back on the alley floor, panting from the excitement and waning adrenaline in his system as he stood.

"What was that? They hurt me through being intangible…are those guys hunting me again…or are there more ghost hunters?"

Suddenly from beneath him two devices with orbs on the end popped up on Danny's sides. Just as he moved to dodge, the weapons activated firing electricity and stunning him. His pain and exhaustion compounded, making Danny's transformation dissipate and go back to being human.

Soon after collapsing on the ground, clinging onto his consciousness as best he could a light-blue transparent cube formed around Danny, entrapping him. Heavy footsteps then began to echo in the alley and stopped in front of the trapped boy.

"You did better than I expected. Great reflexes and ingenuity to the unexpected even while exhausted, but still…hardly something I'd consider worthy to have mounted on my wall," the voice said.

When Danny laid his eyes on the offender, he was met with the sight of what he could only guess was a ghost, but one that was different from all the others he'd seen.

This ghost seemed to have metal skin given the bolts and seams covering the off-white metal. For hair, it was flaming much like Danny's did when he transformed, only this ghost's hair was electric green and styled in a mohawk and goatee on his chin, the color matching his eyes. The clothing consisted of a black tank top with a shoulder guard on his left shoulder and a gray belt going diagonally across his torso and black pants. On his hands were matching gauntlets with different button littering, and across his waist, he wore a utility belt.

"I hope Masters, wasn't wasting my time," the ghost grumbled, pressing buttons on his gauntlet which made the cube levitate and follow him, but his captive was more focused on the name he'd heard as he was losing consciousness.

'Masters? He can't mean…' Danny barely finished his thought when he passed out from his exhaustion.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Danny awoke. His eyes were blurry, placing a hand to his forehead to stymie a headache as he started to rise…only for his head to hit something.

"Ow! What…wait…" the memory of what happened rushed back into his mind, shooting his hands out to his sides and touching the walls of his prison. "Where am I?!" Danny darted his eyes around in a nondescript building, the room he was in was bathed in darkness with the only light coming from his glowing prison.

"Ah, awake are you, ghost child?" Skulker emerged from the shadows with a confident smile on his metallic visage and his arms crossed over his chest.

"You!?" Danny growled and made to transform and phase through the box but was stopped by a painful shock that caused his transformation rings to retract.

"Do you think I would be so foolish as to allow you an escape? Normally this prison holds ghosts and disables their powers with painful electric shocks luckily for you as a half-ghost you'll only experience that if you attempt to use your powers," Skulker tapped the cube with his knuckles.

"Who are you?" Danny ground out, body smoking from the painful shock.

"I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter!" the ghost stated proudly and conceitedly.

"Ghost Zone's greatest hunter…must be easy to say when you have to ambush people just to catch them," Danny weakly jabbed with a chuckle.

"Watch your tongue, whelp!" Skulker slammed his hand on top of the cube, "A hunter does not engage his prey head-on unless they earn the privilege. I study my prey and learn their weaknesses, slowly wearing them down both mentally and physically before striking."

Those words struck Danny, "You've been the one siccing those ghosts on me?!"

"Yes, to learn your moves and get inside your head, and I must say that for a halfa you leave much to be desired."

"A what?"

"A halfa, half a human, half a ghost. Your kind is well-known within the Ghost Zone though there aren't many of you that exist at one time," Skulker revealed to the teen. "Once I'd found out that you were a halfa rather than another run-of-the-mill ghost, my interest in you was piqued. I was prepared to take weeks studying you, dissecting your behavior, and peeling your psyche down to its base layer by layer, but I was able to figure you out immediately when you dealt with that canine beast." Skulker sighed in disappointment.

"You don't know anything about me!" Danny growled, his eyes glowing green.

"Oh, don't I, whelp? I can tell quite a lot from watching my prey…and through watching you I can tell that you are far different from me," Skulker pointed to himself with a grin.

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment," Danny joked and that got a fist smashed on the top of his prison to jostle him.

Skulker growled at the insult, "What I mean is, you have no drive, boy. There was no fire in your eyes as you battled those ghosts, you simply did it."

"I'm doing it because I have to protect people from you!" Danny shot back.

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Skulker rose a brow and chuckled. "Boy, you aren't doing this to protect anyone but yourself. If you hadn't gained your powers, you wouldn't have anything to do with this situation. I can tell, the defeated look in your eyes when you had to stop every attack, the roll of your eyes, the sighing, and, of course, that look on your face when you'd captured them. You take no pleasure in the deeds you've done, and you feel no pride once you've finished, you're empty," Skulker looked the boy in the eyes or at least he would if Danny didn't dart his eyes away.

"You're wrong…" Danny denied.

"Face it, you don't hunt ghosts because you want to, you do it because you feel you have to as if it is your responsibility…a job to be done and finished with as quickly as possible."

The silence from the boy was telling for both Danny and his captor.

"Heh, this is why I don't deal in humans. You hold no value for me and hide your true natures beneath a veneer of altruism and decency toward one another, at the very least ghosts are upfront about what they are," Skulker stood up and sighed, "I suppose I'll consider you a warm-up for my larger prizes. The two of them are supposed to be quite powerful according to my employer and from what I've heard they might be worthy of being stuffed," Skulker just imagined the hunt he'd get out of them.

"Who are you…" Danny took a second before the image of two blonds appeared in his head, the only ones that would and could come to mind as powerful enough to be on the hunter's radar.

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM THEM!"Danny shouted trying to force his transformation through the pain of being shocked by the cube, refusing to back down.

"Ah, seems the whelp has a little more fight in him," Skulker made to deal with the teen…

"That's enough, Skulker," a familiar voice smoothly said from the darkness, footsteps following to indicate his approach. "We wouldn't want to harm Daniel any more than necessary, would we?"

Vlad Masters stood in front of the cube with his arms clasped behind his back and a smooth smile on his face as he looked down on the shocked teen.

"Vlad?! What are you doing here…" though the boy asked the obvious, he wanted to confirm his suspicions.

"Well, isn't it customary for employers to check on their employees?" Vlad stated while straightening his suit.

"So, it's true…I thought I heard him say Masters when he knocked me out…I just thought he meant his master," Danny frowned.

"No one is the master of Skulker, whelp," the ghost took offense.

"Then you're the one that's been letting ghosts out of the Portal!" Danny narrowed his eyes angrily at the smugly grinning man. "Why are you doing this?!... Wait…how are you doing this?" Danny realized the impossibility of Vlad's actions. "The basement's caved in…you couldn't have gotten to the Ghost Portal."

"Oh, Daniel, do you really believe that it's completely impossible for a man with resources, such as myself, to find a way into a basement?" Vlad chuckled.

"But why do all this, then?! Why are you terrorizing all these people?" Danny growled.

"Power," Vlad said simply.

"Seriously? I thought you looked like a comic book villain, but I didn't realize you were delusional like one too," Danny snarked from within his cage, keeping his hard gaze on the unamused millionaire's face.

"Ah, there's that teenage wit again. Still using it to hide how you're feeling, are you, Daniel?" Vlad retorted without missing a beat.

"Doesn't mean that I don't have point, Vlad," Danny spat his name, "You're rich…why do you need power when you can get whatever you want already? It doesn't make sense," Danny pointed out.

"There was a time when I agreed with that notion, Daniel. But then the world we lived in was much different two years ago, wasn't it?" Vlad's confident smile finally fell, turning away from Danny. "You see, Daniel, my wealth has been dwindling since being forced into this hodgepodge of a world," Vlad threw his hands up in the air with a frustrated sigh. "My companies simply can't compete with the level of technology of these other dimensions, sad really."

"So what? You think that means you can just take over? Just make new products and stop whining," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Heh, were it only that easy, Daniel. Let's just say that having new ideas in my businesses is quite the hard thing to come by," Vlad turned back with a knowing smirk that irked the teen. "Now if you would, I want to continue my tale. Being stranded within this horrid dimension with my resources dwindling, it came to me to wrest control of the whole place before my number was up, and I was close to enacting that original plan."

"And you didn't because?"

"Well, as we both know, this place isn't the same as it was two years ago, and certainly not the same as a few months ago either," Vlad replied simply.

"You mean…"

"Exactly! Right as I was on the cusp of taking my rightful place here…those two made their presence known throughout all of Nexus and showed that they were capable of leveling this place if they so chose evident by their bout with that reptilian menace," Vlad thought back to watching the news on that day and seeing his grand plans crumble as he witnessed the two heroes do battle with the lizard. "Seeing that had killed my dream before it could truly gain any traction, and worse yet…your mother was a victim of that terrible attack…"

The room fell silent as the hurt of that fresh wound for both Danny and Vlad resurfaced. Danny looked down sadly just remembering that day and his perceived part in it and Vlad glared balefully at something that he could not see, yet the hatred in them did not dim.

"After that, I receded. I had no way of defeating those two monsters on my own, and my businesses were slipping through my fingers. Your mother's death was the final straw that had me content to live the rest of my days with my remaining wealth until my end."

"You should have stayed that way," Danny said somberly.

"Fate had other plans. You see, before closing myself off like a hermit, I resolved to visit your mother's grave and pay her respects…and imagine my surprise when I find her family still standing above her and the oaf that stole her from me," Vlad said.

"What!" Danny ground his teeth together in anger.

"I know, I had no want to see his face ever again but unfortunately I was unlucky enough to be spotted and he came over and told me something that tipped the scales back into my favor," Vlad steepled his hands maliciously.

Danny's eyes widened as the answer came to him. The one thing that the mad millionaire would use to his advantage that his father could have told him about.

"The Ghost Portal."

"Yes, suddenly all of my crushed dreams and grandiose plans had risen from the grave all in the span of a second. Who would have thought that the simpleton I'd gone to college with would resurrect that horrid machine so many years later and for it to work as well," Vlad chuckled at the impossibility of it with a hand attempting to stifle himself. "Now, once he'd finished the portal, I would have an endless supply of foot soldiers to throw at those blond buffoons…"

"Ahem!" Skulker let his distaste at being called a foot soldier be known.

"Ugh, and Skulker," Vlad rolled his eyes and watched the hunter smirk while leaning against the wall. "With the added benefit of discrediting your bumbling father and having the incident blamed on him."

"Not a good plan, Vlad. You haven't seen those two in action like I have, they'll steamroll over you," Danny countered smiling at the thought.

"Which is why I wanted to ease unrest into Amity Park and lure them here, exhausting their energy before delivering the final blow over the course of a week," Vlad walked up to the cage and leaned over to stare into Danny's eyes, "But then I hear word of a ghost boy that was impeding me and had to swiftly stop him, so I could progress…and here we are." Vlad finished.

"Thanks for the info…" Danny glared, "Now I know how hard I need to punch you before the other two get a chance to stop you!"

"They won't be stopping me, boy, I'm well prepared."

"To do what? Kneel on the ground and beg them not to smack you around?" Danny rose a brow at the man's nonchalance when he'd openly admitted that their strength was nothing to sneeze at. "Don't worry, they'll have to get in line."

"Ha, I can more than handle you, Daniel. A boy that can barely use powers he's had for almost a week? Hardly something to be afraid of."

Vlad's confidence annoyed the teen.

"Then why capture me? Shouldn't you have just gotten rid of me? You're taking a risk just letting me sit here," Danny raised good points.

Vlad stood up and took a step back, "It's because you are a remnant of your mother."

At Danny's questioning look Vlad went on to elaborate on his decision with an understanding, somber look in his eyes along with some remorse.

"If I were to eliminate you, I would be removing a piece of her that remains. Something that she cherished and deserves to thrive in this world, or rather the one I hope to create," Vlad explained. "I am your and your sister's guardian now, Daniel, and that practically makes us family…I don't want to harm you if I don't have to."

"Could have fooled me," Danny looked disgusted at Vlad's implication.

"Remember, I've only recently discovered your identity. Bringing you here was so I could speak with you calmly, and hide nothing of my intended actions. With the full picture now revealed, Daniel, I have a deal for you."

Vlad sat in a chair and looked the surprised teen in the eye once more. He crossed his fingers in front of his face and rested his elbows on his lap, driving up the tension before he uttered his next words.

"I want you to turn a blind eye to my plan."

Silence reigned within the room. Skulker remained leaning against the wall, expecting the boy's answer since he'd studied him for so long and was looking forward to how Masters would twist the young halfa into doing his bidding.

"I'd never do that! Now let me out of here so I can clobber you!" Danny grew indignant at the mere thought that he could be persuaded to let the man continue his nefarious plans.

"Why?" Vlad said beneath the boy's yell yet it still managed to cut through.

"What?"

"Why? Why stop me, Daniel?"

"Because you're dragging innocent people into some personal vendetta with my dad and your selfishness," Danny shot back.

"Don't lie, Daniel. Skulker told me what he's observed while hunting you, and I believe that the two of us are very much alike."

Danny's eyes widened, words coming from his mouth almost automatically.

"I'm nothing like you."

"Aren't you? We're both victims of your oaf of a father…he took away my best years! My chance with Maddie! Stolen from me at the same time, and by the time I was able to attempt to reacclimate the world had moved on without me…it was different, and it wouldn't return to the way it was," Vlad lost his composure and had to take a second to run his hands through his hair to calm himself.

"And then there's you. A young man in the prime of his life that was already an outcast because of his father's profession, and then suddenly you are forcibly thrust into this world of ghosts and specters with no chance to avoid it…all because of Jack, and no matter how much you wish for it, you won't ever be normal again."

Danny was beginning to waver.

"Because of that incident, Daniel, I was brought here, and you were thrust into battling these apparitions. If Jack had never created that infernal machine, the both of us would be on different paths. Instead, we're here and you are exhausting yourself to protect your name and your family's image," Vlad brought the conversation to a head.

"No, no, I'm not. I help people…I-I'm saving them…" Danny denied the man's accusation.

Vlad shook his head sadly, "Daniel, we both know that you aren't putting yourself out there, dragging your haggard body out every night to protect those oblivious lumps. You're going out there to rectify a mistake that you were left with…a duty that you didn't ask for and are therefore trapped by. If you didn't capture these ghosts, both Jazz and you would be stared at in the place of your father, drawing the ire of the Amity Park citizens for the destruction he wrought."

"…Th-that isn't true," Danny couldn't look Vlad in the eyes anymore.

The teen thought back to each of his encounters with ghosts. How he prioritized capturing them and rarely stuck around to make sure people were okay and would flee the scene. How he'd attacked those R.I.B agents and their colleagues even though they could have been allies, simply because he didn't want anyone to know his identity.

He wasn't helping anyone but himself.

"Tell me. Why should that responsibility fall on your shoulders?"

Silence.

"It rests solely with your father, Daniel, and he should pay for it. He doesn't need protection or deserve it. He was an oaf that so much for his ghosts, that he allowed his wife to die and his child to be turned into a freak, leaving said child to pick up the pieces left."

Silence.

"Doesn't he deserve a comeuppance?"

Silence.

"I do believe I've made my point," Vlad got up from the chair. "Think it over, Daniel. My plans will be progressing this next week. All you have to do is continue going to school as normal. I will take over Nexus, destroy those two heroes, and in the end, you and Jazz can be treated like royalty in the new world."

Danny's eyes were sunken, seeming to become a dull blue to show how distraught he was. The layers he'd put up…they'd come crashing down around him. Tears were stinging the corners of his eyes.

He didn't know what to do.

He didn't know what he was.

He just knew…he was no hero.

"Skulker, let's put Daniel to sleep so he can contemplate his next course of action, shall we?" Vlad said assured of his psychological victory over the teenager with a snap of his fingers.

Skulker grumbled at being ordered around but complied. Pushing buttons on one of his gauntlets, Danny's prison was filled with sleeping gas. Without much preamble, given his mind being elsewhere, Danny was rendered unconscious once more.

The following day would be very important for him, depending on the choice he would make when he awoke.

(Next Day)

"Vlad!" Danny shot up from his bed with a cold sweat. His covers fell to the floor in a heap from his abrupt movement.

Breathing heavily, Danny clutched his chest, trying to calm himself. Darting his eyes around, he saw that he was back in his room. He deduced that the villainous millionaire had returned him home to avoid suspicion from Jazz.

With his bearings returned, Danny's eyes widened as the memories of the previous night came flooding back. The revelations he'd heard, the root cause of his and Amity Park's troubles discovered, and dark truths revealed.

All of those things weighed heavily on the young boy's mind…pushing him to act immediately.

Act on what, he did not know, but if he did not do something…he'd be alone with his thoughts.

The young halfa jumped out of his bed, wincing slightly from last night's events but hurried around his room to dress. Making himself presentable, Danny hurried downstairs intent on finding the villainous businessman and…

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Danny jumped past the last few steps to save time. Hitting the floor heavily, the teen boy bolted into the kitchen as quickly as his feet could carry him.

"Vlad!" Danny shouted, hand slamming against the doorjamb to stop his momentum and simultaneously startling his older sister, causing her to fumble with the butter knife in her hand.

"Whoa!" Jazz caught the silverware before it could fall to the floor and gave a brief sigh while stilling her overexcited heart, "Danny, you're up early…for once," Jazz looked at the kitchen's clock to confirm. "Whatever you and Mr. Masters did last night must have been exhausting," she said.

"What?" Danny smartly replied, confused.

"Mr. Masters told me that he picked you up from school yesterday so you guys could get more acquainted. At first, I was skeptical, but after seeing how late you both came back, it must have gone well," Jazz elaborated, though it did little to relieve Danny.

'Makes sense. Wouldn't want anyone getting suspicious of him,' Danny's eyes narrowed.

"Danny?"

His sister's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and her concerned frown made him act for her benefit.

"Yeah, it was enlightening…" Danny answered cryptically while taking his seat. "Where is Vlad? I wanted to talk to him about last night," Danny asked innocently enough but there was a certain edge to his voice.

"Don't know, he must have some business to take care of in the city. Normally he's down here before me," Jazz looked thoughtful as she answered, handing Danny some pancakes she'd made.

Hearing that made the ghost teen start glaring down at the floor. or more specifically, the basement. 'He's probably down there right now,' Danny thought, and as his mind wandered his grip tightened on his fork and dug into the plate along with his food.

The tension at the table became thick due to Danny's frustrated and angry expression, and Jazz eating silently to stifle herself from interfering. She watched Danny dig into his food with his utensil with his frown never faltering, staring down at the floor for whatever reason he had. Jazz started to tap her fork against her empty plate, itching to help her brother but ultimately decided against it.

"So!" she shot up from the table and went toward the kitchen entrance to finish getting ready for school, her abrupt movement startled Danny much like he'd done to her, "I'm going to go get ready, so I'll be down in a bit!" she shouted back.

With his sister gone for the moment, Danny took the chance to dart into the living room and toward the basement door. Standing in front of the blocked entrance, with nary a thought (something he didn't notice himself), Danny started to transform into his ghost form.

"Alright, Vlad. I'm gonna…gonna…" Danny's fiery disposition faded as his mind wandered back to the discussion last night, staying his entrance into the basement. The rings that denoted his transformation dissipated, leaving the regular boy in their wake with downcast eyes.

"What am I going to do? What can I do?" Danny frowned sadly, "I-I'm no hero…all I'm doing is proving Vlad right." The teen stared at the palms of his hands.

'I'm just covering for myself.'

"All ready to go, Danny?" Jazz came down and saw her brother standing in front of the basement with a pained look on his face. She made to reach out and grab his shoulder, but he was already on the move, heading to the front door without looking her in the eye.

"Yeah, let's go," Danny answered distantly.

Inside the Fenton RV, the tension from breakfast had luckily been broken but now it had been replaced an oppressively depressing atmosphere. Jazz's gaze was focused on the road yet would constantly steal glances at her brother who was staring out the window of the vehicle seemingly lost in thought.

The older sister began to sweat, and her lips began to tremble as she could no longer restrain herself from saying something, anything that would bring her brother's spirits up, where their supposed guardian had apparently failed. Jazz took a deep breath and decided to lay out what she thought of her brother and what he'd been putting himself through since returning to the outside world.

"I'm proud of you, Danny."

The boy perked up upon hearing his sibling address him and it took him a second to register just what she had said. Turning from the window, the depressed teen let himself be confused at the sudden interaction.

"Uh, where did that come from?" Danny rose a brow at his sister.

"Well…" she blushed in embarrassment at his stare, "…I've been meaning to tell you, but someone decided to put up a 'keep out' sign on their room door," Jazz smiled knowingly.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that…I just felt like being alone."

"Yeah, so I wanted to give you space…I was being a bit of a pest," Jazz admitted.

"Whoa, now you're admitting that you're a meddler?"

"Ha-ha, Seriously…I'm very proud of you…for moving through all of this," Jazz gestured her hand to indicate the misfortune the two and found themselves mired in lately. "I know that it's been hard, and I know that you've been pushing yourself through everything just to make everyone happy and have a normal life again."

"Did you read this in one of your books?" Danny grew skeptical, believing she was once more trying to dig into him and get him to lay himself bare emotionally.

"No, this is all me…it wouldn't mean as much if I had to read it out of a psychology book," she moved a strand of hair behind her ear. "After everything that's happened, Danny, you've done your best to keep moving forward as best you could…and I wanted you to know that I was proud," Jazz swallowed before continuing, "And I think mom and dad would be proud too. That you aren't letting their deaths weigh on you too heavily."

Danny's chest clenched.

Jazz had no idea of the whirlwind of emotions that swirled within her brother. The lie he'd been living for the past weeks. The hidden he had nightmares that proved her wrong about the death of their mother, and the former responsibility he'd taken upon himself that pushed him to the point of exhaustion because he wanted his father to rest easy and for the two of them to live without ridicule from the residents of Amity Park.

'Proud? Of me?'

"Jazz," Danny spoke up, getting his sister's attention, "I haven't been ok…I-I thought that I was but…it has been hard. I haven't hung out with Tucker or Sam since going back to school, I don't feel like I should be happy," he revealed what he could of his hardships, "I've been sneaking out at night…to think, and I thought I was making progress on my own…found a way to-to move forward and live in a way that would make mom and dad happy."

Jazz was silent, listening to her brother in equal parts shock from him opening up to her and sorrow that he held it all inside.

"But…now, I don't think I am. I think they'd be disappointed in me for everything I've done, and I don't know what to do-"

"Don't ever say that," Jazz cut him off sternly, "Mom and Dad, ghost nuts though they were, were smart and they raised us right. They'd smack some sense into you for just thinking you could do anything to make them disappointed in you!" Jazz denied his doubts.

"I know without a doubt, Danny, that wherever mom and dad are, they are proud of you for doing all you can to move on…it will take time but soon enough the pain will lessen."

Pulling up to the school the conversation came to an abrupt end and the two Fenton duo breathed a sigh as the emotions began to wind down. Jazz turned back to her brother and smiled slightly.

"I'm going to go ahead and park, you can head inside. After a talk like that you need some time to process and decompress. And that is something I read from a psych book," Jazz joked slightly for some levity before driving off, leaving Danny to his thoughts.

"Thanks, Jazz, but I don't think they would be," Danny looked at the ground as he made his way into Casper High.

Standing in the hallway, Tuck and Sam waited for their friend to arrive with determined looks. The two had reached their limit and the goth ultra-recyclo-vegetarian had managed to talk the dark-skinned techie into a makeshift intervention for Danny. They'd grown tired and concerned for the Fenton teen's health and mental state, with his distance from them growing wider every day they resolved to confront him today and get him to explain what was going on.

"Ready? We aren't taking no for an answer this time," Sam nodded resolutely with a hardened look.

"Yeah, this has gone on long enough!" Tuck stood next to Sam with his arms crossed, "Danny's crying out for help and he's gonna get it!"

The familiar black hair of the teen soon reached their vision, and the duo of concerned friends moved forward to talk to him. Reaching out to him, Tuck and Sam froze up from the intense look of contemplation that was set on Danny's face. He was so deep in his thoughts that he passed both of his friends with barely a glance that acknowledged that they were standing in front of him. Pushing past, Danny had a thousand-yard stare, seemingly watching the students mill about without a care.

'It must be nice,' Danny thought with a newfound appreciation for the carefree, mundane life he'd taken for granted. 'Being able to laugh like that.' He sighed sadly, tiredly.

'They have no idea what's going on…' Danny's eyes widened at the simple sentence that meant so much.

The bell rang and he was on autopilot as he filed into Mr. Lancer's classroom with his classmates. He kept his eyes on everyone as they sat at their desks, his view roving over everyone subtly.

Their smiling faces.

An old memory came to the forefront of his mind, one that was long forgotten.

"Dad, how come you decided to be a ghost hunter?" a young Danny asked his father, the man working in the basement. "You could've made more money just building stuff,"

Jack smiled and picked his son up, "You're right, son. We'd have more money if I were just any old inventor," Jack rubbed the back of his neck, deciding to tell his son the reason he decided to hunt ghosts.

"See, Danny, when I was your age, your grandmother passed away…and I was convinced that that couldn't be the end of her," Jack reluctantly, "I felt like she was still there, watching over me and I just had to reach out to her," Jack looked into his son's eyes. "I started looking into ghosts soon after, they were the closest thing I could think of to explain the feeling I had. If I could find a way to reach the realm she was trapped in, I could see her again and not just that, I could use that discovery to help people."

The young boy looked in awe at his father, admiring his noble reason for his ghost research.

"Then how come you and mom are the only ones doing this stuff? Shouldn't you have help?"

Jack laughed humorlessly and rubbed his son's hair, "I wish…but no one believed me back then and they still don't…only your mother did," Jack smiled brightening up despite being seen as a crackpot by everyone outside his family, "But that's alright, they don't have to believe me. What I'm doing is dangerous and important work. Just because my reason for doing this is good that doesn't mean there won't be something bad waiting on the other end. All kinds of ghosts are waiting in the Ghost Zone for a chance to get out, and since I'm the only one who knows what's going on, it's my responsibility to protect everyone," Jack pointed a thumb at himself with a wide smile, "I gave up the chance to be normal a long time ago, Danny, but that doesn't mean that I should be the reason everyone else loses that right."

"I hope you aren't planning on protecting the town alone, dear," Maddie walked in to get Danny since it was time for him to go to bed.

"Ha, of course not! It's you and me against the world, baby, and when Danny grows up he can help us hunt ghosts!"

The serious atmosphere was dissipated by his father's goofiness that made him laugh.

His parents were good people…

'Normal…' Danny thought and looked down at his hands, ignoring Mr. Lancer as he began the lesson.

'I lost my chance to be normal after I got my powers…and I'm the only one that knows what Vlad is up to,' Danny clenched his hands into fists. 'Mom and Dad…they didn't hesitate to throw away regular lives to do what was right…Mom gave her life up just for me and everyone else in the city. She knew what she was going to lose and she didn't hesitate for a second.'

'And look at me…I'm sitting in school…when all these people are in danger!' Danny looked to Tucker and Sam who did not realize their friend's eyes had brightened up again, he looked to Valerie who was hard at work but snuck glances his way.

'Mom and Dad would be disappointed in me if they knew all it took was a few words from some jerk millionaire to make me doubt myself!' Danny's head shot up, looking in the direction where his house was, he steeled himself.

'I have to go!'

Instantly Danny got up from his desk, making everyone in the room look to him, none more than his best friends.

"Is there something you'd like to share, Mr. Fenton," Lancer asked with a raised eyebrow at the no doubt still grief-stricken boy.

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer…I have something important I have to do!" Danny dashed from his desk to the classroom door, planning on finding a quiet place to transform.

"Mr. Fenton!"

Lancer's voice cut through the quiet room, stopping Danny with his hand on the doorknob. The teacher seemed exasperated, concerned, and upset all at once, wanting to handle the boy gently but needing to be stern.

"I know that you've gone through quite a lot recently, but this behavior is unacceptable. I cannot allow you to leave class…if you do, I'll have no choice but to give you detention," the foot came down.

Danny only thought for a second, his hand wavering the slightest bit as this was most likely his last chance to back out. Once he stepped outside the door, he'd no longer be just Danny Fenton…he'd be more.

A hero.

"That's fine, Mr. Lancer," Danny opened the door doubt gone from him as he left class, "This can't wait."

The sounds of his receding footsteps echoed as he ran out of the room. Sam and Tuck gave each other glances before they too got up from their desks and gunned for the exit. Their classmates were all confused and it heightened when the duo had made to follow their friend out the door.

"Mr. Foley! Ms. Manson! Just where do you think you're going?!" Lancer cried.

"Uh, bathroom?" Tucker offered lamely.

"We're going after Danny, Mr. Lancer," Sam answered.

"If you two leave, you'll be sharing a detention with-"

"That's fine!" the two had already left without hearing the rest of their teacher's sentence.

"Chicken Soup for the Soul! Detention is supposed to be a punishment!" Lancer lamented his lack of control, "The rest of you stay in your seats! That means you, Mr. Baxter!"

"Aw, man. Why does Fenton get to go?" Dash grumbled.

Valerie wondered what was happening with those three but chose to stay within the class. She'd already given Danny advice…she just hoped that he was taking it to heart.

Out in the hallway, Danny's frantic footsteps echoed in the empty space as he slid around a turn. His eyes narrowed, determined to get out of Casper High and put a stop to Vlad's plan before it could gain any traction. His transformation haven came into view, the janitor's closet, and he jumped into it with gusto.

With a quick spin and crouch, Danny's energy rings formed with a thought, and he was fully transformed into his ghost form in seconds. He darted toward the ceiling and turned intangible, flying through the school, and emerging from its roof. Facing in the direction of his home, the teen halfa started to fly…

Or he would have if he hadn't been struck by a shot that stunned him, making his body arc with electricity.

"Ahhh!" Danny shouted in pain, then felt two large hands wrap around his neck before he was forced down by whoever had grabbed him, sending them hurtling back to Casper High.

Back inside the school, the two best friends of Danny were running in the hallways searching for him. Breathing heavily, the two conversed as they ran through the school.

"Danny!" Sam called.

"Did you see the look on his face?! What's going on?" Tuck asked, running next to the goth girl.

"I don't know. But we have to find him and get to the bottom of all this!" Sam decided.

"Well, where do we go? He isn't in the school."

"Then we check his house, come on!" Sam and Tuck moved to the school's exit.

Suddenly a crash was heard as the school's ceiling caved in directly in front of them. The commotion caused alarm to go off across Casper High, fire alarms that meant all the student body and faculty would need to evacuate the building. The two caught in the crossfire were covered in dust from the collapsed ceiling, ears ringing from the noise, and bodies on the ground from the tremor.

"What was that!" Tuck shouted over the falling debris, covering his head.

"Unh, what the…?" Sam rubbed her head while sitting up on the floor when her eyes landed on two shadowed figures in the dust cloud one strangling the other.

Within the cloud was none other than 'Invis-o-Bill' and some other ghost with metal skin with its hands around the hero's neck. The teen tried and failed to wrest the larger ghost's hands from his throat to no avail, gritting his teeth as he vainly gripped the offending limbs.

"Well, well, well, seems that the whelp has more of a backbone than I had given him credit for," the deep voice of a certain ghost hunter reached Danny's ears.

"Ngh, Skulker?" Danny struggled out, looking into the glowing eyes of the mechanical ghost. "What are you doing here?!"

The ghost smiled sinisterly and leaned in closer to the teen hero's face, "Isn't it obvious? Masters expected that you would make a foolish choice such as this, so he had me keeping an eye on you in case you decided to suddenly grow a conscience…and eliminate you."

"Grr, so he never trusted me!"

"Well, seeing as we're in this situation it seems his suspicions were well-founded. I don't normally associate with humans, but even I have to admit that he is shrewd. Speaking of which…" Skulker smiled even wider letting his gaze be cast over his shoulder which gave his opponent a slight view as well.

It was then that a large green beam shot into the sky, spreading a dark purple mist across the sky. And that wasn't the worst of it, once the clear blue had been overtaken by the haze, a large stream of ghosts began to fly from the beam and scattered all around Amity Park, terrorizing the citizens, and causing destruction.

"What the…" Danny tried to sit up in shock only to be shoved back into the floor.

"Ah, right on time."

"Skulker, what's he doing, he said…"

"If he was expecting your betrayal, do you think he would wait for a week to activate the portal?" Skulker chuckled at the boy's naivete.

"He lied from the start!"

"He is a businessman, after all," Skulker pointed out, "Knowing what would transpire, Masters decided it best to release the ghosts all at once and sacrifice subtlety to draw those two heroes here immediately and overwhelm them with numbers."

"No!" Danny struggled even harder to get the hunter to release him.

"Once I'm through with you, I'll be heading into the fray. Consider yourself the appetizer to my hunt!" Skulker leaned in and put more force into his grip.

"Keep…" Danny gasped out, "…them…" his energy surged around him, flowing into his hands, "…out of this!" Danny shouted, unknowingly his ectoplasmic energy sparked from his hands and caused Skulker's grip to loosen.

The halfa tackled the hunter back out the hole they'd made when he felt the ghost's hands leave his neck. Skulker grunted in surprise, trying to bring his hands back under control as the ecto-energy continued to spark.

With the two supernatural beings gone from the building, the two hidden teens stood back up hesitantly. They panted, releasing the breaths that they were holding lest the ghosts bring their attention to them. But the main thing that was ringing within their minds was just what the hunter had said in the exchange.

"Invis-o-Bill?" Tuck coughed, waving some of the building's dust from his face. "And…who was the other guy?" Tuck wondered wide-eyed, ignoring the panicking students that had finally started to file out of the wrecked school.

"Who cares about them?!" Sam glared, focusing Tucker back on the problem at hand. "Didn't you hear what they were talking about?"

"What…my ears were still ringing?" Tuck rose his brow at his goth friend.

"They were talking about the Ghost Portal and Masters…" Sam lead, trying to get Tuck to reach the same conclusion.

"A master? That's who's behind this!" Tuck cracked the code.

Sam facepalmed, "No, not 'a master'! Masters, as in Vlad Masters, Danny and Jazz's guardian!" Sam pointed out to the techie.

"The millionaire guy, why would he want the Portal activated or take over Amity Park?"

"Who knows, but if he is behind this, that must be why Danny's been acting strange this entire time! Masters must have made him keep quiet…and he had 'Invis-o-Bill' watching him and that other ghost, too!" Sam deduced, letting her personal opinions on the hero bleed through.

"Then what are we gonna do now?" a piece of rubble dropped next to him, "I'm in the 'get the heck out here camp'!" Tuck sweat.

"We have to go and help Danny, Tuck. Who knows what Vlad or those ghosts are going to do to him!" Sam said with determination, ready to rescue her friend.

Tuck was trembling, afraid to put his life on the line so suddenly, but he stamped down those negative feelings. His best friend was in trouble and he could do something about it, he couldn't be concerned with himself.

"Ye-yeah, let's go…before I come to my senses," Tuck muttered the last bit to himself with a quivering lip, running alongside his female friend.

Their plan of action made, the two began making their way to the Fenton household, hoping to save their friend from the clutches of the vile millionaire bent on conquest of Nexus. Sadly, they were unaware of just how close they were to Danny.

Up above the frightened citizens, Danny was pounding his fists into the face of Skulker. The clanging of fists against metal skin rung through the air as the young hero battered the hunter with all his might intent on bringing him down as quickly as he could and move on to his boss and end the ghost invasion.

The hunter meanwhile was forced to take the beating for the time being as he was awaiting his hands to regain functionality. His finger twitched after being punched away for a final time and Skulker capitalized on his regained mobility instantly. Grabbing Danny by the neck once more, he held him at arm's length and his smile back on his face.

"You've surprised me, boy," Skulker chuckled as he stared into the defiant eyes of the ghost boy. "Seems you've found your fire. I do wonder what ignited it, but no matter. I have a job to do."

A glowing blade shot out of his gauntlet, energy radiating from it as Skulker brought it up toward Danny's face. Sweat began to drip down the struggling teen's face as the weapon came closer to him.

*Pew*

"Argh!" a shot from a laser interrupted the hunter, making him turn his head downward angrily to see who had fired on him. Below the two floating beings were the group of R.I.B agents and Rickbusters that had been keeping an eye on Danny's usual haunts.

"Invis-o-Bill and…whoever the hell the other guy is!" the lead agent shouted up at them with a megaphone. "We are going to only ask one time, stand down and stop whatever stupidass supernatural bullshit you are siccing on Amity Park or we are going to open fire and slam you in a trap!"

"Who are they?!" Skulker confusedly asked.

"Honestly, I'm beginning to think they're clones," Danny answered.

"Get ready to bring 'em down, boys!" a Rickbuster started to fire up his proton pack along with the others.

"Wait!" Danny shouted, halting everyone present. "Forget about us and go to the Fenton house!" Danny told them desperately.

"The Fenton house?" the Ricks rose their brows.

"You were right! I should have told you before, but the Fenton's Ghost Portal is releasing all these ghosts on Amity Park!" Danny explained, doing the right thing and accepting help from the outside party if it meant saving lives. "Vlad Masters is behind this! He's planning to take over Nexus and kill the ninja and magic girl!"

At that news, the Ricks lowered their weapons and gave each other knowing and serious looks. They all had the same IQ and knew what their boss's reveal to the masses would mean, but for it to happen this soon…

"Vlad Masters? Guess he didn't just look like a Lex Luthor type after all," the rookie agent grumbled. "What are we gonna do? Take these two down…or believe the kid?" he asked the lead agent, ready to point his chrome pistol at the ghosts.

The leader stared at the ghost boy intently behind his shades, he saw the boy's resolve. He rolled his eyes at the blatant heroics but couldn't deny that a bigger threat was out there and it made more sense for them to split up.

"We're going to the Fenton's! We gotta stop this bullshit takeover plot before it bleeds to the rest of Nexus! We're on evac and suppression!" with that the Ricks started to scramble to their vehicles.

"Hell yeah! This is our Gozer, boys!" a Rickbuster high-fived his colleagues.

"Get your head out of your ass, fanboy!" the rookie agent shouted as he slammed the door to his vehicle with the lead agent driving.

"You think I'll just let you…ugh!" Skulker was blasted by a ghost ray from the teen.

"You're hunting me remember!" Danny growled.

"Very well, your death wish will be granted. Then I shall deal with those meddlers!" Skulker flew at Danny who returned in kind.

Within the R.I.B agents' car, they were having a conversation.

"So, at this point, we are calling the boss, right?!" the rookie shouted over the roar of the engine as the car was maneuvered through the traffic and throngs of panicking citizens.

Next to them, identical hearses were being driven with sirens being blared from each. Within them, the Rickbusters drove down the streets of Amity Park firing their Proton Packs from the sides and drawing unfortunate stray ghosts into traps mounted on the roofs.

"I'm already on it, but we can't hold our breath and wait for him to show! We've gotta hold down the fort until then!" the lead agent answered while pulling a communicator out of his pocket.

"How long do you think it's going to take him to get here?" the rookie swerved down a street, pulling his pistol out and blasting a laser at one of the ghosts.

"Well, speaking in a normal situation. It would probably take him about 15 minutes with as fast as he is…but with his fucking hero complex…might want to double that," the lead Rick rubbed his forehead, knowing and expecting that his boss would stop and help every shmuck that was too brain-dead to run away from the swirling vortex spewing fucking ghosts out!

"Shit…" the rookie groaned.

"Suppression and rescue, just hold 'em off until he shows up."

The group Ricks continued toward Danny's home with haste, blasting and trapping ghosts along the way, but no idea how they would be able to stop this amount of the entities flooding in.

Meanwhile, Danny and Skulker were still locked in combat above Amity Park, the chaos practically forgotten they were so focused on one another. The heroic halfa weaved around the lasers that the hunter fired at him, then dashed forward and punched Skulker across his face.

The hunter quickly recovered and grinned, swiping his glowing blade at the teen who leaned back to avoid being slashed and brought his leg up to kick Skulker in the stomach. Quickly, the mechanical ghost brought his hand up and grabbed the offending limb before he could be hit. Using his strength, he whipped Danny around and threw him down into the ground creating a crater.

"You're far too young to best me in a fight, whelp. I have been hunting before you ever existed, and I know how to exploit weaknesses…" Skulker fired his laser at a billboard above the fleeing citizens, making it fall, with those below being too speechless to move.

Without thinking, Danny flew right over and caught the object before it could land on the people, visibly struggling as he tried to keep it aloft for as long as he could. He looked behind him and saw the people, looking at him in awe, and yelled to them to wake them up.

"Get out of here, go!" his words got them to quickly move away, thankful that Invis-o-Bill saved them from a painful death.

Once the last person had moved, Danny let himself pass through the billboard, exhausted from holding the heaviest object he ever had and his arms sore. In this state, Skulker capitalized and pushed Danny through the roof of a building and even pushed him against the floor of it as well, digging up the tiles and breaking water pipes.

Laying in a trench, Danny was held down by his neck with Skulker chuckling lowly in victory. Sparking power cables hung from the destroyed roof, and illuminated the darkened building, bathing the two ghosts in its occasional glow.

"It was an enjoyable hunt while it lasted, boy, but I have to prepare for my bigger prize. As an appetizer you weren't half bad before the main course," Skulker brought his blade over his head ready to sever the teen hero's head from his neck.

"Be proud, your head has more than earned its place above my fireplace."

Danny's eyes darted around frantically, trying to find a way out of this situation. His hands grabbing at the larger ghost's wrist in an attempt to remove him, but his grip as always was ironclad. The glow of the blade reflected in Danny's eyes, ominous and threatening to end the young ghost.

'I've knocked him around so much and nothing…he's not hurt! How?' Danny thought quickly, thinking back to their encounters…and remembered when the fight started that there was one moment where the ghost had faltered.

'Back at school, those were my best hits…and he didn't fight back, he just took the punches. Why? He dodged or stopped everything after that…' Danny racked his brain, 'His hand…it was sparking…from my energy? Like a machine short-circuiting.'

Danny truly looked at Skulker and came to the realization that the ghost hunting ghost was a machine, lasers popped from his wrists and shoulders, the bolts holding him together, the glowing blade from his gauntlets.

'Electricity is a weakness…but it wasn't enough. If I'm going to shut him down, I need more,' Danny moved his eyes slightly and noticed the power lines…

'Oh, this is going to hurt.'

"Now, any last words before I end you, ghost child," Skulker leaned in to revel in the final pleas of his prey.

"Uh, this may come as a shock to you, but I don't have anything to say," Danny subtly inched his hand closer to the power line.

"Well, that is surprising for you, boy, and unfortunate!" Skulker moved to plunge his blade.

"I didn't say 'surprising'! I said 'shocking'!" Danny shouted, grabbing the power lines end, making his body a circuit, and augmenting his ecto-energy. With the electricity coursing through him, Danny brought his hand up which was sparking intensely with energy and grabbed onto Skulker's shoulder.

"Agh!" Skulker threw his head back as the ecto-energy coursed through his ecto-skeleton, overloading his systems, and forcing circuits to shut off. He released the equally pained hero who was gritting his teeth as the electricity coursed through him to reach his enemy.

"Ugh, whelp, I'll gut you for…for" he tried to move his body, but his arms suddenly fell limply to his sides and would not respond. "What is this!"

"Electricity, a whole lot of it…way more than I thought I could live through…guess ghosts are pretty resilient. Haven't ever experienced a malfunction, metalhead?" Danny was smoking as he moved over to the immobile hunter.

"You cocky little, when my system reboots, I'll-"

"You think that I'm gonna let you do that? You're done Skulker, guess that makes me the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter," Danny smiled at the enraged look on the ghost as he tried to force himself to move before winding his fist back.

"No!" a punch rocketed into his metal chin, followed by a kick, and finally, another ecto-energy imbued punch across his face, making Skulker fall onto his back.

"*Phew* That makes one down," Danny pulled out the Fenton Thermos and then blinked in realization, "Why does a ghost need a mechanical suit anyway?"

Suddenly, the ecto-skeleton opened its chest and a small green blur shot out toward Danny who easily caught it with his enhanced reflexes. Grabbing it, Danny blinked when a small blob met his vision with an angry face.

"Unhand me, whelp! Fight me fairly!"

"Whelp? Skulker?" Danny burst out laughing at the dread hunter's true form. "This is what you really look like, oh man, that…actually makes me getting knocked around by you more embarrassing," Danny deflated.

"You haven't seen the last of me! I'll create a new ecto-skeleton and hunt you! I won't stop until you're stuffed!" the diminutive ghost blob screamed.

"Keep telling yourself that. Once I deal with Vlad, you and your pals are going back into the Ghost Zone."

"You can't stop Masters, he'll destroy you, and then I shall have the last laugh, whelp!" Skulker fumed.

"If I can deal with you, I'm pretty sure I can deal with a megalomaniac former millionaire," Danny rolled his eyes unamused.

"You'll be sorry, boy. I'd like to see your face when-Hey!" Skulker didn't finish because the teen hero activated the Fenton Thermos and sucked the tiny ghost hunter into it.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't have time to listen to your little rant, pipsqueak," Danny rolled his eyes. "Now, it's time for this to end," he said as he started to float before dashing through the air toward his house.

(Outside the Fenton House)

The epicenter of the ghost invasion was a warzone as the two agent Ricks and the Rickbusters blasted and trapped ghosts at a breakneck pace trying to lessen the number of apparitions that would escape into Amity Park. It was an uphill battle as there were far too many flooding out of the green portal than they could handle on their own.

"Keep it moving people! You can't go home and you can't stay here, so why the fuck are you still around?!" the lead Rick agent shouted over the blasts, using his free hand to usher the stream of civilians down a safe path out of their line of fire.

"We're running out of traps here!" one of the Rickbusters shouted, slamming another ghost into a trap and, with no time to pick it up, threw another one down to catch a new one.

"Oh, what's that? Are you complaining about using your little obsolete technology without improving it because of brand loyalty?" the rookie agent mocked the Rickbusters, receiving glares from the group but they couldn't deny he was right.

"But, yeah, where's the big man at? This is a battle of attrition here!" the agent then went back to shooting.

"It's already been 15 minutes! We're looking at a hero complex save here!" the lead Rick agent grumbled.

"Ugh, if these stupid ghosts get any further out, he'll be saving every fucking schmuck anyways!" the rookie rolled his eyes beneath his shades when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey, I told you to get-what the fuck are you two doing here?" he turned to see Sam and Tuck. "In case you haven't realized, it's becoming a Hellraiser movie out here…don't look it up!"

"That's what we should be asking you!" Sam narrowed her eyes at the man, "Where's Danny?!" she demanded of him.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now!" he shot a ghost that got too close for comfort, "You think I have time to know where the Fenton kid is? Wasn't he at school with you?!" he hid the fact that he and all the Ricks knew just where the absent teen was.

"He ran out! Then all this happened!" Tucker yelped and ducked out of the way when a ghost took a swipe at him.

"And what do you want me to do about it?!" he replied.

"Oh, please! We know he's here; we overheard a ghost saying that Vlad Masters is behind all this!" Sam accused, "You're probably working with him! Ever since you got here, all this weird ghost stuff started happening, and you were asking Danny about the Ghost Portal!"

"Do you have eyes! If we were working for that dipshit and it went belly up like this, you think we'd be risking our lives to fix it!? Do you even hear yourself?!"

"It's no coincidence that you all show up and then ghosts start terrorizing Amity Park, right after! You have to be behind it. Using Danny's dad's tech for whatever you're up to and probably to bring it back to that blond guy, too!" Sam glared at them.

"Uh, Sam? I don't think now is the time," Tuck shook, his friend's bullheadedness was going to get them into trouble.

"We can't just let them get away with this!" Sam growled.

"Ho-ly shit, I get it now…I know exactly what you are…" his eyes widened behind his shades. "Now that I have to listen to your bullshit, I understand! All you are is a contrarian!" Rick accused the girl right back, hands by his head in a mind-blown-like gesture.

"You don't care about whether or not there's evidence to back your claims up, all you care about is going against the crowd! What are you a goth? I could barely tell because you don't even sell the image well, it's like you don't even want to commit to the group you're trying to be part of!" he pointed to her clothes. "I bet you're a vegetarian too, huh? Get your kicks from going around and telling everybody how much better it is to eat vegetables, telling them how much suffering the animals go through in slaughterhouses, just so you can get a rush of superiority for 'educating' them and making people feel bad for enjoying a meal. You just go shoving your views down peoples' throats and damn them for even thinking differently from you in the first place. And why? So you can feel 'special', so you feel like the center of the universe for changing the minds of the people," the rookie Rick ranted at the shocked teen, putting air quotes around the word special.

"How's that working out for you? Change the world yet? Is everyone munching on grass now? Or are they avoiding you like the plague because you're insufferable? The only ones that tolerate you are your friends, and they're probably getting sick of your shit, too! Bet that rush of dopamine you get whenever you put someone down in an attempt to 'help' started to fizzle out about two years ago. Am I right?" he deduced quickly the core reason for Sam's ire toward his boss and anyone with powers for that matter.

"That's when you found out that you're nothing but a speck in a universe, a multiverse, that couldn't care less about you existing in it! The word 'special' has taken on a whole new meaning now if you haven't noticed! You go down the street and there's literally a corner store selling stuff for small-time heroes with an evil robot factory across the street; go further than that and there's a fucking kingdom made of candy! With things like that, no one gives a shit about eating healthy or that you dress up in dark colors to set yourself apart from them. So, what do you do? You go after the new hot thing that's outside your control that's an easy target and being right about it would put you back on that pedestal you desperately crave!" he growled at her.

"News flash here, that guy, my boss, is the very definition of 'special' and is risking his life to keep assholes like you alive even if he has to sacrifice his to do it…and you know what, that brand of 'special' is spreading as stupid as it is," he pointed above their heads to show Invis-o-Bill flying with incredible speed toward the Fenton house before passing through the walls of it to enter and take care of the threat.

"Now do us all a favor and get out of here. Say, you want to have a fleeting sense of that 'special' feeling, then why don't you help get these people out of here so we can keep busting ghosts," he finally turned back to continue firing at the glowing entities.

"Yeah, he said it!" one of the Rickbusters cheered.

"Shut up!" the rookie shouted over the blasts.

Sam looked utterly embarrassed and furious as she tried to find words to refute all that the scientist/agent had said about her, desperately trying to find words that could prove she was right about them and their blond boss, but nothing came.

"Sam," Tuck's hand on her shoulder broke the girl out of her thoughts. "He's right, we should get out of here. With Invis-o-Bill here helping these guys, I think Danny will be fine," he nervously rubbed the back of his head, not knowing how to break her out of this, though he'd admit in his mind that he hoped the harsh, truthful words from the man would shake her.

Sam had seriously gone down a path that was against Nexus' two heroes along with Invis-o-Bill simply based on the fact that she didn't trust their motives, and it was beginning to grate on him and Danny.

The two took their leave, reluctantly on Sam's part, and helped funnel people away from the battling. The dark-skinned teen was completely unaware of what was going through his female friend's mind.

'I know I'm right…I'll catch them and prove it!'

She wiped her eyes, quickly so Tuck wouldn't catch her doing it. She knew that these 'heroes' were a threat, even if the rest of Nexus didn't see it, and one day she'd have her chance to prove it to everyone.

Not realizing that one of her best friends was one of the 'heroes' she was railing against.

(Inside Fenton Works)

The ghost teen flew into the familiar surroundings of his home, except it was bathed in the ethereal glow of the Ghost Zone seeping into the human world unbidden. It gave a creepy atmosphere to the place that the teen should feel the safest, and he would be rectifying that once he gave a good punch to the delusional millionaire in his basement.

Danny phased into the basement, coming out of the ceiling to see Vlad Masters in front of his father's magnum opus, using it for nefarious purposes. A stream of ghosts continued escaping from the entrance into the neighboring dimension, the wind being kicked up from the influx of them flying directly out by phasing through the roof.

Narrowing his eyes in determination, ready to stop this once and for all, Danny flew at Vlad and tackled him to the ground. Grabbing the man's collar, Danny pulled him forward off the floor and had his free hand glowing with ecto-energy for intimidation.

"It's over, Vlad! I'm shutting the portal down and putting you away!" Danny sneered at the man's calm expression.

"Ah, Daniel, so nice to see you. I suppose this means that Skulker has failed. That really is too bad…because it means that I will have to get my hands dirty," Vlad stayed composed.

"You're joking, right?" Danny rose his brow incredulously.

"Hardly, Daniel, I have more surprises up my sleeves than you could possibly be aware of," Vlad chuckled.

"I'm sick of the games, Vlad!" Danny growled and slammed the man into the floor, not noticing a shadow appear above him. "I'm giving you 'till the count of five to shut it off!" Danny glared only to have a familiar shiver of his Ghost Sense tingle up his body and the whisp of breath leaving his mouth.

Danny had little time to ponder what set it off seeing as he was near a swarm of ghosts. He wrote it off as his abilities going haywire from being so close to so many ghosts for the first time, but the painful shock to his back begged to differ.

Pink ecto-energy arced off the boy's body before being shot off Vlad's prone body, allowing the man to stand, dust himself off, and stand next to the new arrival. Danny brought himself up by supporting himself on his elbows as he looked over the new ghost that came to defend Vlad now.

The new specter had a more vampiric appearance than the other ghosts the teen hero had seen with black hair styled in a u-shape that resembled horns and a matching goatee, complete with a cape that draped over his shoulders. The ghost had skin tinged sky-blue, fangs from what his open-mouthed smile showed, and solid red eyes that glowed in the darkened basement. His clothing consisted of white pants with black boots and a white long-sleeved shirt with black gloves.

"Unh, another one?" Danny stood up and let his energy flow into his hands ready to fight.

"Oh, Daniel, still haven't put it together, have you?" Vlad smiled evilly as the new ghost turned intangible and flew into Vlad, yet the man didn't seem to suffer from any ill effects.

"What? No…you're a…"

"That's right!" Vlad said gleefully as familiar rings formed around him only, they were black in comparison to Danny's white transformation rings. When they finished the ghost from before stood in front of Danny with his arms crossed.

This was Vlad.

"Vlad you're a halfa too!?" Danny was shocked but it started to make sense how the man had made his way down here with the rubble still there and without arousing suspicion.

"Correct, or perhaps it is more appropriate to say that you are a halfa too, seeing as I came into being first," Vlad chuckled.

"Skulker said…"

"That our kind was rare. Not that others didn't exist, Daniel, and just like you I never asked for this power…but that oaf forced it on me."

"Dad?" Danny was confused.

"The very same…in our college years he was the same ghost-obsessed buffoon he was before he died. I felt sorry for him in my youth and befriended him, a foolish choice that I would pay for for the rest of my life…when he created that infernal prototype ghost portal," Vlad growled his pink ecto-energy arcing off of him.

"A proto-portal…this isn't the first one dad made?" Danny was shocked to learn just how long his father had this idea for.

"Unfortunately, yes, and he was no closer to succeeding with it then and I had told him as much. He made to test it within the university laboratory and I was dragged along with him…and Maddie as well," he said in a soft tone of remembrance. "I warned the fool that his trinket would never work and that he should abandon the project…and he went ahead and activated it anyway…right in my face!" he clenched his hand in fury.

"I was exposed to unfiltered ectoplasmic energy that shot from the portal, and came down with a case of ecto-acne."

"Ecto-acne?" Danny had a disbelieving look on his face.

"Yes, yes, quite funny, but not at the time. I was hospitalized and put into a coma; the doctors weren't sure that I would survive the affliction. Time moved on without me…for years I slept…and when I awoke, the world was different. Jack and Maddie had graduated, moving to Amity Park to continue their ghost research, leaving me behind. I could no longer afford college, the scholarships I had so painstakingly earned, expired and were unattainable thanks to the accident, so I had no future. And the most painful revelation of all was that Maddie had married the one responsible for my misfortune…I had planned on confessing the very day that the accident had taken place, and even that was ripped from me!" Vlad sneered remembering his first days reacclimating and the shock he'd received upon finding out how the world had moved on without him, and outside of his control, he was left out and forgotten.

"My future, my life, it crumbled to ash, and it was all that oaf's fault! My rage boiled over one day, hatred for Jack drove me…I would make it my mission to destroy him, and it was in that desperate hour of need that my powers manifested for the first time," Vlad sighed. "Even my humanity was taken…I still feel disgusted at this ghastly form I have, but I wouldn't be a very good businessman if I didn't turn weaknesses into strengths. I would use everything at my disposal to claw my way back to my rightful place, so I set about learning my new abilities. Years passed, and with my skills honed I set about making my fortune by overshadowing the CEOs of multiple companies and having them sign them over to me," Vlad smiled a dastardly smile as he remembered the takeovers and confused owners.

"You see, Daniel, I used my abilities to their fullest potential. I have climbed the social ladder to its peak and am now on the brink of real power! I will rule all of Nexus with dear Maddie as my prize! This is what the world owes me for my misfortunes…I ask one final time Daniel, will you join me and rule like a king, or choose a path, not unlike your father?"

Danny leaned against the wall behind him, beaten and exhausted from the day's events. He took a glance around at his basement, the ghosts still flooding from the ghost portal, and thought of all the suffering that was going on…and why it was.

"We're all the same…"

"Excuse me?" Vlad raised a brow, not expecting such an answer.

"You, me, and dad…we're all the same. We couldn't let go, and we paid for it," Danny looked down. "You couldn't let go of hatred, and it made you sad, lonely, and miss out on a chance with mom…and instead of moving on with your life, you dwelled on what you lost."

Vlad growled, his energy rising to his hands.

"Watch your tongue, boy!"

"Dad, he couldn't let go of mom…that's what made him finish the portal, he wanted her back and he forgot the consequences," Danny thought back to that night, "And then there's me, I'm the same…I blamed myself for what happened to mom, and I couldn't let go of that guilt. It drove me. I could have stopped dad…then none of this would have happened, but the chance to get her back made me hesitate," Danny clenched his fists and had his green ecto-energy.

"I'm not making that mistake again. I'm stopping you here and now, Masters!"

"Foolish, but I have given you ample opportunity to rethink this. Now, I'll have to end you. And call me Plasmius, dear boy, I loathe to associate this form with my human."

Danny took the offensive first, flying into Vlad's face to punch the smug millionaire. Vlad countered by slapping Danny's hand away easily and returned his aggression in kind with a punch to the teen's face that sent him sliding back. The stinging pain lingered in the middle of Danny's face, but he pushed through it and fired a Ghost Ray at Vlad.

Instantly in retaliation, Vlad erected a transparent pink barrier with a wave of his hand that not only blocked Danny's projectile but also reflected it with added power and speed. The repelled attack hit its creator back into the wall he'd started from, leaving him smoking from the blast. Deciding to be sneakier, Danny phased into the ground and became invisible wanting to confuse the more experienced halfa.

"Daniel, this is a valiant effort, but I have decades more experience with my powers," Vlad didn't turn when the young ghost attacked him from behind, choosing to mold his spectral body to avoid the punch by opening a hole in his chest.

Danny was again surprised by the abilities that the man displayed, letting it get the better of him as Vlad closed the hole yet kept Danny's hand within it, entrapping the young boy. With Danny immobile, Vlad flipped his body so he could stare the boy down and laid into him with a flurry of attack that the hero was forced to take, ending with an ecto-energy enhanced uppercut that sent him flying through the air.

Vlad flaunted more of his power by splitting his form into three of himself, surrounding the boy when he landed on the ground and confusing him as they circled. One of the clones formed a whip from its ecto-energy, another let its fists light up with it, and the last one had his red eyes glowing with ecto-energy.

What ensued was nothing short of a beating as Danny was overwhelmed on all sides by the trio of evil ghosts. Whenever he would go to attack one, the other would cover for it and retaliate with a devastating attack that would lead into a combo with another. Each clone practically passed the boy between them with smacks, blasts, reflected ghost rays, and energy-enhanced punches.

Vlad was without mercy.

With the beating finished, Vlad allowed his clones to reconvene into his body and let the exhausted and battered boy stand on weakened legs. Hunched over with hands on his knees, Danny could just barely lift his head to stare into the confident ghost's red eyes. Vlad's smug smirk had remained on his face as he handled Danny for the entire duration of their fight with his superior fighting skill and honed ghost abilities.

Even if Danny hadn't fought with Skulker first, he had a hard time believing he'd be faring too much better against Plasmius.

Danny grit his teeth and stood straight, his power burning in his eyes. He couldn't allow him to win…he had to stop him or else not only Amity Park, but all of Nexus would be in danger. There was no guarantee that the two blonds would be able to defeat all these ghosts on their own! Danny had to be the vanguard and stop the flow of ghosts.

"Rah!" Danny gave a final futile punch, more sluggish than all his others thanks to his fatigue and because of that easily caught.

Plasmius hoisted Danny up to eye level and electrocuted him with his energy, dazing the teen hero and leaving him dangling in the villain's grasp. Vlad chuckled darkly at the half-lidded, pathetic visage of Danny who was too weakened to put up any more fight.

"Look at you! A failure as a human, you threw away your chance to return to normalcy; and a failure as a ghost, too weak to follow through on your promises! You're worthless in both realms that you belong to, boy, and you thought you could stop me!" Plasmius cackled and tossed Danny into the worktable in the basement, causing Danny to slide across it and fall along with everything sitting on it.

"Ending you will be a mercy."

'He's too strong…I can't match him…I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do!' Danny winced in pain.

*Thunk*

Something fell in front of Danny's face, his eyes widened when he laid eyes on it, and the other things he had made fall from his impact on the table. The objects made him tear up slightly, but he beat back the tears and reached out to grab them.

Plasmius threw the table across the room, removing the only hiding spot Danny had remaining, looking down on the boy that he assumed had finally given up since he didn't face him. His energy went to his hand, growing in power, and ready to be unleashed and end the would-be hero's life.

"Anything to say, Daniel? This is your last chance before this wretched combination of disparate dimensions becomes mine!"

"I am a failure. I can't be just another human, not after everything I've been through, and I'm no ghost…I care too much. I don't belong in either world," Danny sat up on his knees still not turning to face Vlad, "But there's one thing about me you forgot, Plasmius, and that's where I belong!"

*Clamp*

"What is-" Vlad didn't finish when a heavy punch rocked his frame, a metal gauntlet met his face and bent his features.

"I'm a ghost hunter!" Danny turned to show that he now wore oversized metal gauntlets on his hands, what appeared to be a fishing rod tied to his back, and a boomerang on his hip.

"Grr, more of Jack's failed inventions…how are those going to help you?" Plasmius rubbed his chin.

"Oh, these aren't failures…dad just had trouble with an energy source for a lot of his ghost hunting gear, and luckily ghost energy is the ultimate charger!" Danny slammed the gauntlets together and got into a ready stance, reenergized.

"Ready for round two!?" Danny slammed the ground and rushed at the villainous ghost with his fist cocked back.

Vlad had no want to feel those gauntlets hit him again and constructed another barrier to block it. Imagine his surprise when the gloves plowed through the barrier, shattering it, and barreling another powerful punch to the millionaire's cheek.

"What!"

Vlad's surprise was short-lived as a gut punch made him bend forward before Danny brought both gauntlets up for a double uppercut that launched Plasmius into the air. Gritting his teeth, Vlad fired a pink ghost ray from the air at the grounded teen.

Seeing the beam, Danny raised his palm at it and absorbed the energy into the glove, adding to its power, and fired a much wider ghost ray at the man with increased speed and power much like Plasmius had done. The redirected ray blasted the angered villain into the ceiling of the basement.

Shaking his head free of the stars, Vlad formed a whip from his energy and lashed it at Danny. The boy used the gauntlets to grip the construct, wrapping it around his arm, and planting his feet in a tug-of-war.

'He's matching my strength!?' Vlad strained against the boy's pull.

Danny brought his other gauntleted hand to grab the ectoplasmic whip and spun around in place, bringing the creator of the construct along with it. The teen dragged Plasmius across the walls of the basement, wrecking the surroundings as he did so, even swinging the millionaire through the stream of ghosts. Growing annoyed at being used like a ragdoll, Vlad released his hold on his whip, causing it to disappear, and then dashed at Danny with his energy flowing to his hand to strengthen them.

Seeing his foe moving to attack him, Danny drew the Fenton Ghost Fisher from his back and cast the line at the speeding Plasmius. Vlad reacted with his trained skill and easily made his body intangible, expecting the weapon to harmlessly pass through his form. His surprise was palpable when the glowing blue line still managed to wrap around his body despite his incorporeal state, drawing his arms to his side.

"What!" Vlad growled, floating helplessly without the use of his arms, and was suddenly brought down by the teen ghost and again punched by the powerful metal gloves.

"Enough!" Vlad manipulated his body to become thinner and slip from the indestructible fishing line that withstood his attempt to destroy it. He went intangible again as the gauntlet passed through his face and he brought his fist unto Danny.

The boy, in turn, did the same, having Vlad's fist go through his body. Danny dropped to the ground to sweep Vlad's legs and managed to trip up the man, only for him to right himself with flight and shoot lasers from his eyes. Using the Ghost Gauntlets Danny blocked the eyebeams and slid backward.

The angered, villainous ghost was becoming annoyed with the boy's tenacity. He shook with barely restrained rage, questioning how this fourteen-year-old boy was matching him with the useless gadgets his nothing father created! In his thoughts, the ghost instinctively slapped the Booo-merang from him as the ghost boy tossed it at him.

"Enough of these games, Daniel! Ah!" he yelped when the flying object flew back around and hit the back of his head.

"These aren't games!" Danny used the distraction to punch Plasmius in the face and back to the ground, beating him back with a flurry.

With a punch to the stomach, and back to the Ghost Portal, Vlad clenched his fists and charged a more powerful Ghost Ray fueled by his anger. Firing the pink energy, lighting up the basement, he wanted to eliminate the irksome hero once and for all.

Danny, too, stood across from Vlad loading the ghost-powered ghost hunting gloves with his ecto-energy to meet Vlad's Ghost Ray. The Ghost Gauntlets shone with Danny's green energy as he brought both together and fired his augmented beam of energy.

The two opposing beams met and pushed back against each other for a few moments, each half-ghost putting more ecto-energy into their blasts to keep them going and overpower the others. After a few moments, Danny's beam won out, the boy shouting in exertion, his flaming hair shooting up with his heightened emotion, and overtaking the pink beam of Plasmius.

The millionaire ghost's eyes widened when the green energy drove into him, he screamed in pain and took a knee once it had passed. Vlad's body steamed from the aftermath, wincing as he tried to bring himself up and continue fighting the teen, only to fall back to his knee.

"This is the last time I'm saying it," Danny stood over Vlad, his gauntlets smoking green from the Ghost Ray, eyes glowing brightly, and flame-hair waving. Raising one of the gloves to point the palm at the villain, he collected his energy for a blast just in case as he spoke, "It's over!"

Vlad frowned, pain wracking his body. This boy had bested him, his plan was thwarted by the son of Jack Fenton of all people. He lost, his conquest had been shot, his wealth would be taken…he would have and be nothing. Glancing behind him, Vlad made a decision…there was still one thing he could have.

"Very well, Daniel. Go ahead, close the portal, be a hero, but realize just what it entails. The sacrifices you have to make to 'do the right thing' with your abilities," Vlad stood, "Tell me, are you willing to make those sacrifices?"

"Definitely," Danny narrowed his eyes.

Vlad shuffled backward, "I hope so…because I'm a sore loser, Daniel, and there's still one thing I have to get!" Vlad then plunged himself into the stream of ghosts and through the Portal…

…into the Ghost Zone.

Danny froze in place.

"Is he crazy!" Danny ran over to the portal. "Why would he…one thing he has to get?" realization came to Danny.

"Mom? He's still going to go after her…but how would he find her…could he? No, I have to close the portal…" Danny frowned, looking to the button to complete his mission but he couldn't bring himself to do it yet…not when his mother had the possibility of being captured by Plasmius and forced to spend her afterlife with him.

"Just for a little while…they'll have to hold them off for just a while longer…I'm coming for you, mom!" Danny took cautious steps to the portal that was continuing to release ghosts from it, stopping just before he could take the plunge.

With a deep breath, Danny jumped into the fray.

(Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMix OST: Darkness of the Unknown: Phase 1)

Danny covered his eyes, the wind making it hard to keep them open as he avoided the slew of cackling specters talking about being free and wanting to cause trouble for Nexus. He ignored them, knowing that he would soon be putting a stop to them when he caught up to the blue-skinned halfa.

He navigated his way through the river of ghosts for what felt like minutes until the claustrophobic feeling suddenly left him and open space was achieved. Opening his eyes, Danny could not help but be in awe of the realm he now found himself within.

As with anything ghostly he found, the dimension carried the ominous green glow only it made up most of the surroundings of it. What wasn't tinged in green were the multiple floating doors that passed his view that promised to lead to the personal domains of ghosts and possibly through time. This was…

"The Ghost Zone," Danny couldn't believe that he, of all the Fentons, one of the two people in his household that hadn't cared about the ghost realm, now found himself being the first living member of the family to enter it.

The teen hero shook his head, shaking off his astonishment and getting back to the matter at hand. He had a scorned, delusional, maniacal millionaire to stop from spiriting away his deceased mother's spirit for the rest of her existence.

How did his life get to the point where saying that sounded too natural already?

"Where is he?" Danny floated through the space of the Ghost Zone, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of Plasmius. He flew forward, passing by a piece of floating debris in the process, and missing the hidden Vlad behind it.

(Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMix OST: Darkness of the Unknown Phase 3)

With Danny's back turned to him, Vlad surprise attacked the teen by first firing a Ghost Ray from both hands. His aim was directed at the Ghost Gauntlets, Danny's greatest weapons against him, and his attack struck true. The beams hit the gloves easily due to Danny being distracted, wrecking them as the metal became singed and sparks flew off.

"Ah!" Danny shouted surprised, turning to see Vlad behind him. Widening his eyes at the destruction of his dad's invention, and the objects that allowed him to fight on par with Plasmius, the teen halfa grit his teeth and went to draw the Fenton Fisher next.

Unfortunately, Vlad learned his lesson, though he'd never admit to fearing Jack's inventions, he knew that they would be a problem if he let the boy use them freely as he had in the Fenton's basement. This is exactly why he'd created a replica of himself that snuck up on the teen while focused on the original and grabbed the arm holding the fishing rod, holding it to the boy's back so he would be unable to move.

"Hey!" Danny struggled against the copy's hold but could not escape and was forced to watch as the clone's free hand took the fishing rod and crushed it within his grip.

"Tut-tut, Daniel, I won't be dealing with those toys again," the copy mocked and disappeared.

"How utterly foolish of you, Daniel!" the original stung Danny with ecto-electricity dazing him enough that he started to float off if it wasn't for Vlad grabbing him by the wrist.

"For all your talk of letting go and saving people, you've once again shown that you are a failure!" Vlad laughed. "All you had to do to end this was close the portal behind me, but you couldn't stomach leaving Maddie behind if there was a slim chance I could find her! Face it, boy, you're no better than me, and now you'll have to watch as I take my prize and leave you stranded here for the rest of your days!"

With all his might, Vlad threw the boy and sent him hurtling through the air to smash against a piece of debris. Danny hit the rock so hard that he got stuck in the crater his body had made in it. His pain and exhaustion from all the fighting he'd done today compounded, Danny slowly lost consciousness and his head slumped forward as an indicator.

Vlad saw the boy pass out and chuckled lowly in triumph, "Now, with that nuisance out of the way, on to my prize," Vlad began to search for his 'love' so he could whisk her back to the world of the living and have her become his once and for all.

'Move! Move! You can't let it end like this!' Danny screamed in his mind, trying to force his body to move. 'I still failed…Amity Park…everyone…I'm sorry…' Danny thought about all the suffering that would happen in Nexus now because he lost…Tuck, Sam, Jazz, and all the innocent people that had nothing to do with Vlad's vendetta were going to pay for his weakness.

'D-nny!' a voice he'd come to expect in his nightmare called once more. Opening a lone eye, Danny saw his mother, the same vengeful wraith she always appeared as since her death.

'Not again…' the boy resigned himself, the apparition of his guilt drew closer and closer to his immobile form, her hand reaching out to him. He assumed she'd be grabbing his neck again, like always.

Only she didn't.

Instead, Danny felt a gentle, warm caress on his cheek…one that he hadn't felt in months.

'Danny,' Maddie's frightening form disappeared like smoke as his mother, his beautiful, human, mother smiled at him. She looked the same as she had when she was alive.

'Mom?'

And she wasn't alone either, soon his father, Jack Fenton came into being next to her, looking somber.

'Dad?' Danny was overwhelmed with emotion, seeing his parents before him, and did the first thing that sprang to mind, something he felt he had to do for both of them, 'I'm sorry! If didn't make you come with me…none of this would have happened!' Danny grabbed his mother and cried into her chest, letting himself go as he felt her embrace him.

'Shh, Danny, I don't blame you, neither of us blames you,' Maddie soothed her son.

'You don't? But my dreams…'

'I was trying to reach out to you, but your guilt was overriding what I wanted to say, you saw what you wanted to see,' Maddie hugged him harder. 'I should be sorry; I didn't think what my actions would do to you all. I just wanted to keep all of you safe, and my body moved on its own from there. If I knew what that would cause…'

'No, don't, you did the right thing, Maddie,' Jack spoke up for his wife, his face downcast. 'It's my fault, I used our research for selfish reasons…I couldn't let you go, and that drew…Vlad to us. Now because of my mistake, everyone is in danger!' Jack put his head in his hands.

'Dad, if I had stopped you that night…'

The shame fest of the Fentons came to a halt suddenly.

'Danny, we're not here to guilt-trip you, we're here to tell you that all of this wasn't your fault. Despite everything you've dealt with…all the pain you've held, you still chose to do the right thing,' Maddie put her hand on Danny's shoulder.

'And we wanted to say that we are so proud of what you're doing. You can't give up.'

'Mom,' Danny teared up.

'You're so much stronger than me, Dan…than me and Vlad. Even though you were hurting just as much, you kept moving forward…it hurt and you owned it…and tried so hard to move past it,' Jack put his hand on his son's other shoulder.

'Fix my mess, son, close the Ghost Portal and stop Vlad.'

Danny's eyes went wide, he saw the resolute look in his parents' eyes, 'You guys can't be serious! We can all get out of here, and dad you worked so hard on the portal! If I shut it down, then…'

'It's fine, Danny, we'll be fine…this was our unfinished business. We needed to let you know that you have nothing to be sorry for. We love you, Danny, and we know that you're going to continue making us proud,' Maddie kissed him on the cheek.

'Of course, he will! He's a Fenton, and Danny's the most Fenton of all of us!' Jack gained some light back in his eyes and hugged the boy.

'I love you, son.'

It was then that a bright light engulfed the Fenton couple, their sad smiles present on their faces as they started to move on to whatever lied beyond…

Danny suddenly shot up from unconsciousness, his eyes darted around the Ghost Zone trying to find any trace of his parents. All he found was the vast, empty expanse of the lonely dimension and his parents nowhere to be found.

'Was that real?' Danny was confused since he'd woken back up still within the crater he'd made in the rock, but there was an unmistakable warmth he felt on his cheek.

Whether or not it was real, hearing from what he so wanted to be his parents' mouths that they did not blame him for any of the misfortunes that had befallen them and Nexus…it soothed his soul. He felt renewed…and he knew what he had to do.

"It's time to end this!" Danny turned around, ignoring Plasmius as he continued a fruitless search for his mother, and bolted with all his speed toward the still visible stream of ghosts that were leaving the Ghost Zone.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Vlad raged, "Maddie! Where are you! If there's one thing that fool had knowledge of, it's ghosts. I know she had regrets! Why would she not jump at the chance to return and live freely!" Plasmius destroyed a piece of debris in his anger. Calming himself, Vlad thought of his 'beloved' and what could draw her out so she could be his.

"Ah, yes, of course, it's so simple. The boy is the key, one that she couldn't resist coming to save," Vlad reasoned and tuned back to where he left the boy. "Oh, Daniel, it seems I still have-WHAT!?" he saw the boy was gone and looked for him for a few seconds to find him flying back to the portal.

"No!" Vlad growled and flew after Danny, "Daniel, what do you think you are doing?" Vlad roared, flying at the boy with energy circulating his hand.

"Stopping you!" Danny didn't look back as he sped to the exit.

"Ha, lying again?" Vlad shot at the boy.

Looking out of his periphery, Danny saw the pink beam rushing toward him. Taking a chance, Danny used his ecto-energy on one of the Ghost Gauntlets, getting it to sputter to life one last time and he fired a Ghost Ray from it to block Vlad's. He did the same with the other gauntlet before they truly died, the green glow leaving the equipment.

Vlad threw up a barrier to block the beam, it was weak due to the malfunctioning glove but still powerful enough to stall the evil halfa. "Don't try to fool yourself, Daniel! You expect me to believe that you would leave your mother behind in this wretched dimension?" Vlad raised a condescending eyebrow.

"I don't have to worry about her, I just need to stop you!" Danny snarled and dove into the stream of ghosts, getting closer and closer to the exit. His pure intention shone in his eyes and managed to frighten the older half-ghost since there was a very real chance that he could be trapped within the Ghost Zone.

Danny reached the edge of the portal and grabbed it, attempting to pull himself back inside his basement until Vlad grabbed onto his leg. The added weight caused Danny's arm to fully extend as he was dragged further back by the millionaire who was grinning maliciously.

"Do you fully understand what you'll be doing, Daniel!" Vlad started to climb up the boy's leg, "By shutting this portal, you'll be allowing the ghosts that have already escaped free reign! You'll be permanently giving up any chance at a normal life, spending the rest of it capturing them to fix your mistake!" Vlad climbed further up, grasping Danny's collar.

"Just like your father!"

Danny's fingers began slipping from the edge of the portal, straining to keep his grip as the villainous Plasmius started to reach ahead of him to enter the basement. Danny closed his eyes, teeth grit, knowing he had to take a risk to stop Vlad.

"If that's what it takes, I'll give it all up!" Danny let go of the portal, flinging him backward and tripping Vlad up from the unexpected maneuver. Using the fall as momentum, Danny turned and punched the shocked villain in his face, sending him flying back into the Ghost Zone.

"Agh!" Vlad righted himself, seeing Danny flying backward through the portal. "No! Daniel, don't leave me in here!" he wailed.

Danny rolled into the basement, his back hitting the wall. Pain shot up his back from the impact, but it helped him realize where he was and the little time he had to do it. Shaking off the ghost gauntlets, not wanting to fry them any further, Danny fired a Ghost Ray at the 'close' button for the Ghost Portal.

The green beam traveled through the air and struck the button shutting the portal on the ghosts, the ones unfortunate enough to get caught behind the door wailing at missing their chance and blocking the exit for Vlad.

"Daniel!" Vlad's hand stuck out of the door.

"So long, Vlad," Danny shot another beam, pushing Vlad back through just as the doors finally shut, releasing a powerful surge of energy that reverberated through the basement and out into the sky, and returning it to its original color.

All around Amity Park, the ghosts saw the portal that allowed them entry close and panicked, scattering all around to avoid being caught since there would be no fodder to hide behind. Civilians poked their heads out from whatever hiding place or makeshift shelter they'd taken refuge in to see if the nightmare was over; a specific orange-haired girl was running toward the Fenton house. The R.I.B and Rickbusters made sure there were no lingering ghosts before moving to go into the Fenton home and investigate while a certain blond that had arrived and helped beat back the specters made himself scarce before the authorities came by.

Danny made sure the portal closed, signifying that his job was finally done. And let himself fall asleep. With his eyes closed, and the crisis averted, his powers deactivated just in time as Jazz's voice called for him along with a loud explosion which meant that someone cleared the blocked staircase.

Danny Fenton had saved Amity Park and all of Nexus.

He was a hero.

(Two days of rest later)

The first thing Danny was aware of when he regained consciousness was darkness. Normally, people would realize that their eyes were just closed but thanks to his recent experience it made the boy panic and shoot up from the bed he was laying in. Leaning forward and on the verge of shouting in surprise, a hand on his chest calmed him down.

His sister was in front of him, with a relieved expression on her face, and his surroundings…it was one that he was becoming much too accustomed to. A hospital room laid before him for the second time in only about a week, Tucker and Sam were also there when he awoke both happy to see their friend awake after his ordeal.

"Danny! I'm so happy you're okay!" Jazz hugged him…and then pulled him by the ear, "What were you doing running out of school like that?! Sam and Tucker told me you ran out before all that stuff happened!" Jazz scolded the confused teen.

"Wait, what? The ghosts! Are they gone? Did Vlad win?!" Danny tried to catch up.

"Calm down, dude, the number of times you've been in the hospital lately, you might need to get a punch card for a free visit after 10, and you'll be on your way to a third if you don't chill," Tuck helped Jazz push Danny back into the chair.

"Ok, ok," he took a deep breath, "Is Amity Park, ok?"

"Yeah, well, ok is relative, a bunch of ghosts escaped after the portal closed and sightings are still coming in," Sam rubbed her arm.

"Really?" Danny felt bad but it was better than the alternative.

"Yeah, from what we've gathered, Vlad was trying to use the ghosts to take over Nexus," Jazz told her brother, believing he didn't know.

"Yeah…I…"

"He knew that already," the two R.I.B agents walked in casually, Sam turned away at their presence.

"You have to be joking. If Danny knew about this, he would have told everyone," Jazz denied with her hands on hips.

"Please, the kid had to know. Why else would he have run back home before it all started?" the lead Rick looked at Danny who started to sweat, thinking he was found out.

"Chances are the rich bastard got caught in the act, and he blackmailed the kid into keeping quiet or he'd send a ghost after you or these two…am I right?" the rookie *ahem* deduced, rolling his eyes subtly beneath his sunglasses.

"Uh, yeah, that's what happened," Danny gripped his sheets. "I didn't want anything to happen to anyone and kept my head down."

"That's why you were so on edge?" Sam and Tuck asked.

Danny only nodded, he didn't like lying, but this time it wasn't just to protect himself. "I was afraid…but I realized that Mom and Dad would have done everything to keep us safe and do the right thing even if it meant they'd pay for it, so I went to stop Vlad on my own."

"And how'd that work out for ya?" the rookie said insensitively.

"Hey…"

"Save it. What he did was stupid, doesn't matter that he had good intentions. What he should have done is tell someone. Then this could have been *belch* av-oided or at least slowed down."

"The kid is lucky that, uh, Invis-o-Bill showed up to save him. Still a dumb name," the lead Rick said.

Danny smiled sheepishly and played it off as him being embarrassed for not getting the authorities, missing the double-meaning of the agents.

"Yeah, he showed up and beat Vlad…turns out he was a ghost the whole time…he had to trap him in the Ghost Zone," Danny explained.

"Smart move, no getting out of there. Plus, we shut the portal tight, no ghosts in or out, I think this place has seen enough of them to last a lifetime," the lead Rick made to leave with his partner. "With the case closed, we'll be getting out of here."

"Not going to fix your mess?" Sam asked hotly, Danny looking at her in confusion because of her hostility and Tuck shrugging.

"Patrols will be by every once in a while, when they have free time to catch strays, but there's a whole mess of dimensions in Nexus that have to be monitored," the leader rolled his eyes, seems she hadn't learned her lesson after that chewing out.

"Besides, you guys've got Invis-o-Bill, ugh saying that sets my mouth on fire," the rookie acted sick.

"You know what…he did say he hated that name," Danny took a shot.

"And what's he calling himself now, then?" the agents raised their brows.

Danny thought quickly and come up with an idea.

"Phantom."

"The Phantom, huh? Not too much better but at least it isn't a pun," the agents then walked out, the lead sticking his head back in, "We'll see you around, kid."

"Good riddance," Sam growled.

"Sam, they did help save Nexus. You can't deny that," Jazz was more neutral, but her words didn't seem to help.

"Uh," Danny wanted to ask but Tucker stopped him.

"Saved by the Phantom, how cool is that? What was he like?"

"He was…pretty clumsy, but cool," Danny answered honestly.

"Awesome," before Tuck could continue Sam dragged him away.

"Now that we know you're ok, we'll be heading out, Danny. See you at school…we've got detention," Sam whirled her finger in a circle in sarcastic enthusiasm.

"Oh…yeah…" Danny groaned.

"Think we could convince Mr. Lancer that it was a time of crisis and in the heat of the moment we panicked," Tuck grasped at straws.

"Sure, I'll watch," Sam joked.

The room fell into silence with the two teens gone, leaving the siblings to sit awkwardly together within the hospital room.

"I'm glad you're alright, Danny…uh…I mean if you are alright," Jazz scratched her cheek, remembering her talk with him.

"I am," Danny had a smile, a real smile on his face that lit Jazz up with one of her own.

"Good," she placed a hand to her chest in relief.

Danny looked down at his sheets, thinking of something that he felt he had to do before going back to start a new chapter in his life. He thought about this for a while and always talked himself out of it because of fear…but now.

"Jazz…" his sister perked up, "Before we go to school tomorrow, I want to make a stop."

(Outside the hospital)

The two agents walked over to their car and entered it.

"Well, everything worked out in the end. Kid's fine, portal's closed, nothing else to do but catch the ghosts," the lead agent said to the blond in the back.

"See? Keeping an eye on everything was a good idea, after all, Rick," he grinned widely.

"Just cause one altruistic weirdo shows up doesn't mean anything…and I hardly think a team of three is enough, either…and why'd I have to be here?" another Rick sat in the back drinking.

"You need to get out more. And we needed you to work on the ghost hunting equipment to upgrade the Rickbusters, right?"

"Those dumb fanboys…so the ghosts."

"We'll handle them if it gets out of hand, but I think that Danny has it covered. He's a good kid," the blond leaned back in his seat.

"I'm gonna vomit, and not from the alcohol…" Rick deadpanned as they drove off.

(Monday)

Jazz stayed next to the Fenton RV, watching her brother walk into the cemetery. She had wanted to go with him, but he said he wanted to go alone…it was important to him.

With a bouquet in hand, Danny walked up to two specific graves, his parents'. He kneeled and distributed the plants, the unique thing about them was that they were all traditionally used to ward off ghosts…something he felt was appropriate for them.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, I know we just saw each other…or at least I hope we did, but I wanted to make sure. After our talk, I'm feeling a lot better…I know it isn't my fault, but it doesn't make losing you hurt any less. I won't dwell on it anymore, though, instead, I'm going to use it as motivation…" he had his hands glow with his ecto-energy.

"I'm going to train and hunt down all the ghosts in Amity Park and even Nexus if I have to, so no one has to suffer because I hesitated to stop Vlad. It'll take a long time…maybe forever, but it's my responsibility. I'll do my best, and when it's all over, I'll be able to face you both."

Jazz called for him.

"I have to go…I'll be visiting more often," he waved and left.

"You, okay?" Jazz asked once he got into the RV.

"Yeah, it felt good."

"I was surprised you asked to come here…I tried to get you to come with me so many times."

"I wasn't ready, but someone helped me out. I'd say thank you, but she'd get a swelled head," Danny joked and got a slap to the arm.

Jazz smiled and blushed, nonetheless.

Arriving at Casper High, Sam and Tuck awaited them with Jazz deciding to stick with them today. Tucker sighed heavily, frowning in sadness for some unknown reason.

"Hey, Danny, ready for detention at the end of the day?" Sam jabbed him in his side.

"Ugh…no, but I did say I'd own up to it…gives me time to catch up on homework, I guess," he groaned, realizing he'd be neck-deep in make-up work now that thing reached some point of normalcy.

"I think it's a proper punishment for running out of class without explanation and risking your life," Jazz crossed her arms.

"Guess the warm fuzzies already passed?" Danny sighed, passing by Valerie, and caught eyes with her. He confidently waved to the girl, who smiled and waved back at him glad that he seemed better.

Sam saw the gesture and grew suspicious, "What was that?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing, she just helped me out."

"I think I can hear bells, Danny, don't let her get away," Jazz teased.

"What are you talking about?" the joke was lost on him, but not on the jealous Sam.

"Hey, Tuck, you feeling alright? You haven't said anything," Danny changed the subject.

"He's moping," Sam explained.

"Why? He's normally happy about breakfast," Danny rose his eyebrow.

"Don't talk about breakfast! It's too painful," Tuck cried with his head in his hands.

"What's wrong with breakfast?" Jazz was confused.

"Ask her…she's the devil!" Tuck cried more, pointing at Sam.

"What'd you do?" Danny asked the pressing question.

"My petition to change the school menu finally went through," she said triumphantly. It was a hard fight, but she eventually got the menu to change, at least for breakfast every other day, but a win was a win. "Breakfast every other day of the week will be healthy options, that will raise student alertness, and give energy throughout the whole day rather than meat making everyone sluggish, tired messes," Sam imposed her viewpoint on the school.

"Meat gives me energy! Without it, I'm nothing!" Tucker cried into Danny's shoulder.

"I think you broke him," Danny patted his friend's back.

"Changing the menu would be a nice change of pace," Jazz added her two cents.

"WHY!" Tuck cried louder.

"This is for his own good, you'll all thank me later," Sam smirked.

"I dunno, Sam, aren't you worried about the few…and by that, I mean the entire student body…getting mad?" Danny asked.

"Psht, no, everyone will be happy. Just watch," Sam opened the doors to the cafeteria only for a piece of ham to slap her in the face.

"Ah, meat!" Tuck jumped at the slab only for it to float away, "No! Meat!"

Within the cafeteria, there was a whirlwind of poultry, beef, and pork cycling through the air and to a ghost. The ghost looked like a stereotypical lunch lady with green skin, wearing a pink uniform with a white apron. Her face was a visage of fury as she forced the children to eat the food items.

"I don't think she is!" Danny shouted to Sam.

"WHO DARES TO CHANGE MY MENU, IT'S BEEN THE SAME FOR 50 YEARS!" the lady roared.

"I did! It was completely unhealthy!" Sam stood her ground.

"Sam!" Tuck, Danny, and Jazz called out to her.

"Rar, I will teach you the glory of protein!" the lunch lady gathered all the meat to her body and formed a meat golem, stalking toward the quartet with angry green eyes, leaning down she spoke.

"But first…would you all like a cookie?" she started menacingly and ended with an innocent tone of voice, holding a plate of cookies.

"Uh…sure?" they answered unsurely.

"Too bad, where you're going the only meals will be from animals, Mwhahaha!"

Seeing enough, Danny bolted out of the cafeteria his eyes set in determination.

"Danny, wait for us!" Tuck shouted after his friend with the meat monster following closely behind.

Dashing through the halls, Danny made his way to the unlocked janitor's closet and slammed the door shut. Crouching low to the floor, Danny prepared to transform, something he'd perfected overnight and was ready to put it to practice for the first time.

"I'm Going Ghost!" his transformation rings appeared and spread around his body. Skin turning tan, eyes glowing green, and hair becoming white flames, Danny Fenton gave way to the hero Danny Phantom…or just Phantom to keep his identity safe.

"Alright, Lunch Lady, meat's off the menu!" Phantom flew out of the closest with his hand alight with green ecto-energy, floating slightly off the ground.

"Danny?"

His eyes went wide, and he glanced to his side to see his sister and friends staring at him in surprise, their eyes equally wide. Danny looked away, back at the Lunch Lady, and gave a smart reply.

"Uh…oof!" a stream of meat hit Danny through a wall.

When he was done with this, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. He sighed mentally and beat back the meat, flying back with the Fenton Thermos in hand to fight the ghost.

(Original Danny Phantom Theme)

He's a Phantom

Danny Phantom (Phantom, Phantom, Phantom)

A kid whose life is changed

Molecules Rearranged

Ghosts are so Deranged

(He's gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom)

Spirits don't Stand a Chance

Senses all Enhanced

Power so Advanced

(He's gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom)

Unleashing all the Freaks

Onto his Hometown Streets

Now everyone he'll Beat

Flying right through the Wall

You can't see him at all

If they are Big or Small or Tall

He's gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom

Gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom

Gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom

Gonna catch 'em all cuz he's Danny Phantom

AN: A door to a basement creaks open, a gnarled hand comes out from the doorway, and a cackling old man in sunglasses and a suit is revealed.

Heh hee hee, free, I'm finally free! This took so long! So very long, and it's even longer than the last one…

*Bows Down*

I'm soo sorry! I never intended it to be this long, or overdramatic, or melodramatic, or both!

I think this is indicative of my brain…and my commitment to make each of these things one chapter…really shot myself in the foot on that one, but just imagine me doing this throughout like 5 chapters…or 10.

Now then, some things I'd like to address:

Sam is very annoying, probably too annoying, but that is totally on purpose, 100%. I'm not bashing her, I like Sam, but I'm characterizing her this way for a reason.

That reason is because, if you've seen the first chapter, this is not the Sam from the show, just remarkably similar. All of this is to say that certain things can happen the same way as the canon or be different, for example: Danny's accident is different and his attitude toward it is sadder because of his loss (enhancing the already present Spider-Man similarities between the two). And this leads to people being different as well.

Because of these differences, I want to make their foes more connected, I'm sure you all can tell what I mean by that. And that also means a few things, Vlad was taken care of first, even though he is the archenemy for the show, he isn't the strongest ghost anyway, so I thought it better for Danny to fight his foil first.

The other thing is…and I know those that see this are going have their jaws hit the floor when I say this, but Dan Phantom is not going to be a thing. I want to avoid Time Travel as much as possible, it opens a can of worms that is difficult to close, and as a creative, it felt too limiting and easy to use him because you'd all expect him, so no Evil Danny at all.

The closest thing you get is Danny having more of his look with the flaming hair which is to make it easier for people not to realize it's him without getting up close or hearing him talk.

So, that's it, um next one coming, eventually, and the, like two of you that reached the end of this, thanks.

(Post Credit Scene)

On a dark night, within the wood, a shooting star could be seen in the sky. Suddenly the 'star' seemed to veer off its course and began hurtling toward the Earth with incredible speed, it was green in color.

When the object finally touched down, it made a massive crater within the dirt, startling wildlife that was nearby and making them flee. In the crater, it's revealed that it was not a shooting star at all but a pod. The camera carefully approaches the strange pod, looking down to get a better view of the alien object. The camera jumps back when the shell of the pod opens, before carefully approaching to see what was contained within it.

Nestled inside was an odd piece of technology that was mostly black, with a circular face on top of it with a green hourglass shape within the middle. The object beeped to life, the face of it turning to the right, its hourglass in the middle crossing to form a diamond. It continued to turn right on its own and a silhouette of a creature appeared in the middle of the diamond, turning right again, a different silhouette appeared, and it slowly picked up speed cycling through different silhouettes with a green glow growing as it moved.

It was then that the cycling abruptly stopped, and the object opened itself as if alive and jumps at the camera, making it go dark.

He's Ben 10