Welcome back, phans.
Finals are over, I have plenty of free time now that it's summer. Time for me to start getting these out. Hopefully one every couple of weeks or so.
Ver. 1.0.1 (1/3/20)
Update (1.0.1): Fixed grammatical errors.
Standard Disclaimer, I do not own Danny Phantom, but if I did, I would have shared the rights with Butch Hartman, who I feel should have said rights that Nickelodeon still have. Hey, it's not like Nick is doing anything with it now, right? Also, I would make Danielle a main character as well. No spoilers, she's not showing up yet. Okay, let's begin the episode.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The front door of the Fenton Works opened, and the members of Team Phantom walked out.
"Come on, guys! Let's go!" Sam exclaimed excitedly.
Or, more accurately, two members of Team Phantom were pulled by a slightly energetic goth girl.
"Sam, slow down," Tucker whined, "We have another half hour until the movie even starts!"
"I know!" she said over her shoulder, "But it's Nightmerica vs Janette*, and I've been waiting months for this movie to finally premiere! And I don't want any delays!"
"Sam, relax," said Tucker, "It's just a short 15-minute ride on our scooters. Trust me, we won't have any-"
The three teens stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed someone had shredded the tires on their scooters.
"… Delays?" Tucker finished nervously.
"Way to jinx it, Tucker," Sam muttered.
"How'd this even happen?" Danny asked, kneeling down and inspecting the damage, "The scooters were fine just a minute ago!"
"I have a few guesses," said Sam, "but how are we going to get to the theaters now?"
Suddenly, Sam got an idea and smirked at Danny.
"What?" he asked.
"You could-"
"Oh, no!" Danny exclaimed, "I'm not going to fly the two of you to the theater. But I do have another solution."
Back inside the Fenton Works, Jack in the living room, sitting on the couch, reading an article on the latest in anti-ghost technology and drinking a soda. Danny walked inside and approached his father.
"Hey, dad? Could you do me a favor and drive us to the theater?"
Jack looked up at his son and raised an eyebrow.
"Danny, I thought you and your friends had motorized scooters, don't you?"
"We do, but someone slashed our tires," Danny explained, "So, could you drive us?"
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Jack honked the RV horn multiple times as he sped through the streets at full speed. Danny, Tucker, and Sam were in for a ride.
"Dad!" Danny shouted, "I said the movie started in half an hour! We're not in a rush!"
Jack didn't hear Danny as he was too busy sticking head out the window yelling at the other drivers.
"Get out of my way! Do you know who I am!? Can't you see the flashing emergency lights on top of this baby!?"
"Dad, you never installed emergency lights on top of the RV!" Danny exclaimed.
Jack turned to face his son.
"I didn't? Hm… that would explain why no one stopped at the intersections to let me through last week… and why those four patrol cars were going to same place I was going…"
"Mr. Fenton, look out!" Tucker exclaimed, pointing towards the semitruck coming at them since Jack absentmindedly drive on the wrong side of the road.
Jack looked forward and quickly jerked the wheel to the right, getting back onto the right side of the road.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The normally calm atmosphere outside the theater was instantly changed to chaos as Jack wormed the RV through the parking lot before sliding into and empty spot on the side. The RV door opened, followed by Danny, Tucker, and Sam wobbling out of the vehicle; their faces slightly green.
"Next time, Sam…" Danny moaned, "I'll fly us all here."
"That sounds… good," Sam replied.
"Do you kids want me to pick you up later?!" Jack called out.
"N-no!" Danny cried out, "We'll- ugh– we'll walk."
"You sure?"
"Yes!" Sam exclaimed, leaning against her knees, "Thanks… for the lift, Mr. Fenton."
"No problem, kids! Enjoy the movie!"
With that, Jack floored the RV out of sight. Tucker glanced at his PDA.
"We have… 28 minutes left until the movie starts…" he moaned, before covering his mouth with his hand and his cheeks expanded, "I'll be right back."
Nearby, hiding behind a corner, in a dark alley, Johnny 13's Shadow spied on the teens, snickering at their misfortune.
*Cue Intro*
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny Phantom in: Road Rage (Episode 53)
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
It was early evening by the time the movie was over; the sky was a magenta color. Danny and his friends exited the theater and made their way down the sidewalk towards their homes. Shadow trailed them from a distance.
"That was AWESOME!" Sam exclaimed, "So worth the wait!"
"It's sure has been a while since we've seen a new horror movie," said Danny, "It was a great movie."
"You bet it was," said Sam, "What did you think, Tucker?"
She and Danny turned to their friend, who was holding his stomach.
"I'll tell you what I think; I think Mr. Fenton's driver's license should be revoked for child endangerment."
Danny and Sam gave him a look of uncertainty.
"We're legally not adults yet, so the 'child endangerment' clause still applies to us."
"Fair point," said Danny, "Sorry about that guys. I don't know why he thinks every time someone needs a ride somewhere that it must be an urgent matter and that they only have a minute left to arrive."
"It's a wonder how he even got his driver's license to begin with," Sam joked, "It would be a lot easier if we had Jazz or someone else drive us."
*Ding*
"That's it!" Danny exclaimed.
"What is?" Tucker asked.
"What if we got our driver's licenses?" Danny suggested, "Think about it; we've already got enough hours of practice with our permits. Why don't we take some time next week to take our driver's test?"
"Hmm… well, it would allow us to not be driven anywhere by your dad," said Sam.
"Yeah, but what would we use our license for?" Tucker asked, "It's not like we have our own cars, you know."
"Tucker does bring up a good point, Danny," said Sam, "Besides, we already have our scooters, so what use would they be?"
"To avoid what happened today," Danny explained, "I'm not expecting us to get our own cars anytime soon, but we could take the RV in case something happened to our scooters."
Tucker and Sam pondered for a moment.
"Well, I'm in," said Tucker.
"Same here," said Sam.
"Alright. See?" Danny asked, "Problem solved."
"Speaking of our scooters, what do you think happened to them?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, the tires were shredded like paper," said Tucker.
The three stopped at the corner of an intersection.
"I'm not sure," said Danny, "I'll have my mom drive me to the shop to get new tires. You guys can pay me back later."
"Sounds good to me," said Tucker.
"We should get going, guys, it's getting pretty late now," Sam noted.
Danny and Tucker glance up at the sky and see that it was nearly black. The streetlights overhead began to turn on.
"Alright. See you guys at the mall tomorrow?" Danny asked.
"You got it," said Tucker.
"Alright. 'night," Danny said as the three friends went their separate ways.
No one noticed Shadow stalking Danny.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny continued his journey home. It had been a few minutes since he split from his friends. As he walked down the sidewalk, he could help but not how unusually eerie the atmosphere felt. He felt a chill down his spin.
"Hope it's not my ice powers acting up," he muttered, "I'd doubt Frostbite's people would be thrilled to hear I've lost control of them if that were the case." **
Suddenly, the streetlights around him started flickering before completely turning off.
"Hey, what's going on?" Danny asked, "Hm… the lights are still on in the houses nearby, so it's not a power outage."
Danny gasped as a blue mist escaped his mouth. He looked around the area but saw nothing. Treading carefully, Danny continued his way back home.
*WUMP*
"Whooaa! H-hey!" Danny cried out as something slammed into his back and began carrying up into the air.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Shadow giving him an evil grin.
"Shadow!?"
Not in the mood of being carried off into the night, Danny turned himself intangible and began falling to the ground.
"I'm going ghost!"
A white ring appeared around Danny and split into two, moving in opposite directions as he turned into Danny Phantom. With gravity no longer an issue, Danny flew up and floated before Shadow. He glanced around for a moment.
"Where's Johnny, Shadow?" Danny asked, "I know well enough that wherever one of you two go, the other will always be nearby."
Shadow snarled at Danny and dashed towards him. Phantom simply floated to the side, making Shadow fly right by him. With quick hands, Danny grabbed Shadow by the tail. Shadow turned with a look of shock.
"Let's take a spin," Danny quipped, "Wow… that sounded awkward. Better be careful not to say something like that again, especially around Tucker and Sam."
Focusing back on the task at hand, Danny began spin Shadow around for a couple of seconds before throwing it*** to the ground. Shadow was dazed for a moment before floating off the ground and growling at Danny. It looked over its should and saw a parked semitruck next to a house, whose owners appeared to be moving. A diabolical smile appeared on Shadow's face as it flew towards the truck. Danny gasped and rocketed toward Shadow, but it was too late. Shadow passed through the truck, causing the brakes to fail. Being on a sloped street, the truck began rolling down the street.
"Darn it, Johnny," Danny muttered as he went for the truck instead of Shadow, "Why couldn't you have a better pet? Like a puppy? Or even kitten? Your girlfriend would love that, I'm sure."
Shadow watched with joy as Danny chased after the runaway truck. Danny caught up to it and went intangible to sit in the driver's seat. He tried to find the parking brake, but had no clue where it was. Shrugging, he began applying the regular brakes on the truck.
"Huh?"
The truck was slowing down, but not fast enough. Danny put more pressure on the brakes, but it still wasn't enough.
"Oh, this is not good."
Grabbing the steering wheel Danny did his best to not hit any of the cars parked on the street.
"Come on! How hard can it be to slow down a truck!?"
His eyes widened when he saw that he was approaching a T-intersection.
"Seriously!?"
*Ding*
Danny went intangible again and went under the truck. His hands began glowing blue and he fired ice beams at the axels of the truck. The axels locked in place and the truck began skidding across the road. Danny went back into the truck and continued to avoid the other cars. The intersection was coming up fast. Danny shut his eyes and leaned back, preparing for the worst. When he opened his eyes seconds later, the truck had stopped just inches from the building.
"Phew," Danny sighed, "I guess that's another reason for me to get my license."
Danny went intangible and exited the truck. He looked up in the sky and watched as Shadow vanished into the night.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Next day, Danny called Tucker and Sam on his cellphone and told them about Shadow.
"So you think Shadow was the one who shredded our tires?" Sam asked.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Danny answered as he walked down stairs to the entryway of the Fenton Works, "I'll have my mom drop the scooters off at the shop later for new tires. We still up for the mall in an hour?"
"I'm down," said Tucker.
"Same here," said Sam.
"Alright, see you guys later," Danny said as he hung up and walked down to the labs.
He found Maddie working on an experiment of some kind; he wasn't sure what it was, but it did involve ectoplasm.
"Hey, mom."
"Hi, sweetie," she greeted with a smile, "Need something?"
"Actually, yeah. Tucker and Sam's scooters got their tires slashed, mine included. Do you have time later to drop them off at the shop for new ones?"
"Of course, Danny!"
"Thanks, mom. Also, I was wondering if you could make time in the next couple of days to get me ready for me to get my driver's license?"
At that moment, Jack's head popped up from behind the desk Maddie was working on.
"What's that, Danny?" he asked, "You want someone to help you get ready for a driver's test. I'd love to help you out!"
"Uh, actually, dad?" Danny asked nervously, "I was going to ask-"
"Say no more, Danny!" Jack exclaimed, "I have plenty of time to help my son prepare to get his license."
"That sounds wonderful!" Maddie exclaimed, "You should feel lucky, Danny. Your father is the best driver I know!"
Danny was a bit dumbfounded hearing that from his own mother.
"Don't worry, Danny," said Jack, "Once we're finished with our latest experiment, we'll go for a drive."
"Wow, great," Danny said with feigned excitement, "I can't wait."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Later, Danny was hanging out at the mall with his friends. They were sitting at one of the tables near a café.
"I can't believe my dad is going to help me practice before the test," Danny complained, "My dad!"
"Oh, come on, Danny, look at the bright side," said Sam, "At least you'll be the one driving and not him."
"I'm more worried about the lack of advice he'll be able to give."
"Why's that?" Tucker asked.
"Because when he tried to teach me how to drive, all he would do was yell at everyone who was honking to leave me alone because I was just learning how to drive. He spent almost the whole time yelling at the driver's than helping me."
"Well, in that case, I have one thing to say to you," said Tucker, "*Sniff* It was nice knowing you, dude,"
Sam frowned at Tucker and kicked him in the shins.
"Ow!"
"Tucker," she growled.
"Alright, sorry. I'm just trying to lighten the mood."
"Well, that's my excitement for the next couple of days. What about you guys? Have you talked to your folks about taking the driver's test?" Danny asked them.
"My dad says he'll help me out," said Tucker, "He's always been great help."
"At least your parents help," said Sam, "Mine are almost always too busy to help me."
"Didn't your grandmother teach you?" Danny asked.
"She did, but she's visiting friends out of town for the next couple of weeks," Sam explained, "Luckily, your sister was kind enough to help me out."
Danny looked concerned.
"Uh, you sure that's a good idea, Sam?" he asked.
"Well, I've got no one else to ask. Why? Is it a problem?"
"Just… be prepared to have your ear talked off," Danny warned, "She means well, but she's so obsessed with safety in her car, I almost think she's insane. Well, not Vlad level of insane, of course."
"Don't worry, Danny. I'm sure I'll survive," Sam assured him.
Above them, Shadow appeared. It looked around, looking for ways to creating chaos. It spotted just the thing and snickered before flying over to it. Down below, Danny gasped and his ghost sense went off. He looked around and noticed Shadow floating over towards a large hanging chandelier.
"Not good," said Danny.
He quickly glanced around to make sure no one else could see him before he hid under the table. A flash of white light beamed from underneath and Danny Phantom flew towards Shadow. Shadow reached the chandelier and passed through it. The area where the chandelier was attached to the ceiling began to crack. Shadow began to chuckle as the ceiling gave way and the chandelier started to fall towards the shoppers below. Screams of terror filled the mall. A couple of the people below the chandelier were too stunned to move. Danny flew in and grabbed the pair just as the chandelier landed on them.
"Danny!" Tucker and Sam cried out.
Phantom pulled the two individuals away from the mess using his intangibility and to someplace safe. As the three of them became tangible again, Tucker and Sam were relieved to see that they were unscathed.
"You alright, Danny?" Sam asked.
"I'm fine. And so are they."
"But they aren't!" Tucker exclaimed, pointing behind the group.
Shadow was busy making a mess of the mall, going from store to store. A shoe store began having shoes fly all over the place, a sushi bar started overflowing with rice, and multiple devices began shorting out at an electronics store.
"Johnny's Shadow is turning this place into a crazy house," said Sam.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Danny before he flew after Shadow.
Shadow just exited out of a bookstore when it got blasted by a ghost ray, sending it into the chandelier. It looked up and saw Danny floating above.
"Alright, Shadow, you've done enough damage. Now, how is going to go down?" Danny asked, "We can do this the easy way-"
*POW*
The punch sent Danny flying over Tucker and Sam and into the pile of rice at the sushi bar. The two friends ran over and helped Danny up to his feet.
"Or the hard way," he moaned.
"Something tells me Shadow doesn't want to take the easy way," said Tucker.
Danny glared over at Shadow as it went around terrorizing people.
"This is going to get people hurt," he said, "Sam, do you still have the Fenton Wrist Ray on you?"
"You know I do," she smirked as she pulled it out and put it on her wrist.
"Great," said Danny before handing Tucker a Fenton Thermos, "Tucker, Sam and I will keep Shadow distracted while you sneak around it and trap it from behind. We can't let it see you firing it. Otherwise it will just run off. And I need answers."
"Don't sweat it," said Tucker, "I'm on it."
Tucker stayed behind as Danny and Sam went opposite directions to flank Shadow. The ghost was chasing a woman around the store, when Danny fired a ghost ray over its head. Shadow turned and growled at Danny. It charged at Danny, but a ghost ray from behind hit it in the back. Shadow looked over its should and saw Sam aiming her Wrist Ray at it.
"Tag," she smirked, "you're it."
While Danny and Sam took turns distracting Shadow, Tucker carefully made his way through the shops, undetected. He was almost in position, when he accidentally knocked over a soda can off a table. The noise did not escape Shadow as he turned to the direction the sound originated from. Danny and Sam both gasped in slight terror. Luckily, Tucker was quick enough to duck behind one of the overturned tables and remain unseen. Shadow was about to approach said table when two ghost rays shot passed him.
"What's wrong? Not having fun?" Danny teased, still holding up both of his green glowing hands.
"Well, if that's the case," said Tucker as he aimed the Thermos at Shadow, "then maybe a timeout will teach you some sportsmanship."
With that said, Tucker activated the Thermos and the beam took hold of Shadow. After a brief struggle, it was pulled inside the Thermos and Tucker slapped on the cap.
"Nice work, guys," said Danny as he and Sam approached Tucker.
"I told you I had this," said Tucker as he handed the Thermos to Danny.
"What did you mean when you said you needed answers?" Sam asked Danny.
"Let's just say it's time for me to pay Johnny a little visit," Danny replied.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
In the Ghost Zone, Johnny 13 was riding around on his bike with Kitty holding on tight to his back. He glanced over his shoulder and watched as Walker and his goons gave up on their pursuit and angrily returned to the prison.
"Ha!" Johnny exclaimed, "You see, babe? I told you those punks could never catch us."
"Pay attention, Johnny!" Kitty snapped, rolling her eyes, "This wasn't what I meant at all when I said I wanted us to go out on a romantic ride!"
"Babe, relax," Johnny said calmly, "I got you the ride part. Now it's time to make for the romantic part- WHAT THE-!?"
Johnny applied the brakes on his bike and skidded to a stop just inches away from Danny Phantom, who wants waiting patiently with his arms crossed.
"What's your deal, punk!?" Johnny shouted as he kicked down the bike kickstand and stood before Danny.
"I should be asking you that, Johnny," said Danny.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Johnny asked.
"Don't play dumb with me, Johnny!" Danny said loudly, "For the past 24 hours, your Shadow has been causing nothing but problems."
Johnny and Kitty looked at each other with confusion.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Danny pulled out the Thermos containing Shadow. Johnny and Kitty were now more confused.
"I have your Shadow right here," Danny said, pointing to the Thermos, "So unless you want me to drag you and your bike over to Walker's front doors, then you better start explaining."
"I don't know who or what you have in that Thermos, punk, but it's definitely not Shadow," Johnny said as he took a step back and flung out his arm, "Shadow! Come out!"
On command, Johnny's shadow began to warp and a dark entity arose from the ground. Danny was shocked to see Shadow floating beside its master.
"Does this answer your questions, kid?" Johnny asked, slightly annoyed.
"B-but… that's impossible!" Danny stammered as he looked at the Thermos.
He pointed it aside and released the ghost inside.
"If Shadow has been with you the whole time, then who's…?"
Danny couldn't even finish his question before realizing that the only thing that came out of the Thermos was a puddle of ectoplasm.
"What the-!?" Danny exclaimed, "Is that the 'Shadow' I captured earlier!?"
*Beep beep*
Danny pulled out his Fenton Phone and answered it.
"Danny, you need to get back, right now!" Sam exclaimed.
"Sam? What's going on?"
"There's more Shadows! Three of them have shown up out of nowhere and their causing havoc all over Amity Park!"
"Oh, great, just what we need," Danny moaned, "Just one Shadow is bad enough."
Shadow growled at Danny.
"Uh, no offense," said Danny.
"No offense to what?" Sam asked.
"Nothing, Sam. I'm on my way now."
Danny turned and flew off towards the Fenton Portal. Johnny and Kitty looked at each other and shrugged.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Back in Amity Park, people were running in terror from the Shadows as they caused chaos wherever they went. Jack and Maddie raced down the roads in the RV, chasing after the ghosts and using the onboard weapons to fire upon them. The Shadows split off in different directions, only allowing Jack to follow one of them. Unknown to the Fentons, Jazz was driving right behind them, with Tucker and Sam as her passengers. They went after one of the other Shadows. The third Shadow looked back and laughed as it flew on to continue its fun. When it looked forward, the first thing it saw was Danny Phantom's fist colliding with its face.
*WAM*
The Shadow went flying through the air and crashed through billboard. Before it had a chance to recover, Danny sucked it into the Fenton Thermos.
"One down, two to go."
Meanwhile, Jack was doing a good job not losing the Shadow he was chasing while Maddie was leaning out the window, firing at it with the Fenton Bazooka. Of course, with Jack driving, he was running every stop sign and red light that came his way. Shadow dodged every attack that came its way. When it looked over, it saw Danny looking around, wondering where the other Shadows were. An idea popped into the Shadow's mind. It changed directions and flew at Danny.
"Jack! Make a right!" Maddie exclaimed, not taking her eye off the Shadow.
"You've got it, Maddie!"
Jack jerked the wheel and made the turn with the RV leaning over on its left wheels. That's when they saw Phantom.
"The ghost kid!" they exclaimed.
Danny was flying around, looking for either Shadow.
"Now, where could they be?" he wondered out loud.
Shadow then flew right past passed him, snickering.
"Well, that was easy."
Suddenly a shot from the Fenton Bazooka shot passed him.
"Or maybe not," Danny said nervously, as he turned back and saw his parents chasing the ghost, and him, as well.
Not wanting to waste another trip through the Ghost Zone****, Danny took off after the Shadow, dodging attacks from his parents.
"You're not getting away this time, you filthy ghost!" Maddie shouted as she continued the attack.
"What makes her think that this time will be any different?" Danny asked.
A shot came close to grazing Danny.
"Whoa! That was too close," he said, "I can't keep going like this. I need to lose my parents before I end up wasting more time dealing with these Shadows."
Danny concentrated and made a duplicate of himself. The two Phantoms looked at each other and nodded. The clone took off in a different direction while the real Danny continued after the Shadow.
"Please work," he whispered.
"Jack, did you see that!?" Maddie exclaimed.
"I did," Jack said, "Should we continue after the one still with its friend?"
"No! That's exactly what he wants us to do," said Maddie, "Follow the one that's running away!"
"I love a good chase," Jack said as he floored the RV after the duplicate.
Danny looked over his shoulder and saw the RV go after his duplicate.
"Alright, it worked!" Danny exclaimed, "Now to deal with this duplicate."
The Shadow looked behind and growled before heading towards the ground. Danny followed behind.
A few blocks away, Jazz was also doing a good job staying on top of the Shadow they were after. Tucker and Sam were leaning out of different sides of Jazz's car, firing at the ghost with their Wrist Rays. Unlike her father, Jazz refused to run any stop signs or red lights. She slammed on the brakes when she saw the yellow light, causing both Tucker and Sam to slam their faces into the seats in front of them.
"Ow! Jazz!" they exclaimed.
"Look, I know you guys would love for me to drive like my dad at the moment, but I'd rather not risk getting a ticket."
"Oh, please!" said Tucker, "You really think the police are really going to give people tickets at this time!?"
Jazz gave him a flat face and jerked her right thumb to the right. Tucker and Sam followed her thumb and saw a police officer writing a ticket to a driver.
"You know what, you're driving is just fine," Tucker said with a nervous smile.
"As long as we don't lose the ghost," said Sam, "That being said, I'm kind of impressed, Jazz. How are you able to keep track of where it's going?"
"Sam," Jazz said, as the light turned green, "I'm a Fenton. Between my parents constant babbling about ghost hunting and my time with Danny, I've picked up a thing or two."
Seconds later, Jazz turned left at an intersection and was right behind the Shadow again. The ghost turned and snarled at them. It then zigzagged through multiple streetlights, causing them to shake and fall towards the street. Tucker and Sam gasped, but Jazz kept calm and turned into an alleyway. The Shadow stopped flying and looked behind it. It began snickering when it saw no sign of its pursuers. It didn't have time to react when it turned around and was shot down by Tucker and Sam. The Shadow crashed into the ground.
"Jazz, you are the best driver, ever!" Tucker exclaimed, "Why can't your father ever drive like that?"
"Because it's my dad."
Jazz pulled out her Fenton Thermos and prepared to trap the Shadow. But as the dust settled, all that was left was a puddle of ectoplasm.
"Huh!?" the three exclaimed.
Suddenly, another loud crash occurred behind them. They turned around and watch as Danny lands before a crater. The three approached and watched as the Shadow that Danny fought melted into another puddle of ectoplasm.
"Wait," said Tucker, "I'm lost. What's going on!?"
"I have no clue," said Danny, "I just talked to Johnny and his Shadow is still with him. And all these fake Shadows just turn into ectoplasm when they're defeated."
"But, where did they come from?" Jazz asked.
Sam turned around and looked up.
"Maybe we could ask them," she said, pointing up.
The others looked up and saw another three Shadows grinning at them.
"You've got to be kidding me," Danny moaned, "Seriously, where are these things coming from!? AAAAHHHHH!"
A bolt of purple lightning shocked through Danny's body and he falls to one knee.
"Danny!" the others exclaimed, rushing to his side.
"Are you okay!?" Sam asked.
A soft chuckle was heard behind the group. They turned around and saw an unknown ghost. The ghost appeared to be wearing a giant oversized dark purple cloak with pointed shoulder pads underneath and sleeves that covered their hands, a metal mask with one giant red eye and five vertical slots where the mouth would be, a leather belt with many small pouches and vials of different colored substances, black pants with dark purple guards, and black boots. In their arms was a huge black book with strange red symbols on it. Three similar symbols where on the ghost's garments; one on each shoulder and one on their chest.
"If you want things done properly," he muttered, "you'll just have to do it yourself."
Danny steadily got back up and glared at the ghost. The three Shadows flew over and landed beside the ghost.
"I'm guessing it was you that sent these fake 'Shadows' after us," said Danny.
"Well, it was worth a try," the ghost replied, "I needed to keep you occupied and my minions did not disappoint. Though they could have done better in the combat aspect."
Danny jumped forward and flew towards the ghost. He spun around and sent his foot flying at the ghost. But he felt nothing and flew passed the three Shadows. He landed on the ground and looked back.
"What the heck? Where did he go!?"
"Danny!" Tucker shouted, "Behind you!"
Danny turned and saw the ghost floating in the air.
"My, my," he said, "so rude. Don't you think introductions are in order first before we have this 'dramatic' battle, as so many would describe it?"
Danny heard the Shadows approaching him and went intangible, thinking they were going to attack him. Instead, they flew around him and floated beside their master. Danny went tangible again.
"That's better," said the ghost, "Oh, and this applies to your little friends as well."
Tucker, Sam, and Jazz frowned at the ghost.
"So, you mind telling us what if is you're doing?" Danny asked.
"My name is Magnus," he said, "Magician of Black Magic."
"Oh, great," said Sam, "Another magic user."
"And what my plans are," Magnus continued, "are none of your concern, Phantom."
Suddenly, Magnus teleported behind Danny, grabbed him by the leg, and threw him into the air. He teleported again, above Danny, and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into the ground below. Danny got up and flew after Magnus and tried to punch him. Once again, Magnus teleported away from Danny's attack. Danny tried again with a ghost ray, but same result. Another kick from behind sent Danny flying, landing at the other's feet. They helped him to his feet.
"This is becoming rather boring," Magnus said as he turned to his minions, "It's time to use the fusion spell. Relinquish your Mirage spells."
The Shadows nodded and began to fade into their true forms. Within seconds, the minions became green skeletons, similar to those of Pariah Dark's army*****, but they all looked distinct from those. The first skeleton had a helmet, a pauldron on its left shoulder, torn leggings that were knee length, and a sword in its right hand. The second had a small cloak and a staff with a purple gem at the end. The third had a red hood and scarf, an arrow pouch on its back, and a bow in hand.
"This shouldn't be a problem," said Tucker.
Magnus flipped a page from his book.
"Ya ithikitalkus a soth!" he chanted.
The gang watched as a spell rune surrounded the three skeletons. The minions began to glow white and meld together. When the light faded away, there was only one skeleton left, wielding a chain mace for a weapon and twice the size as the skeletons before. It looked just like the sword wielding skeleton, only it now had two pauldrons and gauntlets.
"Still doesn't seem like a big issue," said Tucker, earning him a glare from Danny, Sam, and Jazz, "What?"
"Tucker, can you not say things like that!?" Sam asked.
"Why?"
"Dolibix kiranann igira kair!" Magnus chanted.
A glowing purple rune appeared on the skeleton's forehead and it grew until it was three times its normal size.
"That's why, Tucker," Danny said.
"Sorry," said Tucker as he cowered between glaring Jazz and Sam.
Danny flew up to engage the large foe. He floated a few feet away and shot a few ghost rays at the skeleton's head, but it didn't even flinch. The enemy reeled back and slung out the mace. Danny went intangible, allowing the mace to pass through him, harmlessly. He then flew forward and became tangible so he could punch the skeleton's face. Suddenly, the skeleton turned with blazing speed and grabbed Danny's leg with its left hand.
"Please, Phantom," Magnus sighed, "couldn't you come up with something more… challenging? Warrior!"
The skeleton turned to face its master.
"Give him a brief lesson and then free him."
The warrior nodded and then began slamming Danny against the ground repeatedly. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz flinched with each impact. After hitting the ground six times, Danny was barely conscious and completely dazed.
"I think that's enough for now, Warrior," said Magnus, "Send him on his way."
The skeleton raised Danny behind its head and then threw him across the city.
"Danny!" the others cried out.
Jazz turned angrily to Magnus.
"What's your problem, jerk! You said you would release him!" she shouted.
"I did," Magnus shrugged, "I never said how."
Jazz and Sam growled at the ghost magician.
"Well, that should buy us plenty of time," said Magnus, "Come along, Warrior. There's work to be done."
With that, the two ghosts teleported away.
"Come on!" Tucker exclaimed, "We need to help Danny!"
Danny was thrown so far, he ended up reaching the park. He managed to open his eyes just in time for him to see where he would land.
"Oh no…"
*SPLASH*
Danny landed in the water fountain, with his back against the statue.
"Uugghhh…" he moaned as a white ring appeared around him and he reverted back to his human form.
He immediately began looking around in fear of someone seeing him transform. Luckily, no one else was around. A moment later, Jazz pulled up to the park and she, Tucker, and Sam rushed inside. They found Danny just as he got up to his feet, soaked.
"Danny, you alright?" Jazz asked.
"Yeah," he replied, "I'm fine."
Tucker and Sam walked up and helped him out of the fountain.
"How was your bath?" Tucker teased.
Sam glanced at Tucker before shoving him into the fountain with no hesitation.
"What was that for, Sam!?" he asked, picking up his beret from the water.
"For jinxing us," she replied with a smile, "but mostly for the bad joke."
"Hmph," said Tucker, "How was I supposed to know that ghost could combine ghosts and make them bigger and stronger?"
"Come on, let's go home," said Danny, "We'll deal with Magnus another time. Right now, I could take a break."
"That sounds good, Danny," said Jazz, "Besides, you'll need all the strength you'll need when driving with dad tomorrow."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," Danny said, slightly annoyed.
The four of them made their way back to Jazz's car. Sam entered the car first, but Jazz stopped Danny and Tucker. They gave her a questionable look and she just responded with a raised eyebrow. Danny took the message and went intangible, allowing the water to come off his body and to the ground. He went tangible and entered the car, along with Jazz.
"Uh, Danny? Aren't you forgetting something?" Tucker asked.
Danny didn't respond and just buckled up as Jazz started the car.
"Danny? Jazz? Sam!?"
They ignored him.
"You guys serious right now!?"
Danny rolled down the window and laughed.
"Nah, I'm just messing with you, Tuck," said Danny, "Give me a sec."
Danny touched Tucker with a finger and turned him intangible for a moment.
"I knew you'd never leave me, guys," Tucker smirked as he got in the car.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The next day, Danny was eating breakfast in the kitchen when Jazz came in.
"Hey, Danny."
"Hey, Jazz."
"Feeling better?"
"Much, but this headache might take another day or two," he replied, rubbing his temple.
"Well, that's good to hear. Good luck with dad today."
"Yeah, I'm not really looking forward to it."
"It'll be fine, Danny. And you'll do just fine."
"I hope so."
Jazz walked over and rubbed his head.
"I know so, little brother."
"Thanks, Jazz," Danny said as his sister made her way out, "Oh, and tell Sam good luck."
Jazz looked over her shoulder, confused.
"What? Why?"
"Well, aren't you helping her with the driver's test?"
"Yeah… why would she- Oh, shut up, Danny!"
Danny chuckled as his sister left the kitchen.
"Hey, Danny!"
He looked over and saw Jack poking his head inside the kitchen.
"Your mother and I are just finishing up with this part of our latest invention," Jack explained, "We'll go for a drive in a couple of minutes."
"Uh, yeah, sure, whatever you say, dad," Danny replied, nervously.
"That's the spirit!" Jack explained before heading back down to the labs.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Over at Tucker's place, he and his father just exited their front door.
"Stay safe, you two," Mrs. Foley called out.
"We will, mom!" Tucker called back.
A couple more steps and Tucker and Mr. Foley were standing before the car. Tucker turned to his father, who proudly presented his son with the car keys.
"For you, Mr. Foley," said Mr. Foley.
"Why, thank you, Mr. Foley," Tucker replied as he took the keys and entered the driver's seat.
His father entered the passenger's side and sat down. He watched as his son made minor adjustments to the mirrors and seat before buckling up.
"I see you've remembered about adjusting everything to your accommodations," he said.
"Mm hmm," Tucker smirked as he sat back and started the engine.
When Tucker didn't do anything for a couple of seconds, Mr. Foley raised and eyebrow and looked at his son.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well, what?" Tucker smirked.
"IS something wrong? I can't hold your hand through everything, Tucker."
"I was waiting for you," said Tucker.
Mr. Foley was not sure what he meant until Tucker pulled on the seatbelt over his chest.
"Oh, of course!" Mr. Foley exclaimed and put his on, "How about now?"
"I think we're ready to roll," Tucker said as he carefully pulled out onto the street.
Neither of them noticed the raider skeleton following them.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Sam was patiently waiting for Jazz to arrive when she heard the car horn beep. She made her way over.
"Hey, Jazz."
"Hey, Sam," she greeted as she got out of her car, keys still in the ignition, "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"So am I. Thanks for helping me out and using your car, Jazz."
"Oh, it's not a problem at all," Jazz replied as Sam closed the driver's side door behind her, "After all, we might be sisters-in-law someday."
"What was that?" Sam asked as Jazz sat down in the passenger seat.
"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all, heh heh."
As Sam began driving off, she and Jazz were unaware of the archer skeleton hiding under the car.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"Here you are, Danny," Jack said as he led Danny up to the RV's driver's seat and tossed him the keys, "Now, let's get this show on the road."
Danny inserted the key into the ignition and started up the RV. He put his seatbelt on as Jack sat down in the passenger seat, closing the door behind him.
"Now, Danny, as you know, the first thing to do in any vehicle is…?"
"Um, adjust the mirrors and seat?"
"Ha! No!" Jack exclaimed, "You check your surroundings for ghosts. They can be anywhere, you know. Above you. Below you. Or even in you!"
Danny blinked a couple of times.
"Dad? We're going out for a drive, not hunt ghosts."
Jack leaned over and squinted his eyes.
"That's what the ghosts want; for you to not on your guard."
"R-right," said Danny, "I'll, uh, keep that in mind."
Suddenly, Danny gasped, and his ghost sense went off.
"You okay, Danny?"
"Uh, yeah, dad, I'm fine."
"You sure? For a moment their I thought I could see your breath."
"No, you didn't see my breath. I'm fine."
"Hmm… Well if you say so," said Jack, "Well, let's hit the road!"
"Um, dad? Shouldn't you be putting your seatbelt on?"
"Danny, when it comes to dealing with ghosts and driving, you soon learn that a seatbelt is more of a liability than a safety device."
Danny sighed and began driving down the road, carefully checking for any signs of the ghost. Unfortunately, since neither Jack nor Danny activated the RV's ghost devices, the mage skeleton was able to hitch a free on the roof of the vehicle.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Tucker's drive was going well. He stopped at every intersection when needed and never once went over the speed limit.
"I must say, son," said Mr. Foley, "I think you're more than ready for the test."
"Really?"
"Well, almost. Let's see how you do on the freeway. Take a right onto the onramp, here."
Tucker did as instructed and got onto the freeway, picking up speed to match the traffic.
"No need to worry, son," said Mr. Foley, "Just wait until there's plenty of room to-"
*POW*
A loud boom was heard, and Tucker began losing control.
"Woah! It's turning left!" Tucker exclaimed as he tried to regain control, almost hitting another car.
"Calm down, son. Just pull over to the side and turn on the emergency lights."
Tucker nodded and slowed down. As he regained control, he pulled the car over. He and his father got out and inspected the car. They noticed that the front left tire was gone.
"Well, that's new," said Mr. Foley, "I've had deflated and punctured tires before, but I've never had a tire completely vanish."
"What? Do you think the tire got shredded?" Tucker asked.
"It would seem so," his father replied, "Luckily, I always keep a spare in the trunk, along with a jack. I guess now would be the perfect time to show you how to replace a wheel."
Tucker made his way over to the trunk to grab the spare and jack. Floating nearby and out of sight, the raider skeleton growled in frustration as it pulled off a strip of rubber from the tip of its blade.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"Now, the first thing we need to do is to make sure all your mirrors are in position for you to see your surroundings. Then we need to adjust your seat and determine the best place for you to be so you can see your blind spots. After that, check all your gauges to make sure you've got enough fuel-"
"Jazz?"
"-and that your battery has sufficient charge so that the car will start. Now that I think about, we should go over how the right of way rules work at intersections of four or more ways."
"Uh, Jazz?"
"Then, we'll discuss the duration of a yellow light of a traffic sign and-"
"JAZZ!" Sam shouted, causing Jazz to stare and blink a couple of times, "We've been on the road for 15 minutes. I think we went over this already, twice."
"Did we?" Jazz asked, "Well, never hurts to reinforce the traffic laws."
Sam sighed and looked down the road. She saw a stop sign coming up and moved her foot over the brake.
"Maybe Danny was on to something when he warned me about y-"
Sam stopped talking and looked down, alarmed. She kept stepping on the brake, but nothing happened.
"What was that, Sam?" Jazz asked, "Did Danny say something to you about me?"
"Uh, Jazz?"
"I'll have you know that I can be informative on driving techniques that can-"
"The brakes aren't working!" Sam shouted, stomping on the brakes over and over.
"WHAT!?" Jazz shrieked.
The two girls looked at each other and then the intersection before them. An elderly woman in an electric wheelchair was crossing the sidewalk at a painfully slow rate in front of them. The two girls screamed.
"Sam, pull the parking brake! PULL THE PARKING BRAKE!"
Sam yanked the parking brake into position and the car skidded to a stop, just inches from the pedestrian. Jazz and Sam took a few moments to calm down and take some breathers. Jazz sighed before she glared at Sam.
"What?" Sam asked, "The brakes weren't working!"
She pumped on the brakes again, showing that nothing working. Jazz got out and walked around her car, motioning Sam to get out as well. She got out and Jazz got in. She pumped the brakes and felt them holding pressure.
"Sam, the brakes are fine."
"But… they wouldn't hold…"
"It's fine now," said Jazz, "Strange… how did that even happen?"
Under the car, the archer skeleton frowned in frustration as it pulled the remainder of the arrows out of the brake pads.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"Any signs of ghosts, Danny?" Jack asked with his head out the window.
Danny attempted to change lanes to the right but couldn't see the car that was there because Jack was blocking the view. Luckily, an accident was avoided when the driver honked their horn and Danny readjusted into his lane.
"HEY!" Jack shouted at the driver, "THAT'S MY SON YOUR HONKING AT! GIVE HIM SOME SPACE, WILL YA!?"
"Dad, could you not do that, please?" Danny pleaded.
Jack continued shouting at the driver until Danny turned left at an intersection. With the other car out of sight, Jack slid back inside and rolled up the window.
"Ha! That'll show 'em," Jack said proudly, "Now, what was I talking about?"
"Uh…"
"Right! Ghosts!"
"No, dad, please don't-"
"As I was saying before, when you're driving, you must always keep an eye out for them. Down the road, above the road, in your mirrors, blind spots, under the car, over the car, in the car."
"Dad, could we just focus on the driving rather than the ghost hunting?" Danny asked as he stopped at a red light.
"Son, in my experience, everything involves ghosts!"
Danny sighed as his father continued to and continued driving when the light turned green. Suddenly, the steering wheel began to glow a dark purple and turn on its own, causing the RV to drift into the oncoming traffic. Danny tried to turn back onto the right side of the road but couldn't; the steering wheel was locked in place.
"I remember when I was your age," Jack continued, "My father taught me so much. Except for ghost hunting. He never did like the idea of me learning two things at once. But, unlike my father, I'm a man of efficiency! If I want to do two things at once, I'll do so!"
He stopped talking when he heard Danny struggling and turned to see what was going on.
"Danny? What's wrong?"
"Dad, not to worry you, but I think the wheel's locked up," Danny said, worried.
"It is?" Jack asked, leaning over and grabbing the wheel, giving it a couple of jerks, "Rrrrgh! Well, that's new."
Jack continued to fight the steering wheel, which was beginning to turn on its own. Danny tried to apply the brakes, but they didn't respond.
"Come on, don't tell me this baby needs another tune-up," Jack grumbled.
Danny gasped and his ghost sense went off. He glanced around the RV and outside the windows and mirrors but saw nothing. Then a thought came to mind. Danny leaned his head out the window and looked on top of the RV. That's when he saw the mage skeleton using its glowing purple staff to take control of the vehicle. Danny pulled his head back inside and activated the RV's energy beam blaster. The weapon appeared behind the skeleton and, with a single shot, blasted it away. As soon as the mage's spell was interrupted, Jack was back in control.
"Alright! That should fix it!" he exclaimed, "The wheel's all yours, Danny."
"Uh, yeah, great job, dad."
"And not a single accident occurred, thanks to one Jack Fenton."
Danny glanced over at the sideview mirror and saw a dozen cars that had pulled over, with the drivers all shouting back at the RV, fists raised and anger in their voices.
"I really hope this doesn't happen during the test," Danny moaned as he continued his drive.
A short time later, Danny needed to take care of some business.
"Hey, dad? I need to make a pitstop," he said.
"That's fine, Danny. Just pull into the gas station here."
Danny parked the RV and hopped out.
"I'll be here. Waiting," Jack told him.
Danny went inside to use the restroom.
"… for ghosts," Jack added darkly before his head fell back and he started snoring away in deep sleep.
At that moment, the mage skeleton appeared nearby and glared at the RV.
"So, they want to prepare for their driver's tests, do they?" Magnus asked as he teleported behind the mage, "Why don't we give them a test of our own?"
He pulled out his book of spells and opened it. Across town, each of the skeletons flew above the vehicles they each targeted earlier that day.
"Boli kali ithikitalkus!"
Simultaneously, the three vehicles had a magical seal with an icon of a locked padlock appear under them. Jazz and Sam were still driving while Tucker and Mr. Foley had just finished with the spare; Tucker had already got back in the car while his father put the stuff back in the trunk.
"Tagopar damen nal!"
The skeletons morphed into Shadow clones.
"Take the vehicles out for a spin," Magnus ordered his minions.
Immediately, Tucker and Sam's cars were possessed by the ghosts, causing them to glow a soft purple.
"Hey!" Sam exclaimed.
"What's going on!?" Tucker cried out.
Under the skeletons' control, the two cars began to pick up speed. The brakes were stuck in place and the only thing Tucker and Sam could do was steer their cars.
"Tucker, what are you doing!?" Mr. Foley shouted as he started chasing after his car.
"I don't know, dad! The brakes won't work!"
"Sam! Don't tell me the brakes-" Jazz exclaimed
"Yup," Sam replied half-hearted, "I get the feeling it's going to be one of those days. And the parking brake isn't working either."
Back at the gas station, Jack was still snoring as the ghost possessed the RV. He startled awake when the RV started up.
"Hm? Danny, is that you?" he yawned, "You sure are in a hurry to-"
Jack snapped out of his sleepiness when he noticed no one was driving the RV. He then looked up and saw the Shadow clone poke its head through the roof and grin at him.
"GHOSTS!" Jack exclaimed.
Danny made his way out of the gas station, sipping a can of soda. As he threw the can away, his ghost sense went off.
"DANNY!"
He looked over and watched as the RV sped off down the road. Jack was leaning out the window.
"GHOSTS!" his father shouted as he disappeared over the hill.
"Dad!" Danny exclaimed, "I'm going ghost!"
A white ring surrounded Danny and he transformed into Danny Phantom. With no time to waste, Danny flew into the air and chased after the RV, where Jack prepared to fight the ghost.
"Alright, ghost," Jack muttered as he got up from his seat and got into a defensive stance, "I know you're still here. Come out and face me! I… DARE YOU!"
Jack's eyes glanced around the back of the RV as he waited for the ghost to make its move. Nothing happened, so he turned around to steer the RV and prevent it from veering off the road. Behind him, the Shadow clone phased through the roof and leapt towards Jack.
"GOTCHA!" Jack exclaimed as he spun around, producing the Jack o' Nine Tails in his hands and fired it at the ghost.
Multiple tails extended from the end and wrapped around the Shadow. It gave a momentary struggle in the restraints before it was electrocuted.
"Ha!" Jack exclaimed in triumph, "Did you really think you could sneak up on Jack Fenton!?"
Nearby, Danny had managed to catch up to the RV. He flew down and attempted to phase through, but a magic barrier was preventing him from doing so, causing a small shock to run through his body.
"Okay, bad idea," Danny muttered to himself as a flew a couple feet away, "Judging from the strange symbols, I'm guessing Magnus is behind this. Now, how am I going to get in?"
Back inside the RV, the Shadow continued to fight through the tails. Instead, it decided to body slam into Jack.
"Oh, so you think you can take me on?" said Jack as he pushed against the ghost, "I'm not an easy pushover."
Jack and the Shadow continued to struggle near the driver's seat of the RV. The RV continued speeding down the road with no one driving. A sudden bump from a rock on the road caused the RV to rock around, making Jack and the Shadow to sway and try to keep their balance. Jack unintentionally elbowed the button and activated the RV's Ghost Shield.
"Well, looks like I'm definitely not getting inside the RV now," said Danny as he stared at the green shield.
Jack managed to aim the Jack o' Nine Tails at the ghost and fired at it again. The Shadow clone saw it coming and slinked back towards the rear of the RV, avoiding the attack. The two foes glared at each other as Jack got into a bizarre fighting stance, causing him to hit the button again and deactivate the shield. As soon as the shield was down, Danny noticed something.
"The padlock symbol is gone. Maybe I could…?"
Being cautious, Danny floated down to the RV and attempted to phase through. As soon as his intangible hand went through the RV's roof and felt nothing, Danny entered the RV.
*WHAM*
Danny watched as his father was sent flying into the back of the RV, hit his head against the back of the RV, and land flat on his back. Danny rushed over to his father.
"Da- I mean, Jack! Are you okay!?"
Jack lifted his head.
"Don't worry, Maddie, I'll make sure to fly the choo-choo into the ocean," Jack said before he fell unconscious.
The Shadow clone laughed as it approached Phantom but stopped when it saw the angry green glow in his eyes. The RV rocked around for a couple of moments. After giving the Shadow a beating, Danny pulled out his Thermos and captured the ghost.
"I probably shouldn't release this into the Ghost Zone," said Danny, "I don't think anyone will appreciate the mess it will make inside."
He then became alarmed.
"Wait… who's driving?"
Danny looked over and noticed that the RV was still rolling at full speed down the road. He ran over and got tried the brakes. Nothing happened, but he was still able to turn.
"This is not at all what I meant when I wanted to prepare for my driver's license."
His cellphone rang and he answered.
"Jazz, now isn't the best time to be calling me."
"Let me guess… ghost problems?" she asked.
"Yeah," Danny replied, "How'd you know?"
"Because we're having ghost problems too," said Tucker, who was on conference call, "As in the brakes won't work."
"Great," Danny muttered, "this just gets better and better. This wouldn't be a problem if the cars could just go through the other cars. Wait! That's it!"
Concentrating hard, Danny went intangible and did the same for the entire RV.
"Alright!" he exclaimed, "Now I don't have to worry about the other cars."
"That's great, Danny, but we do," said Jazz.
"Okay, okay! Geez, sorry," Danny muttered, "Now, where are you guys?"
"We just passed the Fenton Works," said Jazz.
"Really?" Tucker asked, surprised, "I just passed it too."
"Alright, keep driving around the block," Danny ordered, "I'll meet up with you guys."
"And then what?" Tucker asked.
"I'm… not really sure," Danny replied, "Still working on that. Look, just stay near the Fenton Works."
Danny turned the RV around and continued phasing through traffic to get to the others. Following close by, Magnus watched with amusement.
"This is becoming much more interesting than I had anticipated."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"I'm shocked that we haven't ran out of gas yet," Sam told Jazz as she continued driving around, preventing accidents, "It's been 20 minutes, where's Danny?"
"Did somebody call for a rescue?"
Sam and Jazz looked over and saw the RV driving beside them.
"Well, you sure took your time," Jazz remarked.
"Hey, it's not my fault the RV was 25 miles out of town," Danny replied.
"What's the plan, Danny?" Sam asked, focusing on the road.
"Simple. I grab you and Jazz and pull you into the RV."
Jazz and Sam deadpanned.
"What?"
"Danny, you do realize that someone still needs to drive my car, right?" Jazz pointed out.
"Oh. Right. Um…"
"HEEELLLP!"
Danny, Sam, and Jazz looked up and down the road in time to see Tucker tearing down the street adjacent to theirs.
"Danny, if you can think of anything, now would be a great time!" Sam exclaimed.
"I'm trying, Sam!" Danny snapped back, "It's not like I can drive and save you guys at the same… time…"
"Danny?" Jazz asked, wondering what he was thinking.
Danny strained himself as a duplicate of himself appeared in the RV's passenger seat. The duplicate flew out of the RV and hoverer above Jazz's car. He tried to phase through the car, but, like before with the RV, received a shock.
"I can't get passed this stupid magic barrier."
"Here," said Jazz, "Let me just roll down the window and you can pull me out."
She tried to roll it down, but it wouldn't work.
"Try opening the door?" Sam suggested.
"I can't," said Jazz, "It won't open!"
"It must be a spell that Magnus used," said Danny.
"How right you are, Phantom."
The three looked up and saw Magnus floating in the air.
"Enjoying your drive?" he asked.
"I was, until you started making it more difficult than it already was," Danny remarked as a flew up towards the ghost magician.
"Kalipar du xaquin idish!"
Magnus held out his hand and a bolt of purple lightning shot out at Danny, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying back towards the ground.
"Danny!" Sam and Jazz exclaimed as they drove off.
He got up to his feet and flew after them.
"I've got to find a way to break those spells," said Danny, "The only way I can think of is to defeat Magnus. But how am I going to do that when he just teleports all over the place? *sigh* Keeping my duplicate in the RV is starting to tire me out. If I'm going to beat Magnus, I better do this quickly."
Danny strained himself again and created two more duplicates of himself.
"This better work," Danny sighed, "Otherwise our parents' insurance rates are going up."
The three lookalikes caught up to Jazz's car as it passed the Fenton Works and saw Magnus standing on the building roof. Danny had one of the duplicates fly towards Magnus while he and the other flew out of sight. Magnus saw the duplicate flying towards him and attacked it.
"When will you learn?" Magnus sighed as he shot lightning from his hand.
"When you learn not to let your guard down!"
"Huh!?"
Magnus turned his head and was uppercut by Danny and his other duplicate at the same time. The magician landed on the roof and looked up in disbelief.
"That's… impossible…" he said, "Unless… Hm. This will complicate things."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Danny asked.
"No matter," said Magnus, "I made the mistake of underestimating your abilities, Phantom. But now…"
He flipped through his spell book.
"Now, I will end this little game and get on with my research! Hope your friends enjoyed their rides."
"No!" Danny exclaimed, shooting forward at Magnus.
Magnus smirked and teleported closer to Danny, elbowing him down onto the roof. Before the magician could continue, Danny vanished in a blink of an eye. It was another duplicate.
*WHAM*
The real Danny Phantom bided his time and waited for Magnus to make his move first. Once Magnus teleported, Danny shot forward and kicked him in the back and into the ground, causing the spell book to fly off the roof.
"N-no!" Magnus exclaimed, reaching for the book.
"Ha! Not so fast without your book, are you?" Danny taunted.
"You insolent child!" Magnus shouted, "Have you forgotten? I still have your friends trapped! You can't save them unless I remove the spells, or you defeat me!"
"That's all I needed to hear," Danny smirked.
He took a deep breath and a step back. Magnus' eye widened.
"Aw, crud."
Danny unleashed a Ghostly Wail directly at Magnus and he was thrown off the roof and sent flying into a nearby building. The force of the impact was enough to knock the magician out. Danny stopped the attack and fell to one knee as his head reverted back to human form.
"Nnnngh…" he moaned, "I've really got to learn how to use that power without wiping myself out. Oh no… Sam! And Tucker! And Jazz!"
Danny ran over to the side of the roof and looked down. His clone was barely holding together to continue driving the intangible RV and Tucker and Sam were driving right at each other with no room to maneuver.
"NO!"
Danny tried to fly towards them, but the Ghostly Wail took much of his energy and he could fly that fast. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz screamed as the vehicles came closer to each other.
"Hit the brakes!" Danny shouted.
Tucker and Sam slammed on the brakes and the cars began to slow down.
"Please stop, please stop," Danny begged.
Tucker and Sam were gritting their teeth and their eyes shut while Jazz covered her eyes as the cars came closer to each other. Seconds later, both cars were at a complete stop. Tucker and Sam each opened one eye and noticed that they were okay. Jazz peaked through her fingers. Everyone gave a heavy sigh of relief. Danny's duplicate and the RV went tangible again and pulled up behind Sam. Danny landed nearby and practically collapsed onto his hands and knees as a white ring appeared around him and he reverted back to human form. As soon as that happened, the duplicate disappeared. Everyone got out of the cars and rushed over to Danny. Tucker and Sam helped him up to his feet.
"Danny, you okay?" Tucker asked, "I heard that Ghostly Wail from three blocks over."
"Really? You heard that over your screaming?" Danny quipped.
"Yeah, he's definitely fine, Tucker," said Jazz.
"Hey, why is there ectoplasm under the cars?" Sam asked.
"If I had to guess, I'm betting those were Magnus' goons," said Danny, "By the way, where did he go?"
"You didn't catch him?" Sam asked.
"I figured you would be happy that I think your lives take priority," Danny quipped.
"Danny…" Sam said sternly.
"Don't worry," he said, pulling out his Thermos as they walked over to where Magnus was, "I'm sure he's still unconscious. I mean, when's the last time someone withstood a Ghostly Wail?"
"How about now?" Tucker asked pointing to where Magnus was supposed to be.
"Uh…"
"And the spell book is gone too!" Jazz exclaimed.
"Where did he go?" Sam asked.
Magnus' evil chuckle filled the air. The gang looked around, wondering where it was coming from.
"You may have bested me this time, Phantom," said Magnus, "But you have no idea what we are capable of!"
"We? What do you mean?" Danny asked.
Magnus replied with another laugh, which faded away.
"Great, he got away," Danny sighed.
"It's fine, dude," said Tucker, "We'll get him next time."
The passenger of the RV opened, and Jack hopped out with the Jack o' Nine Tails held firmly in his hands.
"Kids!" he exclaimed, "Did you see it!? The ghost!? Where is it!?"
Danny hid his Thermos behind his back.
"Uh, gee, sorry, dad, you just missed it," he said, "It flew off before you woke up."
"Darn!" Jack exclaimed, "Well, there's always next time. By the way, Danny, how did we get home? The last thing I remember was fighting it in the RV and then nothing."
"Oh, shoot! I forgot! My dad is still on the freeway!" Tucker exclaimed as he ran back to his car, "I'll call you guys later, bye!"
"Well, this sure was one hectic day of driving, huh, Danny?" Sam asked.
"Pfft, you're telling me," he replied, "I'm just glad this wasn't during a driving test."
"Yeah, we definitely would have failed," Sam laughed.
"Speaking of driver's test," Jack interjected, "I think you are more than ready, son!"
Danny blinked a couple of times.
"Uh… really?"
"Yup! Just remember everything I taught you and you should pass with flying colors!"
"Okay… if you say so," Danny said, not really convinced.
Jazz approached Sam.
"Why don't I take you home now, Sam?" she offered.
"Yeah, that would be great," said Sam, "Later, Danny."
Danny waved goodbye as Jazz and Sam got into her car and drove off. He felt a hand on his shoulder and noticed it was his father's.
"Tell me, Danny, how did we get home?"
"Uh… you know what, dad? You hit your head pretty hard, why don't we go inside and have you lie down?" Danny insisted as he pushed his father into the Fenton Works.
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Jazz pulled up to the Manson residence and let Sam out.
"Thanks, Jazz."
"Oh, no worries!"
"And sorry for snapping at your earlier," Sam continued, "I know you were just trying to help, and you didn't deserve that. Especially since you were the one doing me a favor."
"Apology accepted," said Jazz, "And I'm sorry for overwhelming you. Friends?"
"Friends."
Sam stepped out of the car and closed it behind her.
"Just wanted to keep my brother's girlfriend safe," Jazz said to herself.
"What was that?" Sam asked, startling Jazz.
She looked over and noticed that the passenger door window was down, and Sam was giving her a questionable look.
"Oh, nothing! Nothing!" Jazz laughed nervously.
Sam shrugged and headed for her front door.
"Clueless," Jazz sighed, making sure the window was rolled up before she said it.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
A week later, Tucker, Sam, and Jazz were outside the DMV by Jazz's car, waiting for Danny to finish his driver's test.
"I look good," Tucker said, admiring his license.
Sam rolled her eyes.
"It's just a picture, Tucker," she said, "I'm fine with just having a license."
Jazz looked nervously over at the DMV entrance.
"I wonder what's taking Danny so long," she said, "You don't think he…?"
"No way!" Tucker exclaimed, "I'm sure he's fine and that we have nothing to worry about."
"Look, here he comes now," said Sam.
Danny walked out of the DMV with folded papers in his hand and made his way over to the car. He approached them and they saw disappointment written all over his face. Tucker, Sam, and Jazz's faces fell.
"Danny?" Sam asked, "Are you okay?"
He didn't reply and handed her the papers. Sam unfolded them and looked inside. She was perplexed.
"Danny, isn't this…?"
Danny starting chortling before completely laughing.
"Danny!" Sam scorned.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it!"
"What's going on?" Tucker asked.
Danny took his license from Sam and showed it to Tucker and Jazz.
"Congratulations, little brother," Jazz said, giving Danny a hug.
"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about," said Tucker.
"Well, now that we all have our licenses, what should we do?" Sam asked.
"Lunch at the Nasty Burger?" Jazz suggested, "My treat."
"Sounds good to me," said Danny as he walked around the car to get into the passenger seat.
"Uh-uh," said Jazz.
"Huh?"
Jazz tossed him her car keys. Danny caught them and gave her a look.
"You break it, you bought it," she said as she walked around the car.
Danny smiled and walked over to the driver's side.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Somewhere in the middle of the woods outside of Amity Park, Magnus hid within a cave. An altar was set up with symbols and deactivated seals drawn everywhere. He pulled out the spell book and flipped to a bookmarked page.
"Korilath tasarak boli!"
The seal on the wall began to glow a deep purple followed by a blurry mirage appearing in the center. Magnus kneeled before the glow.
"My master," said Magnus.
"Magnus," said a calm, dark voice, "Has Phantom been dealt with?"
"No," Magnus replied, "and we may have complications."
"The boy is more powerful than we initially believed, I know."
"How do we proceed?"
"I'll deal with it in time. For now, remain in hiding until I return."
"Understood… I hope you remember your promise."
"Oh, I have not, magician. Trust me, when all's said and done, the soul of Danny Phantom will be yours."
Dark laughter filled the cave.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
{Notes}
* Nightmerica is one of Sam's favorite horror movie characters, as shown in "Memory Blank".
** Reference to Danny learning how to use his ice powers in "Urban Jungle".
*** According to the DP Wiki, Johnny 13's Shadow lacks identity and personality beyond its joy for creating havoc, therefore it has no gender and it can and will be referred to as an 'it'. If for whatever reason I accidentally refer to it as 'he' or 'him', I apologize.
**** The Fenton Bazooka creates portals to the Ghost Zone when shot near ghosts and instantly sends ghosts back to the Ghost Zone when directly hit, as seen in "Public Enemies".
***** Watch the episode "Reign of Terror" if you've forgotten what Pariah's army looked like.
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Fun Fact: Johnny 13 and Kitty were voiced by William Baldwin and his wife, Chynna Phillips, respectively. William is Alec Baldwin's brother.
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Like I said before, I've finished my spring semester and decided to take a break this summer. From school. I might have a job offer in the coming weeks, but at least I'll have lots of time to work on this and SA:D&R. Speaking of Sonic Adventure, the next chapter should be out soon. I'm currently jumping between this story and that one, depending on my mood.
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this episode.
Like, follow, and please review! Until next time!
~ThePhantomHedgehog