Welcome back, phans!
Thank you, everyone for checking out my story and for all the support! As of now, this story has reached over 1,000 views- well, actually 1,200 views… which doesn't really mean much, since the visitor count is much lower. But it's a milestone. Yeah… woo.
Oh, and SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta? What makes you think Trevor was supposed to be a typical twelve-year-old? Besides the fact that he's from the future and he's a halfa. You think I'm just gonna tell you everything about his past in just one episode?
… the answer's NO.
Ver. 1.0.0 (7/26/19)
Standard Disclaimer, I do not own Danny Phantom, even after my attempts to disguise myself as the head of Nickelodeon have failed. Look, we all want the show to return and have more seasons, I'm tryin', alright!? It was either that or do something more drastic, but I think I would never see the light of day again if I tried that. Okay, let's start the episode.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The sun burned through the midmorning sky as Sam began to wake up in the darkness of her room. She sat up and stretched as she yawned. She was got out of bed and rubbed her eyes as she left her room and headed into the bathroom. The sound of a shower could be heard for a moment before steam started to sneak out from under the door. Another moment later, Sam came out in a bathrobe and went back into her room. Another moment later, she came out in her usual clothes.
"Hmm," she said as she pulled on her tank top, "Probably should get new clothes soon."
She glanced over to Trevor's room and knocked on the door.
"Trevor?" she called, "You in there?"
No response. She opened the door and peaked inside.
"Trevor? Dust?"
She looked around and didn't see the ghost or half-ghost inside. She walked up to the bed and saw a note.
"Another meeting with Clockwork. I'll meet you and the others soon. -LS," she read aloud, "Hope he's not in trouble again.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
An hour later, Danny, Tucker, and Sam were walking around the neighborhood. Tucker was reading through the file.
"So, where are we going?" Danny asked his friends.
"I dunno," said Tucker, "I'm just following you guys."
"I was doing the same thing," said Sam.
The three teens stopped and looked at one another before they started laughing.
"What a way to start a summer day," Danny sighed.
"Hey, where's Jazz?" Sam asked.
"She's sleeping in," said Danny.
"That's a first," said Tucker.
"She was up late last night reading the file Trevor gave us yesterday," Danny explained, "I told her not to push herself since she's leaving in a couple of weeks."
"Oh, that's right!" Sam exclaimed, "Jazz is moving away for college."
"Where's she going again?" Tucker asked.
"Some top university in California," said Danny, "She must be thrilled to finally be living independently."
"Aren't you going to miss her?" Sam asked.
"Of course I'm going to miss her!" Danny exclaimed, "She's my sister!"
"Hmm…" Tucker pondered.
"Find something, Tucker?" Danny asked.
"Yeah," he replied, "I've been scanning through the pages and I've noticed that Trevor has had more encounters with Reaper than any other person in this file."
"So?" Danny asked.
"Doesn't that sound a bit strange to you?" Tucker asked, "He's had his powers for only a couple of years and he's already fought Reaper more times than you've fought Vlad."
"That does sound a bit strange," said Sam as she tapped her chin.
Suddenly, a pair of large clock hands appeared in front of the group and spun around into a swirling green ghost portal. Trevor and Dust stepped from the portal and it closed behind them. The halfa did not look happy.
"Hey, Trevor," said Danny, "How did the meeting go?"
Trevor groaned as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Well, after talking with Clockwork and Idiots #1 and #2, I ended up with an ultimatum," he said, "I have two weeks to capture Reaper and return to my own timeline."
"Or else what?" Danny asked.
"Or else they'll force me to return to my timeline, even if Reaper isn't captured."
The gang stared in disbelief at Trevor.
*Cue Intro*
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Danny Phantom in: Looks and Brains (Episode 58)
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
The gang was now at the Nasty Burger. Danny and Tucker were eating burgers, Sam was eating a salad, and Trevor was drinking water.
"That's crazy," said Sam, "The Observants can't make you do that! Can they?"
"I argued that since I'm from the future, they had no authority over me," said Trevor, "They don't care. It's still better than the one week they gave me yesterday."
The others' eyes widened as they stared at him.
"…which I forgot to tell you yesterday," Trevor realized, "My bad."
"So if we don't capture Reaper in two weeks, they'll leave the problem to us?" Danny asked.
"Apparently," Trevor muttered, "They don't have a clue what they're doing."
"What did Clockwork say?" Tucker asked.
"Before or after I punched the idiots?" Trevor asked.
"Uh, after," Tucker smirked.
"He told me not to do that again," Trevor answered, "And then he told me how proud he was of me. In all seriousness, he told me to not worry about it and to just focus on looking for Reaper."
"We should get started then," said Danny as he crumpled the wrapper and tossed it into the trash bin, "What should we do?"
"First thing we do is go back to the last place we saw him," said Trevor as he finished his drink and tossed the cup over his shoulder and into the same trash bin, "Hopefully there's something at the park that will help lead us to Reaper."
"Exactly what is Reaper's plan?" Sam asked.
"… He wants to begin the war," Trevor said softly, "And kill Danny Phantom."
Danny's eyes widened.
"And me," Trevor concluded.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Back at the Fenton Works, Maddie was down in the labs looking at a whiteboard covered in equations and ghost drawings.
"Maddie!" Jack exclaimed as he ran downstairs, "I have amazing news!"
She looked over as Jack ran up to her with a flyer in his hand.
"Vlad's hosting a 'Ghost Hunter's Technology Convention' tomorrow and he's invited us to be a part of it!" Jack exclaimed.
"Oh, honey, that's wonderful!" said Maddie, "What will we be doing there?"
"We, and other ghost hunting groups, will be showcasing their latest anti=ghost weapons and devices," Jack explained, "I was thinking we show off the Fenton Ecto-Energy Collector and the Fenton Ghost Chiller."
"That's a great idea," said Maddie, "Let's take a look inside the vault and see what other weapons we should bring."
Jack placed the flyer on the table and the two Fentons went into the vault and began browsing their armory. They didn't notice the Fenton Ghost Portal opening and Technus 2.0 entering.
"Ah, free once again!" he exclaimed as he looked around the lab, "Hm? What's this?"
He reached over and grabbed the flyer off the table.
"A ghost hunting convention? With anti-ghost technology?" he asked before smirking, "This just might be the break I need to take over the world!"
Technus laughed as he turned intangible and flew out of the lab. Jack poked his head out of the vault and looked around. He didn't see anything and shrugged.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
It was high noon when Danny and the gang walked out of the park.
"Nothing," Trevor sighed, "What a waste of time."
"Sorry we couldn't find anything, Trevor," said Sam.
"Well, thanks for trying," said Trevor.
"Hey, since we have nothing to do now, why don't we check out the electronics store?" Tucker suggested, "I read that they're having a sale on a bunch of stuff."
Trevor raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked, slightly irritated.
"Now that you mention it, Tucker, shopping wouldn't be a bad idea," said Sam, "I could use some new clothes."
"Same here," said Danny.
Trevor looked at the three in sheer disbelief.
"Are you kidding me!?" he exclaimed, "We're all of you sleeping through my story yesterday!? If not, let me make it perfectly clear; Reaper… kills… people."
"Dude, you need to take a chill pill," said Tucker, "It's not like I'm ignoring the threat, but what can we do right now?"
"Search every inch of the planet," Trevor replied flatly.
"He does have a point, Trevor," said Dust.
The halfa glared at her.
"And you could use a cellphone," said Sam, "No need to leave us handwritten notes. I don't mind paying. And don't you feel uncomfortable in those clothes?"
Trevor stared at them with his hands out.
"Ho, pro la amo de…" Trevor muttered in Esperanto.
(Oh, for the love of…)
"Fine," he sighed, "Let's just make this quick. But after I get a cellphone, I'm going out to look for Reaper."
"Woo!" Tucker cheered, "Follow me!"
Trevor rolled his eyes as he and the others followed Tucker.
"Dust," he said psychically, "Head for the Fenton Works. If Jazz is awake, tell her to research everything she can on the Orbs of Power. If she's still sleeping, let her rest."
"On it," Dust replied and took to the skies.
"Where's she going?" Sam asked.
"To have Jazz look into the Orbs of Power," Trevor replied, "Might as well have someone doing something productive."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
At the electronics store, the place was packed with people who wanted in on the sale. Technus flew inside and looked around.
"Ah, technology," he sighed, "And it's all for me."
He turned invisible and disappeared further into the store. A moment later, the gang showed up.
"Wow, this place is busy," said Tucker, "We better hurry before all the good stuff is all gone."
He hurried over to one of the aisles and found the latest PDAs.
"Heaven," he sighed as the others stared at him.
"Please tell me he's not like this in the future," Danny begged.
"Sorry, no spoilers," said Trevor as he walked over to another aisle and glanced around.
Danny and Sam followed him.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Danny asked Trevor.
"I think you just did, but sure," Trevor replied.
"Good joke," said Danny, "I was wondering, you said you got your powers back shortly after Reaper escaped, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, how were you able to run so fast when you first showed up?" Danny asked, "And how were you able to rip the mailboxes from the ground? You couldn't have possibly done that in your human form."
Trevor combed through the cellphones on the shelf and stayed silent for a moment.
"You know how ghosts and halfas in their ghost form have supernatural strength and stamina*?" he asked.
"Yeah," Danny replied.
"When a halfa is in human form, they have the same strength and stamina as they would if they were just human," Trevor explained, "However, even in human form, we can channel some of my stored ecto-energy from within and charge my body to temporarily enhance my strength or speed. We even do it without knowing it sometimes."
"How?" Tucker asked, "Danny's never been that strong or fast as a normal human… uh, no offense, Danny."
Danny glared at Tucker.
"You ever seen his eyes glow green when he's not a ghost?" Trevor asked as he brushed some hair out of his face, "Same principle."
"You mentioned that you can only enhance your strength or speed," said Danny, "You can't do both at the same time?"
"I could, with more training," said Trevor, "It's very difficult to pull off, even when mastered. In the future, you actually taught me how to do so."
"Could you teach me now?" Danny asked.
"Heh, the teacher and the student swap roles," Tucker joked.
"I could," said Trevor as he grabbed a cellphone off the shelf, "If we had the time to do so. I think our time is better spent looking for the mass murdering ghost rather than train for a useless skill."
He tossed the device to Sam.
"This one good?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah, this will work," said Sam.
"Then why learn it?" Danny asked.
"Same reason why I lost my powers," Trevor answered, "I'm just lucky it wasn't the older model of the Maximus. Otherwise I would have died."
"How long does the enhancement last?" Sam asked.
"At most, about fifteen minutes," Trevor answered, "It's very draining, especially for me since I was still healing from my wound. But at least I'm able to run at speeds up to about fifty miles an hour. If I had my powers, flying would have been a better choice. Heh, actually, just going ghost would have been better."
"I thought the Plasmius Maximus made all ghost abilities nonfunctional for a certain period of time," said Danny.
"The one you're familiar with, yes," Trevor explained, "In the future, Vlad improved the design, but at a cost. It short-circuits our powers, but the effects begin to linger after a week. For me, I was lucky to still have my healing factor at the time. After that, my other abilities started to slowly return, including my enhanced senses and my ability to store ecto-energy. Since the device at this point in time is in full effect for three hours, there's no point in teaching you."
"And any other time, I could just go ghost and use my abilities at their fullest," said Danny.
"Exactly," said Trevor.
"Enhanced senses?" Tucker asked, "Like x-ray vision?"
"No, not supervision or super-hearing," said Trevor, "In ghost form, I have better vision and more accurate hearing. Basically, I can see and hear things from farther distances than other people."
"So, those blue ghost rays when we had our run-in with Vlad…" said Sam, "Was that you?"
"Yup," said Trevor, "Remember my rifle? The Deadshot? It was designed to fire bullets and ghost rays. I would charge the rifle with a small amount of my ecto-energy and it would amplify it to be much more powerful. But not too powerful so that the gun overheats and explodes."
"And what was that electricity-looking one?" Danny asked.
"Electrokinesis."
"You can control lightning?" Danny asked.
"Do I look like Vortex?" Trevor asked, "No, it's the ability to generate, absorb, and/or control electricity. Lightning is weather related. I can't pull a Zeus and throw bolts of lightning."
He looked at Tucker and saw that he had his arms full of PDAs, a laptop, and a cellphone.
"You think that's enough!?" Trevor exclaimed.
"Don't judge me," said Tucker.
"Whatever," said Trevor, "Let's just get in line and get out of here. I have a mission to complete and I think we've wasted enough time."
Danny raised an eyebrow. Trevor noticed him looking at him.
"What?" Trevor asked.
"You know, you don't act like a typical twelve-year-old," said Danny.
"How should I act?" Trevor asked, "You want me to smile? Throw a football? Eat ice cream until I throw up? Pretend everything is all hunky-dory and that there isn't a war going on in my timeline?"
"Sure," said Danny, "Except for that last one."
"I'm not here for fun, remember?" Trevor asked sternly, "We capture Reaper, I take him back to our timeline, we continue on with our lives and forget we ever met."
"Jeez, sorry," said Danny, "What happened that turned you into such a killjoy?"
Trevor glanced away from the group as Tucker gave the stuff to the cashier.
"Reaper," Trevor muttered.
"Sounds like this mission of yours is more personal to you then you've made it out to be," said Sam as she paid for the cellphone.
He didn't respond.
"It is personal, isn't it?" she asked.
Trevor didn't even look at them.
"Let's just say that what Reaper did has made it my mission to catch him and bring him to justice and leave it at that," he said as he grabbed his cellphone from the bag and shoved it in his pocket.
Danny walked over and turned Trevor around by his shoulders so he could look him in the eyes.
"If this is personal, I think we have a right to know why that is," said Danny, "We can't work well together if we can't trust each other and I need to know if this will affect your mission."
Trevor glared at Danny.
"I need a better reason than that to tell you anything personal," he told him, "Don't try and be my friend. It'll make things a lot easier when I go back to my timeline."
"Are you telling that to us? Or to yourself?" Danny asked.
Trevor brushed Danny's hands off him and scoffed. At that moment, Danny gasped and his ghost sense went off.
"Impeccable timing," Trevor noted.
People started screaming in the store. The gang turned around and saw a large mechanical body made of various devices hulking around the store.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Technus laughed, "So much technology! And this armor is so smooth!"
"Crud," Trevor moaned, "I was really hoping it would be anyone but Technus."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Believe it or not, Manson, my electrokinesis is a double-edged sword," Trevor explained, "I'm immune to electrical attacks, but mine do nothing to other ghosts with electrokinesis."
People continued to scream as they abandoned the store and poured into the streets. Technus continued to use his technopathy** to build his battle suit. The suit appeared to be a basic framework of a robot; large upper torso, thin arms, large fists, and no legs. As more devices flew towards the growing suit, Tucker's new PDAs went off as well and connected to the robot's chest.
"My babies!" Tucker cried as he fell to his knees, "You monster!"
"I'm going ghost!" Danny exclaimed as he held his arms up.
"Oh, jeez, he's been saying that his whole life?" Trevor asked/
A white ring appeared around Danny and a bright blue ring appeared around Trevor and they transformed into their ghost forms. The two halfas launched into the air and flew towards Technus.
"Hey! Gilbert Gottfried!***" Specter shouted, "I rescued your sorry butt and you couldn't last more than thirty-six hours before you began causing trouble again!?"
"Eh?" Technus muttered as he looked over to the halfas, "Ah! Ghost child! And… ghost child? There's another one!?"
"There's only one child here," said Specter, "I'll let you decide who it is."
"Hey!" Danny exclaimed.
"Not you, Phantom!" Logan snapped, "Why did Reaper have to go into the past?"
"To me, you are both children," said Technus as he overshadowed his new suit, "And you need to be put in your place!"
"Really?" said Danny, "If we're children, then you're a dinosaur!"
Phantom flew forward and punched Technus in the face.
*WAM*
The technopath crashed into a shelf that held many widescreen TVs. He looked around and smiled when he saw the latest computer operating systems.
"Just what I need," he smirked.
Danny and Logan noticed too late as Technus began to download updates and programs from the computers. Specter concentrated for a moment before his eyes widened.
"Darn!" he exclaimed, getting Danny's attention, "I'm still not fully recovered. I can't duplicate myself!"
"What?" Danny asked.
"Not now, Phantom; focus on Technus!" Logan shouted as he dashed towards Technus.
The ghost saw Specter flying towards him and fired an electrified blue ghost ray at the halfa. But when it hit Specter, he just absorbed the attack.
"What the-!?"
*WAM*
Specter punched Technus in the face and sent him flying into the computers.
"I hope no one ordered those computers online," he muttered.
Danny flew over to Logan.
"I see what you mean about electrokinesis not affecting you," he said, "I take it that you'll not use it against him?"
"Obviously," Trevor replied flatly.
Technus began laughing as he floated back into the air, getting the halfas' attention. They noticed that Technus had two metal claw-tentacles coming out of his back.
"How much data did he download in that short amount of time!?" Logan exclaimed.
"You can thank your tech-friend for that," Technus told him as he pointed to the PDAs on his chest.
Logan glared at Tucker.
"What!?" Tucker explained, "So the latest models have the fastest downloading capabilities in the world? Big deal! If it was any other ghost, you wouldn't be blaming me!"
"Rrrgghh…" Specter moaned as he rubbed his forehead.
"What's wrong, child?" Technus teased, "Can't handle a dinosaur like me in your timeline?"
"Wait, how does he know that?" Sam asked.
"Practically every ghost from the Ghost Zone was in the Thermos and they overheard everything said when we fought Reaper the other day," Specter explained, "Basically, they all know I'm from the future."
"That's nice to know," said Danny, "But, won't that make you a target or some-WHOA!"
Phantom was grabbed by the throat by one of the metal claws and thrown across the room. He crashed into multiple shelves and got covered in heavy boxes.
"Phantom!" Logan shouted, "You okay!?"
"I'm fine," Danny groaned as he phased through the mess.
Specter turned back to Technus and glared at him.
"Eat this," he growled as he aimed his hands forward and dark green flames erupted from them.
A moment later, the flames fizzled out.
"Huh?" Technus exclaimed with a raised eyebrow.
Logan took a deep breath and sighed loudly.
"I… hate my life, sometimes…" he muttered before firing a powerful blue ghost ray at Technus.
Technus smiled as he activated a blue ghost shield around himself and deflected the ghost ray back at Specter.
"Of course," he muttered as he turned intangible and avoided the attack.
"You know, for someone from the future, you are pretty disappointing," said Technus.
"Coming from the ghost who's so insecure about his abilities that he relies on technology to do the work for him," said Logan as he turned tangible and flew towards the ghost.
"Heh," Technus smirked.
*CLANG*
With blinding speed, one of the claws slapped Logan away and sent him flying across the store. His body tumbled through the air and his head hit a ceiling beam, knocking him out. His limp body reverted back to human as he fell to the ground. A flash drive fell out of his pocket during the fall and landed between him and Technus.
"Specter!" Danny shouted as Tucker and Sam rushed to the halfa's side.
Phantom glared at Technus as the ghost reached over and grabbed the drive.
"Ooh, what's this?" Technus asked excitedly as he inserted it into a port on his arm, "Technology from the future? Even better than the convention I was planning to crash tomorrow- AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The moment Technus attempted to access the drive, a massive shock coursed through his body.
"Virus! Virus! VIRUS!" Technus screamed as he ripped the drive out and threw it at Trevor's unconscious body.
Tucker reached out and caught the drive.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed.
Technus growled as he approached the group. Danny flew over and stood over his friends.
"What, think you still have a chance, ghost child?" Technus asked.
"Better than the chances your suit has against this," Danny remarked.
*Whoo-oo-OO-OO-OO-oo-oo-oo-OO-OO~*
Danny unleashed his powerful Ghostly Wail at Technus. Tucker and Sam covered their ears as the store shook around them. Technus tried to stand his ground, but the attack was too much on the hardware and his battle suit began to come apart.
"N-no!" he exclaimed before being flung back against the wall and his armor crumbled into a pile of devices.
Danny stopped wailing and leaned against his knees as his head reverted back to human.
"Man, I really need to learn how to not drain myself so much every time I use this," he said.
"Bah!" Technus exclaimed, "This isn't over yet, child! You haven't seen the last of me! You'll see how powerful I will become when I upgrade at the convention!"
With that, Technus phased through the wall and disappeared, leaving the three teens and unconscious child in a half-destroyed electronics store.
"We should go before someone makes us pay for all this," Tucker pointed out.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
At the Fenton Works, Jazz was still sleeping in her bed. It was a little past noon when she began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a ghost raven standing inches away from her face.
"WHAAA!" she shrieked, jumping a little in her bed, "What the heck are you doing in here!?"
"Waiting for you to wake up," Dust answered, "It's almost two."
"In the afternoon?!" Jazz exclaimed as she sat up and got to her feet.
"No, in the morning," Dust said dryly, "Specter wants you to research as much as you can on the Orbs of Power."
"Why can't he do that himself?" Jazz asked.
"Three reasons," Dust answered, "One; he's humoring your brother and his friends by going shopping for cellphones and clothes."
"Well… I guess everyone could use some new clothes," said Jazz.
"Two; Trevor would rather be flying around looking for Reaper than research the items, even if he wants the information and had no one to help him," Dust continued, "And three; he's currently knocked out."
"Those are all great reasons, but I don't see- wait, he's what?"
"You guys do a lot of double takes, don't you?" Dust asked, "Yes, he's knocked out. He and Danny were fighting Technus and got their butts handed to them."
"How!?" Jazz exclaimed.
"Technus made an armor body," said Dust.
"And, let me guess… you guys were in constant communication using your psychic link, which is why you know all this?"
"Correct."
"Where are they now?"
"I don't know. Once Trevor lost consciousness, I was in the dark. We can't communicate with each other in our sleep."
Jazz quickly checked her phone and sighed in relief.
"Well, looks like they're safe," she said, "They're all at Sam's."
She turned and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Dust asked.
"Girl's got to shower, right?" Jazz smirked as she closed the door behind herself.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
"Uhhh…" Trevor moaned as he cracked open his eyes.
"Guys, he's waking up," said Sam.
Trevor sat up and rubbed his forehead as Danny and Tucker walked over to him.
"Anyone get the number of that train that ghost that hit me?" he asked as he looked around and saw that he was back in the guest room at the Manson residence, "How long was I out? Where's Technus?"
"About four hours," said Sam.
"He got away after I destroyed his armor with my Ghostly Wail," Danny admitted, "Sorry."
"No, I'm the one who's sorry," said Trevor, "I'm still getting used to my pyrokinesis and it sometimes gives out on me. Wish I had it longer than two months."
"I know the feeling," said Danny, "Took me a while to get used to my ice powers."
"Don't be modest, Phantom," said Trevor, "It took you a few hours after Undergrowth overwhelmed Amity Park and you retreated into the Ghost Zone, where Frostbite trained you."
"Okay, fair enough," said Danny, "By the way, why didn't your ghost sense go off."
Trevor sat up in his bed and glared at Danny.
"What?" Danny asked.
Trevor just shook his head.
"What!?" he exclaimed again, "… oh, wait. You don't have ice powers, do you?"
Trevor began to clap sarcastically.
"Should have asked if I had cryokinesis before assuming I had a ghost sense," he said.
"Sorry," said Danny.
Trevor looked over and saw that Tucker and Sam were smirking.
"What are you two smiling at?" Trevor asked as he rubbed his head, "Shouldn't you guys be worrying about Technus or, preferably, Reaper before- wait, is my hair shorter?"
Trevor glanced at the smirking teens as Danny joined them.
"Oh, this is wonderful. Is there a mirror somewhere? And which dingus is responsible?" Trevor asked as he got up to look for one.
Sam revealed a hand mirror from behind her back and handed it to Trevor. He snatched it out of her hands and looked in the mirror.
"Manson," he said, "why did you do this?"
"Well, you clearly weren't going to cut that hideous hair of yours," she explained, "so I took it upon myself to make you appear more… presentable."
Trevor didn't respond as he kept examining his new hairstyle.
"So, what do you think?" Sam asked, still smirking and raising an eyebrow.
Trevor made a tiny adjustment to his now slicked back tapered hair.
"I think I can never trust you guys when I'm sleeping while I'm here," he muttered, "and that you certainly know how to make a guy look good, Sam; first time I've ever had gel in my hair."
Trevor wiped his hands on his pants.
"My data drive!" he gasped, "It's gone!"
"You mean this?" Tucker asked as he held the data drive out.
"Oh, good," Trevor sighed, "If I lost this thing, I would be in deep doo-doo. Um, you didn't try to copy data from this, did you?"
"What? Me? Poking around other people's privacy?" Tucker asked innocently, "Criminal."
"I'm more concerned about the security virus implemented in the data drive that you might have on your device," Trevor said flatly as he grabbed the drive and shoved it in his pocket, "Hope you backed up all your data before you tried to open it."
"No, I really didn't," said Tucker, "Wait… virus?"
"It's a security precaution," Trevor explained, "When an unauthorized user accesses the data-"
No, I mean I think I know a way to stop Technus!" said Tucker, "He was constantly downloading software to improve his new body. But if we infect him with a virus, we can take him down."
Danny turned to Trevor.
"Now do you think shopping was a waste of time?" he asked.
"Shut up," Trevor muttered.
A moment later, Dust phased through the wall and landed on Trevor's shoulder.
"Nice haircut," she commented, "Finally had enough of the emo look?"
"Never liked it to begin with," said Trevor, "Has Jazz found anything?"
"I dunno," said Dust.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Trevor asked.
"It means I don't-"
"Shut up," Trevor hissed, "That joke died long before I was even born, Dust. Danny, head back home and see if Jazz found anything. Text me any relevant information."
A ring appeared around Trevor and he went ghost.
"I'm going to look for Reaper in the meantime," he said as he turned to leave.
"Hold on a second!" Danny exclaimed as he handed Trevor a Fenton Phone, "Use this to keep in contact with us."
"Sure," said Trevor as he put the Fenton Phone on, "Just give me any information regarding Reaper as soon as you learn anything."
Trevor and Dust phased through the wall and Danny turned to Tucker and Sam.
"Since when did he become the leader?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Back at the Fenton Works, Jazz was sitting on her bed with her laptop, researching anything on the Orbs. A knock from her door got her attention.
"Come in," she said.
Danny opened the door and poked his head inside.
"Oh, hi, Danny."
"Hey, Jazz. How's the research going?" he asked as he approached.
"Not well," she replied, "I haven't found anything concrete regarding these Orbs of Power; only wild speculation."
Danny peaked at the screen and saw a drawing depicting five different colored balls surrounding a black one.
"What's that?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," said Jazz, "It might be related to the Orbs, but I haven't found any other pictures yet."
She turned and saw Danny pondering over the image.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"I feel that I've seen another one of those Orbs before, but I can't remember where."
"I'm sure you'll remember," said Jazz, "How are you? I heard about Technus."
"Ah, he got away," Danny sighed, "But Tucker has a plan to stop him the next time we see him."
"You'll catch him, little brother," said Jazz, "You always win."
Danny smiled at that vote of confidence.
*CRASH*
Danny and Jazz turned to the door wondering what that was.
"Ha!" Jack exclaimed from downstairs, "Maddie! I think I'm on to something here! This new weapon will be our greatest invention yet!"
Danny and Jazz gave each other confused looks and shrugged.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
That night, Technus was flying around Amity Park and causing problems for people by messing with their devices. He stopped for a moment when he saw something in the distance. He flew closer to it and noticed that it was Danny Phantom, who was out on his nightly patrol.
"The ghost child," Technus smirked, "I could kill some time with him and his friends."
Danny was too focused on the horizon to notice Technus following him from a distance.
"You see anything, Danny?" Sam asked in the Fenton Phone.
"Nope," Danny replied, "How's the virus coming along, Tucker?"
"It's a work-in-progress," said Tucker, "I'm good, but I'm not that good."
"Man, it's been a while since I've had a voice in my ear," said Specter, "It's kind of strange. How long will it take before the virus is ready, Foley?"
"It should be ready by tomorrow," Tucker replied.
"Good," said Specter.
Danny raised an eyebrow and there was a long silence.
"That's it?" Tucker asked, "No snarky remark about how you could do better or that I should have been done hours ago?"
"Nope," Specter replied, "I don't know how to create computer viruses and I know you're doing the best you can right now. I'm not gonna fault you for using technology that's twenty-five years before my time."
"Didn't you modify a printer?" Danny asked.
"I know some computer stuff, I don't know everything," Specter replied, "Besides, isn't that Tucker's job?"
"Very funny," said Tucker.
Suddenly, Danny gasped and his ghost sense went off. He stopped in midair and glanced around.
"Ghost sense?"
"What was that, Phantom?" Logan asked, "I didn't quite catch that."
Danny glanced over and saw Technus smirking at him.
"Found Technus," said Danny, "He's just floating there, as though he's baiting me."
"Word of advice?" Logan offered, "If you feel like your being played, you most likely are. Stay away from him until some help arrives."
"That from experience?" Danny asked as he skeptically watched Technus.
"Yeah," Logan replied.
"Hmm… I think I've got an idea," Danny smirked, "Sam, can you and Tucker head to me?"
"We're a couple minutes away," Sam replied.
"That's all the time I'll need," said Danny.
"Phantom," Specter warned, "I'd wait if I were you. Phantom?"
Nearby, Technus raised an eyebrow.
"What's taking Phantom so long?" he asked out loud, "He usually would be dashing in to stop me by now."
He watched as Danny turned intangible and disappear into a nearby building.
"Oh, so he thinks I'm gonna fall for that trick?" Technus smirked, "Let's see what happens next."
Technus waited for a few moments before Danny phased through the ground behind him and prepared to attack the ghost.
"Gotcha!" Technus exclaimed as he spun around and grabbed the half-ghost by the neck, "Did you really think you could fool me with that?"
For a moment, Danny glared at Technus before smirking.
"Actually, you did fall for it," he said before he instantly blinked away.
"What!?" Technus exclaimed.
Suddenly, a green ghost ray hit Technus in the side and sent him flying into a nearby billboard that was advertising the upcoming event tomorrow. Technus shook his head and glared at Danny.
"Very clever using a duplicate, child," said Technus, "Now I'll use one of my own tricks!"
The technopath flew over to a taxicab and held his hand out towards it. A green aura began to glow around it and Technus commanded computers and other devices from nearby building to come to the car. Danny watched as the car began to warp together with the electronics to form a new battle suit.****
"Behold, the car-puter!" Technus exclaimed, "It will drive you… to your doom!"
"Dude, you've seriously need to come up with better names for your creations," Danny deadpanned, "My parents come up with names better than yours, and theirs are mostly goofy names."
Phantom flew towards Technus and fired a couple of ghost rays at him. The robot jumped in front of Technus and raised its arms and blocked the attacks. Technus smirked at Danny and waited until the hero was only a few feet away before the car-puter unleashed a huge cloud of exhaust in front of them. Danny entered the noxious fumes and instantly experienced its effects.
"*Cough* *Cough* Ugh!" he exclaimed, "I can't *Cough* see anything!"
*BAM*
The robot raised its fists and slammed them on top of the stunned half-ghost, slamming him into the ground.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Technus laughed, "Perhaps I won't have to steal those anti-ghost weapons tomorrow after all!"
Danny got back to his feet and turned to Technus.
"Anti-ghost weapons? What are you talking about?" Danny asked.
"Nope, not telling you my masterplans!" Technus exclaimed, "Take him down, my robot!"
The car-puter revved its engine and dashed forward. Danny quickly flew off in the opposite direction, with the robot chasing him.
"Sam, I hope you and Tucker are almost here," he said, "I'm could use some help."
The robot popped its hood and launched the engine at Danny, hitting him in the back. He fell to the ground and slid across the street.
"Ugghh…" he moaned as he picked himself up.
His face had scraps and he suit had a small tear on his arm. The looked up and glanced at the car-puter as Technus flew over.
"What's wrong, ghost-child?" Technus teased, "Too scared to fight without your helpers?"
Phantom's eyes burned with anger as Sam drove up behind him with the Fenton RV. She and Tucker hopped out and ran over to Danny.
"The cavalry has arrived," she announced.
She and Tucker looked over and saw Technus and the car-puter.
"That's a strange way to jumpstart a car," Tucker said nervously.
"Tucker, is that virus ready yet?" Danny asked, "Can you use it on that robot?"
"Danny, it's not ready yet," said Tucker, "It won't even work in its current state."
The car-puter revved its engine and unleashed another cloud of exhaust at the group. Danny quickly surrounded his friends and himself in a ghost shield to prevent themselves from breathing in the toxic air.
"What can the virus do right now?" Danny asked, keeping the shield up.
"Nothing!" Tucker exclaimed.
With the others distracted, Technus took the opportunity to fly around and overshadow the Fenton RV. He began laughing, which got the teens' attention.
"Thanks for the ride, you schmuck!" Technus chuckled as the RV's onboard weapons were brought online.
Team Phantom's eyes widened as the weapons were aimed at them and were prepared to be fire upon them.
"So long, Phantom- AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Technus screamed.
The Fenton RV began to spark with electricity and the weapons began to convulse. The car-puter stopped releasing exhaust when it noticed its master in trouble. Danny brought his shield down and turned to his friends.
"Cover your ears," he told them.
"Danny, wait!" Sam exclaimed.
*Whoo-oo-OO-OO-OO-oo-oo-oo-OO-OO~*
Danny unleased a Ghostly Wail at the robot. It grabbed its head as sparks began to fly around its body and parts were ripped off. Within seconds, the car-puter's devices were all removed and the body was turned back into a taxicab. Danny stopped the attack and reverted back to human form and fell to his knees in exhaustion. Technus continued to scream for a couple more seconds before he forced himself out of the Fenton RVs and fell onto the ground.
"Rrrgghhh…" he groaned, "This isn't the end, child!"
Technus launched into the air and disappeared into the distance. Danny got back up to his feet and watched Technus fly off.
"You idiot!"
The three teens turned to the Fenton RV and watched Specter and Dust phase through it and floated towards them.
"What the heck was that!?" Logan exclaimed.
"What!?" Danny exclaimed, "I had to deal with that robot, and I needed help!"
Logan shook his head.
"Danny, you do realize that Technus was controlling the robot, right?" he asked, "All you had to do was defeat Technus and the robot would have been dealt with."
"Well, we won, didn't we?" Danny asked, "Aside from Technus escaping… again."
"I'm actually more annoyed that you wasted your energy to use another Ghostly Wail," said Logan, "I get that it's your most powerful attack, but you have other ways of defeating your foes before resorting to that!"
"Hey, I know what I'm doing!" Danny shouted, "I didn't ask for your help, did I?"
Trevor raised an eyebrow and held up the flash drive in his hand.
"So you could have handled Technus using the RV? Without me?" he asked.
Danny glared at Trevor.
"You are a real piece of work, aren't you?" Danny remarked.
"Whatever," Specter replied, rolling his eyes, "All I'm saying is that you can't take your ghost powers and friends for granted. You must be able to adapt and handle situations in an appropriate way."
"Oh, really?" Danny snapped, "And who told you that? Your parents?"
"Actually, you did," said Specter, "I hope you're not trying to prove that you can handle anything by yourself. Otherwise, I've made a mistake having you help me."
Danny was surprised by that reply.
"Now, if you're done wasting my time, I'll return to my search," said Specter before he and Dust took to the skies and flew off, leaving Team Phantom alone.
Danny frowned and his friends noticed.
"You okay?" Sam asked.
"He's right," Danny sighed.
"You were doing what you thought were right," said Sam, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"No, I wasn't," Danny admitted, "I was just trying to show Specter that he should have more faith in me."
Danny began walking away.
"Danny…" said Sam.
"I need some time alone, guys. I need to think."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Morning, next day, Jazz was in the kitchen eating breakfast as she was studying the file on Reaper and researching the Orbs on her laptop. She looked over and saw Danny entering.
"Morning, Danny," she greeted.
"Hey, Jazz," he replied.
Jazz raised an eyebrow.
"Danny? Are you okay?" she asked, "You sound a bit down."
Danny grabbed some cereal, milk, a spoon, and a bowl and sat down next to her.
"I messed up last night," he explained, "I was trying to prove to Trevor that I can handle any situation and I ended up just acted cocky and taking advantage of my powers and my friends."
"Was Trevor mad?" Jazz asked.
"He sure sounded mad," said Danny.
"Well, what did he say?"
Danny sighed.
"He said that I shouldn't rely on my powers and friends for help."
"That's not at all what I said."
Danny and Jazz turned their heads and saw Trevor walking in.
"I said to not take your powers and friends for granted," Trevor clarified, "That doesn't mean you don't ever need their help."
Trevor sat down at the table across from the Fentons.
"And I wasn't mad at you," said Trevor, "I was just disappointed."
"That feels even worse," Danny said as his face fell even more.
"It's supposed to make you feel worse," Trevor said flatly, "Danny, the reason I said you can only help me find Reaper and not fight him isn't because I don't doubt your abilities. It's because I'm trying to keep you and your friends and family safe."
"Huh?" Danny exclaimed.
"You think that tear in my mask was the closest I've come to death?" Trevor asked, "I've had worse happen to me. You included. I can't risk having the world lose its greatest hero, for the sake of your future and the world's."
Trevor paused for a moment.
"Even if we are halfway to death," he said.
"Did you just make a joke?" Danny asked.
Trevor raised his eyebrows.
"And you think I can do nothing?" Danny asked.
"Huh?"
"I heard every word of your story," Danny explained, "I can't stand sitting on the sidelines when the most dangerous ghost is out there trying to bring the end of the world."
"Danny-"
"No, Trevor!" Danny shouted, "You may know more than me, but what I do know is that if I don't help you fight Reaper and he succeeds, I would never be able to live it down."
Trevor stared at Danny.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm going to fight and capture Reaper, with or without your permission."
Trevor blinked a couple of times before nodding.
"Very well, Phantom," said Trevor, "But knowing you, you would want to deal with Technus first, huh?"
"You know it," Danny smirked.
Jazz smiled at the two halfas.
"I'm still not exactly comfortable about this," Trevor admitted, "but… clearly I won't be able to convince you otherwise."
Danny smiled.
"Just don't die," Trevor added, "I'm heading back to Manson's; you can thank her later for making me come over here."
"Sam told you to come over here?" Danny asked.
"She played the guilty card," Trevor admitted, "I also just wanted her to shut up and let me focus on searching for Reaper."
"Well… thanks, Trevor," said Danny.
Trevor nodded and transformed in Specter.
"Talk to you later," he said as he phased through the ceiling.
"That went well," said Jazz, "Promise me that nothing will happen to you."
Danny turned towards his sister.
"Yeah," he said, "I promise."
Jazz got up and hugged her brother. Danny looked around and noticed something was missing.
"Hey, where's mom and dad?" he asked as he pulled away.
"They left for the convention," Jazz answered.
"Convention?" Danny asked, "What convention?"
"Vlad's hosting a ghost hunting convention today in front of City Hall," Jazz explained, "He asked mom and dad to a part of the convention and show off their own ghost hunting weapons and technology alongside other ghost hunting groups."
"Is Vlad there?" Danny asked.
"He was supposed to be, but I heard he had a business trip to make, so he won't be there" said Jazz.
"That's good. The farther away from that froot- wait a minute… ghost hunting weapons? Technology!?" Danny asked, "Oh my gosh! That's what Technus was talking about!"
"What?" Jazz asked, confused.
A white ring appeared around Danny and he turned into Phantom.
"Jazz, pick up Tucker at his place and bring him to the convention!" he exclaimed.
"Um… why?"
"Because Technus is about to become an unstoppable ghost!" Danny exclaimed as he phased through the ceiling and put his Fenton Phone on.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Over by City Hall, Jack and Maddie pulled up in the Fenton RV. Jack opened the door and stepped out. He took a big whiff of the air.
"Aaahhh…" he sighed, "Maddie, you know what that smell is?"
"Political greed?" Maddie asked as she stepped out of the RV, "Corruption? Industrial, dirty air?"
"Nope!" Jack exclaimed, "Ghost hunting tech."
Jack and Maddie looked before them and saw multiple presentations from different ghost hunting groups, including the Guys in White, the Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat, Extreme Ghostbreakers, and various other lesser known group; each showcasing their latest creations in ghost hunting technology and weaponry.
"It's such a beautiful sight," said Jack, "I just wish Vladdie wasn't so busy and see this."
"Oh, honey, I know how much you wanted to show Vlad our weapons," sad Maddie as she patted Jack's cheek, "I'm sure he'll be amazed when we show them to him when he returns."
Jack smiled at his wife's optimism and pulled out the Fenton Ghost Chiller.
"I bet he will," he said, "Now, let's go get our area set up."
As the Fentons entered the convention, Technus appeared on the roof of a nearby building and spied over the event.
"Heh-heh-heh," he smirked as he turned invisible and flew towards the convention.
He flew through the panels, unnoticed, as he browsed through the weapons and devices being presented. His eyes caught sight of something very interesting.
"Ooh," he hummed, "This! With this, I will finally be rid of that ghost-child."
He overshadowed the equipment and began laughing maniacally as it powered up. A moment later, an agent of the Guys in White looked over and saw that one of their displays was missing.
"Hey, what happened to the prototype power armor?" he asked.
"Hey, government lacky! Up here!" Technus shouted, getting the agent's attention, "Looking for something?"
"Code red! Repeat, code red!" the agent shouted before a ghost ray was fired at him.
"This suit is amazing!" Technus exclaimed.
Around him, all the other ghost hunters grabbed their equipment and ran towards the technopath.
"I wonder what will happen when I steal all these weapons?" Technus pondered as he fired upon the crowd.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
A few miles out, Danny Phantom was dashing through the air to get to the convention.
"Danny!" Sam shouted.
He looked over and saw Specter carrying Sam by the arms and flying next to him.
"I should have captured Technus last night," Danny remarked to himself, "If he gets that new tech, we might not be able to stop him."
"That won't happen, Danny," said Sam, "Tucker, is the virus ready?"
"I think so," Tucker replied on the Fenton Phone, "It should work against anything Technus creates, but I haven't been able to test it."
"We don't have much of a choice," said Danny, "We'll have to hit him with everything we've got if it comes to that."
"Uh oh," Specter muttered, "We may be too late. Look!"
Danny and Sam looked out and saw the convention. It was a mess; people were either running away in terror or were laying on the ground unconscious and most of the convention was destroyed. Danny saw his parents and his eyes widened.
"My parents!" he exclaimed and flew down to them.
Specter and Sam followed him. He put Sam down and she rushed over to Danny's side.
"They're unconscious," Danny told her before he put a hand on his forehead, "This is all my fault."
"You can't blame yourself," said Sam, "All we can do now is to stop Technus from making things worse."
Danny glanced over and saw the Chiller and Collector on the ground next to his parents. He grabbed the Chiller and handed it to Sam.
"Then I'll start by not giving him an edge," said Danny as he picked up the Collector.
"I'll take that," said Logan as he walked up to them, "I'm still not able to use my full potential yet and I'll be more helpful with the Collector."
Danny nodded and tossed it to him.
"Tucker, how long until you guys get here?" Sam asked.
"We'll be there in ten minutes!" Tucker exclaimed.
"You'll need more time than that," said a voice.
The three turned around and saw a strange looking robot. It had a sleek metal body with broad shoulders, a Y-shaped lens on the helmet where his red eyes peaked through, and razor-sharp fingers.
"Technus!?" Danny exclaimed.
"Yes, but I've upgraded!" the ghost announced, "I'm now Technus 3.0!"
Sam turned to Danny and saw the worried look on his face. He shook it off and glared at the ghost.
"I don't care how many times you upgrade; I'll always beat you!" Danny exclaimed.
Sam smiled before she aimed the Chiller at Technus. The technopath laughed.
"Child, you are for a whole new world of pain!"
Sam pulled the trigger and fired the Chiller at Technus. The blue resin sailed through the air, but just as it was about to hit Technus, an energy shield appeared in front of the resin and sent it flying back at Sam. Danny quickly grabbed Sam and carried her out of the way. Technus laughed as he held up a hand and fired an electrified ghost ray at them. Specter quickly flew in the attack's path and took the hit.
"Ugghh…" he moaned, "That attack was much more powerful than I expected. It's enhanced with something."
"You okay?" Danny asked as he flew over to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Logan replied, "I'm more concerned of what other weapons he stole."
"We won't be able to hit him with any of our weapons or attacks," said Danny, "We'll have to keep him busy until Tucker gets here."
"Now that's the Danny Phantom I recognize," Logan smirked as he pulled out his Fenton Phone and put it on, "What's the plan?"
Technus fired two more ghost rays at the group, causing them to split, with Danny still carrying Sam.
"Sam?" Danny asked, "How about a game of Whac-A-Mole?"
Sam raised her eyebrow for a moment before getting what Phantom was getting at.
"Let's freeze the rodent," she smirked.
"I'll keep him distracted between hits," said Logan, "Get him from behind first."
Specter flew around a destroyed showcase and floated in front of Technus.
"Excuse, I'm looking for tech support; can you help me?" Specter asked him.
Technus fired another ghost ray at Logan, who floated to the side and avoided the attack.
"You need to work on your people skills," he said to the ghost.
Technus fired more ghost rays, but Specter just kept dodging them. Behind him, Danny and Sam phased out of the ground and turned tangible. Sam fired the Chiller at Technus, who appeared to be unaware of the attack. But like before, an energy shield appeared in front of the resin and deflected it back at them. Danny quickly turned flew himself and Sam out of the way.
"Nice try!" Technus shouted, "But this suit comes with the latest in automated defense systems. I don't need to do anything, because the suit will protect me from all attacks."
Specter flew towards Technus and threw a fist at him.
"Including physical attacks," Technus finished just as the shield appeared again and sent Logan flying back a few feet.
"Darn," he muttered, "Looks like we'll have to keep baiting him until Tucker gets here. Would be easier if we could actually harm him."
"It doesn't matter," said Danny, "We'll keep this up, no matter what."
Logan looked over and quickly jumped out of the way of Technus' ghost ray. He aimed the Collector at Technus and fired the claw grapple at the ghost. Again, the shield prevented harm to come to Technus.
"I just hope we can keep him distracted," said Logan.
Danny put Sam down on her feet. As she ran off to find a place to distract Technus, Danny looked over his shoulder at the remains of the convention.
"Tucker… where are you?" Danny moaned.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Jazz was driving as fast as she could as she drove around the other cars.
"We're almost there, Danny!" Tucker exclaimed as he sat in the passenger seat, "Just hold on."
"How much longer?" Sam asked.
"Just a couple of more minutes!" Tucker exclaimed.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Technus continued laughing as he fired a barrage of ghost rays at Phantom, Sam, and Specter. One of the attacks hit the Chiller and launched it out of Sam's hands. She ran to pick it back up and Technus fired at her.
'Sam!" Danny exclaimed and flew in front of her to block the attack.
Sam shut her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them, she saw that Danny had surrounded them in a ghost shield.
"Thanks, Danny."
Specter aimed the Collector at Technus again and concentrated his energy into the weapon, charging it up. He pulled the trigger and it fired a blue ghost ray at Technus. Again, the shield went up, but it deflected the ray into the ground instead.
"Well, so much for my theory that I could charge the Collector with my electrokinesis," he muttered, "Danny, use your- *URK*"
With lightning speed, Technus approached Specter and grabbed him by the neck.
"All you bugs have been annoying for long enough!" Technus exclaimed and he dashed over to Danny and Sam, "Here, for you!"
Technus threw Logan at Danny and the two crashed into the side of another showcase.
"Danny! Logan!" Sam exclaimed as she rushed over to them, "Are you guys alright?"
Danny got up and helped Logan to his feet.
"This is crazy," said Danny, "There's no way we can even touch him without that virus."
Logan tried to summon his ghostly flames, but they kept fizzling out.
"Remind me to beat Reaper to a pulp when we catch him," he said.
"Still can't use your fire powers?" Sam asked.
"Nope."
Suddenly, Technus zoomed by and grabbed Danny.
"Miss me?" Technus asked as he took Danny with him.
"Danny!" Sam exclaimed.
Technus raised a fist and prepared to beat Phantom.
"Any last words, Phantom?" he asked.
"Uh, can I have my last meal?" Danny smiled nervously.
"Oh, sure!" Technus exclaimed, "You can eat this knuckle sandwich!"
Technus threw the punch, but his hand froze just inches from Danny's face. Danny opened one of his eyes.
"Huh!?" Technus exclaimed, "I can't move my arm!"
"Yeah, that was because of me."
Everyone looked over and saw Tucker standing with his PDA in his hand and Jazz sitting in her car, watching the events.
"What did you do to me!?" Technus shouted.
"Oh, nothing," Tucker smirked, "Just uploaded a virus into that suit of yours. I don't think you'll be needing those software programs anymore."
Technus' eyes widened as he lifted his arm up and checked the hologram screen, which showed all the software he downloaded being erased or corrupted.
"NO!" Technus screamed as he dropped Danny, "You! You'll pay for this!"
The ghost glared at Tucker and tried to grab him, but his body froze in place.
"His suit is being slowed down by the virus," Danny said to himself, "I wonder…? Sam! Fire the Chiller at him!"
"What!? Why!?" Sam asked.
"Just do it!" Danny shouted.
"Okay…" she said as she aimed the weapon at Technus, "I hope you know what you're doing."
"He does," Specter told her.
Sam fired the weapon and everyone watched the resin fly through the air.
"Come on," Danny pleaded.
The projectile hit Technus and coated his body in ice.
"Yes!" Danny exclaimed, "His defenses are down. Tuck, you are the man!"
"I know," Tucker replied.
Danny turned to Logan, who just nodded at him. Danny smiled and returned his attention back to Technus.
"Alright, time for a downgrade," he said before he fired a ghost ray at the ghost.
The attack shattered the ice and freed Technus, making him crash into the debris of one of the destroyed panels. Technus slowly pulled himself out of the rubble and glared at Phantom. He held his arms up and fired two wrist grapples out and sent two powerful electric attacks along them. Danny caught the wires and smirked.
"Do your thing, Ghost Stinger!" he shouted as he whipped the wires and reversed the attack back at Technus, giving him a huge shock.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Technus screamed for a moment before his burned-out body slumped to its knees, "How can this be happening!?"
"Specter! Drain his power!" Danny shouted.
"Got it," Specter replied as he fired the Collector's claw at the downed ghost.
As soon as the claw grabbed Technus' wrist, his energy levels began to plummet.
"No!" Technus shouted, "This can't be happening! I am Technus 3.0! I am unstoppable!"
"Now, Phantom!" Logan exclaimed.
Danny pulled out the Fenton Thermos and aimed it at Technus.
"Believe it, Technus," Danny smirked, "You may look different, but inside, you're not different than all the other times I've beaten you."
The grapple beam grabbed Technus and began to pull him inside.
"This isn't over, ghost-child!" Technus shouted, "I will defeat yyyyooooouuuu~!"
With Technus captured, Danny placed the cap on the Thermos and reverted back to human form. Tucker and Sam ran over to Danny.
"Nice work, dude!" said Tucker.
"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you guys," Danny smiled.
Specter floated over and landed near Danny before reverting back to his human form.
"So, did I pass this test?" Danny smirked.
"You need more practice," said Trevor, "But I think you've proven yourself to me. I've always known you could do it. It was just a matter of how long it would take before you realized you had to do nothing different than what you've already done."
Trevor handed him the Collector moments before Dust flew in and landed on Trevor's shoulder.
"There you are, Dust," he said, "Still no sign of Reaper?"
"Nothing," she replied, "We might have to wait for him to make his move."
"Figures," Trevor sighed.
Danny looked at his friends and they nodded.
"You know… we could help look for him right now," said Danny.
Trevor turned to him with a slightly surprised look on his face.
"Uh-"
"Hey! What are you kids doing here!?"
The gang turned and saw two Guys in White agents running to them.
"You four shouldn't be here!" one of the agents exclaimed, "Some crazy ghost stole everyone's equipment."
"Wow, you guys lost your stuff?" Trevor asked with feigned shock, "How awful. What a surprise."
"Danny?"
He looked over and saw his parents standing behind him.
"Mom! Dad!" he exclaimed, "You're okay!"
"Of course were okay, son," said Jack, "We Fentons know how to handle ourselves."
Trevor elbowed Tucker and handed him the Collector before he and Dust turned invisible.
"Oh, you found our weapons!" Maddie exclaimed as she took them from Tucker and Sam, "I'll take them off your hands. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Tucker and Sam said at the same time.
"You kids should leave this area," said Jack, "That ghost might still be around. And its more dangerous than anything we've seen before."
Trevor uncomfortably scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, I've got a reading!" shouted one of the members of the Extreme Ghostbreakers, "The ghost is over there!"
Everyone turned and watched as other ghost hunters regained consciousness and ran off in the other direction. The Guys in White agents also began their pursuit.
"Ghosts?" Jack asked, "Maddie, get the RV ready!"
Jack and Maddie ran off towards the Fenton RV and Trevor turned visible again.
'Another ghost?" Danny asked, "You think it's Reaper?"
"Nah, it's just Dust flying off," Trevor stated pointing to his now empty shoulder, "They'll never catch her, she knows how to handle herself. We should leave though."
Trevor turned and headed for Jazz's car. The others raised an eyebrow and followed.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
A couple of minutes later, they were on the road.
"So, about that search for Reaper…" said Danny, "We can look for him now, if you want."
"I do," said Trevor, "But I think I may have been a bit hasty thinking we should just search him out in random locations."
"So?" Sam asked.
"So… *Sigh* I can't believe I'm saying this, but I could use some new clothes as well," said Trevor.
"Really?" Danny asked, "Trevor, we don't have to-"
"Like I said, I may have been a bit hasty," said Trevor, "And it's mostly my fault because… catching Reaper is something personal to me."
"It is?" Jazz asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"There are a few reasons," said Trevor, "But the main one was because I didn't, and I still don't, want us to be close friends. I've said it a few times already and I'll say it again; we capture Reaper, I take him back with me to my timeline, and we never hear or see each other ever again."
"We get that," said Tucker.
"I want to believe that, Tucker, but you really don't," said Trevor, "Please, don't ask me why it's personal. Just promise me none of you will get hurt when we find Reaper."
Danny sighed.
"We can't promise you that," he said, "If anyone here is going to get hurt, it will be me, and me alone."
Trevor chuckled and shook his head.
"Aside from your slight immaturity, you are almost no different than your future self," he said, "Alright, Danny. You win. As long as no one else dies, I can live with that."
Sam reached over and put a hand on Trevor's shoulder, making him smile a little.
"No matter what, we'll help you, Trevor," she said.
"… Don't make promises you can't keep," said Trevor, "But thank you."
Everyone went quiet for a moment.
"So where's the best place to get clothes?" Trevor asked.
"Jazz," said Sam, "take a left here."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
A few minutes later, Jazz was sitting outside the changing rooms of the clothing store, reading a magazine. One of the doors unlocked and Jazz looked up to see Tucker coming out. He was now wearing a yellow layered sleeve t-shirt with white sleeves, laurel green pants with a black leather metal buckle belt, and brown leather shoes. He kept the red beret on his head.^* He walked over to the full body mirror and posed at himself.
"Lookin' smooth," he said.
"That's one way to describe how you look," said Danny.
Tucker and Jazz looked over and saw Danny in his new clothes. He was wearing a slightly darker pair of jeans with even darker hems and a t-shirt that was the same as his old shirt but the entirety of the sleeves were red; the red color was of a darker shade.^*
"Not getting different shoes?" Jazz asked.
Danny and Tucker looked down at the shoes in question.
"I couldn't find anything I liked," Danny shrugged, "Besides, I think they still go well with these clothes, so I just bought a new pair."
"Looks like we all kept our usual choice in clothes," said Sam.
Danny turned around and looked at Sam's new look. She was wearing the exact same tank top but a larger size, a dark purple skirt with black crosshatch design that was noticeably shorter in length, black thigh high socks, and dark grey riding boots. She replaced her green hair tie with a purple one and kept the choker and bracelets.^**
"Wow, Sam, you better than before," Danny commented.
"Really?" she asked, slightly blushing, 'You think so?"
"Yeah. Especially since you've transitioned from leggings to…"
Danny stopped talking and turned red.
"To what, Danny?" Sam smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, well… I… umm… you see…"
Danny was starting to sweat nervously as she waited for him to answer and Tucker and Jazz were trying hold their laughter.
"What's wrong, Fenton?" Sam teased, "Having trouble finding the right words?"
"Umm… You know what, I think I'll just shut up before I say something that will make you hurt me," he smiled nervously.
"That's what I thought," said Sam.
"Ho mia Dio, ĉu vi du kisos jam?!"
(Oh my God, will you two kiss already?)
Everyone turned to the changing room entrance and saw Trevor wearing dark blue navy jeans, a black V-neck t-shirt with thin white bands just above the ends of the sleeves, a pair of black sneakers with ghostly green decals, and a pair of black shield sunglasses. He still had his black scarf on.
"Well?" he asked, holding his arms out, "Thoughts?"
"Looks good," said Danny, "Aside from the scarf."
"Yeah, I don't like it either, but I don't want to go waltzing around with a huge wound on my throat and people stare at it," Trevor explained, "But it really looks good?"
"Yeah, and definitely better than those assassin-looking clothes," Sam added, "What's that in your hand?"
Trevor looked over and showed them a black flat cap in his hand.
"Oh, this?" he asked, "Yeah, I finished up like fifteen minutes ago and got tired of waiting for you guys, so I checked out their selection of hats and found this."
He glanced up at the group.
"You don't think it looks stupid on me, do you?" he asked as he put the hat on.
"It looks great on you, Trevor," said Sam, "But you'll ruin your hair if you wear it."
Trevor took the cap off and brushed his hair back with his fingers.
"Nah, I'm just gonna wear this on days with bad weather. Not that I'm staying that long… I hope," he said, "You guys look like you're ready. Are we done?"
"Yeah, I think we are," said Tucker.
"Good!" Trevor exclaimed, "Now let's pay for this stuff and get back to work. Reaper isn't going to do nothing while we don't search for him."
The halfa walked past them and entered the changing room to get out of the clothes. The others followed suit before they and headed for the registers to purchase the clothes.
"Now we have to go back into the changing room, just to put the new clothes back on," Trevor muttered, "This is so stupid. In the future, you just put them on and pay at the counter."
"Welcome to the year 2005," Danny smirked.
"Yeah, I can't wait to get back to 2030," said Trevor, ""
A minute later, the gang left the store in their new clothes and walked toward Jazz's car. Trevor looked up and saw Dust flying in. She landed on his shoulder and stared at him.
"Why are you dressed like a hobo?" she asked.
"Why do you look like rat with wings?" Trevor shot back, "In fact, why are always in that form? Don't you have like three other forms, including your real form?"
"Real form?" the others asked simultaneously.
Trevor turned to them.
"Oh, right, I never told you; yeah, Dust is a shapeshifter," he told them.
"You mean like Bertrand?" Danny asked.
"Exactly like Bertrand," said Trevor, "Only she never uses her real form, aside from that one brief moment a few days ago."
"Why are you telling them this?" Dust asked, "It's not like it's important. We're leaving in less than two weeks."
"Thanks for reminding me," Trevor deadpanned, "And for the record, this is how people dressed back then."
"So everyone dresses like hobos?" Dust asked.
"Since when do you crack jokes!?" Trevor exclaimed as the gang reached Jazz's car.
Trevor and Dust glared at each other for a moment before they turned to the others.
"This is why we should catch Reaper as fast as possible," said Trevor, "You guys are rubbing off on us."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Danny smirked.
"Yes," said Trevor.
Danny looked down at his new clothes and started thinking. Everyone got in the car; Trevor sat in the passenger seat; and Sam noticed Danny pondering over something.
"What's on your mind, Danny?" she asked.
"Hey, Trevor? Can I ask you something?" said Danny.
"Doesn't that count?" Trevor asked, "Oh, my gosh, you ARE rubbing off on me!"
"Is there a way from me to change my other clothes?" Danny asked.
Trevor turned around and looked at the hero.
"What did you have in mind?" he smirked.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
That evening, Specter and Dust flew from Sam's place and headed for the Fenton Works. As soon as they were close enough, they saw Danny Phantom floating above a rooftop of a building next to the Fenton Works.
"Like the new look," Logan noted, "I bet it feels more comfortable too."
Danny turned around and smirked. He had made modifications to his suit, including adding a green band around his collar and at the ends of his boots and gloves, making his belt slightly larger and added some green decals to the belt.^***
"I bet my future self looks even cooler," he said.
"You'll find out in about twenty-five years," said Specter as he readjusted his white scarf, "You know, I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like this scarf now."
"I thought you hated it," Danny said with a raised eyebrow.
"In my human form, I do," said Specter, "Gives me a ghostly look."
He then slapped himself in the face, making Danny laugh.
"I guess Clockwork was right when he said I could teach you something," Phantom chuckled.
"Well, enough fooling around," said Specter as he and Danny pulled out their Fenton Phones and put them on, "You guys ready?"
"We're all ready, Specter," said Tucker.
"Let's go hunting," said Sam.
The sound of an engine starting up got Phantom's, Specter's, and Dust's attention. They looked down and saw Jazz driving the Fenton RV with Tucker and Sam ready in the passenger seats.
"Let's get started," said Danny, "After all, Specter's on the clock."
Everyone split up and began traveling in different directions.
"So tell us about Dust's other forms," said Tucker.
"You want something to keep you busy, Foley?" Specter asked, "Listen to some music. I heard Ember made a big hit in your early encounter with her."
"Oh, so you know Ember?" Sam asked, "I can only imagine what she's like in the future."
"*Sigh* Why did I open my stupid mouth?" Specter moaned, "This is going to be a long thirteen days."
"That's more than enough time, Specter," Danny smirked as he flew into the distance, "That's more than enough time."
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
{Notes}
* Ghosts are unaffected by gravity (aside from certain circumstances, like during fights), so they can lift heavy objects with ease, according to Butch Hartman.
** Technopathy is the ability to telepathically command and control machinery and computers; turn harmless electronic devices into weapons. (DP Wiki)
*** Although he sounds like it, Technus was actually not voiced by Gilbert Gottfried. He was voiced by Rob Paulsen, who also did the voice of Jack Fenton and the Box Ghost. Shocking, I know. But Technus sure sounds like Gottfried, doesn't he?
**** Same battle suit from "Phantom Planet".
^ Look up Nicolai Technus on the DP Wiki and scroll down to the bottom; you'll see the design for Technus 3.0 there.
^* Look up Amethyst-Ocean's "DP: Lovely Night" on DeviantArt.
^** Look up Amethyst-Ocean's "DP: Sam Growing Up" on DeviantArt.
^*** Look up Amethyst-Ocean's "DP: Danny Growing Up". It's the one next to the transforming Danny, if you can't figure it out.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Fun Fact: Technus 3.0 was originally going to appear in "Flirting with Disaster", but the idea was scrapped since the design didn't work with what happened the story at the time.
"~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"
Not gonna lie, this episode was a pain to write. I rewrote parts of it like twenty different times until I decided to go with this. But it should be, more or less, smooth sailing because there's only one episode left! Yup, you read that right! The season finale will be a "movie"! Although it will be twice the length of a regular episode, it will be uploaded into two parts. Don't worry, both parts will be uploaded on the same day, but that means you'll have to wait a little longer than usual.
Like, follow, and please review! Until next time!
~ThePhantomHedgehog