I don't think that anything's up until my ghost sense goes off on the walk home.

"Oh, boy." Tucker looks up from his PDA as my breath vanishes. "Assume battle positions?"

Jazz surveys the area, her hair nearly smacking me in the face. "I don't see Dad anywhere... but I don't see the ghost, either."

I almost chuckle. "We would've heard Dad by now if he was on his way. What's a safe place around here, Tuck?"

He consults the almighty PDA. "Too many cameras for a human to avoid. If you need to go ghost soon, we'll just have to cover you."

I growl, "Great."

If only my parents didn't want to rip Danny Phantom apart molecule by molecule. Maybe then the cameras wouldn't matter.

Okay, I've probably made more enemies—and unsavory fans—than that. It's just never going to work out.

Oh, well. I've kept my identity under wraps so far, and I can keep it up.

Now, where is that ghost?

The four of us pick up the pace towards a less camera-heavy spot, Sam securing the miniature ecto-blaster she likes so much on her wrist.

"Danny!"

I glance at Jazz to see what's up before I realize the voice didn't come from behind me. I snap my head up instead, and the ghost finally pops into view.

Staggering in mid-air from panic, Dani Phantom dips down a little more. "Danny, you have to hurry!"

"Hurry where? What happened?" I look her over, but she doesn't seem to be injured or dissolving into ectoplasm. "Mom and Dad didn't catch you, did they?"

She shakes her head. "No, I was just waiting in the basement and—" She lets out a high-pitched grunt of frustration. "We don't have time! Come on!"

She soars off in the direction of our house, leaving the rest of us to break into a run.

"Wait a second," Jazz starts. "Who was that ghost just now?"

"Dani." A glance behind me proves that Jazz is still trying to put the jumble of new pieces together. "Our cousin—clone—halfa—person—never mind. Let's just go see what happened."

Sam is at my right, clearly holding back so she doesn't overtake the rest of the group. "I'm guessing something bad came out of the Ghost Portal."

"As opposed to something good?" Tucker retorts.

Sam rolls her eyes. "I mean something particularly bad. Dani looked pretty freaked out."

"Then I guess Danny Phantom's break from ghost fighting is going to have to wait another day." Unable to transform, I do my best to keep up a running pace past the factories and up to our house.

My ghost sense goes off again.

I take a second to catch my breath before padding up the porch stairs. Sam opens the door, and we all file through. Since the lights are out, it's much easier to see the glowing green figure of Technus.

I go ghost and snarl. "What do you want?"

He cackles. "I, Technus, the Ghost Master of All Technology—whoa!" He darts to the side as the beam of the Fenton Thermos surges towards him.

"So close," Sam mutters before capping the thermos.

"Insolent child!" Technus points a finger at Sam. "Your attempts to entrap me within a mechanical piece of technology are doomed to fail!"

Tucker shrugs. "It's worked fine before."

"And you should know, ghost child, that the new and improved Technus does not blurt out all of his genius plans!"

I clench my fists. "Then I guess I'll have to beat them out of you instead."

Leaping towards him, I shoot a beam of ectoplasmic energy from my palms, which he ducks to the side to dodge. With a laugh, he phases through the wall.

"At least he's not after Fenton Works." Jazz peeks into the kitchen. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"Definitely not here," I respond. "Now to go after Technus..."

"Danny!"

I stop, hovering in place, as I turn my head.

Dani hurries to float in front of me. "You made it."

"Yeah." I point a thumb at the east wall. "Technus left that way. What was he doing when you came to get me?"

She shakes her head. "He wasn't even here yet."

"So he's not the threat?" Sam responds with a frown.

"He's part of it." Dani lets herself sink to the ground, although she stays in ghost form. "I don't know what happened. I was standing around waiting in the basement when the Ghost Portal went berserk. I was able to beat back a couple of them, but there were too many coming all at once."

"Wait a second." I fall back to level ground with her. "A whole bunch of ghosts came through the portal at the same time?"

She nods. "I would have kept fighting them, but..." She trails off, biting her lip.

"But what?" Jazz steps up next to her. "You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No." She turns back to me, fidgeting. "One of them was Vlad Plasmius."

I scowl. Plasmius. The Ghost World's number-one fruitloop. If he's involved, it's probably not just a freak portal malfunction.

"Did he see you?" Tucker asks.

Dani shakes her head. "I vanished the second I saw him. I guess there were too many other ghosts around for him to notice me any other way." She takes a deep breath, and her eyebrows tilt inward. "I only saw them moving until I left to get you, but they were heading south."

I raise my eyebrows. "All of them?"

"Uh-huh." She fists her hands. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm pretty sure it's time to go kick some butt. You ready?"

I grin. "Let's see what we can do."

She and I take off through the front door, leaving the others to run after us.

I glance down at them. "Oops. Want a ride?"

"Sure," Sam calls at the same time Tucker says he's good.

Jazz watches Dani and me touch down before she takes a step back. "I'm going to find Mom and Dad. Dani, did you see them while you were here?"

"I went straight to the basement, and they were never down there." She hops over to Tucker. "Sure you don't need a ride?"

He looks her up and down. "Can you even carry me? I may look slim, but there's more muscle in here than you'd think."

Dani smirks, grabbing him by the shirt and cargo pants and lifting him over her head.

I laugh. "Sure there is, Tucker." I tentatively scoop Sam up, and she adjusts her position as I take off.

"Good luck, Jazz!" Dani calls as she flies up after me.

Jazz waves, getting smaller and smaller before she sets off in another direction.

"Are we going the right way?" I ask Dani, turning my head.

"Mmm-hmm," she responds, and I notice for the first time how far below me she's lagging.

"Are you sure you can handle Tucker's weight? We're going pretty fast, and I don't want you to, uh, have a meltdown."

"I'm fine, Danny." She grins up at me. "I haven't had any problems since you sprayed me with the stabilizer." She passes Tucker to one arm, making him yelp, and digs around in her back pocket. "A bottle of it was laying on the counter in the basement, so I helped myself."

"Doesn't hurt to be careful," Tucker responds pointedly. Dani laughs, hooking her other arm around him again.

I turn ahead, Sam's hair whipping past my ear. "How about you, Sam? Feel safe enough?"

"Yup," she says without hesitation, leaning her head back against my shoulder. She can't look me in the eye without craning her neck, but she still blushes. I smile before a wisp of cold breath fogs my vision a little.

Face hardening, I focus ahead. A few green bodies are flying too close to the ground for me to make out details.

"How many of them were there?" I call over the air snatching my voice away.

"I left the basement halfway through, but... Maybe twenty?"

"Twenty against four." Tucker continues to clutch his PDA to his chest. "Not the best odds."

"Especially with one being Plasmius," Sam adds, frowning. "Maybe we should wait for Jazz and your parents—or at least your mom—to catch up?"

I scan the ground. We're far enough out of town now that it's mostly scrubland and a handful of run-down buildings. No danger of casualties, at least.

"We have to at least see what's going on," I say. "We'll try to stay undercover, though, all right?"

Sam sighs. "He says, fully visible."

"Hey, we're not that close yet. Besides, we have to make you and Tuck invisible, too, and that requires even more energy."

"You should be able to handle that much if you're going to take on twenty ghosts at once, dude." Tucker rolls his eyes up at me.

"Isn't the point of turning you invisible to not take them on?"

Dani makes a shooshing noise, slowing down. "I think they've stopped up ahead."

I follow her gaze and put on the brakes. Ahead, past a few buildings with broken-down roofs, a couple of ghosts have come to rest on the ground. I recognize Desiree's long hair and blue tail, but I can't make out the others that clearly yet.

"Time for invisibility?" Sam hints.

"Right." I make myself vanish with ease, and it spreads to Sam. So much for the view.

"Let's come down a little more, okay?" calls Dani. She's still on my right, but I can't see her.

"Got it."

We fall silent as we come down for an almost-landing, gliding closer to the ghosts ahead of us.

Another group is farther ahead—Ember's pretty recognizable even from here, and I think Skulker's behind her—but Desiree is right here and next to Technus and Vlad.

I really hope we aren't seen now. It's bad enough with just me—I don't know what Vlad'll do if he finds out Dani's here.

I think to warn her, but we can't afford to be heard right now.

After I come to a stop not too far away from the first group, I try to figure out where she is. She hasn't hit ground or any of the trees, at least tangibly, so I have no way to tell.

Sam's grip on my arm suddenly tightens, and I snap my gaze ahead in time for something metal to clang into my face.

"Ow!" I stagger back without hitting the ground.

"Oh, Daniel!" Vlad's voice is too pleased to be genuine as he whips around. Even with a fairly normal grin, his fangs make his expression appropriately nefarious. "How nice of you to join us."

The Fenton Boo-merang clatters back to the gravel as I touch down.

"Plasmius." Putting Sam behind me, I reveal myself. "What are you after today? Some huge source of power or my dad?"

"I was merely reminiscing with some of my acquaintances," he says, still narrow-eyed and smiling. "Would you care to join us?"

Scowling, I assume a battle stance. "I've got better things to do than talk about some old guy's glory days. Why don't you tell me what's really going on here?"

Eyes widening in mock offense, Vlad puts a hand on his chest. "Really, Daniel! You think I would lie to you?"

"Survey says, yes."

Tutting, he folds his hands behind his back, pacing towards me. I try to keep Sam invisible behind me, which is a lot harder when I'm not hiding myself.

"You'd be surprised at the sheer number of vengeful ghosts the Hunger Games have produced," Vlad says, glancing over his shoulder before watching me again. "Why, I'd bargain that almost everyone you're accustomed to fighting had died in the Games. It's a tragedy, isn't it?" He finally frowns. "None of them were able to win a Hunger Games. Ah, how I wish they had another chance."

I frown, trying to figure out what he's after, before Sam gasps in my ear.

"Desiree."

"What?" I almost turn my head to look at Sam before realizing my mistake.

A sparkling, bluish fog has already started to swirl around the genie ghost. With a laugh, she holds a hand in the air, more smoke billowing around her wrist. "Your heart's desire is my command!"

"What?" I take a step back. "No!" Immediately, I jump into the air, slinging Sam around in front of me to carry. "Dani! We have to get out of here!"

My "cousin" appears immediately and grabs Tucker underneath his arms. "Got i—" She cuts off with a shriek, a jolt of pink energy knocking her back and knocking Tucker out of her grip.

Hand still smoking, Vlad smiles. "Danielle, why don't you stay here, where your father can keep an eye on you?"

She straightens up, her green eyes flashing brighter in anger. "You're not my dad!"

"Save it!" I zoom over to her, grabbing her elbow. "We have to leave, now!"

"Uh—" Tucker starts, raising a finger—"I'm still over here."

Sam grabs him by the backpack, and I shoot into the sky with everyone in tow. Straining, I cast another glance down. Desiree's smoke is filling up the area, and I can't even make out the other ghosts except for Vlad's red eyes. But I can see the pulsing green circle rising from the ground, leaving a wall in its wake. It's coming fast.

Thankfully, Dani shakes herself out of it and starts pulling her weight.

"Ready to see who can fly faster?" I shout, rearranging my friends so we're back to our previous arrangement.

"Bring it on!" Dani pulls ahead, and I pour on the speed myself.

"The ghost shield is catching up..." I raise my voice again. "Is that the best you've got?"

I force myself past Dani, and she gasps before speeding up. The wall is directly in our path now, so I have to take a sharp turn upward, which Dani follows.

We've got to outpace this, but it's not going to happen at this rate. Ugh...!

Suddenly, the wall starts to surge towards us.

"It's going to close off!" Sam shouts. "It's probably forming a dome!"

I have to go faster!

"Aahh!" I pour on all the speed I've got, Sam seeming heavier and heavier.

All it gets me is a first-class ticket to a face-smashing.

From the sound of it, Dani and I both bounce off the dome as it closes.

"Oh, no." Dani stares at the boundary, her wide eyes reflected off the green surface.

"It's just a ghost shield, right?" I say, backing up. "If we both go human, we ought to all get through with no problem."

Sam watches the barrier recede as I fly horizontally. "You're not about to do what I think you are, are you?"

"I can go ghost the second we're through and keep flying us away. Trust me."

She frowns but doesn't object as I gear up for one more mad dash.

"Here goes nothing!" I surge toward the ghost shield at top speed, transforming back into Danny Fenton before I can hit the wall. We start to sink immediately, but we're still moving forward more than fast enough to get through.

Except we don't.

"Aaaahhh!"

A pulse of electricity warps the wall and surges through us, batting us away. In a panic, I transform back, barely able to start flying before we drop too far. Sam grunts at the sudden change in momentum.

"Sorry."

Taking a deep breath, I survey the dome. It looks like an ordinary ghost shield to me. But it even shocked Sam...

Dani shoots a beam of energy at the wall, but she ends up yelping and dodging when it's reflected back.

"Silly little badgers. You didn't honestly think it would be that easy, did you?"

Already growling, I whip around to see Plasmius floating on our level.

"We haven't struck out yet," I respond, glowering.

I've got one shot at this, but I have every reason to believe it's going to work. It took out—will take out—would have taken out?—a whole city's shield, after all.

Turning my back to Vlad when Dani takes a shot at him, I suck in a deep breath and let out a ghostly wail. The sound reverberates, rocking me and hurting my ears, but I see the shield start to dim.

Just a little more...!

Throat raw, lungs running out of air, I push myself, and a gap in the green finally appears. Gasping, I surge forward, but the familiar white rings appear before I've built up enough speed.

"No!" I cry out as the crushing headache swamps me and my limbs go limp.

Sam gasps, and then she and Danny Fenton plummet.

"Danny!"

My eyes are barely open enough to see Dani flying down to catch me. She groans with the effort, and even with her help, we're all still falling. But we don't speed up, and we all thud to the ground before long. It doesn't sound like we've broken anything...

I try to look around, but all I can catch are the bright rings as Dani goes back into human form.

That was all we had. We're really...

We're trapped.