Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A quick note: I'm afraid I've lost all my reviews for this in the movie from charter to hotmail. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. College is crazy, and I promise I'll have the reviews for the next chapter. I swear! And sooner updates too, I hope. I mean, it's all typed up. I just have to get it on FF.

Chapter 6: Plasmius

Vlad poured himself a drink with shaking hands. He kept blacking out, hearing an evil laugh, and having strange nightmares. He whirled around as the laugh echoed through the room again. "Somebody there?"

"Somebody?" the voice replied.

He gasped. "Who said that?"

"Don't play innocent with me," the voice growled.

Vlad walked around the room, spinning in circles as he made a full search. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here."

He gasped and whirled around, facing the mirror. He blinked, confused. "I don't understand."

His reflection, but not quite his reflection, smirked and walked closer. "Did you think it was merely coincidence? All these good things happening to you, Vlad Masters?" His reflection finished off the scotch he'd poured and threw the glass aside, ignoring the shattering it made.

"What do you want?" Vlad asked, moving closer as his reflection did.

"To say what you won't. To do what you won't. To remove those in your way." He held up the newspaper.

Vlad turned to the newspaper in his hand that he was now holding up. "The board members! You killed them!"

"We killed them!"

"We?"

"Remember? Your 'accident' with the Portal in the laboratory?"

Vlad thought for a moment. "The Portal must have done something to my DNA."

"Bingo. Me!" His reflection grinned, striking a pose. "Your greatest creation. I'm bringing you exactly what you want: power beyond your wildest dreams. It's only the beginning, and there's only one who can stop us… or imagine if he joined us."

Vlad stared at the red eyes of his ghost half. His reflection grinned, baring his pointed teeth as he began to laugh.

"Danny Phantom… and Plasmius. Plasmius, you like that? Made it up myself," Jameson said, tossing the newspaper onto his desk and turning to look at Danny. "These costumed weirdos all got to have names now." He picked up the phone.

"Mr. Jameson, Danny Phantom—"

"Hoffman," Jameson said into the phone.

The young man that had just entered said, "Yeah?"

Jameson looked at the phone then hung it up and turned to the young man. "Call the patent office and copyright the name Plasmius. I want a quarter anytime it's uttered."

"Yes, sir." The young man left.

"Danny Phantom wasn't attacking the city," Danny finally managed to get out. "That's slander."

"It is not. Slander is spoken."

Danny stared at the man, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You don't trust anyone, and I think that's your problem."

Jameson looked away for a moment, thinking. He shrugged then looked back at Danny. "I trust my barber." Danny raised one eyebrow, glancing at the man's hair. "What are you his lawyer? Get out of here!"

Danny obeyed, leaving the room only to turn back a few moments later as his ghost sense went off, and something crashed through Jameson's window, throwing the poor man across the room. Danny covered his head as the glass shattered before pulling away to watch as Plasmius grabbed Jameson by the neck and lifted him up. The ghost floated a few feet off the ground, grinning maliciously.

"Where's the person that takes the pictures of Danny Phantom?" Plasmius demanded.

"I don't know who he is! The photos come in the mail!" Jameson gasped out.

"Liar!"

"I swear, I don't know who he is!"

Plasmius' hand began to glow, and he raised it to punch the man. "You are useless, you—"

"Set him down, Plasmius!" Danny's voice shouted from outside the window.

Plasmius threw the man from him, spinning around. "Speak of the devil!"

Jameson stood. "Danny Phantom! I knew you two were in this toge—" His sentence was cut off as Danny shot a piece of ectoplasm at his mouth, covering it like a piece of tape.

"Hey, moron. Let the grown-ups talk, okay?" Danny said.

Vlad grinned then waved his hand, a pink powdery substance floating toward Danny. "Sleep," he commanded.

Danny blinked as he breathed in some of the powder, groaning as his eyelids grew heavy before he finally collapsed. Vlad caught the younger ghost and flew off, startling the people on the streets.

Danny groaned as he slowly came to. His head was pounding, and he couldn't move. He was leaning against something, probably a greenhouse window fixture on top of one of the buildings.

"Wake up, little phantom," a voice whispered, "wake up. You're not dead… yet, just paralyzed temporarily."

He groaned again then slowly opened his eyes, feeling as though weights were tied to his eyelids. Plasmius was kneeling before him, grinning. "You are an amazing creature, Danny Phantom. You know, we're not so different."

"I'm not like you," Danny breathed. "You're a murderer."

"Ah, to each his own." Plasmius shrugged. "I chose the 'Dark side' and you chose the way of the hero. They found you amusing for a while, but how long do you think that will last?" He leaned closer, smirking. "The one thing they love more than a hero is to watch a hero fall broken and defeated. In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you." Plasmius shook his head. "Why bother?"

"Because it's right," Danny muttered, attempting to move his arms and legs.

Plasmius stood and leaned against the window, slapping the younger ghost's head, making his head loll over onto his shoulder. "Here's the truth, Phantom. There are eight million people in this city, and their sole purpose is to lift the few exceptional people onto their shoulders. You and I, we're exceptional." He looked down at the younger ghost. "I could squash you like the insect you are right now, but I'm willing to give you a choice: join me." He knelt beside Danny, grasping the young man's chin so he would look at him. "Imagine what we could accomplish and build." He pushed the young man's head away from him, standing. "Or we could destroy, sacrificing innocent lives as we battle in this endless fight again and again until we're both dead. Is that what you want?" He took to the skies, leaving the barely conscious, barely moving Danny behind. "Think about it, hero!"

The next issue of the Amity Park News held the report of a "frightened" John Jameson, who reluctantly told all about his brutal attack from Plasmius and Danny Phantom. "Wanted" posters designed by the Amity Park News began appearing on every wall and every newspaper stand. They were everywhere. Danny gazed at his photo, the words of Plasmius passing through his mind: In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you. He sighed and looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked away from the poster.
Sam walked down the steps in a huff, crumbling up the script in her hand and throwing it to the ground. She stomped on it a few times for good measure before walking away. Danny ran to catch her.

"Hey, Sam! It's me again!"

She turned around. "Danny, hi!"

"How was your audition?"

She sighed, looking away. "They told me I needed acting lessons." She smiled a little and rolled her eyes. "A soap opera told me I needed acting lessons." She shook her head. "How'd you know?"

He laughed a little. "Your mom told my aunt who told me."

"You just came by?"

"I was in the neighborhood, needing to see a friendly face." He smiled. "It took two buses, a train, and a cab to get in the neighborhood, but..." His smile widened as she laughed. "Let me buy you something to eat. The sky's the limit up to… seven dollars and eighty-three cents," he calculated in his head.

She laughed again, shaking her head. "I'd like a cheeseburger, but I'm going to dinner with Tucker. Come with us," she offered.

He shook his head, his smile fading. "No thanks. How's it going?" She looked down. "Never mind, it's not my business."

"It's not?" She looked up at him. "Why so interested, then?"

"I'm not," he denied.

She looked at him, smiling a little. "You're not?"

"Well, wh-why would I be?"

"I don't know. Why would you be?"

He blushed a little, smiling. "I don't know," he admitted.

"I'm sorry you won't join us," she said then looked up as lightening flashed across the sky. "I better run, tiger."

He nodded as a sort of farewell, and she took off down the street as it began to rain. A group of hoodlums standing at a corner saw her and looked at each other. Danny's eyes flashed green as they ran after her, and he slipped into a darkened alley.

Sam walked on, never noticing that she had an entourage. She glanced back then quickened her pace a little, crossing a street as one of the guys called out to her. She moved to walk down an alley, but one of the guys walked out of it so she turned to the other. That way was also blocked. She broke into a run, but they quickly surrounded her, pinning her against a wall. She gasped as they closed in on her, making obscene gestures and noises. She lashed out as one of the men grabbed her shoulder, pulling off her black trench coat.

"Get off of me!" She kicked him then whirled around and kicked the other guy.

They both fell, but one of the others grabbed her and shoved her face-first against the wall. Another guy pulled a knife as she cried out. She was just about to scream, hoping someone—anyone—would hear her, but a green light flashed across her vision and hit the guy holding the knife at her. He was thrown back into a building across the way. She gasped, turning around as the other guys were shot away from her then tied up in a glowing green rope.

She stepped away from the wall, watching as a human Danny fought with the men, never noticing the similarity between he and his ghost counterpart. She simply thought it was Danny Phantom. She stepped toward him once all the men were unconscious. He looked at her then ducked into a nearby alley.

"Wait!" she called, chasing after him. She looked down the alley, but he was gone. She pushed her soaking hair out of her eyes, looking around her.

He floated behind her upside down, grinning. "You have a knack for getting in trouble."

She gasped, spinning around, laughing slightly. "You have a knack for saving my life." She smiled, her lilac eyes bright. "I think I have a super hero stalker," she teased.

He smiled, eyes glowing an emerald green. "I was in the neighborhood."

Sam wondered why those words sounded so familiar then she shook her head. "You are… amazing."

He smiled sadly. "Some people don't think so."

"But you are." She stepped closer as he righted himself in the air, still hovering before her. "Do I get to say 'thank you' this time?"

He swallowed as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Wait," he whispered, and she paused for only a moment before wrapping her arms around him.

Her lips met his in a gentle kiss before she slowly deepened it, nibbling on his bottom lip. Danny swore he was going to float away, and he had to get out of here before he did something stupid like tell her who he really was. The kiss seemed to end as quickly as it had begun, and he shot off to the sky. Sam watched him, laughing a little as she gazed up into the rain.