Chapter four:

Green waves of energy, accompanied by a thunderous roar, threw the soldiers back several yards, frying their guns and armor. The tanks lurched under the pressure, their hulls buckling. The whole place seemed to ripple and shake like the tongues of a fire. The waves ceased as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving the GIW scattered abroad.

Danny shook with fear, forcing himself onto his knees. The GIW seemed futile to the ghost he knew he faced now. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" Danny screamed hoarsely.

"Danny? What… What happened?" Auslynn murmured. "That looked like your ghostly wail…"

"Because that's what it was."

"I… I don't understand…"

"I've got to be dreaming… This is impossible…" Danny murmured to himself. "He doesn't exist…"

"Who are you talking about?" Auslynn growled as she got to her feet, wincing.

"MYSELF!" Danny shouted. "Now I've got to find him…" He jumped into the air, his eyes glowing with terror and anger. He flew to where he estimated the sound had originated from. The trees were silent.

And then he felt a shadow cast over him. He looked up, his eyes wide with fear, to see his older self floating there with a smug look. "Hello." His shadowy, gravel voice shook him to the core. His bright red eyes seemed to glow with pleasure as he watched the hybrid recoil.

"How did you escape?" Danny asked in the most composed tone he could muster.

"Honestly, Danny, you think that a pencil-thick sheet of metal and a compression field could hold me?" Dan chuckled.

"Who are you?" Auslynn asked as she flew over. "Are you related to Danny or something?"

"You could call it that." Dan shrugged. He paused, raising an eyebrow, before continuing. "I recognize your voice… You're Auslynn, aren't you?"

"Um… Yeah. How do you know that?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to destroy him, once and for all." Danny growled.

"I'm so confused… I do not see why you are so on edge… Did he not just save us?"

"Yeah, so he can find where my friends are and destroy them." Danny hissed. "Have you already killed my family?!"

"No, Danny, Calm down. I've no interest in that." Dan smiled. "I've come to assist you."

"Assist me?" Danny scoffed. "As if that's going to happen."

"Listen, just calm down. I can explain this all if you only-"

"No. I'm not giving you the time to do anything. I'm going to end this, and protect my loved ones." Danny growled, charging an ectoplasmic blast between his palms.

"Danny!" Auslynn hissed as he fired.

Dan deflected the blast easily with the back of his hand, releasing a heavy sigh. "It's not as if I wanted to come here." He mumbled. "Honestly I would rather be off, back in my own dimension, doing as I please."

"So why are you here, then?" Auslynn murmured.

"Clockwork." Dan chuckled. "He was prepared for my escape. The second I was out of the thermos, he caught me with a special blade. Couldn't phase through it, nor throw him off. Being inside a metal cylinder for so long had temporarily weakened my abilities, and the blade was coated in a special resin."

"He defeated you." Auslynn concluded, adding a quiet "of course."

"Yes. Clockwork was always a formidable opponent." Dan sighed. "Anyway… He threatened to kill me if I didn't come help you three."

"And you agreed? Is this some kind of joke?" Danny hissed angrily, clenching his fists at his side.

"Not so fast, kid. I don't believe you understand what you're talking about." Dan gave him a weary look, grinning a bit. "You've fought Clockwork before. Just for a few seconds. And he willingly let you escape, even then."

"What are you getting at?"

"You've never been in a real fight with that level of ghost."

"Danny… Clockwork is a very powerful ghost…" Auslynn murmured absent-mindedly. "I've never seen anyone show him up."

Danny was silent for a moment, pondering the situation. Alright, he could accept that Dan was defeated. But the malefactor would never give in to a victor's request or some such nonsense. He knew that Clockwork was capable of many things, but this was sketchy.

"Are you really going to turn down my assistance? When your friends' lives hang in the balance?" Dan smiled.

"How do I know that you won't kill them?"

"Now why would I do that? Not only would it perturb the master of time, but there is simply no use in it. Their deaths no longer hold the key to my existence."

"Wouldn't you just do it for the thrill? The fun of ending another's life? I know you. Because I know myself and I know Vlad." Danny hissed. He jumped at feeling a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Auslynn.

"Danny, calm down. Don't you remember what we are doing here? What needs to be done?" She asked softly. "Your friends are in danger. The longer we wait here, the closer they are brought to dying." Danny glanced uneasily at her. She was right, as usual. But he couldn't just shrug these tensions off. Dan was more powerful and treacherous than she understood.

"Alright." He mumbled. "Let's-" He remembered Vlad. What could they do about him? Even if he woke and insisted that he could continue, there was no possible way he would survive the coming battles with the GIW.

"I'll stay with Vlad…" Auslynn murmured. "Try to work up the courage to set his ribs."

"Then it is settled." Danny sighed. "Let's go." He gestured with his head to Dan, jumping into flight. "We'll be back as soon as possible."

"Try not to get killed." Auslynn sighed.

Sam growled softly, biting her tongue. "No." She answered plainly. "Danny's my friend. I would never give you information that could lead to his death."

Steranz smiled, much to Sam's surprise. "Well," He chuckled, straightening and holstering the gun, "If you will not provide the knowledge we require, we will simply have to find it ourselves." He turned and tapped a screen on his desk, crossing his arms behind him. The thick door slid open and two soldiers stepped in. Steranz gestured to the three. "Take the hybrid. Find any inefficiencies, but try not to kill her."

The two nodded and moved over to Dani, grabbing her and continuing back into the main room. Steranz gave a final, unreadable glance at the two teens before following with a grin. "Don't try anything funny, you two." He murmured just as his form disappeared.

Sam looked over at Tucker's huddled form, sighing. "Get up." She growled.

"But he said-"

"I don't care, Tuck. They're going to destroy Dani, we need to help her."

"How exactly are we going to do that?"

"That sphere that Clockwork gave us."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to give it to Auslynn… But won't they get angry if we open it?"

"I'm sure that they will understand. Just give it to me."

Tucker searched through his pockets until he found the small orb, tugging it into the open. "What if it's a bomb?" He murmured.

"I highly doubt that." Sam snapped as she knocked the ball from his grasp. It clattered to the floor, shattering into a mess of glimmering hexagons. Out of the reflective skin came a sparkling cloud, which took form and solidified into a dog.

"Odd." Tucker murmured. The brown creature sniffed at them curiously, wagging its tail.

"Why a dog? Why would Clockwork want Auslynn to have this so badly?"

"Well… If he knows everything, then he knew that we wouldn't get this to her, and use it ourselves. So the question is, why would he want US to have a dog?"

"Maybe it's a special ghost-dog like Cujo." Sam shrugged.

"Nah, this one doesn't look all that powerful." Tucker shook his head. "Let's see if it can do anything special."

"Fetch!" Sam ordered. The dog looked curiously at her, shifting its paws excitedly.

"Sit?" Tucker shrugged.

"Play dead?"

Still the dog stood in confusion, idle.

"Well that's getting us nowhere fast…" Sam groaned. "Let's just try and get ourselves an advantage."

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"We're in a secret government facility genuinely constructed for defending against and destroying ghosts. It's got to have some weapons lying around here somewhere…"

"Are you hearing what you're saying? Do you have any idea the amount of security this place probably has? We wouldn't make it two feet."

"They are going to KILL Dani." Sam hissed, putting her hands on her hips. "And when Danny's not here, we take up his responsibilities. This is what we agreed when Team Phantom was initiated."

"But usually we have a Fenton Thermos and all the gear we need to ensure that we have as good a chance as Danny!" Tucker whined. "All we have is this lame dog!" He gestured to the silent animal. Sam wanted to tell him otherwise, that they could find the means to save Dani, but she knew it would be a lie. Steranz had organized this well. She sighed and slumped back, hanging her head.

"I guess we'll just have to trust that Danny will get here in time." She mumbled.

Danny flew silently over the forest, struggling to keep up with Dan. His older version was much faster than him. "Do you even know where we're going?" Danny called.

"Do you?" He glanced back, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes. I've been to the GIW headquarters before." Danny mumbled. "The defenses are rather advanced, I'll have you know."

"Nothing I can't handle." Dan grinned.

"I don't doubt that." Danny mumbled under his breath. "I imagine you destroyed them in your own dimension?"

"Of course. They were the first to start a rebellion, contrary to all logic."

"Though they may have executed it foolishly, the GIW were taking the most sensible course of action. You were decimating every sign of life across the whole of the planet." Danny grumbled. "Was Amity Park the only remaining safe haven at the time I arrived?"

"Amity, Hong Kong, and Some town in Australia." Dan mumbled. "Their nuclear defenses threw me."

"So you killed billions of people, across the span of the entire globe. And you wonder why I don't trust you." Danny scoffed. "I'll never believe you actually came here to help."

"Believe what you like."

"…When we get there, I'm going to get my friends and leave as quickly as I physically can. Don't take too long." Danny quickly changed the subject. "Sam and Tucker won't have too many people guarding them, but Danielle's a different story."

"Danielle?"

"What, did Clockwork not tell you about my ghost-clone cousin?"

"Apparently not."

"Yeah… One of Vlad's more disturbing schemes." Danny shivered at the thought. "He cloned me, several times. Her version was the only stable one, the only one that didn't revert immediately back to a blob of ectoplasm."

"He did something like that in my dimension, as well. She didn't survive long, though." Dan seemed almost remorseful for a moment.

"So you still battled with the human half of Vlad?" Danny found himself asking. He couldn't believe that he was making conversation with his worst enemy, but he was curious about this alternate route in his timeline.

"If you can call that a battle, yeah. Fenton, too."

"Really? I assumed you killed him as soon as you were created."

"I let him live for a couple years. I was still weak and compromised." Dan murmured. "There it is." He pointed ahead to the GIW headquarters, only a speck on the horizon.

"Are we attempting any kind of stealth?"

"No."

"Thought not. You better know what you're doing, because if they get one scratch-"

"Calm down. You underestimate me." Dan chuckled. "I'll go ahead. There'll be a clear path by the time you arrive."

"Sure. Whatever." Honestly Danny was glad to avoid as much battle as he could.

Dan accelerated and sped towards the base, a sonic boom following in his wake.

"Sir-" Airel murmured as he entered the large lab.

"What is it?" Steranz turned to him, his arms crossed.

"There is an approaching source of ectoplasm… It will arrive in less than 20 seconds."

"Danny Phantom?"

"This one's bigger. More concentrated, a full ghost."

"Send out a welcoming party."

Airel tapped a number of miscellaneous buttons and the ground shook briefly as a group of missiles fired.

Dan laughed at their futile attempt to stop him. He cut the projectiles down easily with a blast of energy, watching them explode. "You'll have to try harder than that." He chuckled, landing at the entrance to the large white structure. He shot the door from its hinges and floated inside, glancing around. The startled staff members took a moment to get to their bearings before charging forward.

Danny halted, staring blankly at the smoking building. Part of him humored the humiliation of his enemies, and part of him feared for their lives. Hopefully Dan would hold back, knowing that his younger self would not tolerate the loss of lives. But then again there was nothing Danny could do to stop him. Though he hated to admit it, Danny was at the mercy of his foe.

"Alright, where's your prisoner?" Dan grinned, scanning the battered men for any sort of response. "Come on, if someone doesn't tell me now, I'll just have to force it out of you." He charged his fists with glowing energy.

"I-it's the third floor down…" A response squeaked out from the crowd of terrified GIW.

Dan chuckled and released the energy into the floor below him. It buckled and he lowered to the next level, and then the next. Indeed the given floor appeared to be a detention center.

A group of GIW came running with pistols, shouting into radio communicators. Dan allowed the officers a few rounds through his intangible state before confronting them. He blew them to the wall with a chain-like string of ectoplasm. "Where's your prisoner?" He asked plainly. They were silent, staring in fear at the ghost. "Nothing, eh? Well, you could always point." Still they refused to respond in any manner.

"Who are you?" A voice sounded to his left. Dan turned, finding a small form peeking around a corner. "Why do you have Danny's logo on you?"

"I presume you are Danielle?" Dan murmured. "You're smaller than I expected."

"Are you here to get me out?"

"Well, yes. You along with Sam and Tucker." He walked to her, discovering a series of glowing tubes running into her left arm, the other claimed by a white cast. "Any of these important?" He gestured to the tubes.

"No."

"Good." He began pulling them out, helping her to her feet. "Where are Sam and Tucker?"

"There's a room down that hall." She pointed. "You might have trouble getting in, though."

"Won't be a problem." He chuckled, rolling his shoulders. Dani arched an eyebrow.

"Who are you though?" She asked. "You have Danny's symbol. Are you an associate?"

"I suppose you could say that, for the moment at least." He shrugged. "I am Daniel Phantom, ten years in the future."

"Well that's confusing… What do I call you then, other than Danny?"

"I seem to have acquired the term Dan." He muttered, starting towards the hallway. "You might want to stay back for this."

"Okay, I'm good with that." Dani nodded, sitting on the polished tile.

Dan stared blankly at the white door, evaluating it. Probably six inches thick, solid steel from the look of it. Easy enough. He ran through the ways he could tear it down. The ghostly wail or a strong blast could hurt Sam and Tucker in addition. Most of his usual tactics would. It was troublesome working without casualties. He sighed and took the door by the handle and with a swift jerk, tore it from the wall, throwing it aside. He stepped in the empty shell, looking around the pristine room. "Anyone?" He called. Nothing. He continued on, looking over the walls for any hidden rooms or escape routes.

Suddenly he felt something strike his shoulder. He turned and caught the projectile in its decent. A PDA. Dan chuckled, looking the device over. "Tucker." He muttered softly.

There was a scuffling sound above him, drawing his attention. To his surprise, the two were held to the ceiling by a light brown ghost-dog. He grinned. "Hello there." He waved slightly.

"What are you doing here?!" Sam shouted. Tucker grimaced, covering his ears. The goth could be quite loud when she was scared.

"Getting you guys out of here." He chuckled.

"But you don't exist!" Tucker growled.

"Is that what you heard?" He arched an eyebrow. "Well, never mind. Are you going to come down here?"

"No!" Sam shouted. "Where's Danny? What have you done with him?!"

"He'll be here shortly. I went ahead and cleared a path. Now, come on down, we need to get going."

"No!" Sam and Tucker shouted in unison.

Dan sighed and jumped up, grabbed their feet, and forced them onto the floor. The dog floated down, whimpering. "Come on, what's the issue?"

"Uh, let's see… You're a psychotic murderous ghost from another timeline who pretty much single-handedly LEVELED THE PLANET. That seems like reason enough to resist your capture!" Sam grunted.

"I'm not trying to capture you! I don't want to hurt you or Danny!" Dan shouted.

"How can we trust you? You've tried to kill us before." Tucker retorted.

"Well he helped me…" Dani peeked in the door.

"Danielle? You're okay?" Sam smiled.

"For the most part…" She nodded, coming to their side. "Now we've got to hurry! You guys can talk this all out later; we need to get out of here."

"But where's Danny?" Sam asked softly.

"Right here." The ghost-boy waved as he trotted to the doorway. "So everybody's accounted for?"

"Yep." Tucker nodded. "Good to know you're safe, dude."

"Same goes for you two. Now let's head out!" Danny grabbed Sam and Tucker by their waists, carrying them intangibly to the surface. Dan and Dani followed closely behind, along with the dog.

The group made it easily to the outside world, gliding through the air towards the horizon. Danny let a chuckle escape his lips. It had been quite awhile since the GIW were bested so thoroughly. It was just as fun as he remembered, and twenty times as easy with Dan helping. Danny looked over at his older self, watching the pale blue-skin as he helped Danielle and the mysterious dog to keep up. Of course he still couldn't trust him. But what could he really do? Until Clockwork came to pick Auslynn up, he would be stuck with the overpowered ghost. And still he found it strange how mellow the specter was being. It didn't make sense. If Clockwork really had forced him to help, wouldn't he be angry and full of spite?

His thoughts were interrupted as Auslynn came into sight on the ground, Vlad's mangled form at her side. "What happened?" Sam asked, pointing.

"To fruit loop? A tree fell on him." Danny sighed. "According to Auslynn, it crushed some ribs and may have punctured a lung if I remember correctly."

"Is he going to be alright?" Tucker's tone was wary. "That's pretty messed up."

"I trust that Auslynn took care of him. She's a good doctor." Danny muttered as they landed.

"Pendulum!" Auslynn giggled as the dog ran to her. "What are you doing here?"

"So the dog's yours?" Sam asked softly, eyeing Vlad's unconscious figure.

"Yeah. Clockwork got him to keep me company while he's on long missions, among other things." She patted the mutt gently. "Why is he here?"

"Uhh… Well, we paid Clockwork a visit earlier –while you were gone- and he gave us an orb." Tucker explained. "We were supposed to give it to you earlier, but we forgot."

"We opened it, hoping that it could help us escape the GIW headquarters, but he didn't really obey us." Sam finished softly.

"Oh." Auslynn muttered.

"So, how's Vlad?" Danny asked. "Did you fix him up?"

"I think so, enough to let him live at least. He still needs to see a professional though, considering my lack of supplies and all." She glanced over at the unconscious form. "Are we set to head back to Amity?"

"If you're prepared for the ensuing battle." Danny growled. "Amity is just where Steranz is expecting us to go."

"Where else is there?"

"I can see if Clockwork would allow you all to stay in the tower for a while…" Auslynn shrugged. "I should have the supplies needed in my room."

"Do you have any form of contact with him?" Danny murmured.

"Well no, not really. Usually he just comes and gets me when I've completed my task. Honestly I'm surprised he let me stay so long." She shrugged, getting to her feet. "It's kind of strange, actually. Usually he's so finicky about me being gone for long."

"I suppose we could go to Vlad's, right?" Dani suggested.

"Yeah, that'll do. If the GIW didn't already consider that." Sam murmured. "So, who's going to carry Vlad?" There was a silence among the group.

"I'm good with staying right here, you know. Auslynn could just fly over and get the things she needs." Danny shrugged sheepishly.

"DUUDDEE…" Tucker whined. "I'm tired of all these plants! I require air conditioning, ASAP!"

"Hey! Plants provide the oxygen you breathe! Respect them!" Sam hissed. The two began arguing, as they always do when it comes to anything dealing with either meat or plants.

"Guys…" Danny groaned.

"You're back? …Already?" Vlad muttered as he began to stir.

"Yeah. And we got everyone out intact, surprisingly." Danny shrugged. "… You feeling okay?" It felt odd being nice to his enemy, but Auslynn acted as if the halfa was still considerably damaged.

"I think so. Certainly better than before." He nodded slowly. "Have we a new destination?"

"We were discussing that."

"Well, seeing as you're all together now, I suppose it's a good a time as ever." Dan sighed softly.

"What do you mean?" Auslynn murmured, glancing over at the specter.

"Oh, to reveal my real plot of course." Dan chuckled. He jumped into the air and pinned the Danny and Danielle to the ground with the familiar chain-like string of ectoplasm. "You see, Danny, this is all going to get VERY complicated. I suggest you settle down for the ride."

"DAN LET US GO!" Danny shouted loudly, writhing under the restraint.

"Can't do that." The ghost grinned.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Auslynn hissed. "Let them go this instant!"

Dan chuckled softly, taking the doc by the hair and throwing her into the air. She screamed and regained her balance in the sky, floating dizzily as she charged a ball of ectoplasm. "Why are you doing this?!" She growled, firing.

"Because you're the closest person to a ghost that could greatly obstruct my plans." He answered quickly, phasing through her blue projectile. "And it'll be much easier if he's busy tending to you." He grabbed her wrist tightly, pulling her to his side. She immediately tried to get away, too panicked to phase, but was stopped short by a quick electric shock. Dan cradled her now unconscious form, glancing down at the two prisoners. Danny was still struggling, but was now much more concerned with Auslynn.

"What are you doing?" Sam growled. The humans and Vlad posed no threat to him, but they continued to voice their annoyance.

"Come on, hurting a medical woman is just plain wrong!" Tucker shouted. Dan recalled his genuine fear of doctors and anything similar, and for a moment he pondered why Tucker would exclude Auslynn from this fear.

"Honestly, leave her out of this! She's no problem of yours!" Danny yelled loudly.

"That's where you're wrong." Dan chuckled softly, sinking his canines deep into the specter's neck. He nearly gagged as blood filled his mouth, making his head spin and stomach clench painfully. The shouts of the others below grew faint and he slowly pulled away, forcing down the last of the fluid he had taken. His arms grew weak and he let the girl slip out of his hands.

Seconds seemed to grow longer and sounds had faded to gentle whispers. A spark was the only clear thing in the phantom's vision, blue and growing as time drug past. But he could not identify the light as a portal until it was too late. Everything snapped into focus as he realized just who was appearing before him.

The cloaked ghost floated silently before him, glancing about with a slightly panicked look. "What did you do?" His voice was distorted, but fierce. For a moment the phantom almost tried to answer, but he quickly busied himself with flying away as fast as his disoriented form could go. He didn't want to feel the wrath of the master of time.

Clockwork watched silently as the ghost retreated. He struggled to think; a strange mass of anger and fear bubbling through him. Quickly he flew down to his apprentice, thankful that Vlad had been able to catch her. "What happened?" He demanded, taking her into his arms. "What did he do?"

"He converted her…" Vlad muttered.

"What does that mean? What just happened?" Danny asked softly as the restraints faded out of existence.

"He turned her into a plasmavore, Daniel." Vlad explained.

"A what now?"

"This will be much easier to explain at the tower." Clockwork muttered, opening a portal back to the court.

"But what about Dan? We should follow him!" Dani growled.

"No." Clockwork sighed. "We can't. And you won't be able to beat him." He disappeared into the portal, the others following silently.

"Why did you let Dan do that? Weren't you monitoring him?" Sam asked.

"Let him? What do you mean?" Clockwork hissed, laying his apprentice on a thick metal table.

"But Dan said that you forced him to help us." Tucker muttered.

"And you believed him?" The time ghost turned to face them, sighing. "That's not at all what happened. You see, he escaped from the thermos while I was at the observatory. By the time I arrived back, he had a good understanding of the tower and was ready to attack."

"But didn't you know? You said you know everything." Sam arched an eyebrow.

"Everything within time, yes. But Dan is apart from his dimension. Outside of time. I had no idea he had escaped. I was unconscious during his time with you."

"Alright. That straightens that up." Danny shrugged. "Now, what about Auslynn?"

"I'll take care of her." Clockwork mumbled. "Plasmius, There's a library two levels down, I suggest you go explain what just happened."

Vlad nodded and phased through the floor, making sure that the teens followed. Just as Clockwork had said, there was a vast library stretching across the entire floor. The group landed and Vlad immediately went to find the books he needed. "So what's a plasmavore?" Danny asked curiously.

"You're not going to like it." Vlad sighed. "But you should already know, to be honest."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tucker piped up from the back.

Vlad stopped and chose a book from the shelf, looking over it carefully. "You would know them as Vampires." He opened the ancient book and read aloud "These creatures are not that which you know from folklore. They are indeed real, and far worse than simple bats. With the familiar abilities of ghosts, amplified tenfold…" He stopped.

"Vampires. What did I expect?" Danny shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

"Of course these only apply to awakened plasmavores." Vlad said softly, shutting the book.

"What does that mean?" Danielle muttered. "Awakened?"

Vlad sighed and pointed to his teeth. Danny was silent for a moment. "I always wondered…" He stammered.

"But it's not what you think, I don't crave blood."

"But why does Dan, and not you?" Sam put in.

"It's all about whether or not we are awakened." Vlad seemed to grow tenser. "And I don't think that Dan was before today."

"You're not making sense."

"You see, if a plasmavore has never consumed the blood of others, then they are dormant, and do not possess the bloodlust. But once they have a taste of it, the lust awakens. And once it does, it's unstoppable." Vlad explained. He grabbed another book and flipped through it.

"What about Auslynn? What's happening to her?" Dani squeaked.

"I'm trying to clear that up."

"You said 'he converted her'. So I imagine that he turned her into a plasmavore as well, right?" Tucker asked, taking one of the books for himself.

"Basically."

"Will she have the… Bloodlust?" Danny mumbled, almost inaudible.

"I don't know, Daniel. I'm trying to figure that out. But none of these books mention anything like what happened out there." Vlad closed the book and let out a heavy sigh. "I suppose we will just have to wait and see."

"Let's head back up, then." Tucker suggested, setting his book back on the shelf. Danny grabbed his human friends and they flew intangibly through the upper levels.

"How's it going?" Danny asked as he landed in the court.

"She'll stabilize soon." Clockwork sighed. "Do you have the answers you wanted?"

"Uh, sure. For the most part." Danny shrugged, walking to the table side. "Anything I can do?" He asked, staring silently at the pale blue-skin. Clockwork had bandaged the incision, but there was already a substantial amount of blood loss.

"No. You best get home and explain everything to your frantic parents." Clockwork waved a hand and one of the many monitors sparked to life, leading to the Fenton living room.

"What about Dan?"

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out. Just be wary of the Guys In White."

"Yeah. I'll do that." Danny turned to the portal. "Are you gonna take the others to their homes?"

"Yes."

"Okay… Dani? Wanna come with me?"

"Yes!" The young phantom grinned, running to her cousin's side.

"Great. I'll teach you more cryokenisis stuff." Danny nodded as the two disappeared into the portal.

Clockwork opened three other portals, one to the Manson's household, one to the Foley's, and one to Vlad's mansion. The teens stepped eagerly through the portals, but Vlad was hasty. "Dan is going to be a danger." He muttered. "You know what's going on, right?"

"Yes. I understand. I can work her through this. You've nothing to worry about, go home." Clockwork said slowly, closing the used portals. "I have all the help I need."

"And Steranz?"

"There's a time and a place for that battle to finish."