Gear and Abilities: Kayla
For Kayla, I wanted her to be like a queen's double, or in Aelita's case, a princess' double. I used Aelita's outfit as the jumping off point and changed the colors and the designs around a little with the gold and the silver fleurs-de-lis. I made her rich looking with the hair style and the flower barrette. The mace/morning star I gave her was based off of the Lord of the Rings morning star that the ringwraith had in the third movie. Kayla's ability to switch with Aelita came from the princess' double idea, too. I thought it would be cool to be able to have Aelita have a way to escape the Scyphozoa. Kayla would rescue her, take her place, and blast the Scyphozoa at the same time. Later I added the super jump, but that was more of an afterthought.
Sam, Tucker, Aelita, and Eva made it to Fenton Works in one piece. Aelita and Eva weren't too shook up from the ride. However they weren't expecting to see the spaceship like building on top of the house when they got out of the RV. They went inside and up to Danny's bedroom, bumping into Jazz on the way up.
"Hey, guys," she said. She looked at Aelita. "I remember you."
"I'm glad to see you're okay," said Aelita.
"Same to you," said Jazz. "Danny's in his room."
They entered Danny's room and found Danny Fenton sitting on the bed waiting for them. The questions about Eva and Aelita began pouring out as soon as the bedroom door was closed. Eva and Aelita told them as much as they could without revealing too much about LYOKO and their other adventures.
"So you could tell Danny is Phantom just by looking at his eyes?" asked Tucker.
Eva nodded. "It's a skill I picked up."
"From where?" asked Sam. "And can I learn it?"
Eva lowered her gaze. "I learned it from the streets. As for teaching it to you, it could prove difficult. I had to learn it for myself and the way I taught myself was less than fun. You don't need to know the details."
"I think you are meant to be here, Eva," said Danny.
Eva turned to Danny. "I know," she said.
The others frowned.
"You do?" asked Danny.
Eva nodded. "This wouldn't happen to have something to do with a homicidal ghost that looks like an older version of Phantom, does it?"
They gaped at her. Aelita giggled at their expressions. "She does that a lot," said Aelita.
"How could you know about Dan Phantom?" asked Tucker.
"I dreamt about him," said Eva. "I watched him kill everyone I love and I could do nothing to stop him."
Danny suddenly shivered and a stream of blue came out of his mouth. There was a commotion downstairs.
"Oh, crud!" he hissed, bolting out of the room, the others behind him.
In the lab, the Box Ghost was wrecking everything. Team Phantom came down and saw. Danny groaned and grabbed the Fenton Thermos.
"You again?" asked Danny. "Don't you ever take a break?" He suddenly had an idea. "What's going on in the Ghost Zone?"
"BEWARE! I AM THE BOX GHOST! I WILL NOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS!" he boomed.
"No, but you will answer mine!" Eva called out.
The Box Ghost whipped around. "I know that voice. YOU! It was you who helped me escape from the ghost hunters."
Eva nodded. "For courtesy's sake, you can answer a few questions."
The Box Ghost floated in front of Eva. "What do you want to know?"
Eva turned to Danny and motioned that the hybrid had the floor.
"What is happening in the Ghost Zone?" asked Danny.
The Box Ghost gave Danny an annoyed look, but a growl from Eva instantly loosened the ghost's tongue. "There is a ghost tearing around the Ghost Zone. BEWARE! HE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE BOX GHOST!"
Sam looked at Danny. "You think he escaped?" she asked.
"One way to find out," said Danny. "We'll go to Clockwork."
"You're not going anywhere without us," said Eva.
Danny nodded. "Okay."
"BEWARE!" shouted the Box Ghost.
Danny aimed the thermos at him and sucked him up.
Not long after the five of them were in the Specter Speeder and racing through the Ghost Zone. Eva was sitting in the back, folded up in her seat with her head down.
"Is she asleep?" asked Sam.
Aelita looked at Eva. "No," she answered. "She does this. Eva doesn't really sleep. She closes her eyes for a few minutes and then be up and about."
"That can't be healthy," said Sam.
"It's not," said Aelita. "The times she knows she needs to sleep and she can't, she'll take cold medicine just to put her out for a few hours."
They chatted quietly so Eva could rest in peace. Mostly it was about what went on at their schools. It was a couple of hours until they were able to find Clockwork's lair. When they reached it, Danny went ghost and went to the front door.
"Are you sure it's okay to do this?" Aelita asked as they entered the clock tower.
"It's fine," said Danny. "Clockwork knows everything. He's the master of time. He already knows we're here. Any second now he'll pop up and say hello."
"No, he will not," came a voice, certainly not Clockwork's.
Everyone jumped and whirled around to the source of the voice. Two Observants were floating near the screens where Clockwork watched time flow. Eva quickly pulled Aelita behind her to protect her.
"What's going on?" asked Danny.
"Clockwork allowed Dan Phantom, your future self, to escape," said one Observant.
"What?" Tucker yelped.
"He knew this would happen," said Danny.
"But he did nothing to prevent it," said the second Observant. "Now Dan Phantom is free and tracking down the most powerful artifacts in the Ghost Zone."
"What are they?" asked Danny.
"They are called the Spirit Orbs," said the first Observant. "Two orbs, each possessing a great power. Together, they can make a ghost unstoppable."
"The Spirit Orbs are kept in separate towers far from each other," said the second Observant. "It was a precaution in case a powerful ghost tried to get them both, someone else could get the other before the ghost."
"The two orbs are the Victory Orb or the black orb and the Duality Orb or the white orb," said the first Observant. "The Victory Orb is Dan Phantom's first goal. He is on the way to the tower that houses it. You must get to the Duality Orb before he can."
"Slow down," said Sam. "There's something you're not telling us."
"And I get the feeling it's more than just one thing," said Danny, crossing his arms.
The Observants looked at each other before sighing.
"Each orb possesses its own unique power," said the first Observant. "The Victory Orb can be used by any ghost to gain unimaginable power and strength."
"The Duality Orb is different," said the second Observant. "It also gives unimaginable power to the wielder, but the only ones who can use it are one who know duality."
"Know duality?" asked Danny with a frown. "How can you know duality?"
"They must know joy and sorrow, life and death, love and hatred," said the second Observant. "These emotions must be experienced in some form in order for one to use the Duality Orb."
Sam's face lit up. "Dan can't use the Duality Orb. He doesn't know love!"
"But he can take the orb away," said the first Observant. "Part of the orbs' power is based on the strength of the wielders. The orbs can cancel each other out, but they can also overpower the other."
"It's strength of will that determines the power gained," Eva said.
"Yes," said the first Observant. "At least someone understands."
"So I could use the Duality Orb," said Danny.
"But would you gain the strength necessary to destroy Dan Phantom?" asked the second Observant.
"You tell me," said Danny. "You see the future."
The Observants exchanged nervous glances.
"We do not know," said the first Observant.
"What?" Danny, Tucker, and Sam said at the same time.
"How can you not know?" asked Danny.
"The only ghost who knows the identity of the one who can wield the Duality Orb with enough power to destroy Dan Phantom has abandoned you," said the first Observant.
"What are you talking about?" asked Danny.
"Clockwork has fled," said the first Observant. "He's left us to be destroyed. You, too, Danny Phantom."
Danny paled, his green eyes widening. Clockwork abandoned him? No, that could not be true. Clockwork would not do that. He came to Danny and told him what needed to be done. Why run away?
"Clockwork must have his reasons," Aelita spoke up.
Eva put a hand on Aelita's shoulder. "Let's worry about Clockwork and his reasons later," she said. "Right now, we have work to do. We have to get to the Duality Orb before Dan Phantom does. Where is the Duality Orb?"
"In a tower on the other side of the Ghost Zone," said the first Observant. "If you leave now, you should have enough time to get there before Dan Phantom."
"Should?" asked Tucker.
"Dan Phantom exists outside the time line," said the second Observant. "We cannot be certain of anything he does."
"Let's move," said Eva, heading for the doors.
The five of them were back in the Specter Speeder, heading for the far side of the Ghost Zone. They were taking turns resting. Sam was currently driving while Aelita, Tucker, and Danny were trying to sleep. Eva was sitting beside Sam watching what went by. She would look at the navigation system now and then to be sure they were on the right track, the Observants being kind enough to provide the coordinates for the Duality Orb's tower.
Sam looked at the clock built into the dash. "My parents are going to be ticked," she said.
Eva glanced at the clock. "My cousin will be, too," she said. "Oh, well."
"I'd tell you to call him, but there's no reception in the Ghost Zone," said Sam.
"It's better this way," said Eva. "I wouldn't know what to say to him. I certainly cannot explain this."
Eva heard a small sound and turned around. Danny was shifting uneasily in his sleep.
"Tell me about Dan Phantom," said Eva.
Sam gave a small start. "I guess you should know since you're in this with us. Dan Phantom is Danny's future self. Originally Danny lost everyone he loved and Mr. Lancer in an explosion at the Nasty Burger. Danny couldn't deal with the loss so he went to his archenemy to rid himself of his human emotions. When he did, he separated his ghost half from his human half. The ghost half attacked his enemy and stole his powers from him, creating Dan Phantom. His enemy managed to escape, but the human Danny, our Danny, was destroyed."
"You said 'originally'," Eva pointed out.
"Clockwork showed Danny what was going to happen in the future and Danny managed to contain his future self in the Fenton Thermos, which Clockwork took for safe keeping. Clockwork also stopped the explosion from happening."
"Dan Phantom needed the explosion to kill you so Danny Phantom could become Dan Phantom in the future," said Eva. "Do I have that right?"
"Yes," replied Sam.
"So why hasn't Dan Phantom disappeared?" asked Eva. "If the time line has been changed, why does Dan Phantom still exist?"
"I think there is a chance that Danny may still become Dan if something happens to us," said Sam. "He saw what happened to himself; he does not take loss well. If something happens to one of us, he'll blame himself whether he could have prevented it or not. That's just how good of a person Danny is."
Eva looked back at Danny again. His face was scrunched up like he was having a nightmare. He mumbled something in his sleep. Eva got out of her seat and went back to Danny. She scooped him up and rested his head against her shoulder. Eva began to sing softly, just as if it was Mackenzie on her shoulder and not Danny.
"The sun has set. The moon has risen. The day is done, or is it the beginning? Night is the gateway to the land of dreams. The place where everything is what you want it to be."
Eva saw Danny waking and she stroked his black hair. Danny opened his eyes and gave a start. He quickly removed himself from Eva's grip.
"Sorry," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's fine," said Eva.
"Uh, I'll take over for you, Sam," said Danny, getting up.
Sam and Danny switched places so Danny could drive. Sam took Danny's place in the back to get some rest. Eva sat in the passenger's seat. There was a long moment of silence before anyone said anything.
"You can fight," said Danny.
"Yes," said Eva.
"No, I mean you can really fight," said Danny. "I thought only people in the movies could move like that. You just. . . wow!"
"Like you, my friends and I have done things to save the world," said Eva. "Few know what we did."
"What did you do?" asked Danny.
"Saved the world from an artificial intelligence program that took on a mind of its own and wanted to take over the world," said Eva.
Danny looked at her with wide blue eyes.
"Ghosts aren't the only things out there," said Eva. "But we don't have to worry about it anymore. It's gone and it is not coming back."
"Do you miss it?" asked Danny.
"Fighting against it and saving the world?" asked Eva. "Yes, I miss it. I miss my powers as well."
"You had powers?" asked Danny.
"Well, we weren't exactly fighting in the real world," said Eva. "Virtual reality can get crazy, especially when your powers are based on your subconscious."
"Were you good?" asked Danny.
"Yes," replied Eva. "I wasn't the fastest or the strongest, but I could stay in a fight for a while."
"So you learn to fight to save the world?" asked Danny.
"No," answered Eva. "I learned to fight to survive." She put her head down. "My life is a Cinderella story, Danny, and the beginning was far worse for me than for her. Let's say that the beginning of my life prepared me for fighting to save the world."
"I think we are here," said Danny.
Eva looked up and saw a white tower supported by flying buttresses. It was larger than the towers in LYOKO and she had a feeling this was going to be like trying to get through Sector Five.
They woke the others and put a plan together. Danny would go in as Phantom and find the orb. The others were to stay as backup.
Danny got out of the Specter Speeder and was about to enter the tower.
"Hello, Danny," said a cold voice.
Danny whirled around. Dan Phantom was standing behind him, hands on his hips. Danny's eyes widened.
"Did you miss me?" asked Dan.
"Oh, no," said Sam from inside the speeder. "He's here! He's already here!"
Tucker, Aelita, and Eva went to the window and looked out. Eva paled. It was the monster from her dream.
"Have you come for the Duality Orb?" asked Dan. "If you are hoping to defeat me with it, you will be disappointed."
"You already have it?" asked Danny.
"Not as of yet," said Dan nonchalantly. "But I do have this." Dan held up a black orb the size of a grapefruit. "Ready?"
Dan crushed the orb and black energy swept over his body. It turned green and Dan sighed. "Ah, the power is amazing!" He looked at Danny. "Don't worry, Danny. I need you alive. How else would I come into existence if you do not exist? But I need something else; the death of your friends!"
"Run!" Danny shouted. He put his hands up and fired and ecto-blast at Dan.
"You heard him!" said Tucker, jumping into the driver's seat.
"Let me drive," said Aelita, pushing him aside. "It's not my first time driving something like this to escape an enemy."
Aelita expertly steered the Specter Speeder away from the tower, using anything and everything that floated about the Ghost Zone to her advantage.
"Cool, Aelita," said Sam. "Where did you learn to do this?"
"Not the time to answer," said Aelita. She looked in the rearview mirror. Danny and Dan were behind them and Danny was trying to keep Dan occupied.
"We need to get the Duality Orb," said Sam.
"I know, but how?" asked Tucker.
"Eva, do you have any ideas?" Aelita called back to her friend. There was no answer. "Eva?"
Tucker and Sam turned around. Eva was gone. Tucker and Sam exchanged confused and surprised looks. When had Eva disappeared?
Hearing there was no answer from Eva and the silence from Tucker and Sam, Aelita figured what had happened. "She's two steps ahead of us," Aelita said. "She'll get the Duality Orb for us."
Eva had slipped out the door after she saw Dan Phantom. She was not going to let that monster destroy her family after all she'd been through to save the world and her loved ones from XANA. She was going to do whatever it took to get that Duality Orb.
The tower's entrance hall was decorated with banners. Large columns rose to the top of the tower. There was a staircase that spiraled around the support column of the tower. Eva ran to the stairs and began climbing them.
Danny was doing everything he could to fight off Dan. Dan was almost too powerful for Danny. Danny knew that Dan wasn't going to kill him, he said so himself, but he could certainly beat him so badly that he wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop him from hurting one of his friends.
Danny wasn't sure what he was going to do. How could he defeat someone who knew his every move before he made it? Dan was Danny! Danny would have to improvise. Using what he saw Eva using last night at the dance, Danny attacked. His movements were a bit clumsy, but it put Dan Phantom off-guard for a moment.
Inside the tower, Eva looked out a window and saw the fight. They were very close to the tower, too close for Eva's liking, but she could make out what they were saying. If Danny could keep playing for time, Eva could have the Duality Orb in her possession.
"Clever," said Dan. "You used a move I did not learn before the explosion of the Nasty Burger. You're smarter than I remember."
Danny gave a short laugh. "I remembered what happened with my ghostly wail. I learned it ten years before you did. If time has been altered, I should know things that you don't."
"But yet you still become me," said Dan. "As long as I exist, you will become me no matter what you do."
"How about I wipe you from existence?" snapped Danny, attacking with another ghost ray.
Dan simply deflected it with his hand. "I'm getting bored. How about I destroy your friends?"
Dan duplicated, sending his duplicate off to find Sam, Tucker, and Aelita.
"No!" Danny yelled.
"Crud!" hissed Eva, bolting up the stairs.
Danny sucked in a breath and used his ghostly wail on the duplicate. The duplicate was destroyed. Now Danny was left almost powerless and Dan was upon him. Dan shot Danny in the back and Danny fell onto the steps of the tower.
Eva pushed open a large pair of doors and entered a chamber. In the middle was a white glowing orb sitting on a cushion.
"That must be it," said Eva.
But between her and her goal was an obstacle course of blades and clubs. Eva figured as soon as she stepped off onto the course, it would start moving and try to cut her down. She snorted. This was not much different from LYOKO, only that she would die if she got hit instead of devirtualized.
"Okay," said Eva, preparing herself. "Here we go."
Eva got a running start and the obstacle course began to move. Blades swung from the ceiling, the floor shifted to reveal hidden spikes, and clubs turned on wheels, all threatening to kill her if she was not careful. Eva hopped, jumped, flipped, and slid over and under the obstacles. She finally made it to the orb. She took it from its place on the cushion.
"I've got you," she said.
There was a crash below her. It sounded like Dan Phantom was pummeling Danny into a pulp. Eva could not go back the way she came. She looked around the room. There was a window.
Danny let out several cries of pain as Dan kicked him repeatedly.
"This hurts me just as much as it hurts you, Danny," said Dan, grinning.
Danny finally returned to human form.
Dan looked up at the ceiling. "Now for the Duality Orb. I have to make sure you can't use it against me."
Dan floated up to the top of the stairs and opened the door. His evil smile vanished when he saw the Duality Orb was gone.
"What? No!" he yelled.
Outside, Eva was dragging Danny out to where Aelita had parked the Specter Speeder.
"Let's go," said Eva. "Hurry!"
Aelita opened up the throttle and they flew out of there as fast as they could.
Dan Phantom destroyed the wall and burst out of the tower. In a fit of rage he used his ghostly wail to reduce the white tower to rubble.
"Danny?" Tucker and Sam called to him.
Eva stretched Danny out of the floor. He was bleeding from the various wounds he sustained.
"Take us home, Aelita," Eva said. She turned to Tucker and Sam. "Is there a first aid kit?"
"There should be," said Sam. She began looking for it.
A particular nasty cut on Danny's arm was bleeding badly. It needed immediate attention.
"I can't find it," said Sam.
"It should be there," said Tucker.
A streak of black caught Tucker's eye. He turned and saw Eva had taken her T-shirt off. Eva ripped it into strips and began to wrap Danny's arm.
Tucker and Sam stared at Eva. She had a camisole on, so she was not indecent. What they were looking at were the scars on her shoulders and back. Her left shoulder looked like someone had used it for a pin cushion and the scars looked fresh there.
Eva knew they were staring at her. She ignored them and continued to treat Danny's injuries the best she could with what she had. When she finished, she leaned back, observing Danny.
"Sam, you said that Danny had an enemy," Eva said. "This enemy split Danny into his human and his ghost halves, yes?"
"That's right," said Sam.
Eva was silent for a moment, formulating a plan in her head.
Aelita understood this silence. "What are you thinking about, Eva?"
"We need to go to Danny's enemy," said Eva.
"What?" asked Sam.
"Go to Plasmius?" asked Tucker. "That is insane!"
"I am going to assume that Danny's parents do not know he is Danny Phantom or you wouldn't have been covering for him back at the mall, yes?" said Eva.
"Yes," Tucker said in a small voice.
"Does this Plasmius know about Fenton and Phantom?" asked Eva.
"Yes," Tucker said again.
"We'll go to Plasmius," said Eva. "Something must be done to help Danny."
"Danny is a fast healer," said Tucker.
"Tucker, look at him!" cried Sam. "He's been beaten to a pulp. Even with the enhanced healing abilities it's going to take some time."
"We don't exactly have time right now," said Aelita. "Dan Phantom is out there doing who knows what with those orbs."
"Dan can't use the Duality Orb, remember?" asked Tucker. "Because I sure do."
"Without the Duality Orb, we can't stop him," said Sam. "We need to help Danny. I don't like the idea of it, but we're going to need all the help we can get. Plasmius will probably do this for us this one time. After all, Dan Phantom took Plasmius' ghost half from him, too."
"Ghost half?" asked Aelita. "Plasmius is also half-ghost?"
"His name is Vlad Plasmius," said Tucker. "He is also — "
"Vlad Masters," finished Eva, her eyes widening. "I knew there was a reason I did not like him. The eyes screamed bad guy."
"There's some bad blood between Vlad and Danny's father," said Tucker. "It's a long story."
"Let's concern ourselves with Danny," said Aelita. "Eva, I presume you have a way to get Vlad on our side."
"I think I can persuade him," Eva said.
Once they exited the Ghost Zone, they had to leave the Specter Speeder behind. It was late now, the sun having set over two hours ago. Jazz was hysterical when she saw her little brother beaten bloody and refused to take them to see Plasmius.
Aelita hummed. "A powerful, important man like Vlad Masters; you can't just walk in without an appointment."
"We don't exactly have a choice," said Eva with a biting tone. She looked at Jazz with a dark look.
"I think Dad has his number somewhere," said Jazz with a resigned sigh. Jazz left the lab to get the phone number.
There was an awkward silence between the four of them.
"How did you get those scars?" Tucker asked Eva.
"Like I told Danny, my life started out worse than Cinderella's," Eva said. "This is not the time to discuss it."
Jazz came back downstairs with the first aid kit. "His secretary says he's booked. I can't get an appointment until next week!"
"We don't have that kind of time," said Aelita.
Eva and Jazz began to properly bandage Danny's injuries. Aelita and Eva observed that Danny did in fact heal very quickly.
"Where does Vlad live?" asked Eva.
"In a mansion on the outskirts of town," replied Jazz. "Why?"
Eva smirked. "I think I know how to get that appointment."
Aelita frowned nervously. "Eva, why do I get the feeling you're going to go back to old habits?"
Eva shifted her dark gaze to Aelita.
Aelita sighed. "That's what I thought."