A/N: Hi. So, first time using Pages to type up and post a chapter, so let's see how this works out. Also, my chem class is officially done, so I finally have time to write!
Also, you'll be happy to know I've almost finished the sequel to this, so it'll actually be blasted out (hopefully) once it's complete. And then I'll be writing up the third story, which will be a Psych cross-over and have a bit more humor in it while retaining the angst level, so that'll be interesting to balance out.
Chapter playlist: "E for Extinction" by Thousand Foot Krutch, "Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin, "Gone Forever" by Three Days Grace, and "Savior" by Rise Against.
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Danny slumped back against the wall, blankly staring at what was left of the corpse. It took a moment, but he finally dragged his eyes away to look up at the three who had also fired.
Reid knelt beside him, speaking rapidly, but none of it managed to compute for Danny. Hotch was crouched over the remains, probably taking unnecessary vitals. Morgan stood in one of the doorways, gun still drawn but aim moving between the other two doors to make sure no other ghosts caught them off-guard.
Danny merely sat for a while, a buzzing noise in his ears as his brain tried to catch up with what had happened in the last few moments. During Vlad's rant, he had curled up to hide the fact that he was charging an ectoblast. Apparently, the BAU agents had managed to arrive and shoot at the same time as Danny. The four blasts had converged—
And turned Vlad into the pile of ashes and bones before him.
The white noise changed slightly, becoming something muffled as Danny blinked at the corpse, not quite taking it in or even believing it.
"Hey, kid."
Danny jumped slightly, staring up at Morgan, who squatted next to him. A quick glance showed him that Hotch had taken over guard duty and Reid had stopped his rambling. He looked back at Morgan, still looking dazed and confused.
Morgan gave him a slight smile, hoping to calm and reassure him some. "Can we check your arm and ankle?"
Danny stared for a moment, wondering how he knew before he realized he was cradling the two injured limbs close to his body. There was a short pause, then Danny nodded and unfolded his body, holding the limbs out for inspection.
Morgan studied the ankle first, tenderly massaging it to check where the pain was. Danny winced throughout the whole of his check, but only hissed when he went directly over the ankle bone. Morgan looked back at Danny, locking on to the (once again) guarded blue eyes and saying only, "It looks like a bad sprain, but I doubt it's broken."
Danny nodded, knowing instinctively that Morgan was right.
Reid, however, frowned. "But, it was fractured three days ago!" His brow furrowed as he glanced at Danny. "How'd you get rid of the casts, anyway?"
Danny shrugged. "Didn't need them," he answered, voice scratchy from the screaming and choking from earlier. "Phased 'em off. Heal faster than most."
Reid's eyes widened as he thought that through. "Right, your ghost form speeds things up. That's why you needed so much painkillers in order to get the right affect."
Danny nodded.
Morgan rolled his eyes at the geekfest. He interrupted Reid's next question to ask for Danny to let him check his arms. He looked over the arm that had been cut first, seeing that it was already scabbing over and just needed to be bandaged again. Then he moved on to the previously-broken arm.
At the first touch, Danny grimaced. As Morgan began massaging to find where the pain originated, Danny whimpered, the noise slowly and steadily increasing in intensity. Morgan let go of the limb, allowing Danny to cradle it to his chest once more.
"That one's still broken," Morgan murmured.
"No, ya think?" Danny bit back, rolling his eyes. He winced as his arm throbbed.
Hotch saw the wince as he came over. "We should check on the others, see if they've found the hostages."
Danny scowled. "Why should we?"
Reid's brow furrowed again. "Don't you want to see your family now that Vlad's gone?"
At the word "family," Danny's eyes went dull. He hunched in on himself, blocking out the agents as much as he could. "What's the point?" he mumbled. "They're all gone, too."
"Really? You seriously gave up on us that quick?"
Morgan and Reid watched, amused, as Danny's eyes practically doubled in size as he looked up at the new arrivals.
A redhead girl stood at the forefront of the small group of three that had come in the far door. She had her hands on her hips, smirking at Danny's shocked face. "Really, little brother, I expected better from you."
Danny seemed torn between joy and suspicion. His eyes narrowed and he stared the three down as he decided on the latter. "How do I know it's really you and not a clone?"
Hotch, Morgan, and Reid watched the exchange in silence, wondering how the three would get Danny to trust them.
The girl, Jazz, rolled her eyes. "You tore apart my teddy bear to get me in a childish state of mind so I could see Youngblood when he made you come across as crazy."
"What was the bear's name?" Danny demanded.
"Bearbert Einstein," Jazz responded almost instantaneously.
Danny grinned. "I'm still not gonna apologize for it."
Jazz crossed her arms, half-heartedly grumbling, "Of course you're not…."
The two standing behind Jazz chuckled, drawing Danny's attention.
His eyes narrowed once more. "How do I trust you two, now?"
The elder man shrugged, unable to come up with an idea while the younger rolled his eyes. "When Desirée first attacked Amity Park, she gave me ghost powers, too."
Danny practically glared at Tuck, hissing, "Ix-nay on the owers-pay!"
Jazz sighed. "Mom and Dad know, Danny." Danny turned his glare on her as their father blushed. "We told them when Vlad grabbed us, just before he staged our deaths."
Jack Fenton moved forward, shuffling his feet and barely able to make eye contact with his son. "We're both sorry for attacking you, Danny. Well, attacking the ghost you." He shyly met Danny's shocked gaze. "We're proud of you, Danny, and we should've realized Vlad was bad news." His gaze moved down to the corpse, murmuring, "Kinda too late now, though, isn't it? Good riddance, I say."
Danny's mouth twitched into a vague smile. "Yeah, it kinda is." Danny glanced to Reid, silently asking for help getting up.
Morgan and Reid each took a side to support Danny as he wobbled to his feet. Once he was standing, the three in the doorway rushed over to hug him. Danny winced a bit but smiled, happily allowing them to continue.
Reid grinned at the image, the grin widening when he saw Hotch hiding his own smile. Morgan, however, nodded towards the side door he'd come from earlier.
A woman stood in the doorway, a sad smile on her face as she watched the four hugging. When she noticed Reid's gaze, she put a finger to her lips, winking.
Reid blinked, but nodded, wondering what she was planning. Her smile widened, turning into something happier than it had been.
The hug continued, the three former hostages happily chattering while Danny tried to just keep up with them all. Finally, they noticed his winces and backed up a moment, Jazz worrying over the grimace he showed.
"You're hurt!" she cried. "I know I shouldn't be all that surprised, seeing as that's a norm with you, but still!" Her hands went to her hips once more, foot tapping angrily. "Who's been taking care of you? I ought to give them a piece of my mind, letting you get hurt like this!"
"Jazz!" Danny exclaimed, blushing wildly. "The BAU's taking care of me, and it wasn't even their fault I got hurt!" His blush deepened. "B—Besides, they already checked me over."
"And?" Her arms were crossed, foot tapping even faster.
"Sprained ankle, broken arm, cuts scabbing over," he muttered succinctly, motioning to each as he mentioned them.
Jazz's aquamarine eagle eyes glanced over each injury before scrutinizing the two BAU agents before her. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll save them my wrath." Her arms came uncrossed so she could wag a finger at all three. "But only for now, and only if they get you to a hospital ASAP."
"Seconded," a new voice declared.
All four of the Amity Parkers' eyes went wide as they spun to face the newcomer. Danny gaped at her before whispering, "Mom?"
She gathered him into her arms, murmuring, "Slava bogu…. Moy ryebyenok, vi byezopasni. Ya zdyes, vi byezopasni."
He practically clung to her, whispering something back.
Morgan motioned Reid and Hotch off to one side. As they met up, he asked, "What the heck did she just say?"
Morgan and Hotch both were watching Reid, waiting for an answer.
Reid shrugged. "Like Elle said, I'm only a genius in English."
Morgan groaned as Rossi and Prentiss came in. Prentiss grinned at the sight of Danny reuniting with his friend and family. Rossi, meanwhile, glanced at Reid, wondering, "Why are we worrying about a foreign language and Reid's lack of knowledge?"
Hotch simply nodded at the mother-son pair as they continued to mumble to each other.
The nod brought the two to Prentiss' attention, as well. She frowned as she listened to them. "That's Russian," she muttered to her teammates. "He's telling her he's okay and she's reassuring him that they're here and he's safe."
Reid blinked at her. "...Danny knows Russian? Since when?"
Prentiss shrugged. "From the accent and fluidity, I'd say from birth. His mom, too."
All four glanced at Hotch as he stated, "She's probably a Russian immigrant. She would've wanted her kids to know the language."
"Danny?" another voice called.
Wide-eyed, Danny turned to stare at the black-haired, violet-eyed girl that stood in the doorway Reid and Prentiss both had used. He pulled away from his mom, limping towards the girl. "S—Sam?"
She grinned at him. "Took you long enough, ghost boy."
He lunged forwards, nearly tackling her in a hug. "Sam! You're alive! B—But, the—the you that died d—didn't have a b—barcode…."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Vlad had to freak you out, after all."
"B—But, she told me to save them…."
The girl grabbed onto his shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Yeah, 'cause I taught the clones that phrase, in case you ever got to one of 'em before they died." She smirked. "I had to make sure you didn't give up on us somehow."
He hugged her tighter, murmuring, "You're alive. A—All of you are alive!"
Danielle, Valerie, and JJ ran into the room, each panting. "About that whole being alive thing," Danielle began.
Danny's brow furrowed. "Dani? And Val? What're you two—?"
"No time for that!" Val exclaimed, trying to push people towards the doors. "This place is rigged!"
The group stared at them, confused.
"We can't get the clones out," JJ stated. "All the doors to their holding cells are wired with explosives."
"And each started counting down a minute ago," Danielle added. "We have two minutes to get out of here before this whole place blows sky high!"
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A/N: What, did you guys think the angst and suspense was over or something? *dodges thrown fruit* Erm, immagonowpleasereadandreview!
