OKAY, HERE'S CHAPTER 7! I DON'T OWN DANNY PHANTOM OR ANY OF THE RELATED CHARACTERS, NOR DO I OWN THE EPISODE 'KINDRED SPIRITS.' I DO, HOWEVER, OWN THE ORIGINAL IDEAS BEHIND THE RECREATION OF THIS EPISODE.

ENJOY!

CHAPTER 7

Vlad had already ignited his hands with his distinctly-colored ectoplasm, and Danny briefly realized that in any other situation, he might laugh at the thought of something pink being dangerous. Now, however, he knew that he could very easily die here. Vlad possessed an immeasurably larger amount of experience in the use of their ghost powers, and even as advanced as the teen had become, Danny's own ability paled in comparison to the older man's.

Danny saw Vlad's hands clench into fists, knew that he should move before it was too late, but simply watched as the villain's feet came into contact with the floor and brought him closer. There was no more than four feet between the two of them when a familiar voice echoed through the destroyed lab, halting Vlad mid-stride.

"What happened? Daddy, are you okay?"

As Vlad turned to see the source of the query, Danny caught a glimpse of Danielle's shocked face, which briefly vanished behind Vlad's flapping cape. Danny listened to their conversation, still paralyzed with what he finally recognized as fear.

"Danielle, dearest! You're home! To answer your question, I am fine. But unfortunately, it seems young Fenton was more determined than we thought. He's destroyed your brother."

"What? But, how?" Danni gasped. "No. It doesn't matter. Where is he?"

Vlad turned aside, affording Danielle a view of her "cousin," at the same time gesturing with his left hand toward the renowned ghost boy.

Danielle's face clouded with rage. "You!" She half-yelled, half-growled, shifting into her ghost form. "You're gonna pay for what you did to my brother! And trying to hurt my dad!"

Danny didn't immediately acknowledge; he was still trying to shake off the fear-induced stupor clouding his mind. "I just-" He clenched his jaw, willing clarity to return to his thoughts. "Your brother? That was just a clone of me! Technically, you're a clone of me!" Danny paused and pointed at Vlad. "And you're not even worth his time! To him, you're just a failure like all the others; he even used my DNA to stabilize the other clone while you were gone, and I can guarantee he was going to destroy you the moment you got back from wherever the heck it was you were!"

"You're a liar!" Danni returned, drifting upward as she allowed her ghost form to hover several inches from the floor.

"Am I?" Asked Danny. "Ask your 'dad' and find out for yourself!"

Danielle's eyes flicked toward Vlad. "He's lying, isn't he, Dad?"

"Of course he is, Dear. The only reason I gave the DNA to the clone was to be sure it would not be harmful to you. I couldn't take the risk of destroying you while trying to help you."

Danielle returned her attention to Danny. "See? I told you!"

"And you still don't think he could be lying to you? He told me himself that every clone besides your 'brother' was a mistake, and that includes you."

"No! I'm done listening to you!" Danielle charged her hands with ectoplasmic energy and sent a blast toward Danny.

Danny turned sideways in response, allowing the energy to pass harmlessly to the side, then fisted his hands, calling forth his own power. The summoned ectoplasm immediately fizzled out. "What the-!" Danny attempted again to ignite his hands, but without success. Unnidden, a ring of light appeared around his waist, splitting into two as his weakened ghost half was forced to retreat from the physical world and take shelter within his body.

Vlad grinned and turned to face Danny. "It seems, my boy, that you've used up your power."

Danny looked down, taking in the sight of his now-obviously human body. He was once more clothed in his blue jeans and white t-shirt with a red oval on the chest. His arms, no longer covered by his black-and-white jumpsuit, were bare; his body no longer glowed. He briefly noticed the electrical burns on his arms and wrists caused by Vlad's earlier treatment.

The only thing Danny could manage to say was "Oh, jeez" before a blast of green light impacted with his chest, knocked him into the air and sent him hurtling backward. He ended up crammed inside Vlad's machine again, this time with an assortment of cuts on his left shoulder and arm as he clipped one side of the shattered window on the way in. The resistance at his left side had jerked him sideways as he landed, leaving his injured side exposed and his left leg hanging from the front of the machine; a shard of glass was digging into the back of his calf. He heard Danni's boots crushing more glass as she approached from her position next to Vlad.

"You're weak." She said. "Just like a liar should be."

Danny saw the girl's hand reach for him and slapped it away, wincing with pain as his lacerated arm objected to the movement. "Why would I lie to you? Tell me what reason I could possibly have for keeping the truth from you."

"You hate my dad. You want me to turn against him!"

"But I don't-"

"But nothing!" Danielle reached forward again and buried her hands in the front of Danny's shirt. She dragged him out of the machine, dropped him on the floor, and planted her left foot on his chest to pin him down.

Danny grabbed the girl's ankle. "So that's it? You're just going to kill me? You don't even know my half of the story!"

Vlad, who had been silent up to this point, gave a low chuckle. "Daniel, please. That would imply that the world is in some way fair. And we both know it's not."

"Shut up, Plasmius!" Yelled Danny, feeling a decrease in pressure as Danielle lifted her foot from his chest. "I wasn't-" He was cut off when Danni kicked him in the face; she replaced her foot on top of his ribcage, applying more pressure than before.

"Don't talk to my dad like that!"

Danny turned his head and spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor. "He's my worst enemy! I'm not going to kiss his feet! You're just lucky I don't have my ghost powers right now or I'd-"

He was halted mid-syllable as Danni bent over him and dug her fingers into his windpipe. "What would you do? You'd have to go through me! And we both know that you're too weak. Not to mention I'm stronger."

Danny clenched his jaw and held his breath. No point in arguing. He couldn't breathe enough to speak, anyway.

Vlad jumped in again. "Danielle, be a dear and kill him for me, will you?"

"But, Dad, couldn't I toy with him for a bit? Besides, you could use him to start a new clone, right?"

"It's too risky, Dear. He might recover and harm one of us. No. We need him dead. Now."

Danielle hesitated. Her grip on Danny's throat eased.

"Did you hear me, Danielle?"

"Yeah. I just. . . ."

"Then take care of it. Now."

Danielle turned her attention back to Danny. He was grinning.

The girl frowned at him. "What's so funny?"

Danny's response was to jerk himself to the right and roll away from Danielle, forcing her to let go of his neck. Of course he was headed straight for Vlad, but that was part of the plan. He might be weak, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Sorry it took me so long to get this uploaded! I've been pretty busy lately, what with a big test coming up, not to mention I haven't had my normal urge to write lately. I think this chapter is pretty weak, but I'm looking forward to the next one; it should be better!