Chapter 7: Afternoon of Doomed

"Ow…ow…" Danielle muttered as Sam finished bandaging her hands.

"I'm just glad they weren't that bad. First degree at best. But maybe this will teach you not to downplay your injuries," Sam said with a satisfied smirk. After applying the last bandage and securing it, Sam pulled out a pair of fingerless black gloves, holding them out to Danielle. Danielle looked at her confused but still took them. Sam smiled. "They're to cover up the bandages. No need to worry your grandparents or your aunt. Plus, we don't want the press getting word of all this. God knows what they'd do with information like that."

"That makes sense," she said as she slowly and carefully slipped the gloves onto her hands, wincing slightly at the pain. Once the gloves were finally on, she adjusted the straps so they weren't so tight around her slightly singed wrist. Satisfied with the way they felt, she flexed her fingers a few times before looking back at Sam with a smile on her face. "Thanks, Mom. I'm gonna go find Dad and see if he can make some ice for my hands." Danielle quickly hopped off her seat on the lid of the toilet and planted a small kiss on Sam's cheek, surprising her.

Sam watched as the young pre-teen exited the bathroom and made her way down the hallway toward the stairs in search of her father. Placing a hand on her cheek, Sam couldn't help the small smile playing at her lips. "Maybe I can get used to this," she said to herself before turning around to clean and pack up the first aid kit.

"Hey, Dad!" Danielle called as she made her way into the basement where she could hear the sounds of the TV via the movie theater speakers it was attached to.

"Yeah?" Danny said over his shoulder, keeping his eyes glued to the screen.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked as she walked over to the couch he was sitting on, looking over his shoulder at the screen. She stared, confused, as what looked like virtual versions of Danny and Tucker fought what looked like a giant monster made completely out of stone, while the real versions continued to work the controllers in their hands with headsets on their heads.

"We're playing an online game, Doomed. And right now, we're trying to- Danny, watch out! Six o'clock!" Tucker shouted as the ground under neither his friends character began to shake violently before a second monster came up in an explosion of fury, flinging him backwards. The monster roared as electricity flowed from the large electrical tower on it back and into its long eight legs. The creature, resembling a tarantula, had long yellow hairs that colored its entire body, streaks of orange creating a pattern on its back and thorax.

"Oh great. Just what we need. As if fighting the Crater Creature wasn't hard enough, now we gotta deal with the Elrachnid," Danny said as he maneuvered his character, GHOSTBOY, behind a rock, barely avoiding getting electrocuted.

"So, Dad, why are you guys wearing headsets if you're sitting right next to each other? " Danielle asked with a small giggle at their frustration.

"It helps us focus and gives us the ability to use voice commands," Danny said with a smirk as he pushed the mouthpiece closer to his mouth. "For example, ACTIVATE ICY AIRSTRIKE!"

Danielle looked back up at the screen to see GHOSTBOY pull out what seemed to be a blue and black remote. She watched a smirk identical to her father's come across his face, making her wonder just how exactly a game could be that interactive, that it could actually mirror the person it was designed by, but ignored that as he pressed a few buttons on it. The room grew silent before the unmistakable sound of a plane engine resounded around from the speakers. The screen quickly changed to show a green targeting system as it scanned and locked onto the giant eight legged creature. The screen changed again to show a huge black bombardier plane with the initials 'GB' on it as it came threw a swirling blue portal. The virtual plane soared high above the battlefield as it opened its Bombay doors, releasing six atomic sized bombs. One after the other, the bombs hit the ground, exploding and sending giant waves of blue mist that swept across most of the battlefield, just barely missing where the Crater Creature and FRYERTUCK, Tucker's character, were still fighting. The Elrachnid screeched as it was swallowed up in the explosion, effectively freezing all its movement. Danielle's jaw dropped in both amazement and shock at what she had just witnessed.

"What the HELL was that!" she yelled, leaning more over the couch.

"Hey! Watch the language, young lady," Danny said sternly. Though he knew for a fact that he himself was not one to talk with how much he swore, he still didn't want her to get into the habit of doing it in front of him or other adults and getting herself into trouble. Danielle, however, simply rolled her eyes. "Who taught you that, anyway?"

"What the HELL was that?" Sam yelled in annoyance as she walked down the stairs and into the room. Danny face-palmed, though he knew he shouldn't have been surprised while Danielle simply smirked at him.

"Ok, I probably should have seen that one coming. And that, my dear Sam, was the sound of the Elrachnid getting what was coming to it via the Fenton Icy Airstrike," he gloated.

"Um, you may want to rethink that victory party, commander ice," she said, pointing to the screen where they watched as the ice covered creature began to shake, the ice splitting down in various places before flying everywhere in a massive explosion, setting the spider free. The Elrachnid roared in anger as it slammed its legs on the ground, destroying the rest of the ice around the battlegrounds.

"Oh man! What are we gonna do now? There's no way to stop them," Tucker said in panic. The worry quickly left his face as an idea crept into his mind. Tucker turned to his best friend, smiling creepily. "Hey, Danny. How about a power boost?"

"No way, Tucker. That's cheating, and I'm not going to do that. Obviously there's gotta be a way to win if other people have done it," Danny said.

"Doing what?" Danielle asked.

"Once when we were fighting Technus, we found out that as a ghost, you can enter the game and I was able to use my powers to get through the levels 20 times faster than normal."

"Whoa! This is so cool!"

"Yea, but unless there's a ghost in there that poses a threat of some sort, I'm not doing it."

"I'll do it!" Danielle said in excitement. "How often could you say that you've actually been to a virtual world? I say we do it!"

"No, you're not. We're just gonna have to beat it like everyone else; with teamwork and strategy. Plus, I don't want you getting hurt." Danny said, turning back to the screen only to see a flash of yellow light before watching GHOSTBOY and FRYERTUCK go flying into a nearby building.

"Yea, cuz that seems to be working out so well for you right now," Sam said with a roll of her eyes. Grabbing a third headset and controller, she quickly hopped over the couch, taking up the middle spot between the two boys and logging into her account.

"No way. You too?" Danielle asked.

"You better believe it," she said with a grin. "I started playing to prove that girls could play just as good, if not better, than boys, and spent months wiping the floor with these two and about a hundred other nerds. Sufis to say, I think I proved my point," she said as a black and purple muscular character with Sam's signature high ponytail on its head spawned on screen. The name CHAOS popped up under the other two with a full life bar and three lives.

"Alright! The cavalry has arrived!" FRYERTUCK said as he threw a yellow disk at the stone creature that exploded in a flash of light.

"No time to celebrate, Tuck. If this is gonna work, we're gonna have to take one of them out first. But to do that, we still have to get past the problem of distracting the other," CHAOS said.

"Can I play?" Danielle asked as she placed her chin on Danny's shoulder.

"Sorry, Ellie, but it'd be way too complicated to try to teach you to use the controls right now," Danny said. "Each character is unique and has different combinations of attacks that work together in a sequence. Like mine's based on ice attacks, mostly used to slow my enemies down. Sam's are darkness which can be used to confuse them, while Tucker's are all tech based so they can't be effected by spells that would normally be ineffective against magic users."

"But that's not fair," she said. "Fine, whatever. I don't wanna play anyway," she grumbled as she flopped into an open recliner next to the couch, arms crossed as she pouted slightly at the screen.

"Ah come one, don't pout," Danny said, feeling bad that he was blowing her off. "I'll make it up to you later, I promise. I'll teach you everything I know, and I'll even help you design your character."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go upstairs and use Mom's computer," she said as she turned intangible, jumping off the cushioned seat, and threw the ceiling.

"Danielle!" he said before his shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. "Great, now she hates me."
"Dude, she's twelve. And Sam and yours daughter, which may possibly make her the most stubborn person in the history of the world, and possibly the Ghost Zone too," Tucker said with a laugh. Sam, however, did not take too kindly to the comment. Moving the joystick over a bit, Sam watched as CHAOS sidestepped a giant boulder that was flying toward him before it smashed into FRYERTUCK. "Hey!" he yelled as the smirk fell from his face.

"You know, you'd think you'd learn not to open his mouth sometimes," Sam said smugly. "But he's right, Danny. She will get over it. Just cuz she's even more stubborn then you are, doesn't mean she won't get over something little like this."

"Hey!" Danny said, but couldn't help smiling. "I guess you guys are right. Now, let's get going on this game," he said as he got back into the game, his spirit revitalized.

GHOSTBOY quickly pressed a button on his right wrist gauntlet, causing his black gloved hands to glow a bright blue.

"Hey, Rockhead! Try this one on for size!" he yelled as he held up his hands and blasted a bright beam at the monster, rewarded with a low rumble as it slowly started to freeze over and lose mobility.

"Nice shot," FRYERTUCK said.

"Yea, but it won't hold him for long, so we'd better take care of the spider fast."

The three characters turned to see a web flying at them. Before any of them could react, they were hit and sent flying backwards at a fast speed before feeling the impact of themselves getting stuck to the wall. They all began to struggle in an attempt to get free of the netting, but soon stopped their efforts as a huge jolt of lightning hit them, effectively immobilizing them. The three virtual characters peered up to see the electrified monster making its way toward them.

"Well, so much for taking care of the spider," CHAOS said. "For the record, I blame both of you."

"Jeez. It'd take a miracle to us out of this now," GHOSTBOY said.

"NEW PLAYER HAS ENTERED THE GAME" the computer chimed as a forth screen name popped up under the other three.

"GHOSTNINJA? Who the hell is that?" GHOSTBOY said as he gazed at the empty battlefield in front of him.

"Ha! And you were just trying to scold Danielle about saying that," FRYERTUCK said, only to receive a glare from his partner. Before he could respond, the air was filled with the sound of a slash and then another as the thick electrical wiring that restrained them split into shreds and broke apart, freeing the combatants from their prison against the wall.

As they landed on the ground, trying to regain mobility and the strength to use their abilities again, they came face to face with the new player who had freed them. Before them stood a person, though they were unable to tell if they were male or female, with what most people knew was basic armor, which surprised them. A skin tight black suit with green cyber wiring, that all players had, hugged their body. In the center of the chest was a circle with the initials 'GN' which was also written in bright neon green letters. The suit was adorned with matching green gloves, boots and a belt that held pouches on the right side with numerous ninja weapons while the on the left rested the hilts of what appeared to be a pair of thin broadswords. On the players head rested a virtual see threw visor, the lenses the same green as the rest of their outfit, and a sleek black helmet that covered the rest of their head, the only thing visible being a long white ponytail.

"Uh, thanks, kid," GHOSTBOY said as he massaged his wrist. "But, who are you, and how did you get into our mission session?" he asked in annoyance that the random person had possibly hacked into their server.

"Does it really matter?" they asked in a deep scrambled voice, much like one you'd hear from a voice changer. "Also, is that how you thank someone who just saved you? If you want to beat these things, you're going to need my help." GHOSTNINJA grabbed the hilt of a sword in each hand, and drew them from the belt. In an instant, the blades started to glow with green energy as they seemed to come to life in the player's hands.

"The kid's right," FRYERTUCK said. "If we really wanna stand a chance against these things, we're gonna have to pair off into teams of two. Only question is who gets stuck with the noob."

"I call the techno-geek strategist!" CHAOS said, grabbing FRYERTUCK.

"Sweet! Mega powerhouse with extra bonuses and cheat codes sounds good to me!"

"Ugh, fine," GHOSTBOY said, smacking a hand against his forehead. "You guys take the walking statue. We'll take the eight legged bug zapper."

FRYERTUCK and CHAOS nodded and made a dash for the Crater Creature who was starting to break free of his icy prison.

"So, do you have a plan?" GHOSTNINJA asked.

"Maybe. But I'm gonna need to know what skills you have."

"My specialty is lightning based attacks. I can use and absorb it. I'm also armed to the teeth with weapons, including my swords."

"Well, the lightning isn't going to help us much. Can you use it to enhance your abilities any?"

"Yes. The electricity can increase my speed as well as give me the ability to fly."

"Ok. We might be able to use that to our advantage. You ready for this, noob?" he said with a smirk.

GHOSTNINJA glared up at him, standing only at about his waist, before pointing the blade in their right hand at GHOSTBOY in warning. "Listen, and listen good because I will only say this once: I am not a noob!"

"That's not what your armor and status say," he said, unfazed by the threat. Having spent so many hours playing, it was easy to spot a noob anywhere, but it did make him wonder how someone of such low status had been able to obtain such strong weapons though he didn't ask.

GHOSTNINJA glared at him before turning back to the spider who was no less than 30 feet away from them. "Whatever."

"Yea, that's what I thought. By the way, sorry about earlier. You really saved our butts. But I gotta know; who are you?"

"Do you wanna ask questions, or do you wanna kick some butt?" they said, eyeing the spider.

Back in reality, Danny's eyes flew open as the words of the player went through his ear via the headset on his head, and into his mind. Danny's clear blue eyes stared first at the screen in surprise, but soon flashed green in rage. Without hesitation, Danny used his controller to command GHOSTBOY to fire an ice beam, but instead of aiming at his opponent, he fired upon his own teammate. GHOSTNINJA let out a strangled gasp as they felt their body begin to slow down and all the power start to temporarily drain from their body. The feeling was colder than anything they had ever felt in their entire life, and soon the feeling overcame them, making it impossible to even try to move. GHOSTBOY walked forward slowly, gazing over everything about the player in front of him; the shape of the body, the quick temper, the white hair held in a ponytail. In a swift yank, the helmet that rested over GHOSTNINJA's head was off, revealing a full head of white hair, familiar pale skin and vibrant neon green eyes.

"DANIELLE!" Danny screeched in the microphone, making both Sam and Tucker cringe at the feedback in their ears, but it was quickly ignored as they looked over to see it was indeed the head of the young halfa sticking out of the ice.

"Uh…high, Daddy," she laughed nervously as she placed an innocent smile on her face.

"What are you doing in there! How did you get into the game! And wipe that smile off your face, I'm in no mood for that sweet and innocent crap," he said as his anger started to boil over.

"Well…when I got onto Mom's computer, I found the program and decided to try it to see if I could help, but it wasn't going good at all. I was getting frustrated, when I remembered what Tucker had said about using your ghost powers in the game, and well…"

"You decided to cheat AND disobey me," he said.

"I'd like to think of it more as creative enhancement…" she said jokingly, but her smile soon faltered when she saw the clearly unamused frown on her father's avatar. "But, aren't you glad I came when I did? If I hadn't, you guys would have been toast, right?"

"I can't even believe this! Do you even understand how angry I am right now or how badly you could get hurt," he yelled, making her cringe at his voice. Although Danielle hadn't spent a lot of time with her father, she had seen him mad on a few of those occasions. The anger in his voice sent a shiver down her spine that even the ice couldn't cause, which instantly told the girl that she was in way over her head on this one. "I am so mad, I swear-"

A loud roar and the sound of electricity flowing stopped Danny's rant in his tracks as he watched as GHOSTBOY had been, once again, blasted, but this time, the character vanished in the form of static as the last of his second life ended.

Danielle, who had crouched down as far as she could in the sudden excitement of watching the character get blasted, opened one eye slowly, then the other, looking around to see that she was indeed alone in the middle of the battlefield, save for the gigantic arachnid roaring and stomping its way toward her.

"Wow, that was convenient," she said as a smile came across her face. Focusing all of energy into one concussive blast, she quickly freed herself, flexing her frozen muscles before giving the spider an evil grin and charging full force at it.

"Oh, she thinks she's off the hook, huh?" Danny growled, clinching his fist. Quickly discarding his headset and controller, Danny transformed, preparing to charge into the game himself. "I'm gonna go in there, I'm gonna drag her out of there, and when I get my hands on her-"

"Whoa, easy there, Danny," Sam said, grabbing his shoulder. "I agree that you need to go get her, but calm down a little bit first. You don't need to do anything rash."

"Don't tell me you're defending her, Sam."

"Oh, no way. She's is so gonna get it when I get my hands on her. But I also don't want you to charge in there and get yourself hurt."

Danny opened his mouth to agree with her, but stopped when the familiar sounds of the point counters rang out, alerting the three teens of a victorious battle. The three turned to see both the Crater Creature and Elrachnid lying on the battlefield, various parts of their bodies flung around everywhere and smoldering with green smoke. The sound of laughter and victorious cheering caught their attention as Danielle floated in the air over the field, excitedly patting herself on her single handed win.

"Ha! Told you ghost powers were the way to go," Tucker said in triumph, but his victory was short lived as both Danny and Sam gave him a look of death that clearly showed that they were not in the mood or pleased with the fact that he was the cause of all this. Tucker shrunk back and averted his eyes, hopping he wouldn't soon find himself bursting into flames or on the wrong end of a ghost-ray…again.

Danny turned around and picked his controller back up, taking careful aim at the unsuspecting girl, and fired, blasting her in the back with enough force to completely drain her character of all her life. Danielle let out a scream in surprise as the small amount of pain suddenly made her feel weak and, before she understood what was happening, her body vanished before she soon felt a strong force pulling her backwards.

Danny stepped to the side and watched as Danielle came shooting out of the screen, falling full force into the wall behind them where she came to a full stop, transforming back to her normal human form, and sliding to the ground in a daze. Danielle groaned and rubbed the now sore spot on the back of her head before opening her eyes, only to come face to face with the VERY angry red faces and hard glares of her parents. She quickly put on a weak smile and gave a nervous laugh.

"Uh…great team work?" she said.

"Oh, you are so busted," Danny said in a dark tone.