Chapter 21: Coming to Terms

Danny phased through the roof and into his living room where his family waited for his arrival. Everyone turned to him, a look of unease on their faces, especially Sam's.

"Where is she?" Danny asked as he tried to keep his voice even and anger under control. A loud, muffled scream and the sound of constant pounding caught his attention as it bounced off the sound proof walls of the lab. Danny narrowed his eyes as he turned and headed straight for the stairs to the basement, preparing himself to handle his daughter, but stopped as Sam grabbed his arm, a look of sympathy on her face.

"Danny, wait," she said. "Before you go down there, you should know something." Sam took a deep breath before looking at him in both sorrow and worry. "They know."

"Who knows what, Sam?"

"The kids. All of them, at her school; they know. About her…they know that Danielle is a clone."

All the anger instantly left Danny's body as he stared, wide-eyed, at Sam while trying to comprehend what exactly he had just been told.

"What?"

"When…I brought her home and let her out of the Fenton Thermos, I put her in the containment unit downstairs. The whole time, she kept screaming and yelling that it wasn't fair. I was going to tell her that considering how she was acting, that it was fair, but she kept saying that her life was over. When I asked her what she was talking about, she screamed at me "THAT BLONDE BITCH TOLD EVERYONE I WAS A CLONE!" and I was so stunned, I didn't even realize that she swore at me again."

"I…I can't…" Danny struggled as he tried to focus. "No wonder she freaked out. She's gotta be scared. Now that everyone knows her secret-"

"Everything she hoped for is gone. What are we going to do, Danny?"

"I…I don't know, Sam. To be honest, I had never thought about what to do if her secret got out."

"Well we have to do something," Jazz said as she looked toward the basement with a look of hurt and sympathy. "I mean listen to her down there; she devastated."

"Or crazy," Tucker mumbled, receiving a smack to the back of the head from the older girl. "What? I'm just saying that devastated people don't curse like they just got of a sailor ship."

"I guess for now, we deal with her and see if we can't fix this. But it's gonna be hard with the whole school thing, especially with how many people she attacked," Danny said, ignoring his friend's comment. "We'll just have to take it one thing at a time, and-" Danny stopped as the sound of the ringing telephone surprised them all.

"I'll get it," Maddie said. Everyone was silent as she conversed with whoever was on the other side of the conversation. At the sound of the phone being returned to its hook after only about a minute, and the return of his mother with a look that clearly said something was wrong, Danny could feel his anxiety escalate.

"Who was it, Mom?"

"It was the principal of Danielle's school. He wants to have a parent-teacher conference with us and her teacher tomorrow to discuss if Danielle should be allowed to continue to go to school there," she said.

"What!? That's absurd!" Jazz yelled. "I mean, sure she went a little overboard, but-"

"No. It was more than that, Jazz," Danny said. "That girl Danielle was attacking….she had bruises on her neck. Fresh, bruises. And when she thanked me for saving her, she could barely speak. She was so scared and hurt...and Danielle wanted to kill her; I don't even want to think about what would have happened if Sam and I had shown up even a second later, that's how close it was. Not to mention she apparently beat up some of the football team in self-defense. No; this is worse than we thought."

"This isn't looking good, Danny," his mother said as Jack came and stood beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I know, Mom. Tomorrow, Sam and I will have to go over there with you and try to talk them down; though I don't really know how much good it'll do us."

"We will?" Sam asked in confusion.

"You will?" Everyone else asked in unison.

Danny nodded. "I know you guys are registered as her legal guardians, but we're her biological parents, so this is our problem. Plus, maybe we'll be able to explain why she did what she did better."

"Well if we're going to start anywhere, I guess with her is as good a place as any," Sam said. Danny nodded and the two turned toward the basement, leading the way for the rest of the group. As they walked into the underground fortress that was the Fenton family's lab, Danny stared at Danielle as she glared at them all, hands still bound behind her in ice as she continued to pant in exhaustion. Danny took notice of a few dents in the containment unit from Danielle's constant attacks as he and Sam strode forward and stopped in front of the glass.

"Danielle-"

"Shut up! This is all your fault!" she yelled, though her voice was muffled behind the thick glass.

"Danielle, I know you're frustrated, but you need to calm down," Danny said. "I know it seems like everything is going to hell right now, but I promise you, it will be ok." Danny fell to his knees, putting himself on the same level as her, and placed his hand on the glass as he gazed into her eyes, the eyes that they shared, and pleaded for her to understand, to calm down and go back to being the sweet little girl she really was. "Please, Ellie. I want my little girl back. I know you're hurting, but, I promise you it will be alright."

As Danielle looked into her father's eyes, followed by her mothers and then the rest of her family, all the pressure and the anger that had consumed her became too much, and the mental dam that had formed and had blocked her judgment broke away, allowing her to finally release it all and cry. As the tears flowed and her body shook with her sobs, Danielle fell onto her knees as her voice echoed off the walls of her prison. Sam deactivated the lock on the door, allowing her and Danny entrance. Gently, Sam picked her up and cradled her daughter as tears fell from her own eyes silently. Danny kneeled next to them on the floor as Danielle cried into Sam's shoulder and transformed back into her human form. The three sat like that for well over an hour, crying and comforting each other.

Once they were all cried out, Danielle took a hot shower to try to make herself feel better before going to her room and taking a nap. No one bothered her for the rest of the day, only notifying her when a meal was ready, but with all of the things that had happened to her that day, no one was surprised or could blame her when she didn't join them to eat. Danny and Sam, though worried about her, spent their night trying to figure out a way to put all of this to rest, but would periodically check on Danielle, who had fallen asleep long before anyone else had.

The next morning, Danny and Sam were surprised, though beyond relieved to find Danielle sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal. Though based on the fact she was still in her pajamas and how disheveled her already naturally messy hair was, they knew she had no plans of going anywhere, especially not with them to the school. As they, Jack and Maddie made their way down the halls of the middle school, Danny could feel himself getting annoyed by the way many of the students talked about Danielle.

"I can't believe what Danielle did to Timmy and Tammy!" one boy said.

"I heard she got grounded and banished to the ghost world for a thousand years as punishment!" Another said.

"She's such a freak. What kind of act was she trying to pull, acting like a real person," a girl said.

"I know, right? I mean, doesn't she know clones are just big copycats?" her friend said, both laughing in a snobbish manner.

"My god," Maddie said in disgust. "These kids are horrible. No wonder Danielle was so upset."

"I know, and it only gets worse. She's gonna have the same classmates until she graduates high school. I always hoped her time in school would be better than ours, but with this, I don't think that's possible," Danny replied with a shake of his head. As they neared the office, Danny noticed a brown haired jock with a pink hat on as he stood by his locker, surrounded by his friends, a big smile on his face as more and more people asked if his arm was ok as it hung in a sling. The boy turned, and his face instantly drained of all color as he locked eyes with Danny, who couldn't help but glare at the boy, not only because he was clearly a football player, but because he bore a huge resemblance to Tammy, which, Danny figured, meant that they had to be related. Danny said nothing as he continued his walk into the office where they were lead into the principal's office. Inside, Danny found his former teacher, Mrs. Linda Otree, as well as her daughter, Lin, standing to the side near the principal.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, so good to see you," the man said before looking at Danny and Sam in surprise. "Daniel, Samantha? My, this is a surprise."

"Principal Persir. So nice to see you again," Maddie said, trying to hold back the irritation in her voice as she recalled the last time she had actually had to talk to the man when Danny was being bullied when he went to the school.

"Yes, though I wish it were under better circumstances," he said as he adjusted the square glasses on his chubby face.

"As do we."

"Principal Persir, I'd like to personally apologize for Danielle's actions yesterday," Danny said.

"As do I," Sam said. "And though I wish she were here to explain what happened herself and tell her side of the story, she's not feeling well and decided to stay home today."

"Well, as nice as that is, I don't believe that this really involves the two of you," he said.

"Actually sir, it does," Sam said as she held back her annoyance. She was never too fond of her middle school principal, and was more than glad to think she would never have to see him again after they had graduated. So to be standing before him right now was taking all of her maternal instincts to keep her mind focused on the fact that if she did anything, it could harshly affect Danielle's future.

"You see, sir, well…" Danny hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "As I'm sure you've heard, Danielle isn't like normal kids."

"Yes, she is very different," he nodded in agreement. "Aside from her condition, she was always a bright student, which is why I do not understand where her outburst came from."

"Condition?" Sam said, her anger flaring. "Her powers are not some type of disease. They are a part of her, and have been since the day she was born, and they make her special. It's not like she's diagnosed with some type of mental disorder. And I'm sure if you listened to some of the things your students were saying about her, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out." Danny put a hand on Sam's shoulder as he tried to keep her calm, though his feelings were the exact same as hers.

"Children gossip and say absurd things all the time, Samantha. I'm sure whatever it is they're saying it's nothing."

"It's not nothing, Principal Persir," Maddie said. "Those kids are making fun of her because of her differences."

"Again, Mrs. Fenton, children do these things all the time. Why is Danielle's case any different? Because of these special abilities she has?"

"No, sir. It's not just her powers that make her special, it's how she got them," Danny said. "Danielle is not my cousin; she's a clone, created using mine and Sam's DNA by the man who held the world hostage, Vlad Plasmius, making her our biological daughter."

"Excuse me?" Principal Persir asked in disbelief.

Linda Otree gasped in shock at the revelation that one of her best and favorite student was a clone, a copy, of two of her former ones.

"Sam, that other ghost…that was you?" she asked before looking at Lin who refused to look anywhere but the floor, a look of guilt written all over her face. "Lindsey, did you know about this? About Danielle?"

"Yes," Lin said in a guilty, quiet voice. "Everyone knows. I don't know exactly how, but Tammy had found out when she had stolen a piece of paper from Danielle, and had sent out messages and was going around school, telling everyone. She spread the rumor which made everyone turn on Danielle."

"It must have been when she came to our house a couple of days ago," Danny said, looking at the principal. "Tammy had come over to work on a project for school with Danielle, and left in a hurry. She must have found the paper and stolen it, probably thinking it was better to leave as quickly as possible."

"Lindsey, does Miss Turner still have possession of this document?" Persir asked, still not completely believing what he was being told. Lin shook her head no.

"When she started taunting Danielle, who got really quiet, she shoved it into her hands. Danielle crumpled it up when she starting shaking."

"Well," he said as he looked at the Fentons. "I'm going to have to say, it is hard to believe such a story without any proof."

"Actually, we do have proof," Sam said as she pulled out a pile of papers in a manila folder. "These are official documents that I have acquired from a physician hired by my grandmother, who took samples from Danny, Danielle and I to compare and use in case of an emergency. As you can see, her DNA matches both mine and Danny's, proving she is our daughter."

Principal Persir took the folder and began to scan over the print on them, stroking his full white beard. Once he had finished reading, he placed them on his desk.

"Very well. I believe you. However, that does not excuse her for her outburst yesterday."

"Excuse me?" Sam scoffed. "Principal Persir, do you even know exactly what happened? Because if you did, I'm pretty sure, you'd agree with us that she is not at fault."

"From what I have been told, Danielle attacked Tamantha after a small disagreement."

"That's not true!" Lin said, finally looking up from the ground. "Tammy started all of this because she was jealous that Danielle was more popular than her and because Danielle stood up to her instead of being a follower like everyone else. Tammy's the one who spread the rumor and shoved Danielle first. It's not fair that Danielle should get in trouble just because she's stronger then Tammy, while Tammy does things like this on a daily basis."

"I have to agree with Lindsey," Linda said. "I've caught many of our athletes bullying other students that have gone unpunished."

"Not to mention that the last time my husband and I were in your official, Principal Persir, was because Danny had been standing up for one of his friends to a football player who had hit him first," Maddie said as she crossed her arms. "As I recall, Danny got detention while Dash Baxter got to play in the playoff games."

"Although that may be true, let us not forget that she attacked and injured many of our star players," he said.

"After they all attacked her first," Lin said. "Timmy jumped her from behind and the others ganged up on her. She was outnumbered, 7 to 1, and only fought them in self-defense."

Principal Persir once again began to stroke his beard, an action he only did when he was deep in thought. So far, everyone did seem to have valid points, but as a principal he was in charge not only of educating students, but protecting them, meaning that even if he seemed like the bad guy, he had to do everything possible to ensure their safety. He had to look at every possible thing that could and would come up.

"Alright, Daniel, I will give you that she may not have been completely at fault for her actions. However, she is still a danger to our students."

"What!? She is not a danger to anyone!" Danny exclaimed as he could feel his anger boiling over. Sam, who stood next to him, could feel her powers blazing as her eyes turned green and the plant in the corner started to glow a faint green, though no one seemed to notice. "She's been here long enough and for plenty of enough time, and has proven that she's not only not a danger to anyone, she also protected the school!"

"Yes, and we are appreciative of it-"

"Really? Because it's kinda hard to tell," Sam spat.

"However, in light of this situation, as head administrator of this school, I have to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of my students, and will take any necessary measures to protect them all. Even Danielle."

"Principal Persir, what exactly are you trying to say?" Linda asked.

"I will compromise with all; I will allow Danielle to return to this school on the condition that you have her abilities removed."

"EXCUSE ME!?" Sam yelled. That was the last straw for her as the plant was now shining in ghostly energy, coming to life and roaring at the man, who was surprised at not only her anger, but the fact that none of the Fentons even seemed fazed that there was a living ghost plant behind them. Lin grabbed her mother in shock as Sam slammed her fist on the desk in anger, denting it as she too glowed a bright green color. "YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MIND!" Danny grabbed her around her shoulders, and pulled her away from the startled man.

"Sam-Sammy, listen to me," he said, forcing her to look at him as he held her face with his hands. "Calm down. I need you to be level headed right now."

"But didn't you hear-"

"I know, it's ridiculous and complete garbage, but we have to keep calm and get this settled for Danielle. Remember, this is all for her. Do it for Ellie," he said, his voice strained as his eyes too glowed an angry electric green. Danny was beginning to believe that he was saying all that more for himself then he was for her because he was just about at his limit with the man. As Sam's body shook, she brought her hands up and placed them over Danny's as she nodded stiffly, taking deep breaths. Slowly, her aura began to withdraw until it had dissipated and the plant was once again lifeless. The room was silent as the tension slowly evaporated, though Sam's outburst definitely did not help convince the principal that Danielle was no danger. If her mother acted this way, who's to say she wouldn't as well?

"Principal Persir, please, tell me you are not serious about that," Linda said as she found her voice and looked at him is disbelief. "I have seen Danielle, and as her teacher, I can assure you that she is not a danger to any person, and to even suggest such an extreme measure is nothing short of unethical."

"I understand, Linda, however-"

"No, you don't understand," Danny said as she stood in front of the desk. Sam had retreated behind him, and was currently being held by Maddie, both glaring at the principal with hatred. "This isn't just something like turning off a cellphone or curing the flu. This is a part of who we are. It's like a camel's hump or an elephant's trunk. Danielle's already suffered enough in her life, more than any of those kids could understand or will ever have to go through. She's struggled with keeping herself alive on the streets, of having her heartbroken and being betrayed by someone who was supposed to love and protect her, she's had to experience death, more than once, and she only survived all of that because of her powers, powers that she was born with. That's what makes her different then Sam and me; she's had them since she came into this world, we gained ours through certain incidents. To take them away from her, would be like taking a part of her soul or taking away her hands. It would be taking away her freedom!"

"Not to mention all the types of dangers she would be in," Sam growled. "You think those kids out there are just going to forget what she did? They would gang up on her and attack her mercilessly. They would do cruel things to her, and there would be no way for her to defend herself. And what about if a ghost attacks? With the number of ghost in this town and the number of enemies that we have, she would be a sitting duck. Do you think that any one of them would hesitate to attack and kill her? You think that they would think twice about coming here, and rampaging through the school, killing everyone of these kids, just to get to her? And do you know what would happen? Danielle would stand and fight, even without her powers, and she would die." Sam paused as her eyes began to water. "She would fight with every last breath in her body to protect people who hate and ridicule her, because that's what she does. And when it was all said and done, I guarantee not a single person out there would be appreciative of her or her bravery, and if that happens, her blood, MY DAUGHTER'S BLOOD, would be on your hands!"

Principal Persir stayed quiet throughout the entirety of both speeches, though his expression never changed. He understood, completely, what the two were telling him, but he also knew that there really was nothing he could do. His hands were tied, and there was never an easy way to make such an important decision such as this, but such was the responsibility of the principal.

"I'm sorry, but that is my decision. It really is bad that you feel that way, but if that is your choice, then I believe that we have nothing more to discuss here," said, preparing to dismiss them.

"Wait!" Danny said as he clenched his fists and closed his eyes tight. "We will NOT and can NOT get rid of her powers, but…what if we can prevent her from being able to use them?"

"Danny!? Are you insane!?" Sam said in disbelief. "What are you-"

"Sam," he said, looking her in the eye, silencing her. "I'm sorry. I should have told you about this earlier, but I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this." He looked behind her to Maddie who had a look of uncertainty on her face. "Ok, Mom. Show him."

"Are you sure about this, Danny?" She asked cautiously. Danny nodded his head and Maddie could only sigh as she opened a pocket on her utility belt, pulling out a silver and green belt with a key slot on the front. Jack and Sam could only gasp as they looked at Danny who was now focusing on the principal. "This, Principal Persir, is a special device that my husband and I created called the Specter Deflector."

"I'm not sure I follow. What does it do?"

"When wore, it prevents ghosts from being able to touch the wearer by sending out a painful pulse of energy upon contact. It also greatly limits a human-ghost hybrid's powers while worn."

"Are you suggesting we require our students to wear these belts?"

"No," Danny said as two white rings appeared around his body, allowing him to transform. Principal Persir jumped a little in surprise and nervousness. "What I'm suggesting is that in exchange for us having Danielle wear one of them to school, you allow her to go back to class with no repercussions aside from the usual punishment for fighting in school."

"I see. That is a very strange proposal, Daniel. But how can we be sure this device really works?" he asked. Danny turned to his mother, prepping himself for what he knew was going to be a painful demonstration.

"Danny, don't!" Sam said.

"It's ok, Sam. It's all for Danielle," he said. Maddie looked on, worried, as she locked the belt around her waist, but complied with her son's wishes. Sam looked away, not wanting to watch the pain she knew Danny was about to inflict on himself while Jack prayed that Danny knew what he was getting himself into and would be ok. Taking one last breath, Danny raised his hand and touched his mother's outstretched one. The second the two made contact, green electricity ran through his body, pain surfacing over every part of him as his muscles began to lock up and spasm. Danny let out a loud cry of pain as he tried his hardest to endure it for as long as possible. Lin grabbed onto her mother once more, and buried her face in her side as she could not watch the hero hurt himself, but also had images of Danielle suffering the same fate running through her mind. Linda covered her mouth in horror as she watched her former student suffer, all for the sake of proving a point to the principal. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to everyone there, but was no more than thirty seconds, Danny let go and fell onto his hands and knees in pain. As he panted shallow breaths, the scent of electricity hung in the air. Sam knelt down next to him, and carefully brought him into her embrace, being cautious of the pain that was still going through his muscles.

"As you can see, Principal Persir, it is very effective and is capable of incapacitating even a ghost that is without a doubt stronger then Danielle," Maddie said as she glared at the man and unlocked the belt from herself. Danny looked up at the man, transforming himself back to normal, and, with the helpful support of Sam, stood to his feet.

"Henry, you cannot seriously be considering forcing a child to wear something like that!" Linda said in disbelief. "I mean, look at what it did to poor Danny! Danielle wouldn't be able to handle something as intense as that."

"We will need to make adjustments to prevent it from harming her in human form," Maddie said, though she was beyond grateful that Linda was agreeing with them.

Principal Persir looked at the faces of everyone in the room, but mostly focused on Danny who tried to ignore the pain in his body and stared the older man down.

"Alright, Daniel, Samantha. I shall agree to your terms. Danielle may return to school in two weeks following her suspension so long as she wears the belt everyday for the rest of her stay here."

"Understood. Thank you," Danny said.

"But what about if a ghost attacks?" Lin asked quietly. "If she can't use her powers, what are we going to do?"

"She's right. So long as she's wearing that belt, she's about as useful against a ghost as throwing rocks," Sam said with a glare. "If she tries to transform the belt will respond to her ecto-energy and she'll get hurt. Even as fast as Danny and I are, we can only get here so fast depending on when we can even find out what's going on and if we're not being held up ourselves. The only other option would be to allow her to carry the key to the belt with her."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot put that kind of responsibility into the hands of a child," he said with a shake of his head.

"Child or not, she's more mature and responsible then any of the kids in this school!"

"Samantha-"

"I'll do it," Linda said.

"Linda?" He questioned skeptically.

"Think about it, Henry. I'm her teacher and have her for the entire day other then gym. Logically, I'm best to hold on to it because if something were to happen, it will be somewhere where she's around me. And unlike some, I won't hesitate to help a student of mine when she really needs it because I'm worried about the repercussions of what might happen if I do."

Principal Persir let out a sigh as he leaned back into his seat. As much as he hated to admit it, even he knew when he was beat, and he was indeed beaten.

"Alright. It is decided. Mrs. Otree shall be put in charge of the key to Danielle's belt and she will only be allowed access to her powers in an emergency," he declared.

"Agreed," Danny said. With their business handled, he and his family departed, a slight sense of guilt over a victory won with a heavy sacrifice: Danielle's freedom.

Ok, before you go to review, I have to tell you guys somethings first. First off, I've updated my profile a bit. On there is a list of all the DP stories I plan to do, not just in this series, but others as well. In the list, you will find summaries of all the stories, and the titles of all the stories, including the sequels. If you'd like to know more about the upcoming sequels, they are there and you can ask me questions. The next thing is there is a new Danny and Dani story I have started called "Your Life is Mine!" that I'd really appreciate more people to read because I believe that it is good and if you enjoy my writing, you will enjoy this. I should also point out that I will NOT be updating as often as I have been, it's just I've been in a really creative mood lately, and I was able to find time to squeeze in some writing. But like I was saying….GO READ IT NOW!