A/N: You know when it happens that the words start flowing out of your pen all of a sudden (well, metaphorically speaking, I never use a pen) and the story starts writing itself... I did this chapter in an hour on Monday and I have the next chapter too. It's just that I like to sit on my chapters for a few days to see if anything else pops up in my mind (it almost always does :).

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. Or NASA.

Demons

He sat very still, in the middle of the large gym, concentrating. All his senses were open. He had been sitting there for an hour, quietly, while nothing happened. But something would, eventually. He was testing him, as he was always testing him.

He could hear the random noises outside the gym, a sudden clanking, somebody shouting outside. Even though his eyes were closed, he could see the sunlight coming through the high windows, shining on the even floor and the bare walls opposite the windows. He could smell the dust, the tiny particles flying through the air. He could taste the dry air in his half opened mouth and he could feel the smooth surface of the floor through his sweatpants. The air was cold, almost freezing but the skin on his bare chest was smooth.

But above all he... sensed. He had no way to describe it. He sensed the house, the people in it, the ghosts. More ghosts than people. He sensed the exterior of the house, the grass, the trees, full of life. And he sensed him. The hybrid, the one and only one like himself. He was close, watching him, waiting. Another hour passed. He didn't need to look at a clock, he knew. This time, he wouldn't disappoint him. This time, he would win. He was ready. He had pushed all his fear and anger away, they would only hinder him in what he had to do.

The attack came and he shifted into his ghost form in a flash, without a word.

"Don't speak," he thought, "Don't make a sound. He hates that."

He took to the air and lashed out with a dark green ghost ray at the demon like figure that came out of nowhere, gleaming eyes, saliva dripping from it's fangs. It recoiled, but only momentarily. He wheeled around to check his back. Four, no five of them! What was he thinking!

He shot a short glance at the window near the door and could see father's outline against the light, watching him. He had never fought more than three. Where did he find them anyway? There was someone standing next to the hybrid, a woman, he thought. Did she have something to do with the demons? He pushed all thought away. He would think about it later, if there was a 'later'.

He was in battle mode now, but then so were the demons. Mindless creatures with razor sharp claws, their leather like brown skin looking wet somehow and having only one thing on their minds: his blood.

"Come and get it," he thought as he formed an arc of green light and slashed one that came close, simultaneously kicking another.

He wasted no time but dove under them and grabbed one by it's hind legs. He yanked the thing down and sidewards, right into demon number three as it was advancing on him.

Five was too many. Before he could move out of the way again demon number four extended it's claws and gashed his left shoulder and arm. Green ectoplasm started to pour out, but he was already on the move again, darting out of the way to the side of the gym, so he wouldn't be surrounded anymore. They came at him, all five of them at the same time.

"You will kill for me." His words entered his mind.

"Never," he had said.

He charged up a powerful ecto beam, making his hands glow, feeling the tingling. Then he heaved up his arms, brought his fists together and released the powerful blast right into the first demon.

It exploded. It slammed him against the wall and the other demons to the floor, dazed. He extracted himself from the wall immediately, subconsciously noticing the dent he had made. His back ached but he'd have to worry about that later. The demons were already getting up and he had exhausted himself with that blast.

"Gotta be more careful of how much power I use," he thought and he knew he would be scolded for it later.

Again he formed the arc of green light and lashed out to one of the demons, virtually cutting it´s head off. It crashed to the ground and laid there, smoldering. He dove right into the middle of the three remaining demons and grabbed one by it´s head, simultaneously kicking the other two. Or that was his intention, but one of them dodged his kick and set his teeth into his leg. Danny couldn´t withhold a scream as he twisted the head of the demon he was holding, snapping it´s neck with a sickening crack.

"Three down, two to go," he thought as he let the demon slip from his hands.

He shot an ecto beam at them to gain some time, but he knew it would slow them down only a little.

He was getting tired now and his movements were slowing down. He darted out of the way of an attacking demon, only to be slashed on the back by the other. He crashed to the ground and quickly rolled as the two demons attempted to crash into him simultaneously. They hit the ground a fraction of a second after he had moved away and he jumped up in the air, formed the sword like arc that was so hard to control for the third time and ran them through before they could get up.

Danny lowered himself to the slippery floor and shifted back to his human form. There was black and green blood there, the black coming from the demons, the green, his. Slowly he walked to the window, ignoring his wounds.

"Did I do well, father," he said unemotionally.

Vlad offered him a broad smile as he walked up to him, careful not to step into the blood.

"You did well, my son," he said, but Danny picked up mixed feelings, love, pride and... fear?

Danny heard voices, subdued, as if coming from another room. He opened his eyes and stared in shock at the NASA poster hanging right above his head. Realization dawned on him. He was in his own room, in his own bed. The curtains were drawn but he could see it was light out. He looked at the alarm clock beside his bed. Two fifteen PM it said.

He looked around, but he was alone. The voices sounded as if coming from downstairs. He took a deep breath and tried to sit up. The room started spinning and he quickly laid down again and closed his eyes.

He had been awake before, he realized, remembering his room in the burnt out house, how it had swayed and swirled before his eyes, making him nauseous. And then the scenery miraculously changed to this room and he hadn't been able to figure out where he was until now. He remembered voices talking to him, as if coming from afar, echoing in his head and he hadn't been able to make sense of them at all. But he thought he had seen his mother and someone in a white coat.

Someone entered his room. Danny opened one eye a little bit and tried to peek through his eyelashes.

"You're awake," he heard his mothers voice say in a relieved tone.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled back at him.

"How are you feeling?" she said, sitting down on the edge of his bed.

"OK, I guess. A bit dizzy," he answered, drinking in the sight of her.

An immense feeling of warmth overflowed him and he almost started to cry. Someone else entered the room and he turned to see who it was.

"Jazz," he said happily but his smile died when he saw the stern look on her face.

"How do you know my name," she said.

Disappointment washed over him again, like the first time she hadn't recognized him.

He was standing in front of his home, hopeful, tired and a little fearful. If he talked to them, if they saw him, surely they would remember him? Even if his father hadn't recognized him a few months ago, Vlad's hold of them should be gone now that he was dead, it had to be. He was about to walk up to the door and knock when it opened and Jazz stepped outside. She stopped when she saw him standing there.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a friendly voice.

He knew what she saw, a tramp with dirty and torn clothes, his hair too long, his frame to skinny. But she was a nice person. She would help anybody.

"Jazz?" he said, "Jazz, it's me, Danny, your brother..."

Her face changed immediately. She scowled at him.

"I don't have a brother. Get away from here you tramp! This is a good neighborhood. You don't belong here!"

She turned around and walked away, leaving him standing there. His shoulders slumped and he turned away, looking at the ground.

"Eh," he said, "M..Maddie told me?"

Jazz stepped closer and examined him as if he were a frog in biology class.

"I know you're sick, but you'll have to go as soon as you get better," she said, giving her mother a stern look.

"Now look, Jazz," Maddie began but Jazz interrupted her.

"You only just got out of the hospital, you managed to convince the doctors you didn't think you had a son anymore and they let you go home on the condition that you would take your medication! You haven't done that, I checked the bottle! And the day they let you go you come barging in here with a boy called Danny and...and..."

Maddie stood up. "Young lady," she said, "I can make my own decisions thank you very much. The boy here has nowhere to go so he's staying. You would send him back to the streets? I've seen where he lived, it is not pretty."

Jazz was vigorously shaking her head. "We should call social services, they'll..."

"Put me in a foster home. I've been there. Not doing it," Danny interrupted.

He sat up again, this time with a little bit more success. Jazz stared at him and then blushed. He realized he didn't have a shirt on and the scars on this body were pretty obvious. He would have some explaining to do. Then he looked at his wrists, to find the wristbands missing.

"Where are they?" he said, almost panicking.

His mother looked at him worriedly and then took his wrist and looked at the ugly scars from an obvious burn wound. Danny cringed.

"Please," he said, "I need... I want..."

He looked up as Jazz handed him the black, spiked wristbands.

"Thanks," he muttered, slipping them back into place, covering the scars. Jazz turned without a word and left the room.

Maddie sighed. "There is just so much I want to ask you," she said, looking at his unhappy face. "But only if you want to talk about it."

He sank back into his bed and closed his eyes. "Sam and Tucker?" he asked.

"School," Maddie said, looking at her watch, "They said they would drop by around four. It's Monday by the way, you've been asleep for three days."

She stood up. "Get some rest," she said, "I´ll bring you some soup later."

She left and Danny stared at his wrists, fighting off his inner demons.

Next chapter when I'm done editing it. I'm kinda busy this week but I'll try to get it finished before Sunday...