Warning: Character death, doom, destruction, and general mayhem.

Powerless
A Danny Phantom FanFiction by Cordria

Chapter 7: The Seven of Wands

It took me a little under five minutes to get across town.

She was a lot easier to find than most ghosts I hunt. A huge bank of gray mist curled and swirled, rolled around her shoulders and cascaded to the ground, its misty fingers stretching into the distance. Destruction and chaos spread behind her like the ripples of a speeding boat. She was quietly pacing into town, her unseen feet leaving icy footprints in the cracked road.

Cars, benches, and anything else not nailed to the ground soared into the air as she walked up the street. They swirled around her like a spectral tornado, her dirty dreadlocks blowing about her. The gray ghost barely seemed to be conscious of what she was doing or of the fact that she was using any power at all.

A flying minivan that almost bonked me in the head was my clue that I really didn't want to get any closer to Tarot. "Stop it!" The howling, spectral breeze stole my words and tossed them into the sky, but the gray ghost stopped her slow pacing and raised her head to stare at me. Soulless gray eyes gazed into mine.

Is it wrong if it's fate?

She raised a hand and negligently waved it in my direction. A wall of gray mist rose off of the ground and rushed towards me. I braced myself for the collision as best as I could, but the blast threw me through the air. I cart-wheeled a few times before stopping my fall and shaking my head to clear it. My ears were ringing.

Ectoplasm gathered in my hands and I shot two brilliant bolts of green in her direction. Just before they hit her, she twisted into a mist and the bolt went straight through. When she reformed, her expression hadn't changed one bit. She was still heading towards town. A hand came up to wave at a building off to her side. The resulting wall of energy disintegrated the duplex and anyone who happened to be inside.

"No!" I shot at her several more times, to absolutely no effect. She didn't even seem to realize I was there or that I was doing anything. She just kept up her steady pacing towards the center of town.

Snarling in desperation, in the desire to actually do something and not just watch people die, I let myself fall out of the sky, my fist aimed for her head. When my hand met her dirty gray hair, her form dissolved into mist. I went straight through, stumbling and tripping on the ground behind her.

"AH!" I screamed, throwing wild punches, kicks, and even trying to tackle her to the ground. She never slowed, never gave any indication that I was there other than allowing her form to momentarily switch between that gray mist and a solid.

"You can't just kill everyone!" I pushed myself into the air, flying in front of her and throwing a few of my ice rays at her. She didn't even blink, much less stop her inexhaustible pacing. "Stop!"

I formed a sword out of ice and chopped at her, poking her with the point. Nothing.

The sad truth was curling itself up in my stomach. She wasn't here to play with me anymore. Tarot was here to destroy… and there was nothing I could do about it. They were a block closer to town, and I hadn't done anything that had even made her slow down.

"Wait," I gasped, dropping to the ground a few feet in front of her and dropping to my knees. When all else fails, beg. "Please!"

Strangely, she hesitated, glancing down at me. She blinked a few times, tilting her head to the side, waiting.

"You don't have to do this," I pleaded.

She shook her head slowly, pulling one of her cards out. She walked up to me, pressing the card into my hand before stepping around me and continuing on her way. The tarot card was one I'd seen before. A wheel with angels and demons fluttering around the edges. The Wheel of Fortune. Destiny. Fate.

"Please," I whispered, not caring if she heard me, desperately searching for a way out of this.

It's destiny, child. I must attack Amity Park and you must fight me. Our fates are sealed.

"I can't win! I don't want to fight you."

The future will be brighter. Tarot turned around to look at me, her gray eyes calm as she destroyed around building. You must have faith in destiny. You need to look to the future.

"You're killing people!"

Then stop me.

I pushed myself to my feet and raced after her in an attempt to tackle her again. An arm of mist slammed into my chest in mid-tackle and I was sent flying through the air. I crashed into a half-demolished building. I staggered out of the building and stumbled back onto the street, blocking her path, trying to ignore the blinding pain in my arm and the green-tinted blood that was trickling into my eyes. "I can't let you hurt anyone."

She didn't even bother to look at me this time. A hand came up, freezing power rushing towards me, tossing me off to the side. The tar between us shattered into a million pieces, rocks pelting me as I curled up and tried to turn myself intangible. A huge section of road careened towards me, slashing my leg as it blew past.

I screamed as green blood gushed out of my leg. Pain was thudding through my brain. All I could do right then was lie in a puddle of my own supernatural blood and wait for the end to come. After all, whatever happens is in the hands of destiny, right?

Maddie Fenton slammed on the breaks, the Fenton RV skidding into a turn before coming to a halt. A broken building was lying across the street, preventing her from getting to her son. "Danny," she murmured, throwing the RV into reverse and zipping back up the street.

Jack leaned over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, the other hand gripping his Fenton Bazooka a little tighter. "We'll get there. He'll be fine."

Maddie pushed the gas a little harder.

Skulker stared at his cage full of humans in anticipation. They weren't the prize he had been hoping for, but they were better than nothing. He didn't have any human pelts yet, and the smaller girl's skin was exceptionally fine. Her pale skin would look really nice next to his fire place.

"You'd better stay away from us," the red-head was announcing, "or my brother will come here and you'll be sorry!"

"Smooth," Tucker muttered.

Skulker laughed in amusement. "You think the whelp is going to come here to save you? He's rather busy right now dealing with an Ancient that Plasmius sent his way. Besides," he gestured towards the dozens of guards floating around, "do you think one ghost could get through all of them?"

"No," a voice called, and the teenage rock star appeared over their heads, her bandaged hands painfully holding onto her precious guitar, "but I'm sure a hundred ghosts could."

"What?" Skulker said blankly, his good mood evaporating.

"Charge!" Ember screamed. Her fingers strummed the stings of her guitar and an ear-shattering power chord echoed through the Ghost Zone.

Hundreds of ghosts poured out of the Ghost Zone, all of them racing towards the small island and the prison guards. Battle cries rose from their throats as they readied every weapon they could find and slammed into the guards' shields.

Just over the din of battle, Tucker turned to Sam and grinned. "Now this is a rescue."

I opened my eyes, blinking blearily up into the sky. Gray mist was rolling all around me. "Damn it all with destiny," I snapped, trying my best to ignore the stabbing pain in my leg. I levitated up a few feet and flew over to hang in front of Tarot one last time. "I'm going to stop you, somehow. And then I'm going to rescue my friends, and talk to my family, and stop Vlad once and for all!"

She ignored me.

"That's what heroes do!" I yelled as she slipped past me. "I don't care what destiny says. You're not going to kill anyone else."

Tarot turned to look back at him. Her expressionless face sent chills flowing down my back as she studied me, watching the blood drip off my leg and form a green puddle on the frozen ground. A card was in her fingers and she twirled it almost absently. Her head tipped to the side as I finally caught a glimpse of the card. The Fool. My card. "Unlimited potential," she said softly. "The start of something new." A small smile flickered on her face. "Being true to yourself and taking 'crazy' chances."

"What do you want me to do? I can't fight you."

She held out the card, the happy figure of the court jester laughing at me. "Beginning of a new adventure, expanding one's horizons, letting go of your worries and your fears… believing." You need to listen to what your card is trying to tell you.

Tarot pulled another card from her deck and held both of the cards up. One was my card, the other was the card I had drawn from her earlier that day: The Star. Have hope, child, and don't forget what your card means.

She carefully tucked both of the cards away before raising her hand to point at me. The edge of her too-long sleeves dangled past her fingertips in an almost comical way. A mass of power built up around her, dreadlocks standing up until she looked like a childish Medusa.

"No," I whispered, floating backwards a few feet. Another blast like that previous one and I was dead.

She stared into my eyes for a moment, then unclenched her fingers. Power lashed out towards me.

Learn to fight or learn to die alongside everyone you hold dear. Here is the chance for you to prove you've been listening to the cards of fate.

The gray mist uncoiled, striking towards me like a snake. I stared at it, my eyes widening in panic. "No… no… NO!" I reached for that cold power that was coiled inside of me, throwing it out into the world without any thought of what it could do. It shimmered around me like a green mist, completely destroying the wall of gray that Tarot had sent towards me.

I dropped to the ground, tired, wincing at the sharp pain when my leg hit. The pool of green blood had frozen solid, traceries of frost etching on the ground away from me. The three remaining light bulbs within a hundred yards of us suddenly burst at the new wave of power that had washed out of… me.

I looked up, gazing into the soulless eyes of the most powerful ghost to ever have existed.

Better. The voice in my head sounded almost pleased. Now, get up and fight for your town.

Vlad, safe in his mansion in Wisconsin, watched the fight on his large-screen TV. He had, at first, been planning on eating some popcorn and chortling at his disastrous soon-to-be apprentice. It was going to be a fun time at the movies.

Of course, that had all changed the minute his slave had started her path of destruction, taking his order to 'destroy Amity Park' a little more literally than Vlad had figured.

"She's a lot more powerful that I thought…" he muttered. There would be nothing left of Amity Park by the time she was through with it. "Pity. I had such wonderful plans for that area of town, too."

He'd been almost happy when Daniel had finally shown up. Vlad watched the battle play out, his mouth dropping open as he stared at the screen. He hadn't expected Daniel to be that outclassed. There was absolutely nothing the young halfa could do to his servant.

He glanced down at the Plasmius Bender with the half-thought to end the fight. Of course, there was no way to control the ghost from this distance. He had spent months coming up with this plan and putting all the pieces together. And now it was all falling apart. "I ordered her to bring me Daniel alive, so at least he will survive this… disaster."

But Maddie! Vlad sat up for a second, stroking his chin in thought. However, if he was going to be truthful with anybody, it would be himself. The truth was that if Daniel was loosing, then he did not stand a much better chance.

Even for the love of his life, he wouldn't place himself in that much danger.

So he just sat there and continued to watch his plan unravel, trying to decide how to pick up the pieces.

The gray ghost was watching I staggered to my feet. Her head tilted slightly to the side, as if contemplating me like I was a piece of art. I glowered at her, keeping as much weight off of my slashed right leg as possible.

She sent another wave of power rolling my way, tearing through the eaten-up ground. I raised my arms and focused. Power built up inside of my, forming a greenish mist that swirled and danced around me. Ice started to form on the edges of buildings around me as the temperature dropped.

I flung out my hand, the green mist leaping forwards and sending me skidding backwards a few feet and to my knees. My attack collided with the gray ghost's attack. When the assaults met, they swirled haphazardly for a second before dissipating into the air.

When I regained my balance, I glanced up at the gray ghost. Her face was expressionless, but now her full attention was on me and she had stopped destroying Amity Park. Perfect.

She coiled a bit of mist around her hand and flung it at me, almost experimentally. When I managed to block it, a small smile crossed my face. I couldn't keep this up for long. But perhaps long enough.

Tucker leaned out of the cage, waving up towards the battling rock star. "Are you going to get us out of here?"

She dove through the air, hovering just in front of the cage. "No, human, I was planning on just leaving you here to rot. I'm attacking for no reason."

"Where's Danny?" Sam demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at the ghost.

"The dip-stick's busy," Ember retorted, blasting a guard that had gotten too close. "You comin'?" She held out her hand as Sam stubbornly shook her head.

Tucker and Jazz grabbed onto Ember, clinging to her for a ride back to the human world. Tucker reached down and grabbed the top of Sam's backpack just before Ember took off, dragging her human cargo away from the battle.

Vlad leaned forwards in his chair, staring at the screen. "When did Daniel learn to do that?" he wondered. "A side effect of my virus?

He couldn't tear his eyes off of the fight; however a smile was forming on his face. His carefully designed plan was back on track. Daniel was doing exactly what Vlad wanted. Daniel would undoubtedly "win" his battle now. Vlad chuckled. Perfect.

"Now." He grabbed for his forgotten popcorn, unable to wipe the satisfied smile off of his face. "We have a show."

The smile vanished quickly though. The thick layers of ice the two ghosts were causing covered the camera lens, blocking his view of the fight. "Oh, butter biscuits."

You're doing well, child, but you are still not fighting like you could.

I threw another powerful wave of that green mist towards Tarot. She easily destroyed it, but at least she wasn't making any headway. All of her attention was focused on me for the time being, not on destroying my town.

And then everything went to Hell in a hand basket.

"Danny!" I heard Sam scream when she was still quite a few blocks away. I glanced up in horror, staring at my something-more-than-my best friend as she dropped out of Ember's grasp and ran towards me. Tucker and Jazz were just a few steps behind her.

"No!" I yelled, struggling to my feet. "Stay away!"

Tarot turned her head to stare at the encroaching humans before glancing back at me. Will you be The Fool now? She raised her fist as a chilling smile crept over her face, her arm pointed towards my friends. A wave of power built up around her hand, ice flowing around her and adding to the thick layer of ice that was already coating the ground. Unlimited potential. Taking the crazy chance. Trusting the flow. Her eyes never left mine as she waited. Power coalesced into a thick mass of writhing mist around her fist.

"No, please, not them…"

She opened her fingers, the powerful mist snaking out and racing down the street towards Tucker, Sam, and Jazz, ripping the tarred road to pieces and digging a three-foot trench in the dirt as it passed.

I watched it move in almost slow motion. There was absolutely nothing I could do – I could not reach my friends in time. Tears streamed down my face and my heart felt like it was breaking as I stared at them. I did the only thing that I could think of, the craziest chance I could come up with. I gathered this strange, new power into my fists and launched myself at the one thing I could reach: Tarot.

Just before I reached her, a small smile crossed her face. Good, child. Now you are The Fool.

My green mist swirled and slammed in the gray fog that coiled around the ghost girl. My body crashed into hers, knocking her backwards. Both of us tumbled through the air for a moment before landing, hard, on the ground.

"Let's finish this."

Jack and Maddie Fenton stumbled out of their RV just in time to watch the ending. They watched in horror as Danny reached back a hand to punch the gray ghost, but the colliding swirls of green and gray mist suddenly became uncontrollable and savage. The mist twirled drunkenly around the two ghosts, each color fighting for dominance. The two ghosts were buffeted and knocked around, both ghosts lost to the fury of the power that raged around them. Within seconds, their forms were lost from sight.

The odd green and gray tornado swirled uncontrollably for a few minutes, completely destroying everything in its path. When it finally dissipated, pieces of rubble from the numerous shattered buildings rained down all over Amity Park. In the area of the most destruction, thick layers of ice began to slowly melt.

There was no sign of the gray ghost.

People slowly began to peek out of basements and shelters, surveying the damage done to their poor town. Nearly half of the city was completely decimated, very little left standing. Once they got around to counting the dead, the loss of life would be great, probably numbering into the thousands.

Amongst all the chaos, nobody noticed a single piece of black fabric that fluttered down through the sky near the edge of the havoc and destruction. On the fabric was a strange white symbol, a stylized D with a P in the middle.

Nobody, except one bruised and bloody teenage girl. She grabbed the fabric as it fluttered past her, almost as if she were drawn to it. She stared blankly at the symbol for a few seconds. Then she burst into tears and collapsed to the ground.

A bit of green mist – all that was left of the heroic Danny Phantom – swirled up around her like dust when she hit the ground. Then it settled back to the ground and all was still.

To be concluded…

Yeah, so not my favorite chapter of all time. I wrote it forever ago, mostly in third person, and just cleaned it up a little. XD Feel free to pick at it.

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers of chapter six: TexasDreamer01, Oats-FFCC27, FreakLevel27, passionateartist, pearl84, Anne Camp aka Obi-Quiet, DPcrazy, dannyluvr58, Werewolf of Suburbia, Lockblade, Rakahn, hanyou-halfa, Thunderstorm101, southerstarshadow, dizappearingirl, Garnet Sky, MutantLover09, Majestic Moon, Silver Shadowbreeze, Nylah, and Shining Zephyr! THANKS! BTW, that chapter officially got me the longest average reviews. Kinda neat. :)

Reviews get a preview of chapter eight, appropriately named: Death. However, if you want to cheat and find out what the chapter is about, go look up what the 'Death' card in Tarot means. Or you can just wait and guess. I'll tell ya'll in the next chapter anywho.

-Cori