NOTICE: keep an eye out for the POV changes, I use narrative, and various character POV's. I figured you'd like one big chapter with lots of POV's then more then half a dozen over six or more weeks. I'm trying to keep the story at a fast pace.

Chapter 10: Enemy Alliances.

Team Phantom watched the TV intensely.

"He must be destroyed," Agent C said from city hall.

"Bring it on, White-coat," I heard Danny say.

"Well if he wants a war," Tucker began, "It'll be a pleasure to deliver."

Without further comment, they continued to watch the TV…

(POV CHANGE: Take a wild guess)

I'd heard the crowd murmur amongst them selves from my seat off stage. That was fine, more drama meant more attention, and more attention meant more pressure on young Daniel. (A/N guess yet?)

To be honest, I was nervous when I'd first heard of Daniels' attack. Though I was in the ghost zone at the time, I could feel something happen. The noise of the attack was fortunately confined to the city, and yet still. One day later, the entire world was echoing it again, and again.

Amity Park had gone from one of the nations most well known haunted towns, to the world's most famous paranormal hot spot.

And there was still the matter of Daniel's new ability. This new power of his, the pathetic name of which I refuse to speak, was somehow stemming for his ghostly wail, I was certain. Simply put; the difference is like the difference between an ectoplasmic ray, and an ectoplasmic sphere. Both are created using the same energy, however the technique used to create them and the type of damage they cause differs.

Finally, the GIW had noticed Daniels potential. Agent C had quite the impressive track record. Though he lacked experience in combat, when under his watchful eye even the G.I.W. lackeys showed the potential to be a small threat.

He was quite the speaker as well. His emotionless appearance mingled well with his ability to play with fear.

I had to say I was quite enjoying myself…

"This may come harshly to some of you," Agent C began, "Two ghosts have shown an incredible ability to gain power as they see fit. As ghost expert Mrs. Maddie Fenton has observed during the battle at the mall, Phantom grew in power in response to the opponent he faced, and he did so very suddenly."

Agent C stood tall, "Phantom has shown the true power of a ghost, and is currently the most powerful ghost in the human world." Agent C seemed to grow frustrated, "Then add to that, the fact that he is an almost constant presence in Amity Park. No ghost of his caliber has been detected on earth for more then a few days. The only instance documented was when Amity herself was transported into the Ghost Zone. While in that state; many powerful entities were detected. Phantom being on the lower end of that scale."

Agent C placed his hands firmly on the podium, "The most powerful ghosts in history have remained in the Ghost Zone almost continuously in all of G.I.W. history. If Phantom doesn't join them for eternity, we will eliminate him for good."

His statements closed, Agent C headed back to his assigned seat on my left. I of course stood up to replace him on stage.

We shook hands briefly as considered polite when speakers change. "Well played, my friend," I said.

"Thank you Mr. Mayor Masters, but save your praises for Phantoms downfall."

I nodded, "I shall."

I gathered my bearings on stage, then spoke, "Once again, I thank you all for coming. We will now take a small session for lunch and arrive here again in half an hour to take questions. I ask that you hold all questions related to ghostly matters until the half hour is past."

As I briskly left the stage, the cameras flashed brightly from the crowd. Agent C stood up and waited respectfully for me, "Well then," I said pleasantly, "A fine meal has been prepared for all gathered G.I.W. agents and reporters. I hope you find it suitable."

"I'm sure I will Mr. Mayor Masters," he affirmed, "If you wouldn't mind showing me the way to lunch, I'll gladly satisfy my hunger."

"I will, I'm hungry for lunch as well," I nodded towards an exit and led him through the hall towards the cafeteria. "Agent C, you don't have to use formalities when speaking to me. I always preferred being called 'Vlad' more then some of my other titles."

"Understood," he spoke in a casual tone, "When I joined the G.I.W. it took me a long time to get used to titles. I adjusted as I grew in the ranks and I'd give you my real name if not for regulations." We rounded a corner and noticed two G.I.W. agents stood guard at the lunchroom entrance, "I'm sure you have many titles as well Vlad, being a business owner and a political leader. Boss, Mayor and the like."

We entered the cafeteria. I must admit I was frantically attempting to silence one of my titles which was echoing in my head. Fruitloop, FRUITLOOP, Fruitloop.

We sat down and waited for our food to arrive, "I hope this doesn't intrude, but is Phantom really the most powerful ghost in the world?"

Agent C leaned into his chair, "That was mostly for dramatic purposes; but still, yes. Phantom is the most powerful ghost that is frequently detected in Amity. Occasionally powerful entities will come around for a few hours or so, but Phantom usually battles them soon after they arrive."

"I see," If Daniel was stronger then me after so little time… "If you don't mind my asking; what ghosts arrive that can compete with Phantom's power?"

"Very few," he spoke seriously. "Two of the most powerful ghosts; one that controls plant life and the other weather, are now lightweights compared to him."

Undergrowth and Vortex, I recalled. I raised an eyebrow, I never stood a chance against either of those ghosts, "How powerful were those ghosts by your measurements?"

"The plant controlling ghost was only a 5.8 and no more, Phantom was in the low 6 area. We figure it wasn't the plant ghost's strength that made him hard to beat; but his invulnerability. Our equipment ran on its' backup generators, but we still don't know for sure how Phantom managed to take him out." He tightened his fists, "Phantom fought at a much higher power level after that."

That didn't sound good, "And what of the weather controlling ghost?"

Our lunch arrived and was placed in front of us. Agent C appeared to look up at me, "That ghost was powerful to begin with. Around the mid seven area, stronger then Phantom was at the time. And then…"

I was feeling my patience strained, "Then what?"

He adjusted his sunglasses, "Then Phantom jumped in power again. From 6.4 to 7.9, then he just dropped back down to normal levels after that. That event was also the first time we clearly detected a duplication." (A/N this power jump/drop happened when Danny had/lost his weather powers.)

I was surprised he called duplication for what it is, "And how did it read?"

"Clearly, Phantom was a 6.4 at the time. The three other apparitions that appeared in the same spot, under the same signature, were a fairly weak 2.9. This recent time however, they seemed to be clones, since they all held the same power level." He harshly stabbed at his steak, "Even when Phantom made a jump in power, the clones jumped with him. All the way up to 10.3."

I paused, "Are you certain of this?"

"More then anything in my life, Vlad."

We finished lunch in complete silence before we headed out to take questions. On our way, we passed by some various people and-"Maddie! How wonderful of you to make it."

"I'm here to answer questions Vlad. You asked me to come," she replied.

Agent C lagged behind Maddie and I, as we entered back into the sea of reporters.

"Yes, but with all the attention you've been getting, I was worried you'd forgotten about me."

She refused to look me in the eye, "Trust me Vlad," she sounded slightly irritated, "you're absolutely unforgettable."

"I see." Time to change the subject, "Well then, how is Jack taking to the new events?"

Maddie perked up a bit, "The same way he takes all other ghostly events."

I'd bet that the fool went running around breaking things to no success in the least.

Maddie sat down in her assigned chair as I walked up to the center podium. Sometime during the break, two more podiums had been placed on stage.

"Thank you for your patience," I began. "Now here to answer questions are Agent C, from the G.I.W. And Madeline, Amity's own resident ghost expert. I will be answering questions as well as Mayor."

I stepped back and let those mentioned take their place behind their podiums. It was time to watch and wait for everyone's reactions and plan my next move…

(Meanwhile…POV of Jazz Fenton)

We ignored the TV since there wasn't anything important on anyway. I was going to watch the interviews, but the rest of the team had seen more then enough.

"So, what now?" Tucker asked.

"I say," Sam started, "we hack into the F.A.P.S. and see what else it knows."

"By "we" you mean "Tucker" right?"

"Obviously, it's not like Danny or I can pull it off. Right Danny? Danny?"

I froze, "Danny?"

We all dove for our phones simultaneously, each trying to track Danny by G.P.S.

Well they did, I just sent a text. I got a reply shortly after…

Danny: IF you don't mind. Leaf me alone.

"Guys! I got a text from Danny," they snatched my phone form me, read the text, and briefly shared a look.

"So," I asked impatiently.

"He's fine," Sam said simply.

"I think I'll need a little more then that Sam."

She pointed to my phone, "Danny capitalized "IF" at the beginning. It means, "I'm fine" The rest of the sentence is ignored, so Danny really meant, "I'm fine, leave me alone."

"You guys have your own coded language? Cool! What did Danny mean by "Leaf?"

Tucker snorted, "It means Danny's autocorrect is active on his phone."

"Oh."

Sam snickered, "Come on Tuck; lets see what we can learn from the F.A.P.S. Jazz, why don't you stay here and watch the news?"

I nodded, anxious to help any way I could, "I'll notify you if anything important is said."

"Right you do that," She said and followed Tucker into the lab.

(Soaring through the skies above Amity Park…)

What a jerk! Where does that guy get off talking like that?

I flew through the skies in a black blur, barely visible to the sky gazers on the ground. Flying around has always been my second favorite form of stress relief. Probably because flying uses enough energy to help me calm down, without tiring me out.

So far, it wasn't working that well.

I ranted in my head and didn't dare lady luck to let someone hear me. Noticing an obscure hill in Jackson Park (a few years ago, someone finally named the park after one of Amity Parks founders, instead of calling it "Amity Park, Park.")

I landed on a small branch high in the tress, thankful for the almost weightlessness of my ghost form.

"Finally, some peace and quiet. Oh, who the heck am I trying to kid?"

I took of again at a mild speed. Somehow, the winds I sailed on drifted me back into mall town. Exactly what I needed, an environmental reminder of my massive mess up. Oh well, I kept on flying around anyway.

You might think that the entire place would be a ghost town, or maybe full of reporters. Nope. Not in Amity, we're used to ghost destroying things, and we won't let that stop our Saturday shopping.

I floated invisibly in midair and tried to decide if I should keep flying around, or just go home and crawl back into bed.

My answer came in the form of my ghost sense. It didn't feel like the ghost was too close, so I started slipping into the essence of my ghost sense to find it.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!"

And I was humiliated. Apparently he was floating right behind me and had no problem being loud about it.

Surprised, I fell out of the air, turned visible, and landed face first into the plain view of dozens of people with camera phones. They noticed me, they noticed him, and they weren't afraid to stick around.

Seams that no matter how much they could've feared me, when the Box Ghost was involved…They just didn't feel the needed to do anything but laugh at my misfortune.

I did faintly hear a few people speak along the lines of, "it's just the Caterer/shoe salesmen Ghost, so Phantom won't use the Boom of Doom right?"

I hoisted myself off of my butt, "Boxy, do you have any idea how bad your timing is?"

"DO NOT MISTAKE YOURSELF! For it is YOU who is UNLUCKY! For I, THE BOX GHOST, have easily taken you for surprise! BEWARE!"

In the street, I hoisted myself off my butt and stood tall. I glanced at the people around me, knowing that faster then the speed of 4G, this would be on Youtube.

Saying hello to my first favorite form of stress relief, I leaped into the air. Okay I exaggerate; the Box Ghost is pathetically easy to beat but impossible to discourage. That's what makes him my favorite punching bag.

I noticed a crowd gathering below us, camera-phones recording. Since they took the trouble, I gave them a show.

Simple fight: a few punches, and a flashy trick with the Fenton Thermos, and bye-bye Boxy! I even got a few cheers from the onlookers. It felt kind of nice. I waved to the crowd before the cheering died down, and smiled at the onlookers. Then I flew off to find an obscure place to transform back into Fenton. A small alley took my attention. I glided into it and transformed behind a dumpster, and double-checked to dull the flash of the ghostly rings that engulfed me.

No one noticed as I left the alley and joined the walking crowds. Fenton was just an average teenager and there were kids about my age everywhere. I decided to brake away from everyone and sit down on a bench. I leaned back and tried to clear my head and review the past few days, while trying not to get upset.

I was glad when Jazz sent me a text but didn't bother me further. Sam and Tucker must've convinced her that I really need some alone time. Not that I was really alone in mall town anyway.

My thoughts eventually got back up to Boxy, I replayed the fight in my head to see if I could recall anything I could improve on. Then came the damage…I paused in my thought process. There hadn't BEEN any damage.

I sat up straight: I didn't crack the street when I landed, I didn't accidentally hit anything with an ecto-blast, I didn't punch through any walls, and I didn't give the Box Ghost a chance to destroy and merchandise.

I'd just had a damage free fight. I chanted it again in my head; I'd just had a damage free fight!

I was so excited I hardly remembered that I was up against the Box Ghost, but it was a start! I thought that maybe my luck had changed, so I stood up and marched straight for the mall. If the news stations thought they could get me down with pictures, then they'd thought wrong.

Then again, this would be where I passed an empt lot, tripped over my other left foot, and crashed into thorny, prickly, bushes, and muddy wet ground...

(Guess who again.)

Of the three podiums from the reporters' point of view, Maddie was on the right. She represented the data collected and would answer questions related to that knowledge.

Agent C, was placed respectfully behind the middle podium. He represented the GIW, and would answer questions accordingly.

I of course, represented Amity, and would assure the public of their safety and the little need for unease.

Unfortunately, that all fell apart when agents K and O ran on stage (and well within range of the microphones) and shouted something about how Phantom's signal had been detected at the mall again.

I most likely don't need to tell you, but instantly, every single reporter started scrambling for all there worth towards the exit. Agent C, abandoned the stage and left as well, along with agents K, and O.

Maddie took off soon after the general amount of people had left.

So there I was standing on the stage solo, in an abandoned room that still had garbage and leftover belongings scattered amongst the many chairs.

"Daniel," I said to the empty room, "someday I'll get you back for all the trouble, and embarrassment you've caused me as mayor."

(Narrator.)

The three agents strapped on their jetpacks and headed in a straight line for the mall.

"What's the Ghost Punk up to this time?"

Agent O adjusted his headset, "It's not Phantom himself. It's Skulker."

"Do you mean to tell me, Agent O, that you called me away form a press conference for SKULKER?"

Agent O drifted away from Agent C. Agent K intervened, "With all do respect sir, Phantom shows up the confront the ghost Skulker when ever Skulker become active In combat mode." All three agent adjusted their trajectory, "Phantom confronts this ghost 100% of the time, without fail. It's only logical that Phantom will attack this ghost."

Agent C emitted an aura of frustration, "Fine then, full speed ahead."

(Danny Fenton POV)

I could tell you how no one ever came to help me out of the bushes. I could tell you about how in my anger, I forgot completely about a little thing called ghost powers. I could repeat the first chapter all over again. I could tell you about Skulker's sneak attack as I was minding my own miserable business. But I won't.

What I will tell you, is that it is 1 A.M, and this, is where the author leaves you hanging.

See you next week.

Author Speaking!

It is as Danny said.

See you next Sunday!

Quick note: about humans and even Plasmius not being able to handle ghosts like Undergrowth and Vortex when "The Masters Blasters" technically 'defeated' those ghosts and more. I think Vlad just made a deal with the ghosts like he did with The Freight Knight, or Skulker. Vlad admitted he couldn't beat strong ghosts when he ditched Danny to face Vortex alone, he didn't show up to fight Undergrowth, and he fell a helpless victim to Nocturne. Clearly, our Fruitloop isn't as all powerful as he'd like Danny to believe.

Besides, this story is AU, so those annoying kids never show up to begin with. A very fine reason to write FanFiction if you ask me. You can forget about the annoying people. :D

REVIEW! And tell me if you not completely confused yet!