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5. One Seriously Crazed Up Fruit Loop

Tucker looked at the Miami-Dade Crime Lab building in awe. "This has got to be one of the coolest places here besides the beach," he mumbled aloud. "How much technology do you think they've got in here?"

Danny crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing to slits. "I don't know, Tuck. Something doesn't feel right about this. Why would Plasmius want to meet us here?" He morphed, a snowy-haired teenager with emerald green eyes standing in his place yet again. "Why did I even listen to him and come to this place?"

Sam looked at Danny. "Come on," she told him. "If anything goes wrong, you can fight him, kick his butt, and we can bolt back to the hotel while you keep him occupied."

"Oh, but I'm afraid that isn't going to work, Samantha."

Phantom glared at the skies. Plasmius was holding a young man by the arm, in which he shifted to his waist. "For you see, I was hoping you would be able to give me a little bit of help in a small... a small favor of mine. All it involves is Samantha and Tucker, and I'll let the officer go."

Phantom blinked. 'Officer? As in...?'

It happened in an instant. His hands glowed with energy, a furious glint in his eyes. "Kidnapping police officers, Plasmius? God, that's low- even for you!"

His foe laughed, the sound ringing through the parking lot as people screamed and ran in opposite directions. "Oh, I'm not kidnapping people, Daniel. I'm simply taking others away from what they love doing and getting them to secretly work for my own purposes. You know it's how I am and always will be. Can't you accept that?"

The ghost ray was fired, hitting Plasmius' hand and helping knock free Ryan Wolfe, who went falling for the Earth. Phantom leapt into action, flying and catching the still unconscious CSI, laying him on the pavement. He proceeded by firing another ghost ray at the billionaire half ghost and missing, the blast hitting the building and leaving a small dent. Phantom got into an aerial battle stance. "Going to fight me, Vlad?"

Sam looked at Ryan and rushed over to him, Tucker in hot pursuit. She knelt down next to him and felt around his body. "He's alive," she told Tucker.

He blinked. "How do you know?"

"I watch crime dramas all the time. This is what they always do in the shows."

"Oh."

Plasmius looked down at Sam, Tucker, and Ryan, who began to stir. He glared back at the teenager, hatred in his gaze. "Am I going to fight you, Daniel? Naturally."

Phantom smiled. "I thought so."

Horatio didn't know what was crazier- watching Calleigh Duquesne, his ballistics expert in firearms going... well, ballistic, or running into the parking lot and seeing a Gothic girl with black hair and makeup alongside an African American with a red beanie leaning over his CSI. Neither of them seemed to be trying to hurt him. Actually, they were talking to him, their faces understanding and confused. He ran over to Ryan, who rubbed his head in confusion. "Mr. Wolfe. What happened?"

He shrugged helplessly. "I really have no idea, H. I was busy processing the ectoplasm in the lab and the next thing I know..."

"Wait a second," the girl interrupted, looking at Ryan confusedly. "Did you just say ectoplasm?"

Horatio turned his gaze onto her. She looked to be no more than fifteen, if not sixteen, years old. Dressed in a skirt and a short top, Horatio surmised she could have been a new resident or something along those lines. "Ma'am, do you know what we're talking about?"

She looked at the lieutenant, wincing as she heard a boy scream. "I know about ectoplasm, if that's what you're talking about."

He nodded. "What's your name?"

She blinked. "Sam. Sam Manson. Why?"

Horatio looked at the other boy. "And you?"

"Tucker Foley. We think we might have some idea about this pink handprint that Ryan told us about," he explained to Horatio.

He cocked his head, his gun now away and fingering a pair of sunglasses. "All right. I'm listening."

Before Tucker could open his mouth, another scream erupted from the skies as Plasmius punched a snow-haired teenager in a black jumpsuit in the stomach. "Daniel, this is pathetic," he chuckled as he watched the teenager double over in agony. "When I thought you were going to fight me, I thought this would be much more of a challenge! Not some run-around-the-parking-lot sort of thing."

The male's eyes flashed a bright green- or Daniel. Daniel... Horatio furrowed his brow. He remembered something about a Danny Fenton in the release of Ryan. The teenager spoke, his voice dripping with venom. "More of a challenge, Vlad? You want a challenge?"

He took a deep breath.

Never in Horatio Caine's life had he seen a teenaged... thing be so equally matched to the male half-ghost, who had lost his swagger and was furiously trying to attack the rampaging child. Ice-cold beams were shot out from his hands, hitting Plasmius with almost everything he had. Unfortunately, the sun was a factor in the melting of the ice, and soon enough, it seemed as if he could have been using water instead of ice to attack him. Plasmius began to attack as well, a fierce fight ensuing between the ghost and Plasmius. He pulled out a gun, Sam looking at him incredulously. "You can't shoot them!"

"One of them tried to kidnap my CSI," he told her flatly. "He's going to be taken in for questioning."

As if on cue, a Hispanic male rushed out of the lab, gun pulled out as well and watching the battle in the sky unfold. He glanced at the lieutenant, dazed by the scuffle. "H, who are these guys?"

He turned around and nodded to Tucker and Sam. "Eric, this is Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Kids, this is Eric Delko, one of the CSIs here."

"NO!" Plasmius suddenly screamed, firing a ghost ray at the group. They scattered, and Plasmius swooped down and picked up Ryan again... and Sam.

She began to struggle. "Let go of me, you creep!"

He sighed and let an electric shock surge through her body. She screamed for a few minutes, as did Ryan... only until they were both knocked out from the strength of the shock. Tucker's eyes widened. "Sam!"

Plasmius looked below the bodies and grinned. "You're next."

"Put them down!" Phantom bellowed, charging another blast up. "Put them down right now!"

His foe raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to shoot that at me? Because if you hit me, you hit Samantha." He laughed. "And I sincerely doubt you would like to hit the love of your life."

He stopped and lowered his hands, flaring up. "What are you up to?!"

"Oh, nothing!" he smirked. "Although..." He swooped down and grabbed Tucker by the hand, sending a shock through the teen and wincing. "My, this weight is a bit much."

"LET GO OF THEM!" Phantom screamed.

Horatio fired a shot at Plasmius, who barely dodged out of the way in time. "I'll deal with you later, Horatio!" he shouted gleefully, flying off into the distance.

Phantom clenched up and landed on the sidewalk, shaking. Horatio kept his gun leveled at him. "You're against him, aren't you?" He motioned to Eric, who shook himself out of his daze. "Eric, help him inside. He's hurt."

"I'm fine!" the teenager insisted, twitching visibly.

Horatio shook his head. "I'm not going to have an enemy of Vlad Plasmius going out to look for him after what I've just witnessed, Mr...?"

He sighed resignedly. "Phantom. Danny Phantom. All right, I'll go with you guys."

Eric glanced at his boss, who stood staring into the skies. "What's on your mind?" he asked as he led Phantom inside.

"Vlad Plasmius and Vlad Masters, Eric," he muttered, looking at the clouds drift by and begin to block out the sun. "Could they be... one?"

Another update. Yay! Could I get just a few reviews? Please? Tell me how the story is going- what you like, what you don't, anything! Thanks for reading and much love, friends.