"I never took Skulker as the type to grow flowers." Tucker said dryly, leaning over to look out the small window set in the door. Sam nudged him aside to get a look. She made a small noise, thinking as the Speeder passed over the strange field.
"I think they're just growing wild." She finally said.
"That metal oaf simply gave up on his little flowers." A familiar voice replied. Danny immediately swerved away from the island, trying to gain more speed. The voice stayed.
Vlad was in the Speeder.
"Here, let me show you what the blood blossoms are capable of." Plasmius continued. The Speeder stalled, staying in the air, but refusing to move. The cabin grew silent as everyone inside waited like trapped animals.
Everyone unconsciously huddled closer to each other.
"Anyone got a thermos?" someone asked, joking yet serious. No one bothered to answer.
Finally, Plasmius acted, doing what everyone expected of him.
Danny was just one step ahead, silently making his body intangible so Plasmius couldn't drag him out.
"Tucker!" Danny barked, "Take the controls!"
A bright whit light filled the cabin as Danny transformed.
"I'll meet you at the portal!" he said before phasing out of the Speeder. He became visible once outside, allowing everyone inside to see him as he sped off. Plasmius phased out, firing a ray of energy at Danny.
The chase had begun.
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The halfa's left the humans behind, spiraling off in a flurry of ecto blasts and shouts. Those left behind could only stare in disbelief. Danny knew that throwing himself out into a fight could really get himself killed.
Danny had told them that he'd meet them at the portal. He should have known that they weren't the types to just sit around. Tucker gunned the controls, flying off after Danny.
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Danny was already feeling extremely weak. His wounds he'd received as a human had carried over to plague him as a ghost, making one of his arms useless to wave around and fire shots off with. Plasmius noticed this weakness, and doubled his attacks.
"Leaving your friends behind Daniel?" the older man cackled, swatting Danny back with a large wall of energy. Danny tumbled away before straightening himself and returning fire.
"Don't bring them into this!"
"Dear boy, they brought themselves into this mess, just by being with you. They'll meet their fate."
"No! Leave them alone!"
Danny shot towards Plasmius, firing off rapid shots, kicking him when he got close enough. Plasmius electrocuted him, throwing him away as The Speeder appeared around a mass of floating rock. Danny cried out, telling them to leave, he could do this on his own. Did they really want to get hurt?
Plasmius laughed behind Danny, causing him to turn around and put his back to his friends and sister. If anyone were to fire off a weapon now, it would hit Danny first. Plasmius knew this, and copied himself three times to prevent Danny from moving out of the line of fire. Two more copies appeared on each side of the Speeder, keeping it rooted in place. Danny glared at the original, fury in his green eyes.
"You sick old man!" he spat, feeling a slightly familiar rush of power building up in his body. Everyone was unaware, and the Plasmius's laughed in sync.
"Do you think I even care?" they all said in unison, "I have nothing to loose!"
Plasmius was referring to how Danny and his mother had rejected him. He had riches, fame, and power. But he was alone. All that time alone had snapped him.
Plasmius and the three copies facing Danny fired off burning shots of energy at Danny, hitting him dead on and temporarily trapping him in midair. They drew the power back, knocking Danny away. His screams had been enough to shake the glass of the Speeder.
The attack left Danny floating, hugging his torso to protect himself. His shoulders began to shake, but his facial expression was lost due to the way his head currently hung. Plasmius and his copies began laughing at this, thinking Danny's energy was spent.
Danny reacted in an instant, taking in a huge amount of air and pulling his head back up to face his enemy. He let loose a wail of pure power, instantly destroying all of the copies, even those behind him.
Danny was pouring all of his fury, his pain of recent events, his fear, into his attack. Plasmius howled, shielding himself with his hands as his powers failed him. Even after he returned to Vlad Masters, Danny continued attacking.
He stopped without realizing it. As soon as the wail ended, Danny passed out, reverting back to Fenton.
He never saw the expressions of horror on the faces of those in the Speeder, or the tears falling from different sets of eyes, including his own.
Some distance away, a set of cold eyes observed the entire scene. The new ghost decided to follow this group out of the zone, at a distance where they would never notice him.
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Tucker maneuvered the Speeder towards Danny, and Jazz and Sam gently pulled him in. Alex helped them get Danny on the seat, saving some room so Tucker could it and drive. Once Danny was safely resting, Alex slumped against the back wall, sliding down until he was sitting. His hand was extremely stiff and sore, and he wanted to stay out of the way. Without meaning to, he let his brain shut down, sending his body to a level of rest similar to the boy a few feet away.
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Jazz turned to see Alex drift off to sleep, his face pale due to his broken hand. She knew that Danny, thanks to his powers, was somehow able to heal slightly faster than a normal human. Alex didn't have that.
Jazz looked back to her brother. Already, the small cuts that had gathered across his skin were healing over and vanishing. As if she read the other girl's mind, Sam handed the first- aid kit to Jazz. There wasn't much that she could do though other than wrap the broken finger between two popsicle sticks and tape it. Alex made a pained hissing noise, waking slightly before passing out again.
Meanwhile, Sam was watching Danny. He wasn't moving an inch, but whenever Tucker made a turn, he'd roll slightly to one side or the other.
How could anyone put someone else through so much? How much was Danny hiding from them as he lay there?
Alex's phone went off in his pocket. Jazz decided on the third ring to answer it, in case it was one of her parents or Alex's guardian.
"Hello?"
"Jazz, Honey! Where are you? Are you with the others?"
Jazz sighed before answering her mother.
"We're coming back, mom. I used the Specter Speeder to go into the ghost zone and find them."
"Without telling us?" sigh. "Is everyone alright? Jazz?"
It was hard for the teen to form an answer. Her mother urged her to answer, which she finally did.
"No. We ran into some trouble."
"Honey, I need you to tell me exactly what happened."
"We're almost there," Tucker said softly. "The portal is just ahead." Jazz nodded to him and repeated the information to her mother.
"Mom? Where are you?"
"The lab."
When the call was over, Jazz returned the phone to Alex's pocket.
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"Hey, something is coming up on the radar!" Tucker said. "A ghost is attacking!"
He turned the Speeder around to shoot the ghost back. He was too late, and the black ecto blast rammed into the nose of the craft, knocking it around. The ghost responsible for it was already gone. Sam read the status on the Speeder from a small screen.
"No damage. That's weird."
Tucker shrugged, turning around and leaving.
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Maddie stood to the side as the portal doors opened. As the craft floated in, Jack and Jack came running down the stairs. Tucker parked, and Sam swung the door open. Small amounts of black smoke drifted from the front of the Speeder, wrapping around the heads of the three adults. Through the haze of worry and panic, they didn't notice it. Similar smoke had wrapped around Jazz's head, but it had vanished in an instant.
Jack Fenton was the first to the door, pale faced as he scooped his son into his arms. He had exhausted himself with his powers. Alex woke himself up and was the last to leave the Speeder. His face was now chalk white, and his eyes were glazed over. The Fenton's had already run up the stairs with Danny, but his guardian had stayed behind.
"Alex! Your hand!" she cried out, running towards him. His hand suddenly gave a nasty throb, and Alex collapsed into Jack. The throbbing in his broken bones reminded him dully of his bullet wound he had received some time ago, in a failed murder attempt.
Jack and Jazz helped him up the stairs. Alex could walk on his own, but his vision was swimming now.
Tucker and Sam were already at Danny's side as well as his parents. Mr. Fenton had laid Danny, as carefully as one might an infant, on to the couch. Mrs. Fenton was running around, gathering bandages and ice.
"This is bad." Alex muttered. Jack glanced down at him, her eyes filled with worried concern. She then turned to Jazz,
"Where is the hospital?"
Maddie Fenton heard this question, and ran up to Alex, ushering him to a chair. By this point, Alex's face was taking on a green color. He just wanted to pass out, and sleep the pain off. His body agreed, and he slumped into the chair.
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The three adults took action. Maddie ran for the keys to the Ghost Assault Vehicle, or RV, while the remaining adults got everyone else into the vehicle. Jack Fenton, behind the wheel, tore off for the hospital as soon as the door had shut.
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The drive to the hospital was filled with silence, broken only by an occasional curse at traffic conditions. Maddie was sitting next to her son, holding his slightly bandaged hand softly. Danny's eyebrows knitted together.
"Plasmius…" he whispered. Maddie squeezed his hand tightly without realizing it. She leaned a few inches closer, trying to hear him. He continued muttering, and his eyes began darting behind their lids. Maddie drew back.
"I think Danny's waking up."
Jazz Sam and Tucker were immediately at her side, watching as Danny's fists clenched. His eyes slowly opened, taking in everything around him. Sighing, he closed his eyes. Maddie thought he had fallen asleep again.
"Honey? Stay awake, okay?"
"M'hm." Danny hummed, falling asleep anyway. Jazz came to his rescue.
"Mom, he was really tired in the Ghost Zone," She said lamely. Maddie seemed to buy this, and reluctantly went to tell her husband that Danny had briefly woken up.
They watched her walk away before turning back to Danny. He had weakly gotten their attention by tugging at Jazz's sleeve.
"She gone?" Danny asked softly
"Yeah."
"Did I get him?" the halfa opened one eye.
"We think you knocked him out. He wasn't awake when we left him."
"That's good, I guess."
"How are you feeling, Danny?"
"I'm dead tired, but I think all the cuts and stuff are gone now. Shoulder hurts though." He mumbled, closing his eye and falling into sleep, this time without faking it.
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Jazz ruffled Danny's hair before walking over to Jack and Alex. The older woman was ashen faced as she sat next to Alex.
"How is Alex?" Jazz asked. Jack chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.
"Would it surprise you if I told you that this wasn't the first time he's had to go to the hospital like this?"
"Actually, no. You think he'll be alright?"
"I don't see why he won't be fine. I'm still worried sick anyway." Jack stopped to rub a hand over her eyes. She chuckled again.
"Ah, boys. They can never stay out of trouble."
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