Chapter Eighty-Five: Thief

He'd kept it from anyone else, but Dan couldn't hide what he'd overheard Jack saying from Danny. The thought of his father having ghost powers unnerved him, and while Plasmius and Dark made plans for the upcoming fight, the other three practiced making the shield invisible.

'We can't let him keep it.' Danny finally thought. 'We have to take it away, before he uses it.'

'We'll have to do that without the others knowing.' Dan thought. 'Tonight?'

'After dinner.' Danny agreed. 'We'll have to be quick, in and out and nothing else. Nothing else, Phantom. I don't care how much you want to hurt him, it's too soon.'

'Can we at least take away those damn gloves?' Dan asked.

'…Yes. If only to keep him from using them on anyone else.'

Dan nodded, his shield wavering around his invisible form.

Everyone else was busy with Thanksgiving prep or the plan. Still invisible, they left Dani to hold up the practice shield and slipped out of the mansion. They moved quickly, weaving around objects and turning intangible when they couldn't dodge. Soon they were at Amity Park, and Phantom gently took Danny's hand in his.

'It's alright.' He thought. 'Stay by me, we'll get in and out quickly.'

They flew to FentonWorks and realized this was going to be harder than they thought. The Ghost Shield was up, with Jack on the roof watching for any sign of Phantom. Valerie was also flying around on her jetski, no doubt keeping an eye out for the same person.

'How are we going to get it?' Danny thought.

'He keeps the vial on his person.' Dan glanced at Jack. 'Slip behind him and reach through his body intangible. By the time he realizes there's someone there, we should be gone.'

'Spector Deflector.' Danny shook his head, pointing at Jack's waist.

'Damn.' Dan clenched his teeth.

'Should we give up?' Danny thought.

'No, we can't give up!' Dan shook his head. 'That's your blood, Danny!'

'I know…' Danny pursed his lips. 'Maybe we should contact Tucker.'

'He'd wonder how he knows.' Dan shook his head.

'Then what can we do?!' Danny looked at him.

Dan's shoulders slumped as the truth sank in. 'Nothing. We can't do anything to him.'

Danny held his hand tighter. '…The Ghostly Wail. He thinks Phantom is in the area; let's use a power that only you have. I'll offer my own energy to make it as powerful as when you escaped, and we'll knock him off his feet while destroying the ghost shield.'

Dan smiled, nodding. 'Alright, bro. Let's do this.'

Danny nodded, gripping his hand with both hands, Dan's aura glowing brighter. Dan took in the energy and then let out a loud howl that was heard all over the city, the waves escaping his lips making the belt around Jack's waist crack as he flew back and the shield flicker before vanishing, the generator destroyed.

Valerie, of course, came flying over and looking around for the cause. Phantom was still invisible, thanks to Danny, and clung to him panting heavily. Danny nodded and then they flew to the roof, landing beside their unconscious father. 'He's just unconscious. I'll do it.' Danny thought, his hand going intangible as he searched the suit for the vial. Smiling, he pulled it out and held it up. 'Found it.'

'Let's get those gloves.' Dan nodded, the two slipping inside the building. They passed by Maddie, who was working on restoring power after the wail knocked it out, and entered the lab.

The Ghost Claws were hidden inside a case. With no power, the shield that was around the case had vanished and Dan could easily reach in and break the lock. He took out the gloves and shivered, looking at them. '…Alright. We got what we wanted, let's go.'

Danny nodded, the two going intangible and zipping through the ceiling.

"That was reckless!" Dark snapped when he found out where they'd gone. "If you went alone, or if you were both weak, they would've had you! Do you want to end up under the knife again, Phantom?!"

Dan shook his head, his head bowed.

"And you, Danny, you were supposed to be the sensible one! Why did you do it?!" Dark looked at him. "Why did you risk everything? What could have been so important?"

Danny held up the vial and Dan held up the gloves. Dark stared at the gloves, then stepped back. "Those are…they're different, but…the old man…" His eyes were filled with a mixture of fear and rage.

"We couldn't let him keep these." Danny said softly. "If he found out about Vlad…just by chance…"

"And he was planning to use Danny's blood to gain ghost powers or at least super-human strength." Dan said, looking up at him. "Yes, Dark, it was so damn important we had to risk everything. And they'll be looking around for Danny Phantom now, so they won't be back here for a long time."

Dark sighed. "You were both invisible the whole time? Even when you did the Wail?" They nodded and he ran a hand through his hair. "Alright. Good work, then. Now get to bed, big party tomorrow."

They nodded, leaving the items with Dark as they left the lab. He looked at the vial and then crushed it in his hand, his grip flaring up with red fire to destroy the contents and the vial. Then he turned to the claws and picked them up, shoving them in a drawer and closing it quickly. They were too similar… 'Even if they weren't made by the old man…they still exist.' He thought, pursing his lips. 'Created by a monster…' He clenched his fists, leaning over the desk he'd shoved them into. His body was trembling with rage, recalling his own pain when he was ripped out of Daniel like Phantom was ripped from Danny.

A hand on his shoulder made him freeze up and look to his side. Daniel looked at him quietly, then opened the drawer to look at the claws. "They're not the same." He said softly. "They do the same thing, but they're not the same. And they're not going to hurt you; they're out of his hands." He closed the drawer and gently touched Dark's cheek. "Vlad will never hurt us. We're safe here."

Dark nodded, wrapping his arms around him. "I know…" He whispered. "I know."

Phantom had attacked him. He'd attacked him directly. Jack clenched his fists, knowing that Phantom must've been the one to take away the vial and his Ghost Claws. Somewhere in this city, that monster was lurking around the area, watching…waiting…

The ghost shield would have to be repaired; hopefully Phantom would give him time before his next attack to do that. Should he send Maddie to Alicia for her safety? He knew how dangerous Phantom could be when angry, and the only thing that kept him from tearing Jack to pieces before was Danny. Danny was gone now, though, he had no restraints. So, why didn't he kill him?

'Promises.' He thought. 'Danny wouldn't want me dead, so he must've made Phantom swear not to kill me.'

"Jack?" Maddie walked down into the lab. "Is…Is everything okay? That was Phantom…right?"

"Yes." Jack pursed his lips. "He took away my new invention."

"You mean the stronger Ghost Gloves?" She looked at the empty case. "Why would he do that?"

"He must blame me for Danny's death." Jack hung his head. "There was nothing I could do, though…they had me as trapped as Danny was…"

Maddie wrapped her arms around him. "Jack…maybe…if we talked to Phantom…"

"Talked? To Phantom?" Jack looked at her. "Maddie, this isn't like you."

"Danny said that he was his friend. He was crying out for him on his death bed. Wouldn't it be good to honor his wishes…and make peace?" Maddie asked.

Jack closed his eyes. "There can be no peace between us." He pulled away, walking upstairs. "If he wanted peace, then he wouldn't have attacked me."

Maddie sighed, watching him go. "Oh, Jack…"

Nope, no peace. Not between those two. :/ Phantom and Jack hate each other with a burning passion that no one can douse. Like love, only trying to kill each other.
That was just weird. Why did I say that? Anyways, on to the next chapter! ~ Zone