- Paulina. – He said in a neutral voice.

- Hi Danny. – She gave him her best smile to then look at the girl next to him and get serious. – Manson.

- Sanchez. – She replied.

Both girls entered into another staring battle that ended when Paulina shifted her eyes to the couple's clasped hands, frowning slightly. Sam smiled at her reaction and squeezed Danny's hand a little more tightly.

- Do you need something Paulina? – Danny asked, alternating his gaze between the two girls.

- No. – Her gaze returned to Danny and she smiled again. – I just saw you and wanted to say hi. Oh! - She jumped a little and that startled the couple. – By the way… congratulations on your graduation!

Sam was irritated just by the Latina's presence, but when she saw her reach out a hand in Danny's direction, she was surprised. "The audacity of that girl to flirt with her boyfriend in front of her!" Without hesitating for a second, she slapped the back of Paulina's hand, preventing her from making contact with Danny's arm.

Paulina withdrew her hand and caressed the area where she had received the blow. Danny took that as a sign that they needed to get out of there before things escalate. He released Sam's hand and moved behind her, taking her shoulders and leading her back in the direction of her house.

- Thanks. And congratulations to you too. – He said nervous. – Now, we have to go.

- Why? – She pouted.

- Yes, Danny. Why don't we stay for a little more? - Sam said feigning interest, turning around and walking towards Paulina, clearly upset.

- Sam. - He stopped her again and pulled her towards him. – Your parents will be upset if we are late, so…

- Do you still have a curfew, Manson? - She mocked her. – I thought you were an adult.

Danny gave the Latina an irritated look. Sam just faked a smile.

- I tried… - She whispered before wriggling out of Danny's grasp.

Before his girlfriend could pounce on the girl, Danny used his reflexes to catch her in a hug from behind her and began to drag her away.

- It was a pleasure to see you again, Danny! – Paulina yelled at him when there were already several meters away.

- Bye! – He replied angry, turning in a corner.

Sam was kicking, trying to make Danny release her.

- Let me go Danny!

- No.

- I have to…

- No.

- … destroy that…

- Sam, calm down.

- … bitch!

- It's not worth it! – He berated her.

Danny released her and Sam growled in irritation. She began to straighten her clothes and hair, then crossed her arms and looked at Danny.

- Sam, you have to calm down. – Danny warned her.

- Why did you stop me?

- Why? – He asked incredulously. – Sam, you just jumped on her.

- So? She deserved it.

- She just wanted to provoke you…

- Well, she succeeded! – She was now angry at him.

- Look, I know you hate her…

- That word does no justice to the magnitude of my contempt for her.

Danny took a mental note of that.

- Anyhow. Just… - He made a pause, choosing carefully his next words. – Ignore her, ok? It's Paulina we're talking about.

- It's easy for you to say that when you're not the one she's insulting - She crossed her arms and looked away.

- I know, but it's not that easy for me either. – He sighed when Sam chuckled. – It's hard for different reasons to yours.

- It must be very hard that a girl is constantly hitting on you. – She mocked him.

- It is when is not the girl you want to hit on you.

Danny said with a smile. He observed the reaction of his girlfriend very well and relaxed when a slight smile formed on his lips. Sam's anger slowly disappearing.

- You could've at least said something to her. – She said after a while.

- I don't care about what she says enough to play along.

Sam smiled nodding.

- Wow. It's good to know that my boyfriend won't defend me if someone insults me. – She joked and walked past Danny to continue walking home.

- No. Wait… Sam! - Danny said running after her, not getting the joke. – That's not what I meant…

A pair of red eyes watched the interaction between the two of them, a bored expression plastered on his face. "Pathetic". Dan thought as he saw his human form chasing Sam, who was trying to run away from him amid laughter that could be heard as far as he was. Intangible, he had been following Daniel from a considerable height and distance with the intention of not alerting the boy to his presence.

He was slightly surprised when he saw Daniel hug the girl and kiss her.

- Hmn. I never thought he'd dare. – He made a pause. – I guess this makes things easier for me.

He shifted his gaze to the rest of Amity Park. In his timeline, this had been the last city to fall and the technological pinnacle of humanity. But in this reality... it was just one in a bunch. The technology they had used back then to stop him didn't exist and he wasn't going to give them a chance to create it. His mistake had been to destroy Wisconsin first, giving them a chance to activate the ghost shield. "No again". He had already located the boy, now only Clockwork was missing.

He turned his gaze towards the lovebirds and, judging the path they had taken, deduced that they were going to the girl's house. He smiled. "That works for me too."

- We're here. – Danny released her hand.

Sam looked to the door of her house and the back to Danny. She smiled and, standing in the first step of the short stairs, she gave him a kiss he gladly reciprocated.

- See you tomorrow? – She asked separating from him.

- I'll talk to you later. – He offered.

- That works for me. – She smiled.

- Sam. – He asked after a small pause. – Can I ask you something?

- Sure. – She shrugged.

- Why… do your parents hate us? Tucker and I, I mean.

Sam smiled.

- I don't think they hate you. Not really anyways.

- But…

- I suppose you fall into the category of my many decisions that they disapprove. – She explained. – Why do you ask?

- It's just that… - He scratched his cheek. – My parents love you, but I don't know how your will react when… you know…

- Well… - She wrapped her arms around his neck. – I guess they'll have to get used to it. – She smiled. – Besides, my grandma loves you.

- Your grandma loves everyone. – Danny smiled back.

- Touché. – She kissed him.

Danny hugged her by the waist and kissed her again. However, he was forced to cut the brief love session short.

- What's wrong? - Sam asked.

- I don't want to give them more reasons to hate me. – He answered pointing to the door and the window.

Sam just started laughing.

- You're right. – She separated from him. – I would hate it if my dad chases you with his gun. – Danny quickly got nervous. - Bye.

- Wait. What?

- Just kidding. – She laughed when she saw how the color returned to her boyfriend's face.

Still laughing, Sam climbed all the steps and when she got to the door, she turned around. Danny, who hadn't moved an inch, raised an eyebrow.

- Something's wrong?

- You're still here. – She said and he only shrugged.

- What kind of boyfriend would I be if I don't make sure you made it home?

- A terrible one. – She replied smiling.

- Hence, here I am.

They both laughed for a while.

- See you tomorrow, Danny. – She turned around and grabbed the doorknob.

- See you tomorrow, Sam. – Danny took a few steps back.

When Sam disappeared behind the door, Danny was able to turn around and start walking normally towards his house, a smile on his face. On the other hand, Sam had entered his house with a smile and greeted her mother, who was coming out of the kitchen.

- Oh, Samantha. – She said happily. - Great you came back.

- You need something? – She asked curiously, placing her hands on her waist.

- Your father and I want to talk to you. We were going to call you once your father finished setting up everything, but since you're back we can start earlier.

- Talk about what? - With a raised eyebrow she looked at her mother. Apart from her extravagant clothing, she was carrying a jug of water, but nothing in her behavior seemed suspicious.

- Oh, don't worry dear. – She gestured with her free hand. – It's nothing you should worry about. Quite the opposite, in fact. – She smiled at her.

Pamela started walking towards the study with Sam behind her trying to figure out what her mom was talking about or what they wanted to talk to her about. Pamela stopped when she was in front of the door and turned to see her daughter.

- What? - Sam asked in bewilderment.

Her mom nodded toward the door. She then noticed that her mother's hands were busy, one holding the jug and the other holding a cloth at the bottom of the jug.

- Oh. – She walked around her mom and opened the door for her.

- Thank you.

Pamela walked through the door and continued walking until she reached the center of the table, where she gracefully placed the jug on the table. Sam peeked into the studio, where she could see his dad talking to two other people. A somewhat old man (or at least older than her parents) was sitting next to his father. He was a little overweight and had gray hair, wearing a suit. Next to him, a black-haired lady who was dressed as an executive. Sam detected a third figure as her mom moved to the side to go sit next to her husband. He was a young man, older than her, but he appeared to be still in his 20s, brown hair, brown eyes, and an impeccable gray suit.

Sam's eyes began to travel to everyone in that room, analyzing the familiar interaction between all of them. "What the hell is happening here?" Her thoughts were interrupted when her father's voice reached her ears.

- Samantha! – He called with a smile. – Please, come in. And close the door behind you.

Immediately all eyes fell on her, making her feel uncomfortable with the attention and insecure, because of all those present, she was the only one dressed casually. She entered the room and turned to close the door. When she returned her gaze to everyone, she noticed the daggers that her mother was trying to throw at her with her gaze.

- Good afternoon. – She said automatically, making her mother's gaze relax.

The 3 strangers smiled and greeted her back.

- Please, sweetie. Take a seat. – Jeremy pointed towards the chair next to her mom.

With her lips in a straight line, she walked over to her place and sat down. The gazes of the 3 intruders were on her, all with a slight smile.

- Sam. – Her father called her. – These are Clifford, Alice and the young man in the back is Hunter. – He was pointing at each one, and Sam just nodded in greeting. – Lady, gentlemen… this is my daughter, Samantha.

- It's a real pleasure to meet you, Miss Manson. – Said the older man.

- Thank you. – She replied shyly.

- Your mother talks about you a lot, dear. – Now it was the lady who spoke.

- Really? – She said incredulously, looking at her mother with a raised eyebrow.

- It wasn't always for good things, Sammy. - She teased making the room fill with laughter. Controlled, educated and to some extent, false laughter.

Sam could only smile again uncomfortably, with a feeling of anxiety flooding her inside. "What the hell is going on?" She thought again.

- Now I understand why she never attended events with you. - She said now looking at Pamela. – Such a beautiful lady would steal all eyes.

- Well… - Pamela took a sip from her glass of water. – That runs in the family.

Pamela gave her daughter a smile and reached out her hand to stroke her hair.

She was officially terrified. Yes, her relationship with her parents had improved a lot. But that behavior was not normal. In no one.

- It is a pity that Mrs. Ida cannot be with us today. – The young man in front of Sam finally spoke. – I'm sure she would have liked to be here.

- I'm afraid my mother no longer has the same energy she used to have. – Jeremy spoke. – And if we're honest, she would probably get bored real very fast.

"Grandma? What did she have to do with all this? Who were these people? What did they want with her?" Sam's mind was working at a thousand miles an hour, trying to figure out the reason for this meeting. She watched the older gentlemen and the way they interacted with their parents. They seemed like lifelong friends. And they probably were, after all, she always refused to interact in the same social spheres as her parents. And then there was the young man. He hardly spoke, but whenever he looked at her, he gave her a smile. She snapped out of her musings upon hearing her father call her.

- Samantha. - Jeremy stood up. – I know that you must have many doubts regarding the reason for this brief meeting. – He walked to stand behind her and put her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

- Well… yes. - She said looking at her father, who just smiled at her.

- Sam, as your parent… we've always wanted the best for you. – He walked back to his chair. – For the longest time, our intentions and your wants were in conflict. But we've… progressed significantly since then.

Sam felt her mom place her hand over hers and she gave her a smile.

- And now that you're an adult woman, it's time to talk about your future. – The serious but calm expression of her father tensed her even more. – Initially we thought on giving you a few more years before introducing you to all of this, but you have shown great maturity for your young age and… your mother and I believe that you are ready.

- Ready for what? – She hid all the fear and nervousness to be able to pronounce those words.

- For the rest of your life.

She turned to the front when Hunter's voice reached her ears. The young man was leaning on the table with both arms, a big smile and his eyes fixed on her. His heart began to beat rapidly, she broke out in a cold sweat and a slight tremor was present in her fingers. All the happiness with which she had arrived at her house immediately left her.

Ignorant of his daughter's reaction, Jeremy pointed to the young man who just nodded. He stood up, adjusted his suit, and exhaled deeply.

He felt weightless. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt like this. Complete. He was back home, his relationship with his best friend was as solid as ever, he was in harmony with his family, ghosts were no longer such a suffocating problem, and best of all, he finally had Sam by his side. Life was good.

His moment was ruined when a fuming truck drove past him and he ended up inhaling all the smoke, causing him to immediately cough. As he collected himself, he heard his cell phone in his pocket and quickly answered it.

- Hello?

- Hey little brother.

- Hey Jazz.

- You coming home?

- I'm on my way. I just dropped Sam home.

- Ok. I just wanted to tell you that mom and dad expect you to be home before them.

- They're going out?

- They're already out. They have a date. – She said happily.

- With whom?

- With each other, Danny.

The conversation was interrupted when the honking of a vehicle speeding past Danny cut through the line.

- So, you're coming? – She asked again to confirm.

- Yeah. I'm about… - Blue mist left his mouth before he could continue. - Jazz, I have to go. There's a…

But he couldn't finish speaking. Jazz heard noises on the other end of the line, followed by a small explosion and a scream.

- Danny? - She called him worried. - Danny!

Jazz bolted for the garage, preparing her cell phone's GPS to sync with her car's, but she found the garage empty and remembered that she had left her car at Yale. She looked around to find another mean of transportation and took her old bike.

Tucker was lying on his bed, texting with Jerry. Apparently, his friend was considering studying a master's degree and was asking his opinion on the matter. After several minutes of exchanging messages, the dark-haired man ended up advising him not to pursue his master's degree and seek a specialization, but in the end, only Jerry knew what he wanted.

He left his cell phone on the bed and went to the small desk he had in the room. He turned on his laptop and opened the browser. "It's time to be an adult." He thought resignedly as he opened a job portal. School had been fun and difficult at the same time, but it was time to take on new responsibilities and with it, lose some freedoms. After inspecting some vacancies, he decided to open his mail.

He quickly typed something and three messages appeared on the screen. He opened all the attached files and studied them simultaneously. He had received those proposals a week before graduating from 2 robotics companies and one from a Research and Development company. Good salary, attractive hours, excellent benefits... but all in Boston. Normally he wouldn't consider himself highly emotional, but the idea of being permanently separated from his friends didn't sit well with him. They had agreed to return at the end of their careers, but had made no plans beyond that.

Maybe it was because neither of them wanted to think further. It wasn't for the lack of a life plan; it was just that talking about it would make it real. Regardless of the distance, he knew that he could count on them. But not having them physically close in his life made him melancholic.

He watched the information on the screen, trying to figure out what to do when a knock on his door caught his attention. When he turned around, he saw his mother peeking inside.

- Tucker.

- Sup mom? - He spun in his chair to face her.

- There's a gentleman downstairs wit your father. He wants to talk to you. – She added with a smile.

- A gentleman? – He raised his eyebrow. – Talk to me?

- They're waiting for you downstairs. – Angela's smile widened.

- Alright. – He stood up and closed his laptop. – Let's find out what he wants.

They left the room and went downstairs, where they saw Maurice showing all the awards Tucker had gotten at his graduation to a man. The person in question had his back turned, but he was taller than his father, he was around 50 or 60 years old and he was elegantly dressed, with his jacket on his arm.

- Oh, there he is. – Maurice said.

The man turned around and smiled to him, extending his hand for a handshake.

- Mr. Foley, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. – Tucker shook his hand and smiled weakly.

- The pleasure is mine, Mr… - Tucker made a pause, expecting a name.

- Hooper. – He said. – Dr. Francis Hooper.

Tucker nodded without really knowing what the conversation would be about or who this man was.

- Please. – Maurice said, pointing towards the living room.

- Thank you. – The older man said, walking to the individual couch. The Foley family sat in the largest one, with Tucker sitting between his parents.

- How can I help you? – Tucker asked.

- In many things. Or at least that's what I hope. – He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a business card which he handed to the young man.

Tucker took the piece of paper and read it. Instantly, his eyes widened in surprise and he returned his gaze to the man in front of him, who was now smiling at him.

- Tell me Mr. Foley. – He crossed his legs and settled in the seat. - Have you thought about your future?

Before he finished talking on the phone, he felt something hitting him directly on his left side. Hard. The impact sent him forcefully into an alley and caused him to drop his cell phone. He stopped when he hit a dumpster. Sitting up, he transformed and began to search the surroundings for the one responsible. He managed to barely dodge the ectoplasm beam aimed at his head, which ended up destroying the upper part of the wall that closed that alley. Danny was distracted taking in the damage until a direct hit to his face sent him flying through the wall. The pain of the blow forced him to scream, but at least he had managed to become intangible and not destroy the wall.

He rolled a bit on the ground before getting back up. He put a hand to his nose and was able to confirm that he was bleeding. He cleaned himself on his suit and straightened, searching for something or someone. He was at a construction site, all by himself. A building, to be exact.

- Alright Skulker. Come out of your hiding place so I can kick your ass. – He spoke out loud, looking around the place.

Danny stepped forward, listening for any sound or movement in the darkness of the place. He gave another and nothing happened. When he was going to give the third, mist came out of his mouth again and automatically filled his fists with energy. However, it was of no use as the blow came from the ground, squaring him right on the jaw. Before his face hit the ceiling, he received a punch to his abdomen that made him double over; However, his assailant escaped from his field of vision and fired an energy beam into his back, throwing him against a wall that he couldn't dodge and ended up going through it, the wrong way.

He brushed off the remains of rubble on him as he tried to catch his breath, his gaze fixed on the hole he'd just made in that wall.

- Ok. – He tried to ignore the pain. – Now I'm pissed.

The adrenaline coursing through his veins made him stand up. He shot a beam through the hole that ended up hitting the wall of the other section, and the light generated by the beam allowed him to see that there was no one on the other side. His mind processed everything quickly. Whoever was attacking him was fast, very strong and stealthy.

"Definitely not Skulker." He concluded. But then who? Technus? "Very noisy". Walker? "Not that fast." The Fright Knight? "Not stealthy." Then who?

- Alright… whoever you are. – He caught his breath. – Show yourself.

A weak chuckle was all he received in response, but it was enough to determine the origin of the noise. He flew quickly into the hallway to his left, but something grabbed his ankle tightly. The "whiplash" effect caused by stopping suddenly destabilized him and his enemy took advantage of it in a matter of seconds: Danny felt a punch that made his head crash against the frame in which the door of that place would be; then he felt an explosion of energy in his abdomen that sent him flying to the ceiling, only to be grabbed by the neck and slammed hard to the ground.

- Weak… - He heard someone say behind him, just before grabbing his ankle and throwing him against another wall, where he created another hole.

Without letting him catch his breath, that presence kicked him in the stomach, returning him to the previous room.

- Pathetic…

He recognized that voice from somewhere, but before trying to figure out who the owner was, he turned around and started shooting in all directions. He missed every shot, but discovered that there was someone in each of those directions. Or at least the light from his rays had outlined the silhouette of his assailants.

- Who are you? - He said slowly, because it was difficult for him to breathe.

- "You" as in plural? – The presence in front of him asked with amusement as he laughed.

Simultaneously, 3 figures emerged from the darkness in front of him. There were few times that Danny could say that he had been terrified. And this wasn't just one of those times, it was the worst.

– You forget very quickly, Daniel. – Dan said before he and the 2 duplicates of him shot a paralyzed Danny.

Jazz turned to see the GPS in her phone screen again, which indicated the location of Danny's cell phone. She returned her gaze to the front when a car next to her honked at her for merging. But she didn't care much, Danny needed her and fast. She had a very bad feeling. She re-adjusted the strap on the weapon on his back and pedaled harder.

He knew he needed to concentrate, but his mind kept wondering how this was possible. Dan continued to attack him relentlessly and with a brutality that he had never seen in any ghost. As he could, he blocked and dodged each of the attacks; but eventually, Dan managed to punch him square in the jaw that sent him back violently.

- How...?

But Dan didn't give him a rest. He grabbed his chest to lift him up and keep hitting him.

- You thought that stupid thermos would hold me forever? - He told him while giving him a kick in the right side. – You thought you would defeat me so easily?! – He grabbed Danny by the collar of his suit and pulled him closer to his face. – You were wrong, boy…

Danny took advantage of the brief distraction to shoot Dan in the abdomen to create enough distance between them. He fell to the ground as the future version of him crashed into a wall. Danny knelt down and patted her cheeks, then shook his head.

"Focus Fenton. Your life depends on it". He scolded himself and stood up.

Dan followed suit, brushing the dust off his suit. And he immediately launched himself at the boy.

Danny blew out a long breath, relaxing. Dan was fighting with pure anger and fury. If he was able to calm down, he could use his own momentum against him and defeat him. It worked against Skulker, it worked against Vlad…and it was about to work against Dan.

Dan threw a punch aimed at Danny's face, who avoided it by generating a duplicate and flanking the ghost, landing a double punch straight into his face. Quickly they both pounced onto Dan, landing punches and kicks. Dan was able to parry a few attacks, but several were successful due to the unexpectedness of the counter attack.

Dan started throwing punches and kicks at Danny, who was able to dodge them and take advantage of those brief openings in Dan's stance to land punches. Feeling the frustration of his future version grow, Danny began to exercise more caution. He stopped one of his punches with one hand and pulled him towards him to place his hand on his chest and fire an energy beam at him.

Dan ignored the pain and stood up again, looking at Danny.

- You're stronger. – He said.

- I've been hitting the gym, thanks for noticing. – He joked.

- Too bad it won't make a difference.

Dan lunged at him again, hitting him in every possible way. Danny was defensive again; however, Dan's blows were more powerful this time.

- I defeated you once… - He said repelling attacks. – I'll do it again.

Dan threw a kick at the boy's chest, who managed to block it. However, the blow was so strong that he managed to push him back a few meters.

- Defeat me? – Dan made a pause to laugh hysterically. – I see you haven't exercised the most important muscle, Daniel. - He pointed to the head.

Danny's face hardened and he launched into attack. Before reaching Dan, Danny disappeared and 3 clones appeared surrounding the ghost. They hit him simultaneously on the nape, the abdomen and one leg, and continued to land more blows. Dan created a sphere of energy around him, destroying the clones. However, when he undid it another 3 clones came out of the ground and continued to hit him. One clone grabbed his arm and flung him at another clone, who met him with a kick to the back that made Dan double over. The finisher came from the sky with the third clone flying at full speed and hitting him with its energy-filled fists.

When he tried to get up, two hands came out of the ground and grabbed his arms, and then the same thing happened with his legs, anchoring him strongly to the ground. The third clone landed on his chest and started hitting his face.

Making use of his superior physique, she managed to lift his arms up, digging out the clone that was holding him and throwing him to the one above him. But before freeing himself from Danny, the last clone kicked him in the jaw, keeping him on the ground. Enraged, he shot a beam from his eyes at the clone.

He was quickly on his feet and in a second watched as the last two clones hit him with a ball of pure energy, one in the abdomen and the other in the lower back. The resulting explosion covered the place in dust and caused a clone to disappear, which the original Danny used to create some distance. When he watched Dan climb out from under the rubble of a wall, Danny went on the attack again. He grabbed him by the chest and again threw him to the ground, punching him in the face at high speed.

Danny wasn't used to being this violent, but he knew it was necessary to stop Dan once and for all, so he continued to hit him in the face. Between moments he could see that that monster smiled more with each blow, which made Danny angrier.

- What's so funny? – He said slowing down the speed of the punches.

- You… - Dan smiled. – It's good to know I still exist in you…

Danny stopped his fist in midair and froze for a second as Dan's words echoed through his mind. Dan made the most of the distraction.

He took Danny's face in his left hand and slammed him down to the ground hard, then punched him square in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. Stepping over the boy, he crushed Danny's left wrist with his foot and used his free hand to start punching him.

- You never defeated me! – He shouted as he increased the speed and strength of his punches. – I held back because my existence depended on your survival! – He paused to face the boy with an expression full on rage. – But not anymore. – He smiled before resuming the beating.

The pain was becoming unbearable and Danny began to panic. With the strength he had left, he concentrated his energy in his eyes. Dan had placed a hand on Danny's face to keep him still on the ground and was focused on hitting all the soft spots on Danny's body. Then, he felt the temperature in his hand drop drastically. As the sensation began to burn through him, he withdrew his hand from Danny's face and was greeted with a ghostly wail at point-blank range.

Dan crashed into a perimeter wall, which ended up being destroyed. Danny tried to get up, but immediately felt dizzy, falling to his knees on the ground. He tried to fix his eyes on his enemy who was now walking towards him, but he couldn't focus and he saw everything blurry and double.

- Ice? – He asked as he observed his hand, before filling it with energy that destroyed the thin layer of frost. – You are full of surprises.

Dan levitated a few meters above the ground and after inhaling deeply, he used his ghostly wail. It caused the boy to end up completely dejected on the ground. Seconds later, he lost his transformation.

His mind was screaming at him to stand up, to keep fighting, but his body wasn't responding. His head, abdomen, arms, and legs ached; his vision was failing him and his panic increased as he noticed Dar hovering above him. His heart sped up more and tears began to spill from his eyes, blurring his vision even more. He tried to speak, but only a moan came out of his mouth. With great difficulty, he swallowed the knot that had closed his throat and smiled resignedly when he saw a green glow in the hand of his assailant.

"At least… I tried".

Dan looked up to the sky for a second, waiting for Clockwork to show up to stop him, like last time. But nothing happened. Then a high-pitched beep reached his ears, causing Dan to look back just in time when he felt something hit him in the center of his back. There was no pain or noise, so Dan only raised his eyebrow when he saw his once sister, clearly agitated, pointing a gun at him.

- You should've never done that. - He said pointing at her with his hand.

Jazz stopped when she reached the location her GPS indicated and got off her bike. She looked everywhere, but found no trace of her brother. She looked again at the location that her cell phone marked and began to walk. It was there that she noticed his brother's cell phone lying on the ground at the entrance to the alley.

She hurried to pick it up and began to inspect the place. She noticed that the dumpsters were knocked over, especially one that was even dented. Aside from the scattered trash, she noticed that the wall at the end of the alley had the upper part destroyed, with rubble scattered on the floor.

"Where are you, Danny?" She thought and bit her lip.

She was walking out of the alley when she heard Danny's ghostly wail from across that alley, followed by a loud noise, like a demolition. Jazz ran back to her bike and began looking for a way to quickly circle the buildings in front of her. She turned a corner and after advancing a few meters, she discovered a hole in the wall that delimited the street with a construction site. She ran up to it and peered through the hole, making the fear and nervousness that she felt before for the safety of her little brother grow exponentially. Her hands began to shake and she again forced herself to hide behind what was left of the wall.

But her worry overcame his fear when she again heard a ghostly wail. She plucked up his courage and took the weapon in his hands, stepping through the gap and aiming at the presence that hovered over his brother with more than hostile intent.

Without announcing it or making any noise, she shot that monster in the back. However, her gun let out a beep as it fired, drawing his attention to her. Her shot had made contact with him, but it had done nothing more than leave a small green circular stain on the cloak of…

- You should've never done that. – Jazz's eyes looked straight into the red orbs.

Jazz tried to back away when she saw him point his hand at her, but froze when she noticed a semi-conscious Danny lying on the floor, clearly injured and at the mercy of that ghost. She returned his gaze to Dan, who out of nowhere, jerked to the left, involuntarily.

- What did you do? – He asked the redhead when he felt something pulling him.

Then Dan started to get sucked into something. Limb by limb he was being sucked into a green orb that began to grow in the middle of his body. He tried to resist amid screams, but was eventually sucked in completely, leaving in his place a small portal to the ghost zone that disappeared a few seconds later.

When they were alone, Jazz dropped the gun and ran to where her brother was.

- Danny, Danny… - She knelt next to him to help him stand up. – My God, Danny! What did he do to you?

Jazz was on the verge of tears watching her brother: he had blood on his nose, mouth and a cut on his eyebrow; he had visible bruise marks on his arms and his face was red, with a swollen cheekbone and a small ball in his jaw.

- Jazz? – He asked when he saw a redheaded spot in front of him. - It's you?

Jazz hugged her brother tight, causing him to groan in pain.

- I'm sorry! – She said guilty, pulling away from him. – Danny, we have to get out of here. – She hastened to say. - Can you stand up?

- Don't know. – He said caressing his swollen cheekbone, before taking his hand away in pain.

- Come on. – She said putting Danny's arm around her shoulders and helping him to stand up.

Danny groaned in pain at the sudden movement. He wanted to tell her to stop, but she beat him to it.

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… - Jazz repeated those words with a broken voice with each step he took.

Jazz walked with her brother until they crossed to the other side of the wall. She left him leaning against the wall while she went back for her gun. She hung it up again and lifted her bike off the ground.

- Hold on to this. – She told her brother.

Danny leaned all his weight on the bike's handlebars and began to walk slowly in the direction his sister was pointing. He ached all over, but at least he didn't have any broken bones, which was a bargain when he considered Dan's intention.

- Danny... - Jazz called weakly, placing his hand on the boy's back. - Was that …?

- Yeah. – He said briefly as they stopped at a corner.

- How…? I thought…

- Jazz. - Danny looked into her eyes. - Not here. Please.

She just nodded and looked out into the street. In less than a minute, she managed to stop a taxi and quickly scooped Danny into it, placing her bike inside the trunk.

- Are you sure you don't wanna go to a hospital? – The driver asked her when he looked at Danny in the rearview mirror.

- Very sure. - She said seriously.

The driver raised his hands in surrender and began to drive. The whole ride, Jazz was watching Danny. The blood on his face was already drying and his wounds were no longer bleeding, courtesy of his powers. He was staring off at a point on the roof of the taxi, and from time to time he inhaled deeply, wincing slightly in pain. Jazz reached out her hand and took her brother's, who just turned to see her with a small smile.

When they got to their house, Jazz got out first to help Danny up the steps. She opened the door for Danny to settle into the living room while she paid for the ride and the driver returned her bike. Without saying a word, she put her brother's arm around her shoulder and helped him up the stairs to his room. When they entered the room, Jazz sat Danny on the bed.

- Thank you. - He said slowly.

Jazz watched him a moment longer before speaking.

- You should take a bath. You have… - She pointed to his face.

- I know.

They looked straight into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

- Are you going to ask? – Danny commented, observing the anxiety in his sister's eyes.

- Later. – She answered walking towards the door. – I have to do some things first.

Without another word, she left the room to give the boy some privacy. Danny sighed, trying to process the fact that if it wasn't for Jazz, he would be dead now.